Rushing Aghanim on Rubick - Justifiable?

Patch 6.79 seemed to bring further nerf on Rubick, in his long history of nerfs (seriously, the only buff in his hero history seemed to be when they reduce Telekinesis manacost from 160 to 120). Come Aghanim change, which is both a buff (5 sec cd and improved range!) and a nerf (no longer Steal improved hero skill if he doesn't have Agh himself, and as Support, it's not everyday you can get an Agh).

But despite the double-edged nature of the change, I find the new Aghanim to overall be a buff, as it allows him to continuously Steal and spam spells, without being overly constrained by cooldown. Previously, in most team engagements, I would refrain from Stealing, waiting for that *one* gamechanging ult. But now I can keep Stealing and returning those Ults back to the enemy team, and boy was it great!

So my question is, what do you think of rushing Agh on Rubick? (Boots + Agh, forget Arc Boots, Blink Dagger and Force Staff until you get the Agh). Is it a viable tactic?



Poll answer #3 is basically a counter-argument to answer #1 & #2. But counter-argument to #3 is just how much Rubick's utility increases with an Agh; returning Initiation after Initiation spells back to the enemy team is the very definition of 'gamechanging'. Even if the enemy didn't have much Initiator, you can still steal multiple Stuns through the fight, thus being less constrained by cooldown.

I voted "Yes".

I've been using Aghs on Rubick almost every game lately (Just for some playtesting), and honestly I think it's an amazing pick up now. Completely worth rushing after mana boots. If the team has a large AoE stun (Like Ravage), you can steal it very safely. If Tide gets blink and you don't have blink, positioning is VERY VERY VERY hard for a Rubick player. Even if you're up 25 units or so (Almost impossible to judge), a Tide can blink a LIIIIIIITTLE bit farther and make sure you never get to steal his ult. Aghs makes your positioning much easier, and you can almost always get two big ults in a team fight if you have a large AoE stun ult. Like after a Ravage, you take 1-2 seconds to get into position, cast Ravage and now you're ready to steal the second ult that comes out. I did that like 3 games ago... Took Ravage, took Finger of Death (Hit two with it because of Aghs upgrade), took Shukuchi, and ran off completely out of mana.

If you're facing a team with more than 1 good potential steal that they aren't going to want to stack (So they have to wait between them), I think this is first item materal (After arcane boots that is).

The only problem that I've experienced is the amount of item slots it takes up. Rubick needs to be really active so he can constantly get good steals, which means he needs room for wards, town portal scrolls, and smokes. It also helps if he has a wand or bracer. So he really can't hold anything past a point booster. This means you can buy the support items, but you have to hand it off to other players.

Besides that, I friggin' love the change. Agh's is now staple imo. The days of getting blink AND force to reposition are over.

It kinda depends on the enemy lineup whether you would want or not Aghs. I voted yes though, yesterday, I am guilty of not getting aghs.

http://dotabuff.com/matches/512947869

Well anyway, what was I going to steal?Only one worth was Epicenter and Blink, which I already could have gotten easy.

Hook, Assassinate, Burrowstrike, Blink, Epicenter, and Shackle are really the only steals (gl hf getting hook).

I did actually get the hook, casted steal at the same time he casted hook.The only spell I didn't get there was the shackle that game.(not that WR actually used it often)

I wouldn't rush it, but I would get the item later in the game when spells fly in a teamfight

Same, so I voted for no. It's a great 2nd or 3rd major Item, but should never be "Rushed". 5 second Cooldown, and 1400 Cast Range is nice, but most Ultimate upgrades aren't worth the cost.

Agh's is not worth it on Rubick, simply. You'll never have enough time to afford it as a support, and if you do you're missing something like a Blink Dagger, Force Staff or Ghost Scepter. I just don't like it: there are very few supports that can benefit from an Agh's like Visage and Shadow Shaman, and even if they do, they usually have to get mobility or survivability items first which make an Aghanim's Scepter a very late pickup (35-40 minutes at least).

If you can't change a fight with two stolen spells you shouldn't be able to change it with three spells anyway, most of the time. And mana is also a little problem.

I would say yes, but VERY situational. There need to be enough good, big spells to steal. You need to be able to steal those spells, and not be stunned in the process. You still need atleast a force staff or blink. But on the other hand if you get a blink + forcestaff you might be able to make even bigger plays.

Btw do you think that making the cooldown even shorter would be balenced? Maybe 2 or even 0 seconds?

A 2 or 0 second cooldown ultimate might bring back the mid Rubick, but I don't think playing him mid would still be worth it. On a support Rubick, it would still be useless.