Cold as your heart

Introduction

Crystal Maiden: Who and Why

Crystal Maiden is a fun support hero that give her team a lot of early game potential and ridiculous team fight capabilities. She also hates mobile heroes, she has an AoE slow, a move that prevents blinking, and her ult, they all restrict your movement.

Even though CM is a great hero, you WILL be the first hero on everyone's checklist of "Who to kill first in every engagement". This is due your incredible body, the boys(and girls) can't keep their hand off.

Pros:
+Fun
+The best support in the game
+Give your carry about a million kills in lane
+Sexy
+One of the most powerful Ults in the game
+Good wave pushing move
+Good nuking potential at early levels


Cons:
-Squishy
-Tied for the slowest hero in the game with Invoker
-Targeted first by everyone (makes it look you are a feeder)
-Easily ganked
-Need a lot of positioning
-Did I mention how easy she is to kill?

Skills

What they do and you you use them

Crystal Nova

: This is an AoE slow move that does decent damage. At level 1 it is a 3.5 second slow! This is a very good skill and you may opt to get it before Frostbite.
When using this skill keep in mind that you will cast based off the center, so (just to throw in random numbers) if it has a cast range of 500, but an AoE of 300, that means that you really have a 650 cast range. This is good to keep in mind if you are chasing a fleeing enemy. You can also cast it from high ground/cliff areas with ease. This skill should be used as a follow up to frostbite or as an initiation. I would use it after frostbite in lane because the slow has a long duration, and I don't want to stack a disable on the slow duration, so I use the short duration Frostbite, then Crystal Nova. In a few cases(ivis heroes really) I will use this to scare them, then use frostbite so they go invis but I still know where they are, this also makes for a nice set up into your ult if you catch one person.

Frostbite

: This is a very good move that restricts movement and prevents blinking. It is a pseudo stun in a way because people can't right click out of it either. It does damage at the 0 second mark(the moment you cast it) and every half second there after. Tf you are laneing with a person with their own slow or stun, you can get a point of this earlier.
TIP: This lasts for ten seconds on creeps. If you are in a trilane you can jungle very effectively, or if you want to have fun(why would anyone want to do that?) you can jungle Crystal Maiden at level one.

Another top, Frostbite has a mini stun right at the first damage tick. That means you can wait for the other team to drop a huge channeling move, and interrupt it instantly.

Arcane Aura

: This move give CM twice the mana regen it says it give, because the number it tells you is what your team gets. Yep, this is a global aura that gives everyone mana, it is great for junglers, mid laners, and other supports. The reason I like maxing this first it because of how aggressive you have to be with CM and it can turn a losing lane into a winnable lane. The mana regen is not to be underestimated.

Freezing Field

: This is one of the most powerful ults in the game. It does 70 explosions over the course of the spell, in a large AoE around CM. It has a large slow on both movespeed and attackspeed, as well as doing a TON of damage. However this move has one drawback, it is channeled, that is why I recommend a BKB if you can get the gold. This move works very well as a secondary initiation move, after someone like Kunkka or Enigma initiate.
TIP: You can use this move to pick off enemies that are important to the other team, or if you just aren't using it because no team fights are breaking out, you may as well use it to secure kills.

Build 1: The Wombo Combo

Looking for kills in all the right places

This build focuses in one two heroes, Juggernaut and Ursa. These are heroes that my friends like to play, so I have made this build for when I play with these two heroes.

The point of laneing with these heroes are that they have VERY good early kill potential, Blade Fury does a stupid amount of damage, and with a guarantied 1.5 seconds of Blade Fury hitting, you should be getting kills at level 1, however, this combo will only work if your Jugg can get in front of them while they are rooted in place, then do some body blocking. If he can't, it is just a nice nuke that will burn through regen.

Ursa is a very interesting hero to lane with because he brings his own slow to the table, and because of this you can mix up the skill build a little bit more. The main reason for all the points in Crystal Maiden's Arcane Aura is so that Juggernaut always has mana for a Blade Fury. With ursa however, you can do a far more agressive skill build with less points in your aura.

Well, that Ursa paragraph got very side tracked, let me start again. So what ursa will do is a 1-1-1 skill build by level three and skill like so 0-0-1 into a 0-1-1. This is when you can start to get kills. Ursa has to tell you in advance though because Overpower has a 10 seconds cooldown, but lasts for 15. So at level two, you hit them with a Frostbite, then Ursa runs in get three instant attacks off, uses Overpower again, and because of Fury Swipes they die. At level three, he can use Earthshock and and a slow ON TOP OF your slow. Basically this lane is broken.

Build number 2: Boring support

"OMG CM why are you such a feeder"

The point of this build is just to, well, be a support. Unlike build 1, this build focuses more on having a good laneing stage rather than trying to get a bunch of kills in lane and having the other team rage quit DC.

You will want to get a fast mek and push down an early tower, but before you can do that, you need to make sure your lane is safe for your carry. You are a babysitter, and a very good one at that. Just scare the other team away from your lane, and let your carry get some solo XP. Use frost bite to jungle the hard camp a little bit, and get some arm for your mek, and you can basically sit on brown boots if your farm is coming along fast.

Now that you have a mek, go scare the other team away from your carry one last time, and then TP to a different lane and take a tower.

Build 3: Carry maiden

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON"T DO THIS UNLESS YOU ARE IN TRASH TIER! AND EVEN THEN DON'T DO THIS BUILD!

Now that we have that out of the way, onward with the guide.

Start in the jungle and stack the camp, as you stack it, frostbite the large creep (Oh ya stack the large camp). Kill the large creep, pull and then frostbite the other large creep, kill it. rinse and repeat until you have a midas and power treads. Now that you have that, gank. Go back to farming, get a shadow blade. Now that you have what you need, CARRY THAT ****PY TEAM OF YOURS! Oh, and win the game by at least the 5 minute mark because you are a ****py carry

Assumptions

Why I did what i did

The reason why I didn't really go into too much detail on my builds is because I am assuming you know how to play dota, and I don't have to tell you how to eat a Tango or things like that. What my builds mostly tell you is what to build, what skills to skill when, and how to play the early/laneing phase of the game. The more detailed parts I go over in other places, and I figure you already have a grasp on the game well enough that I don't have to tell you how to push.

Positioning

All about the time, but more importantly, the place

Crystal Maiden is a hero with pretty short range moves, so that means where you are can make or break a kill, or even the game.

While doing a wombo combo lane (the one I do most often) I go and place a ward on the river, then hide in the jungle. My carry blocks the wave as much as possible, then give the other team a false seance of security. The carry makes it look like he is going for a last hit, then goes really aggressive, at this point, you come out of the jungle from behind, hit them with Frostbite or Crystal Nova(what ever you scaled first, it is all preference) and then Juggernaut with use Blade Fury or Ursa will just right click them to death. With the new gold and level advantage gained by the first blood cause by your great positioning, you can rinse and repeat this over and over.

However, CM's positioning isn't as big in the early game as it is when team fights break out, that is when you NEED to position yourself well. If you are too far forward, you will get focused and die instantly, if you are too far back, you will take too long to get in the fight to make a difference. The key is too be behind the initiator, they will do their thing, eat the brunt of the hits, then you Crystal Nova, Frostbite and Freezing Field. That is a guaranteed wipe right there.

Blink Dagger and shadowblade are the two best items to counteract this positioning. Blink dagger will let you stand farther back so there is no chance of dieing, then blink in and hit them with a freezing field straight up. Or a shadowblade can let you stand close to the fight, then all of a sudden appear. I would NOT recommend useing shawdow blade to go invis while using your ult (you can do that with channeled spells).

Items

Items and you

Crystal Maiden thankfully isn't all that item dependent. but the items she does pick up have a very key reason, whether it is an item for the team, or an item that helps her.

Starting items:
Animal courier: I really shouldn't have to explain this, but it brings items to players on your team, absolutely necessary pick up.
Observer ward: This will give vision for your mid lane to get all the runes in their bottle and win you the game.
Tango: Much needed regen and you can use it on your carry to give them a tango to eat if they take too much harass.
Healing salve: Your HP pool is so low, you will almost never be able to fully utilize this, the reason you buy it is for your carry. That way they can skip this item and get a faster boot for example.
GG branch: This is the most efficient stats you can get, with the nerf to int that Crystal Maiden suffered in 6.80 this is really good because with this you can double spell easier, and the HP is nice.


Early game:
Tranquil boots: These give the best move speed for boots behind travels, they are also the easiest to farm witch is good for a support. The armor from it is good since you have low armor and the HP regen is nice to have since you are aggressive for a support.
Bracer: Cheap, gives HP, good. Also builds into one of your core items.
Flying courier: Some one has to buy, and more than 100% of the time, it will be you.
Sentry ward: This is situational based on if they have a invis hero. Most games you will not need this, but still a good item.
Observer wards: Keep these up the whole game, just change where you place based on how the game is going.
TP scroll: This is a good item to carry with you at all times, lets you help other lanes.

Mid Game core:
Drums of endurance: Something your bracer can build into, the move speed is good, and it is a team item. use it while pushing towers to take them out faster. Or use them while running away so you or your allies don't die.
Mek: This item is a great support item, and it will up your survivability. Also good team fights and pushes.

End game items/How did you get this much farm:
BKB: This will stop your ult from being stops mid channeling. No other use for getting it really,
Blink dagger: Makes initiation better.
Aghanim's scepter: A really good item, but you really will never get the farm for it, don't plan on getting this is games, but if you do, it will be good.
Pipe of insight: This is good if the other team has a lot of magic burst because you can mitigate a lot of it.
Eul's secpter of divinity: Gives an other disable, mana regen, and move speed, the all important move speed.

Friends and foes

Brokenherocombo.exe

Friends:
Enigma: His Black Hole and your Freezing Field will win a team fight 2v5 everytime.

Kunkka His Torrent into ghost ship combo with your ult, will win a team fight also.

Juggernaut: This is the hero I lane with most often as CM, and his Blade Fury plus your spells is OP

Ursa: I already went over this one in build 1... Volo Plz Nerf




Foes:

Tiny: That little jerk will burst you down so fast... that stupid Avalanche Toss combo

Centaur Warrunner : Speaking of combos, the tiny centaur lane is really good against you. Two stuns, an initiation move, and all the burst you can think of.

Pudge: Best counter to pudge, wards, you really need to be on ward duty if the other team has a pudge. His Meat Hook nearly kills you, then Rot Dismember finishes you off fast.

Burst: Not a hero, just burst damage in general is bad for you, your low HP pool makes you really easy to kill with burst damage.

About this guide

LOL I am best feeder

This is my first guide and all CONSTRUCTIVE critique would be nice.
If you guys have different ideas than me, I will 100% consider them and maybe make changes to my guide or make a new build based off what you guys say.

What I really want critique wise is how to format the guide really, like what words you think should be highlighted and made more important, did i do the thing too much? Things like that, but I still do want critique on what my guide tells you and what i could add for more "learning qualities".

Thanks for reading
-Mastadoom