Leshrac: Mid or Feed (First Guide)

Introduction

Thanks internet for the pictures. I do not own them. Disclaimer disclaimer etc.

Leshrac is an amazing hero who is very underpicked (102nd most popular according to DotaBuff). His abilities can leave enemy heroes pulverized to death on the battlefield, with a satisfying "RAMPAGE" in return. Despite his mind-boggling ability to kill enemies within seconds, he is a relatively situational hero and requires good positioning. After getting a few core items, Leshrac can really snowball and end up being stronger than actual carries if they are underfarmed enough.

*Please note that this guide is for pub fun only. If you have some professional disagreement against this guide, please disagree quietly to yourself and let us casuals have our fun.

Pros / Cons

Pros:
-Very strong early-game presence.
-Scales better late-game than other intelligence heroes.
-Does not need ult until level 10 and is still a monster.

Cons:
-Requires good positioning skills.
-Relatively squishy.
-Requires more mana regen and tank items (and more farm) than most intelligence heroes.

Skills/Skill Build Explanation

Split Earth: Your stun and disable.
Split Earth is a powerful skill with a large delay to counter its power. At level 4, it can damage any hero or creep in a 225 unit radius for 300 HP and stun them for 2 seconds. This may not seem like a big deal, but when every other hero is around level 8 with you, 300 HP can really hinder any hero, let alone a 2 second stun. Diabolic Edict: Your tower and early-game killing tool.
Diabolic Edict is hands down one of the best skills in the game, if Leshrac is positioned correctly of course. It deals physical damage, so joke's on you, Repel! At level 4, it can deal more than 1000 damage to one single target. Fighting 1v1 for a rune at the beginning of the game? Turn this ability on and watch the enemy either die a horrible death or escape with barely any health. Also, did I forget to mention this also damages towers? I always max this first, but depending on the situation you might have to max Split Earth, which is fine. Lightning Storm: Your late game pushing and farming tool.
Lightning Storm... A great skill, but all of Leshrac's other skills are so much better. Sure, 260 damage on an enemy is nice, but the 75% slow is nothing compared to the cast time of this ability. Do not level it up until level 9, or even level 12 if a level in stats feels more appealing.
Pulse Nova: Oh yes.
Pulse Nova is such a devastating ult, but requires so much mana that it's first point should be at level 10. It also has a very small radius of 450 (smaller than your attack range), meaning you have to be pretty close to your enemies in order to effect them. Once you have plenty of mana regen, this skill can be kept on for a while, leaving a pleasant line of dead creeps and heroes behind you.

Game Phases/Item Explanation

Early Game:
At the start of the game, you should buy the usual regen, and a Circlet and Mantle of Intelligence to build into a Null Talisman, for extra stats. Hopefully you went mid or can get all the last hits in the other lanes, or you will have a bad time.


Mid Game:
After buying the recipe for Null Talisman, you should either get Boots of Speed for extra chasing power or a Soul Ring for the regen. The boots will be built into arcane boots and the Soul Ring will be built into a Bloodstone, of course. And as always, carry a Town Portal Scroll if you don't have Boots of Travel.
As a mid hero, you should be moving lanes in order to gank with your teammates. A nice stun (from you or a teammate) and a well positioned Diabolic Edict can leave enemies cowering in fear whenever they hear "Mid is missing!"


Core:
Instead of buying another Energy Booster, disassemble your Arcane Boots, unless your team needs someone with arcanes. After getting your Bloodstone and hopefully disassembling your arcanes, Phase Boots will be useful in chasing/escaping and the +24 damage will be helpful for farming without wasting mana on abilities. By now, you should be murdering enemy heroes left and right and gaining charges in your Bloodstone.
With enough charges, you can temporarily retire to the jungle and farm, if your main carry does not need the jungle at the time. While alternating between jungling and decimating enemies, you should be able to build a Shiva's Guard. This will make you much tankier, give intelligence for mana/regen, and a slow that benefits the entire team.


Late-Game:
By now, you are mercilessly eradicating enemies with Pulse Nova and being bathed in gold and Bloodstone charges. Time for some real fun. Aghanim's Scepter is next on the list for the increase in damage from Pulse Nova, and the +10 attributes is pretty useful too. If you absolutely need space for a Town Portal Scroll, either sell your Null Talisman or buy Boots of Travel before Heart of Tarrasque. Either way, HoT is one of the best items for almost any hero. With this, you can disintegrate towers and not feel a thing when they attack you.


Super Late Game:
If you reach this point, you are either toying with the enemy and enjoying the killing spree, or the enemy is actually putting up a good fight. Either way, you have a very cheap Null Talisman, leaving 1 extra item slot if you sell it. What to buy, what to buy? A Veil of Discord can make your abilities and your teammates' abilities even more powerful, and you already have a Null Talisman. If another teammate has/will buy a veil or you don't really feel like buying one, I recommend a second Heart of Tarrasque. With two hearts, you will have more than an insane 4000 HP. My final suggestion, more for fun than anything else, is Eye of Skadi. I personally love getting this item on almost any hero if a game is taking really long for fun, especially on ranged heroes. Seeing the orb effect and particle change is just so satisfying.

Other Notable Items:

Scythe of Vyse: TL;DR it is a great item, but I feel that other items are more suited for Leshrac. Take if you are going for a more supportive role.
Rod of Atos: Not a popular item, but the slow and extra intelligence can go a long way.
Gem of True Sight: This is a great item on Leshrac if you need the vision. If an unsuspecting Riki comes out of nowhere, just use your abilities and he's either dead of very badly wounded. Any hero who tries to kill you and take it will be met with a Pulse Nova and Diabolic Edict that is sure to kill.
Force Staff: This is a decent item on almost any intelligence hero. It provides a way for you and your teammates to escape, and can push an unsuspecting enemy right into the line of fire.
Eul's Scepter of Divinity: Another decent item on intelligence heroes. The mana regen is nice if you can't get a Bloodstone by mid-game, and the disable allows you to set up your stun.

When to Pick Leshrac/Friends and Foes

As stated before, Leshrac is a relatively situational hero, so when should you pick him?

Pick Leshrac if:

The other team has many squishy heroes. That person who picked Sniper thinking it was going to be an easy match will have a very bad time. Other squishy heroes like Vengeful Spirit and Dazzle will not enjoy themselves facing you, even with stuns (that do not turn off Pulse Nova or Diabolic Edict).



Your team has reliable stuns. Chaos Knight, Dragon Knight, and other heroes with point-target stuns or even good slows are perfect on your team: when they land they're for-sure stun/slow, you can follow up with your hard-to-position Split Earth.
There is no viable mid hero on your team. Self explanatory. Take mid, gank other lanes. Get money.



The enemy team has channeling heroes. I'm sorry, Witch Doctor, are you trying to use your ult? Too bad!

DO NOT pick Leshrac if:

The other team has very tanky heroes. Trying to Pulse Nova the super farmed enemy Pudge will probably result in your death.



The other team has Anti-Mage or other heroes that usually buy a Diffusal Blade. Pulse Nova can do nothing if you don't have the mana to use it, and the enemy Phantom Lancer burning your mana away certainly isn't helping.
Your team has many carries and/or viable mid heroes. You are better off picking a support hero. Leshrac needs way to much farm compared to other support heroes to be a good support. It is possible, but you will not reach your full potential if your teammates need all the farm.



The enemy team has high burst-damage heroes. Trying to kill everyone sucks if the Nyx Assassin with a Level 5 Dagon can kill you faster than you can kill it.



Silences/Magic Immunity. Kinda hard to use abilities when you are silenced or the enemy has a Black King Bar.

Conclusion

After reading the reasons why to not pick Leshrac, you may be discouraged to pick him, but don't fret! If one of Leshrac's foes is on the other team, you can still gain a gold/level advantage and ultimately nullify the advantage they would have had! Just follow this guide, and "RAMPAGE" is sure to be heard whenever you play Leshrac!