swiftly slardar (the invisible dragster)

Item Guide

This build caters to team initiatiator and escape artist.

-SOME NOTES-
-any annoying invisible heroes are easily countered by slardar's amplify damage since it reveals them for a significant amount of time with the cooldown on amplify damage being very minimal, as well as the fact that amplify damage pierces black king bar.


-the blink dagger can easily be substituted for the shadow blade.
I tend to build shadow blade over blink dagger on him, due to the fact that blink dagger cannot be activated if you are hit by any given auto-attack or spell, also it makes Slardar an extremely quick scout for the purpose of team fights as well as ganks. finally the fact that shadow blade is easier to acquire, due to the fact that it can be built in pieces(and lets be honest 2250 gold is never easy to come by if you aren't decimating the enemy heroes in your lane).



-based on the hero composition this list may need to be modified with the situational items.
-if they start to hunt you relentlessly you my want to put a second point into sprint before 12.

-THE KEY-
once you have your shadow blade, you can start initiating team fights, as well as quick scouting runs through the enemy jungle, with sprint-->shadow blade, this is where Slardar starts to really shine. look for people who are alone jungling or quickly find out the positioning of the enemy team right before a team fight is about to start. This also gives you ample time to pick out the hero you need to target most with amplify damage, (instead of having to blink dagger in and click amplify damage on whoever is within range.) this will set the stage for your late game carry. once you have black king bar, there should be little to no reason for you to be dying, it makes for a extremely viable escape from most heroes even if they have dust. sprint-->shadow blade and if they dust then BKB. this also makes him a very viable initiator, Sprint-->Shadow Blade-->Amplify Damage-->Slithereen Crush--->BKB---> auto-attack. Depending on how well your team is doing at this point and what your team composition needs this may need to be adjusted. At this point you can go full carry if needed (and ONLY IF!)but typically you will have another more suitable carry. if your team needs a tank you can fill that role by constructing a vanguard into a crimson guard, with viable escape and initiation. if you are facing an enemy with strong passives you can finish a silver edge, if the enemy team has good escapes or your teammates are not able to catch up to you quickly enough(because you're going at light speed most of the time:)) to support you, it would be a good idea to build Shivas Guard. there are lots of options and he is an extremely versatile hero who gets no love most of the time; and is often underestimated, (use this to your advantage).
regardless of the luxury and/or situational items you choose, as long as you have the shadow blade, the enemy team will be kept on their back foot and forced to either buy an gem or wards, which is money they could be using for other things. Keep this up and allow you hard carries to get kills when possible. I have found this build to be rather reliable
hope it works as well for you as it does me.
:)-Gumby12-:)

Here is a link to my Dota Buff profile and the stats and items I typically buy on slardar if your interested, to see how well it tends to transfer into actual games. Disclaimer: I am a casual player not pro.
http://www.dotabuff.com/players/12350629/matches

(feel free to post disagreements/ideas/complements about this guide)