Image by Yestar™, Nanbatian and AK47
Mid meta in pubs didn’t change much. The only slight difference is that players are now playing a more greedy style of Dota, but for the most part the meta is still pretty much the same. However, there are some worrying trends, so it’s best to be prepared.
Heroes like 
Pangolier, 
empty soul, 
spirit of the storm, 
Ember Spirit and 
Queen of Pain are still very viable. Similarly, you can play “flex” Universal heroes as 
Windranger and 
Winter Wyvern in the middle. We discussed them in our previous blog post.
The most popular and successful heroes in the role are very similar to the last part, so instead of going through the usual suspects once again, we will highlight the unexpected, underselected and, frankly, uninvited newcomers to the role. Watch: Cheese plate.
There were a lot of complaints about the hero at the beginning of the patch. Because he no longer has full spell immunity for long Life Restit is possible to queue up stuns and disables the moment Huskar reaches his target, resulting in him being out of position and unable to fight.
The easy tweak to this was “press BKB before jumping” and we think that solved most of the hero’s problems. He’s as high as he’s ever been, he can dominate his lane against most heroes, and he can scale very well. That’s what the meta is looking for from mid laners: the ability to fight well from minute to minute 15 onwards.
There is no secret to playing the hero either. He is still one 
Mordiggian Armlets in 
Heaven’s Halberd in 
Black King Bar Hero. Depending on the matchup, you alternate the BKB and Halberd in the build order and you should be in a good position in 90%+ of your games.
Another cool hero that took some nerfs in the last patch, but remains very strong in a more greedy meta. Tinker is stupidly overpowered when played well. Usually, it takes a lot of expertise to play well with him, but he’s much more forgiving in the actual game. Hence its popularity and success.
It mostly depends on the players usage Defense Matrix good. Technically, Tinker should be weaker now, because 
Blink Dagger breaks, instead of going on cooldown, when damaged. But in the middle of it Defense Matrix and potential 
Pavis for a teammate, getting through this barrier is almost impossible, so Tinker can jump with impunity.
Later he starts building “fun” stuff like 
Blink overwhelming and 
Shiva’s Guard and can ignore most of his kit, providing self-vision. Dealing with the hero is very problematic and we don’t really have an easy suggestion on how to approach this hero outside of the drafting phase. Your best bet is to make sure your team has 
Pipe of Insight and 
Glimmer Cape so your Blink initiator can Tinker jump through all the random spells flying around.
The big problem with Arc Warden is that his illusions and clones take advantage of him Magnetic field additional attack range and damage. This makes for an absolutely stupid hero with an insane amount of damage. Given the right setup by the team, Arc Warden can easily take the early game and doesn’t even need to play that annoying 
Scepter of Aghanim Spark Wraith unwanted game.
Once again, there’s not much you can do once the game has already started, and Arc Warden is usually reserved for last pick in AP. Since it’s mostly about getting to the actual hero or his clone, any source of mobility will be welcome. You also need items that enable mobility or prevent broken flashes. Therefore, all hamper type items will be welcome.
Most importantly, try to finish the game as soon as possible. Arc Warden can have a lot of power in the mid game 
Manta Style, but he’s still more than happy to go late and play the odd Scepter of Aghanim game.
Meepo isn’t technically a top tier pick, but we thought our readers should be aware that this hero is on the rise. In the right hands and in the right game he can be overwhelming.
The biggest problem is killing Meepo’s pace. Earlier than usual Black King Bar in cores can be considered. both Poof AND Destruction damage can be mitigated by debuff immunity.
It’s also a good idea to get one 
Solar ridge. You don’t need AoE damage to kill Meepo, you need strong single focus, and when it comes to blasting a target, nothing is as economical as Solar Crest. Meepo doesn’t have a ton of armor, but he does have a lot of built-in magic resistance through his tail. Physical explosion is the preferred option.
Finally, get one 
Force Staff. We understand that this savings item is greater Pay attention and Solar Crest, but it has its uses.
The mid meta is very open, with a lot of cool heroes making a comeback. The only one missing from the complete combination of ccc is 
Broodmother, but we’re definitely happy about it.
Despite all the cheese, the game still feels fair most of the time and these trending heroes, while on the stronger side, don’t feel invincible. They just stand out a bit too much when played by a dedicated player.
What are your thoughts on the current midrange meta? Do you feel like some of the aforementioned heroes need a nerf or are you one of those dedicated Tinker spammers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
