One of the more interesting developments for Dota over the last five years is how attributes have more or less made a full circle. After multiple attempts to make primary attributes more meaningful and tie other game mechanics to Strength, Agility and Intelligence, we are now back to the very basics. We are not here to discuss whether this simplicity is beneficial or not, but rather remind players that there is one mechanic that recently made a comeback as a result of this approach that is quite underrated.

The ten-player buyback in the match between T1 and PSG.LGD was one of the International highlights this year. Never, in the history of the biggest esports tournament, has so much gold been spent for no apparent gain, as even the end of the fight was inconclusive. This moment led to several interesting questions about the mechanics of buyback and today we would like to, perhaps not answer them outright, but rather think about and analyze them.

For a long time Dota 2 fans have prided the game as having a much more dynamic metagame than other Dota-like titles. At The International 10 all but seven eligible heroes received either a pick or ban during the draft phase. All but eight heroes were actually played, indicating some form of theoretical viability. If we expand the scope to include the TI 10 qualifiers, which helped form a large part of the TI 10 meta, there was a single hero that was never targeted across all six regions of play.

One of the more noticeable trends this TI was the overwhelming prevalence of high-burst strategies. This is a very understandable trend: you blow up an enemy, you are already at an advantage and it wasn’t surprising heroes like Tiny were valued so highly, along with burst-supporting characters like Elder Titan and Snapfire. But was this trend based solely on the realities of the International, or is there currently a problem with saves in general? Let’s have a look.

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way immediately. Marci is overpowered, like, old Earth Spirit or release-day-Monkey King overpowered. Because of this we will try to talk about what she does in a broader sense that should still be relevant after her numbers are nerfed to more acceptable levels.

One of the most interesting things about the International is that it really pushes forward the understanding of the meta and how the game is played. When top teams in the world are playing at the peak of their ability and pushing the game to its limits, new, interesting strategies start to emerge. And no, it is not all Magnus.

Wherever you were with regards to Team Spirit’s chances coming into The International 10, by the end it is pretty clear that the team has something special. I went back and watched a bunch of their replays to try and gain some insights about what made Team Spirit so successful in a stacked international field of competition. Yes, Collapse played incredibly and Yatoro put up one of the best and most varied carry performances of the season. However, there was a strange feeling I got in almost every game about the way that Team Spirit’s two support players Mira and Miposhka played Dota.

After a Decade of Champions, the Aegis completed its circle. We hope it isn’t an end, but just the beginning of a new era of the International. We have several suggestions that, in our opinion, will make the best esports event of the year even better.

The final day is tomorrow and it is the last fantasy guide for this TI. Team Spirit might be playing like absolute madmen with their carefree attitude, but we won’t. So once again, we are hedging our bets.