The International 12 group stage meta

The group stage of The International 12 showed us the 7.34d meta. This patch is totally different from the previous one. Heroes like Sven and Invoker, despite being picked numerous times during the event, have had abysmal win rates.

Sven was picked 22 times and his win rate is 36.3%. Invoker was picked 21 times and his win rate is 42.8%. Vengeful Spirit, the hero that was always picked for the support role in patch 7.34c, has had the highest number of picks in the group stage: 33. But her win rate is just 39.4%, which is extremely low.

The overall picture

Among the heroes that were picked more than 30 times in the group stage, Muerta (58% wr) and Bristleback (51.6% wr) can be called solid choices.

Lots of teams also tried Earth Spirit, but it’s clear that he’s been heavily nerfed. His 41.4% win rate is not exciting at all and it suggests that picking the hero immediately puts you at a disadvantage against a wide range of drafts.

Another relic of 7.34c is Grimstroke. His 46.4% win rate is not terrible, but it’s not comforting either.

Three support heroes that have climbed to the top in this patch are Phoenix (57% wr), Dark Willow (53.6% wr), and Treant Protector (54.2% wr). These options will definitely get spammed a lot in the playoffs because they’ve been field-tested with great success in the group stage.

Pangolier, on the other hand, has failed miserably. In his 26 games, his win rate was 30.8%, which is almost as low as you can get without calling the hero an autolose choice.

Excellent choices for core roles proved to be heroes like Chaos Knight (65.4% wr), Primal Beast (66.7% wr), and Earthshaker (57.1% wr). All of these heroes got picked between 20 and 30 times, so their win rates are not flukes. They’re reliable and clearly indicate the strength of these choices.

The carry heroes that did not get picked very much but proved to be extremely strong are Spectre (80% wr in 10 games), Morphling (80% wr in 5 games), and Naga Siren (66.7% wr in 12 games).

One hero that received a ridiculous number of bans (74) and only 13 picks but had a spectacular win rate (69.2%) is Dazzle. It seems that this great healer is doing excellent work in the 7.34d meta.

Header: Valve