Top 5 unorthodox Dota 2 builds Topson may run in TI10

Topias 'Topson' Taavitsainen holds records that few other pro Dota 2 players do.

For one, he is among five players to exclusively hold the lifetime record of winning the TI aegis twice. But Topson in particular is popular for reasons that exceed the pro circle of Dota 2. He is known to be perhaps the most aggressive midlaner in the current competitive Dota 2 sphere. On top of that, Topson is also one for innovative builds to catch his opponents off guard, in true OG fashion.

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The following builds have not seen the light of pro Dota 2 yet.

But with Topson mid at the helm, they might very well find a passage in the annals of TI10.

#5 - Earth Spirit

Granted there is no 'surprise' element to this entry today. Topson's mid Earth Spirit is widely known by now, as he has tried running it in numerous pro Dota 2 match-ups already. However, it remains a mid pick almost unique to Topson. No one else has quite mastered his angle of Earth Spirit as a mobile tank that tears through teamfights from the frontline to the backline. It is very likely that Topson's fans will get to witness a mid pick so uniquely associated with Topson in the grand Dota 2 stage of TI.

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#4 - Riki

The Meteor Hammer Riki, empowered by his new Aghanim's Shard upgrade, has long become popular as a pub build. Topson has also tried his hand at the control-based disruptive mid Riki of late. Interestingly enough, this build has almost zero precedents in the pro Dota 2 circle. Could the upcoming TI see the introduction of Meme-Hammer Riki by Topson's hand?

Item build in cited Dota 2 match:

• Yasha
• Meteor Hammer
• Power Treads
• Aghanim's Shard
• Meteor Hammer

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#3 - Anti-Mage

Generally, Anti-Mage spammers in Dota 2 are notorious for their greedy hard-carry mindset. The standard Battlefury build is almost a foregone conclusion. And with good reason, too: Anti-Mage with cleave is among the fastest flash-farmers of Dota 2.

But instead of focusing on net-worth, Topson has tried leveraging Anti-Mage's other forte: his natural tankiness to magic damage. Topson's hyper-aggressive Anti-Mage does not care to stay on top of the creep-score chart. He is all about maxing out mana-burn and blinking early on with a value point in counter-spell, and then invading the sidelanes unexpectedly with a huge level advantage.

Item build in the cited Dota 2 match:

• Power Treads
• Orb of Corrosion
• Desolator
• Echo Sabre
• Sange and Yasha
• Assault Cuirass

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#2 - Legion Commander

If there is one hero in Dota 2 that perfectly fits Topson's hands-on macho playstyle, it is Legion Commander. The approach to playing LC in the midlane is no different from the confrontational Monkey King plays Dota 2 community knows Topson for. He builds his usual tanking-up ganking item, Echo Sabre, and then opts for a Blink Dagger for mobility. Aghanim's Scepter as the third item makes him tankier without needing to invest in extra effective HP by traditional means.

Item build in cited Dota 2 match:

• Echo Sabre
• Phase Boots
• Blink Dagger
• Aghanim's Scepter

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#1 - Dawnbreaker

Because of its absence from Captains mode, Dawnbreaker is currently ill-disposed to the balance of pro Dota 2. But with the three-month gap to TI, a new Dota 2 patch might very likely add balancing changes to put Dawnbreaker on the pro scene.

The idea of mid Dawnbreaker is to get her global ganking ult, Solar Guardian, up early. Needless to say, this enables numerous cheese strats. In classic Topson fashion, he has been playing the hero mid of late with an Echo Sabre as the first major item.

Item build in the cited Dota 2 match:

• Phase Boots
• Echo Sabre
• Assault Cuirass
• Black King Bar