Marci is a perfect position four, but a new carry strategy from double-The International champion Anathan “ana” Pham proves she’s a top-tier carry as well.
One of the best parts of The International qualifiers is seeing what wacky strats pro players cook up when under that much stress. In the case of T1, which has both ana and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, there’s not quite as much pressure. Not content with the standard fare, ana unveiled a new carry Marci build that other pro teams can’t even touch. Here’s how it went and how to play it yourself.
The match in question was the first qualifier round between T1 and Execration. ana piloted Marci for game one in the 2-0 series. He abused Marci’s strong laning tools to trade effectively early. Later on, Unleash absolutely tore up team fights with targeted and area damage. He ended the match 16-1-10 with more than 26,000 hero damage.
If it can win matches at the year’s biggest qualifier, players who learn how to play carry Marci fast can definitely earn some MMR.
The laning phase is pretty standard with carry Marci, but T1 chose to swap lanes for better matchups. For most games, it’s alright to take Marci in the safe lane.
For his first few items, ana chose to go Phase Boots and a Falcon Blade. The supplementary item helps keep his mana topped up while the bonus damage is multiplied by Unleash. From there, ana built Black King Bar and Skull Basher. BKB is self-explanatory, but the bash is especially useful for locking down slippery targets. The game was essentially over, but ana picked up an Aghanim’s Scepter for even more area damage and another defensive tool.
Past the laning phase, ana tried to strike a balance between sticking to his team and farming an empty lane. Marci can’t jungle as well as most carries, so it’s important to maintain a fast tempo and only farm when Unleash is off cooldown. Dispose and Rebound are more than enough to contribute to fights. In addition to pummeling supports, Unleash is also a strong strategic tool for killing Roshan and enemy structures.
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