In DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, Marci is lightning quick and untouchably strong. Her Dota 2 incarnation is equally powerful.
Since her release with patch 7.30e, Marci has quickly become one of the most polarizing Dota 2 heroes. Her high mobility and extreme damage output have frustrated hundreds of thousands of players. Marci’s ability to reposition enemies and punch them into oblivion makes her seem overpowered, but the stats suggest there’s a more nuanced story.
According to her DotaBuff page, Marci currently sits at a reasonable 52.63% win rate. That makes her the 17th most successful hero in the game. But despite that reasonable win rate, many players quickly jump to calling her overpowered. Even the front page of DotaBuff is dedicated to how broken she can be in the right circumstances.
Marci’s composite win rate doesn’t tell the whole story. New heroes in Dota 2 generally have low win rates because players are still unfamiliar with how they should be played.
Almost everyone is still experimenting with Marci skill and item builds. Even with all the Echo Sabre and Maelstrom rushers, her win rate is still solidly high. As of right now, the optimal build is Phase Boots, Armlet, and Black King Bar. Once she picks up BKB, Marci’s win rate skyrockets up to 59.23%. Marci with spell immunity, which she should get every game anyway, is definitively overpowered.
Marci nerfs haven’t removed her from OP status
Immediately after dropping, Marci was inescapably overpowered. This prompted Valve to quickly nerf her.
Most of her spells were weakened, with Dispose getting a damage increase, Rebound’s cast range being decreased, and Unleash’s duration being shortened. Despite that, the hero remains very powerful and will likely only become stronger as players figure out how to best utilize her.
How to counter Marci in Dota 2
If you’re tired of getting run over by an overpowered Marci, there are a few options for countering her. While her damage is extremely high, it’s almost entirely single-target. Furthermore, her mobility can be played around.
The best heroes for countering Marci are Spirit Breaker, Naga Siren, and Drow Ranger. Each of these heroes either shut down her mobility or can man up on her in team fights. Spirit Breaker is great for locking her down in a fight, and good luck Rebounding away when Charge of Darkness is off cooldown. Naga Siren’s illusions shred through low-armor targets and Marci doesn’t really have great tools for dealing with multiple targets. As for Drow Ranger, Gust and Frost Arrows do double duty to keep her still.
After the draft phase, there are a few items that can help against an overpowered Marci. Ghost Scepter is an obvious pick, as it negates her ultimate, Unleash. Its extension Ethereal Blade turns Marci into a melee creep once Dispose and Rebound are on cooldown. For supports, Force Staff is extremely valuable. It can help players escape a rampaging Marci and get cores out of trouble if they get tossed by Dispose. Cores should consider an early Hurricane Pike for similar reasons.
