Previously on What’s Up With, we’ve talked at length about the dominance of Mages in the meta. Well, as per usual, teams in the SPL decided it was time to mix things up again. In the second week of competition, Spacestation Gaming’s Woonyoung “Baskin” Kim decided to bring Ullr to the middle lane in their second game versus Luminosity Gaming. Baskin’s strong performance on the Hunter sparked some interest in additional experimentation with Hunters in mid, and soon gods like Apollo and Chiron were venturing back into the meta by replacing the Mages that once dominated the game. So what happened? How did games go from having two Mages to none at all?

As we did last week, let’s first compare the two classes. Hunters and Mages are the two classes that possess the most variety in the game. There are also some Hunters that act like Mages and vice versa depending on how you build them. In general, Hunters are based around their auto attacks, and most Hunters possess a clear, an escape, a steroid, and a crowd control ability. Hunters are also very good at burning jungle bosses and towers. On the other hand, Mages are more focused on ability damage and bringing burst to team fights. They typically have a clear, a crowd control ability, and some form of burst (which tends to be their ultimate). Many Mages also have a movement ability, but it’s far more common to see a Mage without any additional form of movement than a Hunter. Also, it’s important to note that while both these classes are long range, Hunters have the advantage in that regard since their autos scale with 100% of their power.

Now let’s take a look at Anhur, who has always been an average Hunter when it comes to competitive viability. Despite how average the Slayer of Enemies is, he has an abnormally large amount of crowd control, being that he’s got a 35% slow, a knockback/stun, and a knockup. However, much of this crowd control is conditional, and his most impactful one would be the knockback and stun on his second ability, Impale. Impale is also his clear ability, especially since it was changed to pass through all targets rather than just get blocked by the first god it hit. Anhur’s mobility comes from his third ability, Disperse, which is a leap. Anhur, like many Hunters, also does not have a direct steroid, meaning that his steroid is not activated by an ability like Rama’s Pick Me Up or Artemis’ Vengeful Assault. Instead, Anhur’s steroid comes from his passive, Enfeeble, which shreds away 20 physical protections when an enemy is auto attacked. Additionally, Anhur gains a 20% damage buff when enemies are stuck in his first ability, Shifting Sands.

Next, let’s switch to Agni, another god that’s been painfully average in competitive play, just like Anhur. In terms of crowd control, Agni really doesn’t have more than a one second stun that comes from combining his first ability, Noxious Fumes, with any of his other abilities. What he may lack in crowd control, he certainly dominates in other facets. Agni has one of the best non-leap escape of all mages in his third ability, Path of Flames. Also, Agni’s passive, Combustion, makes his abilities deal additional tick damage if it is fully stacked, meaning that his burst potential from his ultimate is beyond the base damage of the ability. Agni’s clear is also fairly versatile, seeing as he can clear a wave with either his 2, 3, or ultimate.

So both classes are long range carries, but what do their stats say about their ability to perform? Well, Hunters tend to win in most aspects. Of course, Mages beat out Hunters in their mana pools and MP5, but most tend to not lift a finger to the stats of Hunters. However, we must also consider that Mage items tend to give a lot more power and a larger pool of utility to Mages. Most Hunter items don’t do anything special, aside from maybe Crusher or Ichaival, whereas a number of Mage items, such as Soul Reaver or Chronos Pendant, add a ton of utility to a Mage’s kit. If both parties didn’t have items, Hunters would easily outtrade Mages. However, once the gold starts piling up, Mages become a massive threat with their items.

Because Hunters are better than Mages early, are we going back to an early game meta? Yes and no. While Hunters do excel in the early game in comparison to their magical counterparts, they lack the burst and safety that characterize a number of meta Mages like Janus and Thoth. Why this early game is favored over those aspects is mostly due to the importance of jungle pressure. As with every other season, having the control of the neutral camps is key to gaining a significant lead. However, this season is slightly different seeing as camps spawn every two minutes, meaning that the jungle camps aren’t just for the jungler. Splitting the jungle camps efficiently between teammates and trying to farm as much of the map at once as possible is what separates the professionals from the rest of the player base. As mentioned previously, because Hunters generally are favored in the early game over mages, they’re better able to clear camps and give their team a better ability to snowball a lead.

Another aspect to consider is that there are very few Mages who have kill potential until level 5. Some of the top Hunters like Ullr or Hou Yi not only have that early jungle clear that we discussed earlier, but can find a kill or two in the laning phases should they be skilled enough. Even Hunters that don’t have kill potential, like Chiron or Apollo, can do wonders toward the mid and late game, especially when it comes to dancing around the Gold Fury and Fire Giant. When baiting around these jungle bosses, being able to pull and promptly burn them in a moment’s notice is an undervalued aspect of drafting two hunters. Sneaking objectives isn’t done much at higher levels of play since most know the value of wards, but there are always opportunities to exploit the enemy. Even with wards present on objectives, a jungle boss could be easily shredded in less than ten seconds by a double Hunter composition, especially in the presence of a Fafnir or an auto attack-based jungler like Mercury.

Double Hunters have many important strengths, but something really key to consider is whether or not you’re willing to draft four physical gods since normally both solo and jungle will be physical in addition to the two hunters you’ve chosen to draft. Some alternatives to consider would simply be throwing a magical in either of those roles. Guardians are incredibly popular in solo at the moment, and even a god like He Bo could work in the jungle. It’s really critical to note that, while it’s not impossible to win with four physical, it’s almost always better to rely on a balanced or magical-favored composition because it’s harder to counterbuild. Against physicals (and especially Hunters), building items like Hide of the Nemean Lion, Midgardian Mail, Shield of Thorns, and/or Witchblade is pretty common.

Image courtesy of Jay R.

So then, what do you build on Hunters that go in mid? Well, since you’ll most likely be an ability-centric Hunter like Ullr, Chiron, Neith, or Medusa, going Transcendence is almost a must. You could opt to start with a Hunter’s Blessing, but it’s really up to you on how long you want to stay in lane to begin with. Next, I would generally recommend finishing up Warrior Tabi and going straight into Crusher, though Ichaival has recently received a few buffs to make it slip into builds a bit better. Honestly, you’re pretty much just like a regular duo lane Hunter, just shoved in mid. Pick up whatever utility is going to smack the enemy the hardest: crit if they’re squishy and Qin’s Sais and penetration if they’re tanky or stacking health.

We’ve seen a number of potent, niche strategies come out of the woodworks and bring a ton of success to the teams that could master them. This double Hunter tactic isn’t new by any means, but its resurgence opens up the floodgates of players that will learn to master the finer aspects of play that Hunters can bring to the table that Mages simply do not. As such, expect to see more double Hunter in the coming weeks, and always remember to ward up those objectives. Want to learn more about Hunters? Check out Team Dignitas’ master Hunter himself, Kenny “Arkkyl” Kuska here as he takes on ranked from the duo lane. If you’re looking for some more direct mid Hunter advice, head over to Joakim “Zyrhoes” Verngren’s stream here to see if he’ll play a Hunter or two in his ranked escapades.

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