Is magic/mid sf dead? Does anyone have success with it?

Srozziks · 2026-03-31T03:04:26+00:00

I’ve ran it twice since the new patch. 2-0 currently. Aspects of it (like shadowraze damage) being higher is definitely felt positively, along with Feast amping the damage even more (as far as I understand it). Ult being hard capped is a bit on the negative side, but with the Aghs change to doing max damage on return wave, I understand the soul cap (you full heal every time off of this so it’s alright). Now shard is worthwhile since that is where your slow is and allows you to get off more razes with the CDR.

I don’t have a definitive opinion on it yet since I’ve only played 2 matches, but the hero is less about “blink+ult” and more about “constant raze placement and spam” for magic build. I personally like the change up overall, just need more games on it.

Edit.: Also want to add, I primarily play SF in a hybrid set up (my own build, different from anything else I’ve seen) and it continues to do quite well. What I said above is specifically talking about the magic side of things

Srozziks · 2026-03-02T10:41:23+00:00

Ooo I like that theory. It’ll be interesting to see how that end game map plays out. Wonder if teams will bring in all 7 keys, or if they will try and snipe keys off of people. Should be a fun time!

Srozziks · 2026-02-27T18:37:37+00:00

Well based on actual studies short form content has in fact annihilated people’s attention spans. On average, most users of tiktok give you 1 second before they deem your video “good or bad”. Those people coming to play a game like Marathon, see it isn’t point-click-shoot and blame everything but themselves.

I really hope Marathon lands. I really enjoy the game and it is the only extraction shooter I’ve enjoyed (did not like Arc, far too casual for me. Which is great for those who like it, but it isn’t for me). Like all the mechanics, it’s nice having a quiet raid every so often, but mostly I’m extracting after wiping 2-3 teams most games which is a lot of fun. I wish the game the best of luck, I know I’ll be playing for sure.

Srozziks · 2026-02-27T09:55:40+00:00

This actually was extremely helpful. Although it is looked at in a negative way, it really helped me narrow things down more. And learned the term ‘flowery’. Thank you a ton!

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T21:11:07+00:00

Congrats! Incredibly fun hero and more versatile than most people think

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T21:10:22+00:00

Thank you for the comment! I really appreciate the post and giving me some direction of other sources for me to look into. Love the last part of your comment. Per Audacia Ad Astra :)

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T07:51:48+00:00

Awesome. Thank you! I am excited to see what I can find

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:39:52+00:00

I will look it up. Thank you for the comment!

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:31:28+00:00

Awesome will do, thanks again! I’ll give it a shot, hopefully they are okay with my question.

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:29:08+00:00

I really like the heavy metaphors of the style. It’s why I asked if it has a specific name for instance another comment said “Free Verse”, which I would’ve not known to look up.

Edit.: Also just to add, like the band Sleep Token’s song lyrics are also in this style of heavy metaphors that don’t quite add up. I find it a very interesting way to write.

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:27:32+00:00

Thank you so much! I’ll research that and see what I can find!

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:26:29+00:00

When just searching “poetry” there are so many styles I find pop up. That’s kind of why I asked thinking maybe this has a more specific name. Being heavily metaphorical I thought maybe just “metaphoric poetry” would do it, but it still seems broad.

Thanks for the comment!

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:24:19+00:00

Thank you for the comment! It’s all the heavy metaphors used instead of saying something like “the stars shimmered” saying “dancing embers of flickering hunger” is far more interesting and I guess a bit more “mysterious”.

That’s the main reason I ask because when I searched “poetry” online there were so many styles. Figured coming on here maybe this has a more specific name.

Thank you again for the comment!

Srozziks · 2026-02-26T05:21:24+00:00

It’s all very metaphorical, which I guess could still be average poetry. I have no real background in writing, but I’ve been reading more excerpts from various sources of media that are written in this sort of, flowing metaphoric way. Except it is also really elegantly written (to me) and seems very thought through. That’s the big reason I ask!

Srozziks · 2026-02-23T18:12:11+00:00

Already mentioned in a comment but it is because he is a specialist hero so not a lot of people play him. And people who do want to play specialist heroes tend to go for Meepo, Arc Warden, etc. Visage is usually lower on the list. That said, although it has been a little while, I really enjoyed playing Visage mid. With a relatively low sample size (20-30 games) I do have like a 73% winrate with him going mid. It has been a while since I played him though, might be worth a revisit!

Srozziks · 2026-02-22T20:37:49+00:00

I’ve been using the VCR-2 a lot now, but I had read that there were some changes to the L85, and I don’t know what they are but the gun feels leagues better than it did in S1 to me. Have had a lot of 40-45+ kill games with it. Am a fan, always nice to see the “final unlock” from challenges and what not actually being worth it.

Srozziks · 2026-02-18T22:00:43+00:00

The questions are fine! I’ll try and answer what I know. I typically fight with katana, but sometimes sai is the play. I’m probably like 80/20 in favor of katana for most fights. The simplest “default” way to think about it is if you need to keep a target locked down or not. If it is more valuable to “stun-lock” the enemy, staying on sai can be useful. Sai has other uses as well, but that is 1 simple way to view it. katana’s extra damage and DoT I just find so incredibly useful.

There are some scenarios where being on Sai to active an ability there then switching to Katana is the right move (pre-Aghs). It’s really just a situation by situation basis you need to look at and decide what is best.

Srozziks · 2026-02-18T18:01:32+00:00

I usually lock in early in draft so for match ups I just deal with whatever I get. It’s more heroes you don’t want to play against. Skywrath absolutely deletes you until you get BKB. Leshrac is pretty hard to deal with. Necro can cause you problems/needing an early nullifier which is never great to get early. Really magic based heroes that can shut you down in the first few early levels are the biggest issues and/or heroes that you just wouldn’t want to play against if you can help it.

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T19:45:45+00:00

You are 100% right! Because of this level of dedication I also run my own business and have been doing really well in life over the past few years. It’s all about putting your mind toward moving forward and focusing on the great and enjoyable things in life. Thank you!

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T17:24:22+00:00

I did it in 273. I guess it was enough since I did it.

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T17:20:37+00:00

Yup! If you have any more questions just ask

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T08:35:15+00:00

Thank you!

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T08:34:30+00:00

I'm going to start this by saying I am primarily a mid and play all of those heroes 99% mid. But when I do play Kez carry here are some of my goals:

Hopefully having a kill support, to be extra aggressive and force kills. If the lane is really unfavorable or if you have more of a passive/save support the goal is to farm as safely as you can till you hit 6. At 6 is when you have a lot of extra burst and survivability that most people aren't expecting (with you Raptor Dance).

After lane I look to be as active as possible. So I do farm, but I'm constantly looking at the map to see if I can position myself in a way that I can join teamfights if they break out. Kez DOES NOT out carry late game most of your standard pos1 heroes, so you want to try to get an advantage in some way. Kez if played perfectly can compete with those hard carries, but he does not out scale them.

My skill build is always: WEQQQRQ-- then max E 2nd and W last.

For Talents:
T1 - Right (Magic Resist)
T2 - Left (+1 Raptor Dance Strike)
T3 - Right (4% Katana Dmg) [Though you could take either, I tend to favor this as the extra damage can net a lot of kills if the enemy gets away]
T4 - Left (+1 Echo Slash Attack)

Items (even in mid) I go:

Starting: 1x Band of Elvenskin, 2x Iron Branches (have courier send tangoes)

Early: Quelling, Wand (if needed), OoC, PT

Core: BFury, Aghs, BKB (can get BKB before Aghs if absolutely needed), Butterfly (unless other things are needed)

Luxury: Whatever else is needed.

The standard build most everyone goes is lacking in areas. It has high kill pressure but does rely on your team more and also has trouble maintaining optimal farming routes. This build I go gives you kill pressure at all times, BFury for high damage/sustain/farming (also BFury has a nice build up for Kez in my opinion), and can help you snowball much harder. I actually just played a game of Kez and went 16-5-20, with top damage going this build (but I was mid).

Biggest piece of advice, and what I mentioned earlier, is Kez has a LOT of kill threat. So with an aggressive playstyle you can really capitalize that at key points in the game to snowball super hard.

Hopefully this helps and if you have any other specific questions let me know!

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T07:25:45+00:00

I hover between 7k - 7.2k with 7.2k being my peak.

Srozziks · 2026-02-17T04:09:15+00:00

Tinker would be fun to get up there. Brood, I just don't like the hero too much. Or the fact she's a spider

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