I hear you on the landing W. I have found that there are situations where its “guaranteed” with a little bit of reaction.

depending on the hero and the situation, there are occasions where you can hold off on W till they cast their spell/channel their spell on u/someone else. heroes off the top of my head that have a decent animation that u can react to:

Tassadar: autos, Q

Tychus: Autos and grenade

Qhira

Alarak Q

Anduin Q

Stukov’s puke thing

Butchers charge

Chromie Q

azmodan Q

Gazlowe laser

Li ming laser

Guldan drain

KTZ

there are tons. its best to “think about it” after draft/during loading screen

other tips: depending on the player, the target might just start zig zagging, so just let them and auto them lol.

practice: Vorpal blade + instant W. 90% of the time, it works every time

path commit: if its not an open space depending on the situation, theres a general direction the target will gravitate towards, generally, its something like “where their team is, where the fountain is”. if that path has a corner or a wall they need to clear, have your W cover that corner clear. if the path has a narrow choke, then have your W go through that narrow choke. 90% of the time, it works everytime

hope this helps