Hero Discussion of this Day: Nyx Assassin (22 May 2014)

Nyx Assassin

I could have been a lowly grub, but by the grace of our goddess Nyx, I have been elevated to the highest state. Nor shall I disappoint her.

Nyx' Assassin starts off by wearing his opponents down early on, burning their Mana for damage, keeping them fairly useless and vulnerable. With a Vendetta against living things, he can become invisible, travel faster, and deal great damage to the next thing he hits. Following up with his powerful line stunning impale and then Mana Burn is a combo most will instantly fall victim to--hard to see it coming and difficult to escape. His razor-sharp carapace allows him to escape the scene of the crime as easily as he entered, reflecting incoming hero damage right back in stunning fashion.

Lore

Deep in the Archive of Ultimyr, shelved between scholarly treatises on dragon cladistics and books of untranslatable spells, there is an ancient tome of entomological curiosities. Compiled by scholars, the book describes the telepathic talents of the zealot scarab, a strange species of social insect with abilities unique to all the seven planes.

Unlike most grubs of his colony, Nyx Assassin did not arise from metamorphosis with the plodding thoughts and blunted appendages common to the worker caste of his kind. For his was a special transformation, guided by the grace of Nyx. He was the chosen one, selected from the many and anointed with an extract of the queen goddess herself. Not all survive the dark blessing of the queen’s chamber, but he emerged with a penetrating mind, and dagger-like claws–his razor sharp mandibles raking the air while his thoughts projected directly into the minds of those around him. Of all zealot scarabs, he alone was selected for the highest calling. After his metamorphosis, he was reborn, by grace of Nyx, with abilities which shaped him for one thing and one thing only: to kill in the name of his goddess.

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Roles: Disabler, Nuker, Semi-carry, Support

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Strength: 18 + 2

Agility: 19 + 2.2

Intelligence: 18 + 2.1

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Damage: 49-53

Armour: 3.66

Movement Speed: 300

Attack Range: 128 (Melee)

Missile Speed: N/A

Base Attack Time: 1.7

Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)

Turn Rate: 0.5

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Spells

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Impale

Rock spikes burst from the earth along a straight path. Enemy units are hurled into the air, then are stunned and take damage when they fall.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	95	13	700	125	1.27	Bursts spikes towards the target area stunning all enemy units in a straight line and damaging them by 80
2	115	13	700	125	1.77	Bursts spikes towards the target area stunning all enemy units in a straight line and damaging them by 140
3	135	13	700	125	2.27	Bursts spikes towards the target area stunning all enemy units in a straight line and damaging them by 200
4	155	13	700	125	2.77	Bursts spikes towards the target area stunning all enemy units in a straight line and damaging them by 260

• Magical Damage

• Distance traveled is 700

• The path of spikes moves at 1600 movement speed

All zealot scarabs possess intimate knowledge of underground pathways, using them to their advantage.

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Mana Burn

Destroys the target hero's mana equal to a multiplier of its Intelligence, and deals damage equal to the mana burned.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	100	28	600	N/A	N/A	Burns mana equal to 3.5x the target's Intelligence, damaging them for the amount of mana burned
2	100	20	600	N/A	N/A	Burns mana equal to 4.0x the target's Intelligence, damaging them for the amount of mana burned
3	100	12	600	N/A	N/A	Burns mana equal to 4.5x the target's Intelligence, damaging them for the amount of mana burned
4	100	4	600	N/A	N/A	Burns mana equal to 5.0x the target's Intelligence, damaging them for the amount of mana burned

• Magical Damage

• Effectively burns 26.8%/30.7%/34.5%/38.4% of the target's maximum mana pool, provided it has no flat mana increase (e.g. Arcane Boots, Eye of Skadi)

The tome in Ultimyr describes one scarab with the ability to eat away at the minds of lesser beings.

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Spiked Carapace

When activated, Spiked Carapace reflects and negates damage dealt to Nyx Assassin (max once from each source), as well as stunning the source of the damage.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	40	23	N/A	N/A	2.25	Reflects one instance of damage dealt by any enemies attacking the Assassin back to those enemies, stunning them for 0.6 seconds
2	40	20	N/A	N/A	2.25	Reflects one instance of damage dealt by any enemies attacking the Assassin back to those enemies, stunning them for 1.2 seconds
3	40	17	N/A	N/A	2.25	Reflects one instance of damage dealt by any enemies attacking the Assassin back to those enemies, stunning them for 1.8 seconds
4	40	14	N/A	N/A	2.25	Reflects one instance of damage dealt by any enemies attacking the Assassin back to those enemies, stunning them for 2.4 seconds

• Pure Damage

• Only triggers on player-based damage, both physical and magical

• Does not prevent debuffs

• Will affect each enemy at most once

While their carapaces are relatively thin, they're guarded by a retractable field of razor-sharp spikes.

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Vendetta

Ultimate

Allows Nyx Assassin to become invisible and gain a speed bonus. If Nyx Assassin attacks to break the invisibility, massive bonus damage is dealt with the attack.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	160	70	N/A	N/A	20	Causes the Assassin to become invisible and move 16% faster, if the invisibility is broken by an attack then 250 bonus damage is dealt
2	210	60	N/A	N/A	35	Causes the Assassin to become invisible and move 18% faster, if the invisibility is broken by an attack then 400 bonus damage is dealt
3	260	50	N/A	N/A	50	Causes the Assassin to become invisible and move 20% faster, if the invisibility is broken by an attack then 550 bonus damage is dealt

• Physical Damage

• If Nyx Assassin's invisibility expires, the bonus damage will not be applied to the next attack

• Nyx Assassin is revealed when he damages the target, not at the beginning of his attack

• Vendetta bonus damage cannot proc critical effects

• Does not break the channelling of a Town Portal Scroll

The scarab kills for the glory of his queen.

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Recent Changes from 6.81

• Impale cooldown increased from 11 to 13

• Impale can no longer be blocked by Linken's Sphere

Recent Changes from 6.80

• Impale cast range now matches the travel range (this has no impact on the length of the area the impale covers)

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Tips:

Don't click on the unit when casting Impale (since it can't target units), rather click on where the unit is going to be when you stun them.

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The previous Nyx Assassin discussion (6.77).

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Posts are every two or four days.

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Good Sand King tip from last thread by Refleksy:

"When you're the main initiator on the team, often it is MUCH LESS IMPORTANT to get the sick EPIcenter off as opposed to the sick 4 man blink burrowstrike, so go in first with that, and then if the opportunity presents itself, THEN ult. I know you always want to chase the 'Brown Dragon' of a 5 man epicenter rampage, but sometimes it is so much better to get the more reliable stun and let your team clean up."