At the end of the DPC Winter Tour, we take a look at the most popular Aghanim’s Shards across all Dota 2 regions.
It has been over a year since Aghanim’s Shards were introduced to the game. It is possibly the most unique item in Dota 2, as it does not consume a slot, does not provide stats, but upgrades an ability or adds a new one. Available for purchase from the 20 minute mark, Aghanim’s Shard is a very intriguing variable in the myriad of variables that Dota 2 offers.
Depending on what a hero’s Aghanim’s Shard has to offer can dictate a lot of things, right from making the hero viable in a meta to changing the hero's playstyle and item build. It has also put the second Roshan in a very different light, as he now drops an Aghanim’s Shard instead of Cheese (for a long time, the second Roshan dropped both along with the Aegis, which was completely broken).
Since the release of Aghanim’s Shards before the first DPC Season of 2020-2021, Aghanim and GosuGamers have had a pact that we will take a look at which Shards perform the best in a DPC season, and in return, he will keep crafting amazing Shards. In adherence to the pact with the mighty Aghanim, let’s take a look at which Aghanim’s Shards were the standout ones in the first DPC season of 2021-2022. All the data was obtained from datDota.
Most Picked Aghanim’s Shards
The table below shows the heroes for whom the highest number of Aghanim’s Shards were purchased over the 833 games of DPC Winter Tour. Queen of Pain topped the charts with 201 Shards purchased over the 833 games, followed by Snapfire at 179n and Grimstroke at 132.
Highest Percentage of Aghanim’s Shards Picked (at least 20 games)
While the most picked by absolute number is a good way to look at the popularity of an Aghanim’s Shard, looking at the purchase of Aghanim’s Shards from a percentage perspective gives an idea of which ones are highly prioritized; and that paints a slightly different picture.
The honor of highest percentage of Shard pickup falls to Nature’s Prophet, who although has very few games in which he was picked, had a Shard pickup in all but one games. Legion Commander, Pangolier, Batrider and Earthshaker all clear the 80% mark.
Combining the best of both worlds, we will take a look at what are possibly the five best Aghanim’s Shards currently in the game and why they are so good.
1) Queen of Pain
Upgrade – Blink
Releases a sonic boom when Queen of Pain blinks, at both her starting and ending locations. Deals 175 damage in a 300 AoE and silences for 1.75 seconds.
A hero who has thrived in the period after TI10, one of the big things Queen of Pain has to thank for her popularity is her Aghanim’s Shard. Not only does she have the highest picked Shard in the DPC Winter Tour, but it also has a significantly high pick rate of 70.5%. The Sonic Boom at the location of blinking helps in clearing out waves with the actual Sonic Boom ability, and the silence at the location from where she blinks is a great way to prevent enemies from chasing her. However, this Shard can also make QoP feel a bit invincible, and make her blink into enemies to silence and damage them. While that can work, it can also lead to her getting caught out with Blink on cooldown, so players need to make sure they are using the ability prudently.
2) Snapfire
Scatterblast – Upgrade
Causes Scatterblast to knock units back in the point blank range for 250 units, dealing 125 extra damage and stunning for 1.5 seconds.
Grandma girl power follows in the footsteps of QoP, as Snapfire comes in second for the most picked Aghanim’s Shard in the first season of the 2021-2022 DPC League. Snapfire’s Aghanim’s Shard gives her more control with the additional stun. Any heroes in the point-blank range are pushed out along with being stunned, and they land in the perfect spot for her to follow up with the Firesnap Cookie. The combo done correctly can lead to multiple heroes being stunned for a bit more than 4 seconds, along with 795 magic damage done to each of them.
3) Grimstroke
Upgrade – Ink Swell
Causes Ink Swell to deal 40% more damage and heal the target for 40% of the damage Ink Swell deals. Upon expiration, the target will receive a strong dispel.
Grimstroke’s Shard brings a lot to the table – increased damage for Ink Swell, heal for the ally on whom Ink Swell is used, and more importantly, a strong dispel. The strong dispel makes Ink Swell a skill similar to Slark’s Dark Pact – when you know a strong dispel is on the way, opponents are hesitant to use dispelable disables on you. Without the Shard, the maximum Ink Swell damage at level 4 is 394 (taking into consideration the 25% magic damage reduction heroes have). With the Shard, that damage increases to 551 (634 with the 15% magic damage amplification from the level 15 talent). A 40% heal is a heal of 220 (254 with the talent) per target, and if there are multiple targets the heal increases linearly with the number of targets. Grimstroke is also one of the supports who can farm quickly, thanks to the Stroke of Fate, so getting 1400 gold for the Aghanim’s Shard isn’t as difficult for him as it could be for other position 5 supports.
4) Legion Commander
Upgrade – Press the Attack
Press The Attack targets now gain Spell Immunity for 1.75 seconds. Reduces cooldown by 2 seconds.
Legion Commander has the second highest pick rate for Aghanim’s Shard in the DPC Winter Tour, standing at 86.8%. LC has one of the few strong dispels in the game with Press the Attack, which makes her an amazing counter to heroes with disables that can be purged, as well as against abilities like Scythe of Vyse. With the Shard, the same skill acts as a mini BKB for the carry or mid. Without the Shard, an ally is still susceptible to disables after the strong disable is applied. With the spell immunity, the hero has a short amount of time to make the great escape. It can also be used to prevent impending magic damage. The skill with the Shard is also a strong initiation tool for either Legion Commander or any of her allies. At level 25, there is potential to make the entire team magic immune! Ever since the Shard upgrade was introduced in Dota 2 patch 7.29, professional teams have started playing LC as a position 5 support, who buffs up or saves cores with Press the Attack and has an undispelable lock down in the form of Duel.
5) Pangolier
New Ability – Roll Up
Pangolier curls into an immobile protective ball for up to seconds, gaining magic immunity and allowing him to turn. Can be cast during Rolling Thunder to temporarily hit the brakes. Can cast Rolling Thunder and Shield Crash during Roll Up. If enemies attack Pangolier during this, he will roll away from the attacker for up to 0.75 seconds, applying Rolling Thunder damage/stun if there are enemies in the way. Cooldown: 30
Pangolier’s Aghanim’s Shard has been one of the most popular Aghanim’s Shards in the game since its release in Dota 2 patch 7.2. The Shard offers a lot more than what 1400 gold typically gets you in Dota 2. It allows Pangolier to get off his ultimate without being interrupted, which is a massive boost for Donté Panlin . Rolling Thunder has a cast point of 1.2 seconds, which makes it easier to stop (by the opposition) mid animation, but Roll Up has a cast point of 0.1 seconds, which makes it a lot easier to get it off. In case it is a game in which Pangolier requires getting a BKB just for getting off Rolling Thunder, the Shard saves 2650 gold for accomplishing it. Roll Up also gives the hero a chance to turn around while Rolling Thunder is active in case there isn’t any surface to roll off of. Pangolier’s Aghanim’s Shard is possibly one of the major reasons he is popular in the current meta.
While the concept of Aghanim’s Shards is relatively new, there hasn’t been a massive change in Shard impact from patch to patch. Of the five Shards reviewed above, four have been popular for nearly a year. It’s only Queen of Pain’s Shard that has gained popularity in recent days. Going ahead, it would be nice to see IceFrog and Valve play with Shards a bit more in the process of buffing or nerfing heroes.
