Rubick

Rubick the Grand Magus is a ranged Intelligence hero best known for his ability to copy the spells of his enemies and use them as his own. Although he is mostly played as a support and is extremely fragile the entire length of the game, he can still prove to be one of the most influential heroes if he utilizes good positioning and well-timed usage of his ultimate, Spell Steal. Spell Steal allows Rubick to cast an enemy hero's most recently used spell, giving him supreme versatility throughout the game. By stealing the right abilities, the Grand Magus can aid himself and allies by casting crippling disables, applying curses, unleashing powerful nukes, disorienting the enemy team, supporting his allies with buffs, escaping from rough situations, or even enhancing his own physical attacks. His other abilities are just as worthy of a Magus: Telekinesis lets Rubick magically lift an enemy into the air, rendering the target helpless and vulnerable, before hurling the lifted enemy to the ground up to a short distance away and stunning nearby foes on impact. Fade Bolt blasts enemies with a stream of arcane energy which bounces to all enemies nearby, dealing damage and reducing their attack damage. Null Field is a passive aura, which grants himself and nearby allies bonus magic resistance to shrug off magical assaults. Rubick's versatile ability-set and his infamous Spell Steal make him a flexible and powerful hero that can work in any lineup although he does suffer from long cool-downs and the surfacing predictability of his ultimate.

Tips

 * Rubick is renowned as one of the most flexible casters in the game due to his ability to turn the enemies' abilities against them with Spell Steal. However, this also makes him one of the hardest heroes to master due to the timing and positioning required to utilize his ultimate effectively.
 * Despite possessing attributes typical of the archetypal support caster, the possession of Spell Steal allows Rubick to be built differently. While he only has one innate disable, he should generally be built with mobility and casting in mind, with items that help with initiation taking priority due to the utility that Spell Steal provides.
 * Despite his high base intelligence, Rubick suffers from mediocre intelligence growth, and his spells have relatively flat mana costs; additionally, consistent use of Spell Steal will further tax his mana pool due to the need to support not only his innate spells, but also any stolen abilities, particularly mana-expensive ultimates. The flat mana cost for his abilities means that they cost a larger fraction of his mana pool in the early game, and thus limits his operational time in the field. Items that grant Rubick a larger mana pool and increased mana regeneration are very helpful for keeping him in the game.
 * Although a great disabler and potential initiator with the right items and stolen spells, Rubick is still very frail and can be easily killed if caught out of position by the enemy team. Rubick should focus on building items that grant him more mobility rather than increasing the size of his HP pool, as increased mobility can help with both initiation and escape rather than simply delay his death in the face of enemy attacks.
 * During the mid- and late-game, stealing key teamfight spells and keeping yourself alive should be your main goals. Spell Steal only has a 0.1 second cast time and high cast range, so quick fingers and fast reaction time will give your team a huge advantage.
 * Rubick is a very flexible caster who can be played as a support, roamer or core farmer. The role that he is selected for will largely change his how much farm he gets, and in turn how effective he can be with his abilities. However, his skill and item build remains largely the same.
 * As a support, Rubick generally performs lane harassment and creep pulling duties, getting low farming and experience priority. Telekinesis allows him to catch the enemy off-laner and pull them back, as well as making chain-disables by his tri-lane easier to execute due to Telekinesis's ability to reposition the enemy precisely.
 * As a roamer, Rubick aims to disable and disposition enemies with Telekinesis, setting up kills for his lanes to give them an early advantage. A roaming Rubick prioritizes in mobility, disable and nuking.
 * As a core, Rubick goes to the mid lane, using Fade Bolt to nuke and harass, and Telekinesis to set up kills if his supports and roamers rotate to mid for a gank. Due to being given farm and experience priority, mid Rubick's goal is to get level 6 as fast as possible and use his gold and level advantage to start moving around the map for ganks and kills. Gold should be spent on mobility items, particularly a fast Blink Dagger, and utility and disable items to turn teamfights to his team's advantage.
 * stuns its target for a short duration, and allows Rubick to displace them with its sub-ability, stunning any enemies in the impact radius.
 * Telekinesis is a short disable, but can be extremely powerful as it can displace the enemy upon landing, putting them in a very disadvantageous position.
 * No matter what role Rubick is played in, at least one point should be spent on this ability in the laning stage. Because leveling it up increases its disable duration (both lift and stun on secondary targets) and cast range, this ability benefits from being maxed out early in a match in order to increase Rubick's disable potential.
 * Rubick is a very strong supporting disabler when placed in a side lane, since Telekinesis can disable a target for a disproportionate amount of time (lift time, as well as displacement upon landing). This allows him to greatly magnify the effects of chain disables by his team as he can prevent a target from dodging area-of-effect stuns and increase the length of their retreat path.
 * When using Telekinesis alongside allies with unreliable disables, always make sure to communicate your intentions beforehand. Telling your teammates that you will not displace the enemy with Telekinesis Land, or that you will always pull them backwards, will give them forewarning as to where to cast their stun. Not communicating can cause allies to miss their stun completely, resulting in a failed gank.
 * Remember that any enemies within a certain radius of a lifted target will be stunned upon the target landing. Telekinesis Land allows Rubick to select the area that the target will land in, allowing him to utilize the secondary stun as needed. This can be extremely powerful when counter-initiating during enemy ganks, as Rubick can immediately disable one attacker with the lift, and then stun any other enemy heroes with the land.
 * When choosing a location for Telekinesis Land, it is possible to place the target on a different elevation than their lift point. You can use this to your advantage by placing the target over a ridge, forcing them to take the long way around, which can be useful for extending a fleeing enemy's escape path or preventing a chasing enemy from easily pursuing. As well, targets can be placed on the elevated cliffs near the rune spots, trapping them in place for an easy kill.
 * is a bouncing nuke that deals a respectable amount of damage to enemies while also reducing the damage their physical attacks deal.
 * Due to its nuking power and attack damage reduction on targets, Fade Bolt can be a surprisingly effective counter-gank spell, as it will both deal damage to the enemy and reduce their attack damage, decreasing their chances of securing a kill with their attacks as well as their chances of surviving and escaping after the gank. It can be a useful spell to break up or at least hinder enemy gank attempts.
 * Fade Bolt can be a powerful harassing tool during laning, as not only does it deal damage but reduces the enemy's attack damage. However, mind its mana cost, and remember that casting it will push your lane both due to the nuke damage on nearby creeps and the reduced damage that the creeps will deal. Avoid spamming it unless you have a source of mana replenishment, as you may need your mana to cast Telekinesis instead.
 * Remember that Fade Bolt deals the greatest damage to the first target struck, and decreases in strength as it bounces to other enemies. Keep this in mind if trying to cast this spell to finish off an enemy, as the bounces may cause it to weaken to the point where it cannot guarantee a kill. If possible, try to directly target the enemy you are trying to kill in order to maximize the amount of damage they take.
 * Conversely, Fade Bolt's range can be augmented by using the bounce to hit an enemy at range. If a weakened enemy is out of range from being directly targeted, they can still possibly be finished off by a bounce as long as they are not already in the fog of war, and there are other units nearby that can be used as a relay.
 * Due to its nuking and pushing power, Fade Bolt is a useful tool for a mid-lane Rubick, as the damage can harass the enemy mid while reducing their last-hitting power. As well, pushing the creep wave into the enemy tower can keep them occupied when the runes spawn, and force them to last-hit against their tower, possibly reducing the amount of gold they get.
 * is a survivability aura that grants Rubick and all nearby allies increased magic resistance.
 * Null Field generally should not be picked up during the laning stage, as it does not scale well and reduces the damage of already weak magic nukes by small amounts. However, it should still be maxed out by level 14 as it can greatly improve teammates' survivability against magic nukes, particularly as it stacks alongside all other sources of magic resistance.
 * Keep in mind that Null Field affects allied creeps, not just heroes. If pushing alongside creep waves, Rubick can increase the survivability of his lane against enemy magic nukes, forcing them to expend more effort to halt pushes. However, beware that the enemy can simply choose to jump on Rubick instead, so try to stay a respectable distance behind, and make sure that there are nearby teammates to back you up.
 * is one of the most powerful spells in the game, as used properly it can turn teamfights around completely. However, its use requires impeccable positioning, timing and judgment to ensure that the right spell is stolen and used at the right time. Keep in mind what abilities your enemies have, which of those you plan to steal, and in what situations the enemy will use those spells, so that you can be ready when an opportunity presents itself.
 * Spell Steal is one of the hardest spells in the game to use properly, as it requires extensive game knowledge to understand every aspect of the spells you are able to steal. As well, its long cooldown without Aghanim's Scepter means that there is no room for error if you intend on stealing a specific spell during a fight rather than taking what comes. In general, more experience playing as other heroes in the game translates to better understanding of how to best utilize Spell Steal, as you will understand all the aspects of the spells you are potentially stealing, as well as when enemies will cast those spells.
 * Virtually all spells stolen by Rubick will retain his 0.1 second cast animation. This means that spells such as, and  will cast almost immediately. Any spell that requires channel time or extended casting animations such as  and  will still have extended durations.
 * Certain spells can be extremely powerful against the heroes that they are stolen from. For instance, if there is a on the enemy team, stealing  from him allows Rubick to completely negate his, as well as drastically increase Rubick's gold gain. Stealing  from  can allow Rubick to destroy him in place by disabling him with Telekinesis, and so on.
 * Stolen spells can often fill in any deficiencies that Rubick has, allowing him to diversify greatly. For instance, stealing an area-of-effect magic nuke can allow Rubick to farm more easily as he can combine it with Fade Bolt, stealing a stun can allow him to double up disable duration when combined with Telekinesis, and so on.
 * Keep in mind that when chain-disabling with a stolen spell, you can steal another one immediately afterward if Spell Steal is off cooldown. For instance, ganking with a stolen can stun an enemy for up to 4.25 seconds when combined with Telekinesis, but if the gank target has just used a stun (such as a  with ), Rubick can steal that and add it at the end, stunning the target for a maximum of 6.25 seconds.
 * While a stolen spell can be powerful by itself even factoring in the reduced cast times, Rubick's true strength comes from combining those spells with his innate ones. For instance, stealing can be extremely powerful as Rubick can lift a target at will and drop them next to a tree, stealing  can drastically neuter a target's attack power when stacked with Fade Bolt, and so on.
 * Don't forget that stolen spells can synergize with allies' abilities as well, not only those of Rubick. If the enemy has a spell that can synergize well with that of a teammate, it can be very beneficial to attempt to steal that spell in tandem with an ally. For instance, if there is a on the opposing team and  on yours, stealing the Dark Seer's  can allow your Disruptor to get off a perfect  +  combo.
 * Remember that stolen spells have a memory duration based on the level of your ultimate, so you should keep in mind how you can best use that spell before you forget it. If you have stolen a powerful teamfight ultimate, it can be wise to try to force the enemy into a teamfight that is disadvantageous for them. If you have stolen a strong area of effect nuke, you can use it to farm during downtime or push out lanes. If you have stolen a strong stun, you should attempt to find a target to gank as you can greatly extend the duration of your disable by combining the stolen disable with Telekinesis.
 * It can be a good habit to mark the time at which you stole a spell via team notifications; Alt + click the spell you have stolen, then the clock to indicate when you stole it. As the buff duration for Spell Steal can be difficult to read, logging the time at which you stole a certain spell can let you know approximately when it will expire.
 * Aghanim's Scepter not only reduces Spell Steal's cooldown to 2 seconds and increases its cast range, it also (in most cases) grants Rubick the upgrade benefits of any spells he has stolen, regardless of whether the original caster has an Aghanim's Scepter or not. Therefore, a stolen will apply Enigma's current level of  to the area, a stolen  will fire up to 4 rockets, and so on.
 * Due to being able to be played as a support, roamer or mid, Rubick can benefit from building numerous other types of items.
 * Played in a hard support role, be sure to purchase s regularly on top of Observer Wards, as denying the enemy map vision can give you leeway for initiating on them and stealing their spells.
 * can be a strong consumable to purchase as mid Rubick. It grants a small amount of bonus damage, increasing last-hitting power, and can be consumed as a last-second life-saver in the event of an enemy gank.
 * A starting is greatly beneficial on a mid Rubick, as it gives him more last-hitting power to allow him to compete against the enemy mid. If needed, it can be upgraded into a Veil of Discord depending on the situation.
 * can be crucial to purchase early on as a mid Rubick as well. It allows him to replenish his HP and mana to go toe-to-toe against his lane opponent, using his spells to disable and nuke as needed. Past the laning stage, it can fuel Rubick's mana pool to allow him to utilize stolen spells to their utmost.
 * is an unorthodox item to build on Rubick, but can be useful as a roamer. While his base intelligence is respectable, his spells come on a fairly low cooldown, and his mana pool is often strained to the breaking point due to Spell Steal allowing him to utilize even more spells. A Soul Ring can give Rubick on-demand mana that allows him to cast one or two more spells in a teamfight, and can help mitigate the mana cost on his spells when using them to farm, making sure that he does not show up to fights with a half-depleted mana pool. As well, it can be used as a component for building a Bloodstone should the need arise.
 * can serve as a useful utility and survivability item when playing as a roamer. The extra strength gives you more HP while the mana regen bonus helps to maintain your mana pool. The item's active adds another damage nuke to the mix, or can be used to heal yourself or teammates after successful ganks.
 * are generally not very strong on Rubick, but can be situationally built as a support or roamer. The armor and passive HP regen help to give Rubick survivability, and the increased base movement speed allows him to position himself for casting his spells more easily.
 * is a useful item to purchase on any support, and is no exception for Rubick. Being able to become immune to physical damage can buy Rubick more time in the face of the enemy's carries to steal or cast stolen spells in order to change the course of a teamfight.
 * is a situational item that mainly provides utility, but can be very strong if used properly. The active can allow Rubick to initiate by walking in invisibly instead of using his Blink Dagger, or can be used to shield himself or an ally from enemy magic nukes (or to help them escape), augmented further with Null Field. It can be particularly useful for utilizing stolen channeling spells, as it helps to prevent easy interruption.
 * can be a useful utility item to purchase. It provides a large amount of intelligence to boost Rubick's mana pool, additional HP and armor, and the active ability can work alongside Null Field to create a space for magic damage to benefit your team over the enemy. It can be useful depending on what types of spells can be stolen from the enemy, as well as if your team also has a plethora of magic nukes.
 * is a strong purchase that can be easily acquired by disassembling Arcane Boots for the Energy Booster component. Besides the increased mana pool, it gives Rubick HP regen for increased survivability, and increases the cast range of all of Rubick's spells, particularly Telekinesis and Spell Steal, giving him increased disable range and allowing him to safely steal spells from far away (as well as utilize any successfully stolen spells from greater range). The spell damage amplification also allows him to deal more damage with any stolen magic nukes.
 * is a strong support item that can greatly benefit Rubick's team. By itself, the item grants scaling mana regen as well as survivability against enemy physical attacks due to a combination of armor and evasion, which can be useful as Null Field already protects him against magic nukes. The active is very strong since it can allow Rubick to transfer the armor and evasion to his carry, or can reduce the armor of a gank target during an initiation with Telekinesis.
 * is a very situational item to purchase, and should depend on if the enemy has a major teamfight ultimate that can benefit from it. However, as with a Refresher Orb purchased on any hero with a major teamfight ultimate, it can mean the difference between victory and defeat in the right situation.

Trivia

 * In both DotA and Dota 2, he is the son of Aghanim. He also possesses an imitation of Aghanim's scepter as one of his cosmetic items.
 * Before was changed to an attack modifier, Rubick was able to steal it. Upon using it, he would launch a projectile of himself, spinning and with head ahead, towards the target. When his target was Tusk, the overhead text on the target read "Sucker Punch!" in green colors. The text read "Stolen Punch! on other targets.
 * Rubick is named after Ernő Rubik, the Hungarian inventor who designed the "Magic Cube" (now more commonly called as the "Rubik's Cube"), a popular combination puzzle. His response, Rubick purch 04.mp3 "Now, where's my cube?", and his cosmetic item, Staff of Perplex, are also references to the Rubik's Cube.
 * In DotA, Rubick couldn't steal several spells due to several reasons:
 * Transformation spells caused various issues, so they all could not be stolen. The following abilities are transformation spells and thus unstealable in DotA:
 * ,, , , , , , , , , , and
 * Besides transformation spells, several other spells could also not be stolen due to either engine errors or other coding conflicts:
 * Morph (Agility Gain) icon.pngMorph (Strength Gain) icon.png Morph,, , , , , , , , , , , and
 * Since DotA only uses legacy hotkeys, he could not steal any spell which uses the hotkey X, Z and Q. The following abilities could not be stolen due to hotkey conflicts:
 * Abilities with hotkey X:, , ,
 * Abilities with hotkey Z: ,
 * Abilities with hotkey Q: None