Shadow Shaman

Rhasta the Shadow Shaman is a ranged intelligence Hero mostly used as a pusher and disabler, wielding abilities that make pushing lanes more efficient. He is also capable of disabling enemy heroes, allowing him to initiate attacks as well. Shadow Shaman can single-handedly and successfully dispatch an enemy Hero all by himself thanks to his array of disables, an AoE nuke and a legion of magical serpents.

Beginners will need to know about target priority and timing before they could play Shadow Shaman well. The difficulty is not how his abilities work, but who he should target it to. His potential third disable, his ultimate, also needs tremendous amounts of opponent logic and prediction to pull off for it to trap his target similar to Nature's Prophet's Sprout. He is recommended for new to intermediate players.

Tips

 * Scepter of Divinity is a commonly built item, used in conjunction with Mass Serpent Wards. Catching an enemy hero in a cyclone gives you ample time to place the Serpent Wards around the hero, trapping it. You can then further disable the hero by using Shackles.
 * Shackles is a channeling spell. Enemy units and heroes can interrupt Rhasta with stuns and disables, when he is holding enemy down. It's better to use it when your target is alone.
 * Always cancel the backswing animation after casting your spells.
 * Necronomicon is an ideal choice to attack your enemy while you shackling it. Together with your Serpent Wards and the Necronomicon's Summons, the kill is guaranteed.
 * Rhasta's spells have a very high mana cost. Build up your mana pool and mana regeneration with items or you may find yourself unable to cast anything in critical situations.
 * A useful trick when going one-on-one with an opponent is to summon your Mass Serpent Ward near or behind the enemy and then hold them in place with your Shackles spell. If mana will allow, using Hex will give you a few seconds to set this up uninterrupted.

Trivia

 * The name Rhasta is based on the Rastafarians, a follower of a religious movement in Jamaica known as Rastafari. It's also a Persian name and word meaning "truth". In DotA, his model and responses are fitting to the Rastafarians, having the style of the Jamaicans and a Jamaican accent. But in Dota 2, his theme and style is now more like the Arabians, having an Indian accent.