Crystal Maiden

Rylai, the Crystal Maiden, is a ranged intelligence hero who uses the power of frost and ice to disable and dispatch her foes. A slow and fragile support, Crystal Maiden's strength lies in her battery of strong nukes, disables and slows. Crystal Nova is an area-of-effect nuke that slows enemies' attack and movement speeds, while Frostbite immobilizes an enemy in a block of ice, dealing moderate damage per second. Coordinating these spells with a laning partner's own abilities will bring many an enemy to their knees. Her passive Arcane Aura also improves the mana regeneration for heroes in Rylai's team, multiplying their spellcasting in the early game. Later on, she has the potential to lay waste to her enemies in teamfights if she is can channel her deadly ultimate Freezing Field uninterrupted. Her global mana aura, strong disables and nukes, and a lack of item dependence make Crystal Maiden a reliable and, with judicious use of her ultimate, a devastating support caster.

Gameplay
 Strategy & Tips Counters & Matchups

Audio
 Responses Sounds

History
 Lore Old Abilities Changelogs

Trivia

 * Rylai is one of the oldest heroes from the original DotA in Reign of Chaos DotA. Her title used to be Frost Maiden.
 * Rylai's name in Warcraft DotA was Rylai Crestfall. Her surname was removed in the transition to Dota 2 for the implementation of her sibling rivalry with Lina.
 * Crystal Maiden's used to be named Brilliance Aura.
 * In early versions of DotA, Crystal Maiden and used to share the same  ability (although they were both named Frost Nova). However, in later updates, Crystal Maiden's Frost Nova was changed to Crystal Nova, turning it into a free-cast area-of-effect ability, while Lich kept the original effects.
 * In Warcraft DotA, Crystal Maiden's can freeze the enemy's Fountain and the duration was counted as creep.
 * League of Legends features an item called Rylai's Crystal Scepter as an homage to Crystal Maiden, boosting Ability (spell) Power and adding a slowing effect to spells and abilities.
 * In World of Warcraft an Alliance NPC is named Rylai Crestfall, a homage to the original Crystal Maiden from Warcraft III's DotA.
 * Crystal Maiden's leveling-up response cm levelup 03.mp3 "Is it cold in here or is it just me?" is a reference to the action movie Demolition Man.
 * Crystal Maiden's respawning line cm respawn 03.mp3 "You only live ice..." is a reference to the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice based on the novel of the same name.
 * Crystal Maiden's line cm battlebegins 01.mp3 "It's all fun and games until someone's frozen solid." is a reference to a novel written by Christopher Brookmyre entitled All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye.
 * Crystal Maiden's rare response cm rare 02.mp3 "Can you guess my... favorite poet?" is a reference to Robert Frost due to his last name, and also an allusion to Frost's poem "Fire and Ice". Crystal Maiden is the ice, and her sister Lina is fire. An excerpt: "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice ... know enough of hate, to say that for destruction ice is also great, and would suffice.