The current support meta is quite diverse. A lot of currently popular picks are well-analyzed and don’t require further investigation, however there are some that are only now getting the recognition they deserve. Some of these support picks are also quite unexpected, so we are going to have a quick overview of the more exotic supports and how to make them work in your pubs or, better yet, how to avoid the call of the void and understand that maybe picking some of them isn’t the best idea in the first place.
Yeah, that guy. For people closely following the professional scene, Offlane Void isn’t anything new. For some of you the trending idea of position four Void might also look appealing. We aren’t here to tell you what to pick in your pubs, but we are going to highlight the differences between the esports scene and matchmaking games.
First of all, the drafting phase is very different in the pro-scene. When a team commits to a Void pick, it is a flex pick that leaves the enemy team guessing, whether it is going to be an Offlane Void, a Carry Void or even a support one. They have to react to multiple diverse potential threats, as these Voids will have drastically different playstyles and teamfight contributions. First phase Void in pubs is most likely going to be identified as a support, second phase — as a core, already making it a lot less threatening.
Secondly, in the professional scene, support Faceless Void is a hero that is going to be played around, guaranteed. He has distinct timings with Time Dilation that should be utilized constantly, for him to have an impact. Regular matchmaking tempo is nowhere near fast enough for it to work: farming passively is typically what pubs are known for and unless you play at a high enough level, chances are support Void is going to miss all of his timings and be a burden to the team.
Finally, the transition into a semi-core in the late game might seem like a good idea. We’ve seen it done on heroes like Muerta and Hoodwink quite successfully before and their damage can indeed get to a respectable level. The big difference is that unlike most position four support, Void has absolutely nothing in terms of farming potential. He can’t safely waveclear from outside of enemy vision, he can’t shove out waves and can’t even quickly take Neutral Camps in-between fights. The only way this hero gets gold in a non-farming role is by participating in kills and, preferably, surviving. Neither of those are guaranteed in pubs.
We strongly advise against position four Void, no matter how appealing it might look in the professional scene. It is one of these “don’t try this at home” moments. The support pool is diverse as it is and we don’t really need highly specialized heroes to ruin our pubs.
Ancient Apparition, on the other hand, is definitely worth picking and playing in pubs. The hero was often considered weak in lane, but it is a huge misconception. He is squishy and he does have a rather tame kill potential, but he is an absolute king of trading in lane.
Having 675 Attack Range is highly abusable, but you need to be proactive to make it work. Constantly finding angles for a quick hit or two is what AA laning playstyle revolves around. You bruise your targets and only commit to a kill when it is guaranteed.
He is very squishy, though. If you are facing a strong CC support + gap-closing core, you will have a bad time. Even CM has better chances of escaping an attack, courtesy of her instant slows and roots. As such, your job is to create conditions under which the enemy will be unwilling to attack in the first place, or if they do, they will get punished. Again, use your superior attack range to constantly find small HP advantages.
Come midgame, given AA didn’t completely fail their lane, he becomes a global threat that has a tremendous amount of damage. Surprisingly, most professional players don’t tend to rush 
Aghanim’s Shard on the hero, but by level 12, with Cold Feet maxed out, it is potentially a screen-wide 1.8 second stun. It will take time to get used to aiming it well, but it is definitely worth it.
Finally, build-wise we urge everyone to max out Ice Vortex first. There is a trend to go 2-0-1-0 by level three on the hero, as it makes him a lot more solid in lane, but you want to have the ability to continuously disable Blink Daggers ASAP. The vision can also come in very handy when dewarding or searching for a quick kill.
The hero’s been going through a bit of an identity crisis, but it seems he is making a comeback. Getting his nuke back is a big part of it, since it drastically improves the hero’s laning stage and there are builds that prioritise it heavily, though we would strongly advise maxing out Arcane Curse first, with a value point in Glaives for aggro-free laning trades.
Outside of getting his nuke back, the hero didn’t change all that much. You are still waiting for an opportune moment to use your Global Silence, usually when your team initiates or when it gets initiated on, and then try to keep a good enough position to use your spells, while also being in range to use save items.
Naturally, there is an urge to simply rush Aghanim’s Scepter and Refresher Orb, but we don’t think it is the most efficient approach in pubs. These items are great on the hero, don’t get us wrong, but they typically come too early for them to be meaningful if rushed. The opportunity cost is also too high, since by this point a Force Staff would have already saved your teammate a couple of times.
Don’t be greedy, don’t try to maximize your Intelligence counter and play as a proper support and you will be rewarded.
Three heroes discussed today are not what currently defined the pub meta, in our opinion. Heroes like Warlock, Muerta and Jakiro are still, probably, a little more safe as a first phase pick.
Outside of support Void, though, we see no reason not to give these heroes a try. They are slightly different in their playstyle and don’t really offer reliable hard CC usually expected from supports, but they can be a lot of fun to play, while not costing your team the game.
What are your excotic support ideas for the new patch? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.