Rubick - Support or Semi-Carry?

Rubick – Solo Lane Semi-Carry or Duo-Lane Support?

Rubick is a hero who is very active in the current competitive meta game – mostly due to the fact that he can play either a semi-carry role, where he focuses on getting higher levels than the enemies to do more damage , mostly being sent Solo Mid, or a more support/utility role, where he is either played duo/tri-lane support. I’ll be discussing the pros and cons of playing Rubick mid or Rubick support.

Firstly, we’ll start with Support Rubick in a duo/tri-lane. The most common duo-lanes for him to be played in are duo mid lanes with a hero who has a delayed stun, this way Rubick can use Telekinesis, whilst his lane partner, for example, Leshrac, can cast Split Earth underneath the enemy hero (Assuming level 1 Telekinesis and Split Earth – effectively immobilising the target for 5.5 seconds. Of course, for 2 of those seconds, Rubick can’t damage the opponent, whereas his lane partner can.

This followed up with a Fade Bolt/Edict from Rubick/Leshrac almost always results in a guaranteed kill). This allows Rubick to easily babysit a hero in the midlane who is not as strong in the early game. Mostly, Rubicks job is to keep his lane partner alive, whilst offering occasional aggression when his cooldowns are up, allowing a hero like Leshrac to easily farm up and become a monster late game.

Without levels, Rubick isn’t going to be doing the most damage, as with every hero. However, he still offers great usability without his levels. The ability to steal an enemies last used spell opens up many options for Rubick. He can single handedly change a teamfight by stealing the correct spell, such as a Ravage from a Tidehunter, or Black Hole from Enigma. Realistically, the enemies will try to avoid giving Rubick a spell which can completely turn the tides of the team fight, however, it cannot always be helped. Spell Steal has a deceivingly low cooldown (20/18/16) which allows Rubick to steal multiple spells per fight.

This is what makes Rubick a great champion without levels, as the spell he steals scales with how many levels the enemy put into that spell. For example, a level 14 Rubick can steal a level 16 Tidehunter’s level 3 Ravage (albeit using most of Rubick’s mana (depending on items) to cast), and then proceed to steal another spell whist his Ravage is on cooldown. This allows Rubick to play a support role effectively as a good Rubick will know exactly what spell to steal in what situation.

Rubick support is what he is most commonly played as by most competitive teams, however, you also see him played mid occasionally (Dendi, SingSing). I find that we can learn the most by watching SingSing play Rubick in mid. He maximises Rubick’s potential by playing him mid/solo so he can gain levels, which unlocks Rubick’s potential burst. A few levels in Fade Bolt can easily provide a great spell which hits MULTIPLE heroes very hard (225 Damage at Level 3 Fade Bolt).

There is no real cookie-cutter, be-all end-all build on Rubick, however, some vital items are Phase Boots, Blink Dagger and Eul’s. This is because (minus Spell Steal potential), Rubick has no real escape. Phase Boots provide him with a movement speed boost, and the ability to ignore unit collision with the press of a button. Blink Dagger allows him to offensively Blink into a fight to maximise his damage/utility, but also defensively, if he finds himself caught out of position, he can always use Blink to reposition himself into a more advantageous position.

Eul’s is also another item which is great both offensively and defensively. Offensively, it provides Rubick with yet another disable (which is he unfortunately lacking, minus potential Spell Steals), but defensively, it allows him to Eul’s himself, making him invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. This is a great tool if you are waiting for cooldowns, or find yourself being heavily focused in a fight. You can easily Eul’s yourself and Blink away, or Eul’s to remove the enemy team’s focus on you.

In my opinion (bearing in my mind, I’m not the most highly skilled player), I much prefer a solo Rubick to a support Rubick, as I feel that with solo Rubick you provide your team with good dps, and have the ability to easily farm up to your core items, without having to rely on your teammate in lane.

owever, support Rubick also has the potential to work if played well, and played in the correct team composition. He fits into the current meta nicely as he kit allows him to push/counter push easily. A level 4 Fade Bolt will take all the minions low enough for an ally to last hit them, or for Rubick to last hit them using auto attacks or a stolen spell such as Waveform. He is a versatile hero who is currently being played by more and more professional teams.