The last remaining Blademaster of the Burning Blade has made it to the Nexus. Today we got to see the spotlight video and our first crack at playing him.
For those of you that haven’t seen the spotlight video yet here it is:
For those of you that haven't seen it yet, here is his kit:
(Passive) Advancing Strikes- Gives Samuro 25% movement speed every time he basic attacks a hero.
One thing I’d like to point out about this ability is that it is critical to stutter between autos, because enemies can easily get out of auto range if you don’t.
(Q) Mirror Image- Samuro creates 2 Mirror Images that deal 30% of your damage and have 50% of your current Health. Images last up to 18 seconds, and only two can be active at any one time.
An important thing to remember is that these are uncontrollable. They will attack the closest thing and they do not prioritize heroes.
(W) Critical Strike- Your next Basic Attack within 10 seconds will be a Critical Strike, dealing 50% increased damage. This also applies to Images, and does not break Wind Walk. Passive: You and your Images deal a Critical Strike on every 4th Basic Attack.
One critical thing to remember here is that if you activate this ability while your passive is already stacking it puts you at full stacks and resets the chain after you auto. Using this right after finishing a critical strike is best for optimizing DPS.
(E) Windwalk- Enter Stealth for up to 8 seconds or until you attack, use an Ability, or take damage. While Stealthed, your Movement Speed is increased by 25% and you can pass through other units. Damage taken within the first 1 second will not break Wind Walk.
Don’t always look to engage with this ability, it is best used as an escape mechanic.
(R) Bladestorm- Become an Unstoppable whirlwind of death, dealing 285 damage per second to nearby enemies for 4 seconds.
Don’t underestimate the potential of this ability to do more than damage. It makes you unstoppable so sometimes using it to preemptively dodge a crowd control chain is useful. It is a long cooldown so don’t waste it! Try to use it when other heroes set you up with CC.
(R) Illusion Master- Switch places with the target Mirror Image. Passive: You can control Mirror Images separately or as a group, and they deal an additional 15% of your damage.
Extremely difficult playstyle to master. Unless you are a Lost Vikings player I recommend practicing with this ability before playing it. It gives you incredible outplay potential and separates the men from the boys on Samuro.
There are really only two builds that we have seen so far. They are:
- The first is the illusion build. It focuses on maximizing the damage of his illusions. It also makes him extremely difficult to kill and lets him solo merc every camp. This build is extremely difficult to maximize the potential of and will require some serious playtime to master.
- The second is just an overall efficiency build. This build maximizes his mobility, single target damage, and AOE damage. This build requires much less experience and practice.
Grubby’s Thoughts:
Grubby also had a seven hour stream today where he spammed Samuro. If you want to check that out and get some advice on playing him check out the VOD of his stream
McIntyre’s Thoughts:
If you want another perspective McIntyre also posted this video today:
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