6.88 may have entered the history books as one of the most diverse patches in Dota yet, but it still wasn't without its faults. For all the records it broke in regards to heroes picked and banned, a few iconic heroes of the game have been on the sidelines, demoted to niche picks at best.

7.00 changed the game and as a result also the meta. The recent ESL One Genting was a first glimpse at what 7.00 (or 7.01 if you will) has in store for us and the return of two iconic heroes gives hope that this patch could out-class its predecessor.

Shadow Fiend returns

Shadow Fiend is one of the most iconic Dota heroes. Known as the ultimate 1v1 mid hero, Shadow Fiend has been around for ages and his skillset has pretty much stayed the same. His Razes allow for highlight worthy clips and the hero is a classic “playmaker”. A midplayer can dominate and decide the game with Shadow Fiend alone, as his strong laning stage smoothly transitions into the midgame with his magic damage output, as well as a natural transition into the lategame with his physical damage.

Unfortunately for him, the neutral creeps received quite the buff in 6.85 with a significant boost in magic damage resistance. It made Shadow Fiend close to unplayable in pro games.

He’s been a niche pick throughout 2016, but for the most part, the mid carry had been absent. Now, at ESL One Genting, pro teams have recognized his strengths and brought him back--a 63% winrate across 8 games and 6 bans is quite respectable.

As the 7.00 meta still develops, early trends indicate that Shadow Fiend is here to stay. Dota has gained more tempo and teams enjoy fighting early, something Shadow Fiend excels at. And he’s not alone.

Queen of Pain is viable

Much like any midgame aggressor that relies on magic damage, Queen of Pain did not have a good year in 2016. Regarded as one of the worse heroes in pro games, she also didn’t do well in pub games. Our pub tier list in 6.86 categorized her as “repick” material with a below 44% winrate in high skill games.

At ESL One Genting, she won 4 out of 5 games and Newbee’s Sccc perfectly showcased why: not only did he incorporate the new Blademail oriented build, he changed between builds from game to game, proving that the hero is strongest when allowed to build accordingly from game to game.

Previously, Queen of Pain had found herself in a pinch where she either could only build nuke and gank heavy, or teamfight and dps heavy. Sccc built her multiple ways, making sure to maximize the heroes strengths at all times.

Centaur is here - just for how long?

Another hero that made a splash at ESL One Genting was Centaur Warrunner. The offlaner has never really found a place in the meta, and when he did, Icefrog nerfed the one interaction that made him relevant.

Teams have still found ways to include him however and in Genting he proved to be a winning pick. A 100% winrate across 5 games is quite impressive, especially considering that he hasn’t always been a lastpick--Newbee third picked him on the very first day.

Centaur fulfills the role of a utility core quite perfectly. He can pick up items such as Pipe of Insight or Shiva's Guard that others wouldn’t purchase and he doesn’t need as much farm as other cores to be effective. He’s a strong laner, especially now with the sustain of the offlane shrine, and can contest farm with the opposing safelaner, without being reliant on it. Together with a reliable disable, Centaur has a lot of killing potential early on and his ultimate is a great tool in the midgame to (dis-)engage.

While this all sounds nice and good, this wouldn’t be the first time a hero has entered the meta, only to disappear for seemingly no reason in just a few week’s time or where a small nerf makes the hero “unplayable” in pro games again. Phoenix can chirp a few songs in that regard.

The new kid on the block

Two new heroes have been enabled in Captain’s Mode with the introduction of 7.00. While Arc Warden has mostly been invisible in pro play, Underlord has already proven to be a worthy pick in last year’s Elimination Mode tournament, where he mustered a 100% winrate across 4 games.

At ESL One Genting, his winrate wasn’t quite that high, but 4 won games out of 6 is still impressive for a relatively new hero, especially considering he was the most banned hero alongside Shadow Demon.

Underlord fits perfectly into the current meta. He provides a lot of teamfight power early on with his large AoE spells that can punish aggression and bad positioning. Much like Centaur, Underlord also has killing potential in the laning stage, granted he has support from a teammate or two. Similarly, Underlord too can purchase a variety of utility items, like Mekansm, Crimson Guard or even Solar Crest. He has also proven to be a very flexible pick, as Wings' iceice ran him as a support, as opposed to as an offlaner like many other teams.

7.xx Era is just beginning

ESL One Genting was the first LAN event on 7.00 and it already showcased well what this patch is capable of. A lot of old ideas and picks are still very much relevant, but there’s a lot more tempo and aggression in the game.

It was an exciting tournament to watch and for hardcore fans it felt like a fresh breeze to see a variety of new and old faces that 6.88 has not really had. Heading into more LAN events, such as WESG, DAC and of course the Kiev Major, it remains to be seen if these heroes are here to stay, though most of them have made a strong case for themselves.