Almost every hero seems viable in the current meta. For this year’s International qualifiers, 105 out of 111 heroes were picked, more than ever before. Granted, while these were online qualifiers, with more than 30 different teams across the globe, it is still impressive to have so many heroes picked. Even the Manila Major had 95 heroes picked at its LAN portion of the event, a true testament towards a rather balanced patch and meta.

Dota as a game just allows heroes to excel in multiple roles and functionalities, as item and skill build choices can change the way you perceive and play them.

Kunkka is one of those heroes. Traditionally a core, he has slowly found a foothold as a niche support, as showcased in the past week, and could potentially be an impactful pick going into the main event of TI6.

Why Core Kunkka is not in the meta

Traditionally speaking, Kunkka has been approached as a mid. Tidebringer allows him to harass and last hit, while his other three spells allow him to gank quite effectively. Unfortunately, though, both Torrent and Ghost Ship aren’t the easiest spells to land. Even if you do manage to hit them--and Ghost Ship’s Rum is still effective without hitting the stun/damage--there is still an issue with Kunkka’s inherent lack of mana. With about 360 mana at level 6, extended fights are a nightmare, and a failed boat can force your team to retreat.

Mana is not Kunkka’s biggest issue though. The hero does not have any easy way transitioning into the midgame. His lack of mobility usually forces him into purchasing an item to fill that void, something that still leaves him dry on mana. His damage output outside of his spells is rather low until he picks up items, and even then it is too random. The general build into a Daedalus is great, but still is not reliable damage.

Kunkka can’t usually stand in a teamfight and just hit, because while Tidebringer is down he will always trade unfavorably. And Kunkka wants to hit carries through the Tidebringer cleave, which means targeting other heroes primarily--something that isn’t always possible in a direct fight. To understand Tidebringer and its cleave more, check out our blog on cleave mechanics.

There have been ways to mitigate that issue, as pubstar !Attacker has addressed this by purchasing an Armlet of Mordiggian on the hero, which in combination with The Admiral’s Rum effect, makes it difficult to kill him in an engagement. It still doesn’t change the fact though that the hero needs the farm of a carry, without being able to provide the consistent damage output of one.

Enter Support Kunkka

It’s not easy to pinpoint who really first established support Kunkka, but in recent times, it’s Newbee that has brought Kunkka back from the dead. In a meta that prides itself in being so diverse that almost every hero is viable, Kunkka has found his way into the supporting scene.

The introduction of Aether Lens allowed Kunkka to solve his mana issues, transitioning naturally from Arcane Boots into the next midgame item. The additional range from Aether Lens make Kunkka quite threatening, especially X Marks the Spot. Patch 6.86 also introduced a new Aghanim's Scepter upgrade to Kunkka, which drags enemies to the crash site. While it sounds gimmicky, it provides a lot of utility, and the stats are certainly something the hero can use.

Unlike a core Kunkka, you can skip one ability entirely, namely Tidebringer, as you don’t need it in most cases. The utility from a long range X-Mark or a high damage Torrent outweighs the farming potential that one or two points in Tidebringer would provide, at least for a supporting Kunkka.

That said, there are cases where the utility from lower levels of X-Mark and Torrent are sufficient, and a few points in Tidebringer would not only add farming, but also damaging potential. The fact that Tidebringer can now be toggled certainly makes it more viable for supports to skill.

Support Kunkka is quite similar to a Disruptor, as X-Mark has a lot of resemblance to Glimpse. It may be shorter in range, but the duration and flexibility on the “resummon” make it stronger in some cases.

Ghostship is an ability which, the more you think about it, sounds more like a supporting skill. The Admiral’s Rum certainly is an effect that helps the entire team and it’s not necessarily an initiating skill, but rather a follow-up.

All of this sounds nice, but a lot of his issues persist even as a support. In fact, skipping Tidebringer entirely or not maxing it slows down Kunkka’s item progression, which is definitely bad for a support in need of mana and regen. To some degrees, it feels like the hero needs to set up kills in order to progress, similarly to an Earth Spirit.

Hybrid Kunkka - LaNm’s way

20 games, 9 Kunkka picks, 6 wins--EHOME’s LaNm has brought back Kunkka and established it as one of his fiercest weapons, even forcing out first round bans from opponents.

LaNm may in theory play the support role, but his Kunkka play is almost better categorized as a 4th core, maybe even as an offlaner. What EHOME likes doing is sending the actual offlaner, old eleven, into the jungle early to farm up with Iron Talon. LaNm will then soak the experience in the offlane and even farm if the opportunity arises. Alternatively, he’ll roam around the midlane a lot, mostly by assisting his mid in farming the lane by zoning out the opponent.

His 1-4-4 skill build is designed to provide utility in teamfights, but also to deal damage himself, which is also reflected in his item build.

As his first item, he purchases an Armlet of Mordiggian. Similar to the core Kunkka, this makes it really difficult for this 3-4 position Kunkka to be picked off in an engagement. Most of the time, he’ll transition into a mobility item afterwards, which can be either a Blink Dagger or a Eul's Scepter of Divinity or even both. After that he’ll invest into a Crystalys, which he once even upgraded into a Bloodthorn. This item build allows him to stay in teamfights longer, while providing additional damage through Tidebringer. It’s not a build that one can just copy and apply in pub games though--at least not in solo queues. It’s a build, a playstyle, that requires coordination and communication, as the Kunkka player needs a lot of time and space to farm for himself. It’s a greedy way of playing the hero--one that you can only get away with if your teammates support it.

Kunkka the next Phoenix at Ti6?

Support Kunkka, LaNm’s approach especially, may not be something that will take pubs by storm, or the pro scene for that matter. It is however a new way of approaching the hero, something that the hero needed to be revitalized into the scene again. In a meta that encourages fighting, The Admiral’s Rum is more valuable than ever and can turn around an engagement. Aside from that, his spells provide nothing other heroes couldn’t provide, and while his transition into a damage dealer in the mid to lategame with LaNm’s build is good, it’s also nothing astounding or groundbreaking.

That said it’s a pick that can throw the enemy off guard, something that, unless you’re LaNm, won’t be banned, though it is gaining in popularity. It’s unlikely that Kunkka will be the next Phoenix, but there’s a good chance that unless the meta or the hero drastically changes, we’ll see a few Kunkka appearances at TI6 that aren’t played by LaNm.

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