Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon

[Shoocky3V]

Introduction
With good reason, Mirana has emerged as arguably the most-often picked hero in higher-level play. Since her introduction, she has consistently been a top pick and ban, and is considered among the ranks of the most balanced heroes in DotA (if not the most).

Able to fit into virtually any team line-up, Mirana provides strong ganking power early-game and can be turned into a viable semi-carry later on. With one of the best disables in the game, a high-damage nuke useful for both ganking and farming, and two escape/initiation mechanisms (one global and team-based), Mirana has one of the most lethal skillsets in the game if utilized properly.

Overview of PotM's stats:
STR: 17 + 1.85x
AGI: 20 + 2.75x
INT: 17 + 1.65x
HP: 473
MP: 221
DMG: 38-49
ATK Range: 600
Armor: 1.7
MS: 300

Skills


Starfall: A great nuke that can be used for ganking earlier on and farming later in the game. It has a relatively large range, and even has a chance to still strike the enemy if they're slightly out of it.


Elune's Arrow: Mirana's signature skill, Elune's Arrow has the potential to be the longest single-target stun in the game. With a bit of practice, it can be one of the greatest ganking skills in DotA, and absolutely devastates in the laning phase with an adequete lane partner.


Leap: Mirana's personal initiation/escape tool, Leap can be used both to enter battle with a MS and IAS boost, or to escape from potentially dangerous situations. Leap can also be used to dodge most stuns in the game.


Moonlight Shadow: Although Moonlight Shadow has a high mana cost and long fade time, it is countered fully by the ability to grant your entire team invisibility for a few sweet seconds. Usable from saving a teammate to initiating with ease, MS is a great global ability with much utility.

Skill Build:
Skill Build
The cookie-cutter build:
1 - Elune's Arrow / Leap
2 - Leap / Elune's Arrow
3 - Starfall
4 - Starfall
5 - Starfall
6 - Elune's Arrow
7 - Starfall
8 - Elune's Arrow
9 - Elune's Arrow
10 - Moonlight Shadow / Leap
11 - Leap / Moonlight Shadow
12 - Leap
13 - Leap
14 - Moonlight Shadow
15 - Stats

from this point on, L3 Moonlight Shadow can be taken at any level based on the circumstances of the game. If your team needs the extra 2-second duration and the shorter fade-time, it's perfectly acceptable to grab the last level.

16~24 - Stats
25 - Moonlight Shadow

Justification:

Hidden Text click here to show

Whether Elune's Arrow or Leap is taken at level one is decided by whether you plan on an early First-Blood attempt with a max-range Arrow or suspect that you might be the victim of a First-Blood attempt. Generally, Elune's is taken first because you never know when opportunity may show its shy face.

Starfall is always maxed over Elune's, no matter your proficiency with Elune's. The simple fact of the matter is that you will always land Starfall, while you will always miss some Arrows. Thus, mastering Starfall over Elune's is a better investment of your skill points and has a higher RoI in comparison to maxing Elune's first.

Moonlight Shadow is not taken at level six because of the enormous mana cost that PotM cannot support at the level. Taking another level of Elune's instead is more beneficial and will add more damage to the secondary nuke in your arsenal.

Moonlight Shadow is taken at either 10 or 11, as team fights start to happen more frequently, and the invisibility is indispensible in fighting on your terms. Furthermore, it becomes more beneficial to start using it in saving allies from ganks as their respawn time is becoming longer and longer.

Item Build
As PotM is one of the most versatile heroes in the game, her item build both depends on the role she intends to play as well the needs of her team.

This guide will be focusing on a ganker build early-game. Additional options that work well with Mirana will be listed under the next section.

Starting items listed in the spoiler box:

Hidden Text click here to show

Magic Stick: A great item to have that'll save your hide many times. Use it for that extra burst of HP that will help you get out of sticky situations or that extra bit of mana you need to launch one more Arrow to finish off a target. Magic Stick can also detect skills that happen outside of your knowledge (Kunkaa using Torrent, Lina casting LSA, Nerubian Assassin using Vendetta). Magic Stick can be upgraded to a Magic Wand later on if you want.

Circlet: To give Mirana a slight boost in stats - HP, damage, and mana. Will be used as a component to upgrade into Wraith Bands later on.

Branches: Simple stat-increasing items. Can be sold later on to free up item slots.

Tangoes: Tangoes are taken over salves to keep yourself at relatively high-HP instead of in the red zone where one nuke might finish you off. Ferrying over a bottle later on will also help with your regen.

Mirana is an acceptable buyer of wards if your team has no other hero to do the job. While she could hardly be said to be item-independent, she still does well early-game with little to no items and as such, has the leisure to purchase wards for her team.

Core Build:


Justification:

Hidden Text click here to show

Wraith Bands: Slippers and Circlets are taken early-game and turned into Wraith Bands later for cheap stat-increasing items. Wraiths help to increase your damage and HP slightly, all great for Mirana's needs. Wraith Bands can be stacked if you feel like you need the cheap HP.

Magic Stick: Can be upgraded to a Magic Wand if you feel like you need the additional, no CD charges.

Boots: Depending on the circumstances, a form of upgrade to Boots of Speed should be taken sometime during the core build.
Boots of Travel: BoT are so great on Mirana that some go as far as to call it core. It provides priceless mobility and really complements her role as a ganker with great map-presence. However, unless you're farming extremely well and can get a quick pair of BoT, leave them until later on in the game as they delay your core too much and leave your stats gimped.

Phase Boots: A viable upgrade to BoS on Mirana, Phase Boots make chasing a fleeing target with Elune's almost a joke. The damage and armor it provides is nothing to be laughed at either. Phase Boots are a viable option on a heavily gank-oriented Mirana.

Treads: Treads are more suited for a team who is relying on Mirana to carry the game should it extend that late. The ASPD bonus is great, and the +10 STR really gives Mirana's low HP pool a boost for greater survivability. Almost always, you'll want to keep Treads on STR. Treads are recommended over Phases for most games, as the IAS and STR is great for Mirana, but there are a few circumstances where Phase Boots may be more beneficial.
Bottle: Never start with a bottle; instead, have the team courier ferry it over to you as soon as possible. Bottle is great for Mirana: it gives her burst regen and the ability to capture runes, all suited towards her role as a solid ganker.

Diffusal Blade: Diffusal Blade turns Mirana into a ganking goddess (sorry, Priestess), as well as gives her cheap stat bonuses, feedback, and most importantly, Purge. Purge can be used to remove buffs from enemies like God's Strength and Insatiable Hunger, or to remove negative buffs from allies like Track. Most of the times, however, you'll be using it for the slow that makes enemies crawl at a snail's pace.
Tip: Diffusal Blade should always be taken should the enemy have a significant purgeable skill (Sven, Broodmother, Warlock, Omniknight.)
Scroll of TP: Self-explanatory, you should always have one-two of these on hand for quick teleports. TP to counter-gank, TP to defend towers, TP to gank, TP to farm, and TP to safety. Irregardless of whether you think you need it or not, you never know when one will either save you or net you a kill, and as such, should always have one on hand.

Luxury Items:


Justification:

Hidden Text click here to show

Linken's Sphere: Linken's is an extension often used on Mirana for players finding themselves crippled by one or two specific disables. Not only does it provide a great, buffed-up spell block, but it gives nice stats and regen for more spammable Starfall and Arrow use. Consider it if you're playing a role more geared towards support and need the nice spell-block provided.

Manta Style: Even in 6.6x, where Manta Style is no longer a natural extension to Diffusal Blade, it works well on Mirana. Giving her nice stats, movespeed, and mirror images, Manta Style is a great luxury item on Mirana. Effectively increasing her damage by 66%, targetting a purged target with Mirana and two images really hurts. Note that ranged images do not have the feedback effect, even if it shows the animation.

Eye of Skadi: A hardcore luxury item, Skadi gives Mirana a great boost to her HP and stats, as well as an invaluable Cold Attack that not only slows a target, but decreases their attack speed by 20% as well. EoS should not be taken before another damage item, as Mirana's DPS will be lacking if she jumps straight to a Skadi.
Note: Cold Attack only semi-stacks with Diffusal Blade's Feedback ability -- if the target has mana remaining, Cold Attack won't trigger. As such, Skadi is best left to the Maelstrom-Skadi build, where Skadi provides the additional HP needed to beef Mirana up.
HoT: A pure survivability item, Heart gives Mirana additional survivability should she find herself dying too easily. However, unless Mirana really needs the brutal HP and regeneration that HoT provides, a Manta or Skadi usually is a better idea as it provides nice stats and more DPS.

Butterfly: An item suited to a semi-carry Mirana, Butterfly gives Mirana a large boost in DPS as well as EHP in the form of evasion. Consider this item as an extension to Mirana's core if you're looking to provide a stronger presence late-game.

Black King Bar: BKB should always be considered should you be facing heavy disables that are crippling you. It provides some needed HP, a little damage, and most importantly, the Avatar effect that will make you invulnerable to otherwise devastating spells for 5+ seconds. If you're finding yourself being chain-stunned to death every gank or team fight, a BKB is the way to go.

Buriza: A late-game luxury for carry PotM, Buriza increases PotM's DPS by radical amounts. Should you have sufficient survivability and another DPS item already (Manta, Butterfly, Maelstrom), Buriza should be considered as the next extension.

Alternative Items:

Hidden Text click here to show

Chain Lightning: One of the most popular builds on Mirana, the CL orb makes her farm like nobody's business, as well as provide AoE damage in team clashes. Chain Lightning can be taken in place of Diffusal Blade for a more carry-oriented Mirana. However, note that it provides no survivability bonuses of any kind and costs more than a Butterfly. Gauge the situation and see if you're in need of any survivability items first before heading straight to making a Maelstrom / Mjollnir. A popular extension to the build is Skadi, as it provides 25 STR, HP, and a great Cold Attack. If you decide to take the Mjollnir-Skadi build, be sure to grab a Point Booster sooner rather than later as it'll give you some much needed HP and mana.
Tip: Mjollnir can be considered if you have any heavily focused tanks on your team (Axe, Dirge, Necrolyte). Mjollnir is also useful against image heroes (e.g. PL).
Desolator: Mirana is a popular Stygian carrier. If your team needs the Corruption, consider taking Desolator as your orb. It has a decent build-up, although provides raw damage and no survivability. Desolator is usually gotten when Mirana is focusing on being the team's carry and needs a straight source of DPS.

Orchid: Providing damage, attack speed, mana, MP regen, and Soul Burn, Orchid is a viable luxury item on Mirana. With it, she can cast her spells freely and disable a hero's spells for a few seconds, amplifying the damage they take along the way. If your team needs a silence for some heroes that are hard to kill otherwise (blinkers, invisibility heroes, etc), consider buying an Orchid.

Guinsoo: A late-game luxury item for Mirana, Guinsoo is taken mostly for the Hex ability. Hex has always been one of the most dangerous abilities in the game, and Mirana is a decent user if the team needs it to shut down a dangerous hero for the few seconds that it takes to knock him out of the fight.

Best Allies

Fellow disablers such as CM (Frostbite, Aura), Bane (Grip, Nightmare), and Rhasta (Voodoo, Shackles, Wards) are great allies for Mirana, allowing her to land her arrow easily. Heroes that have ground-targetted snares (e.g. Kunkaa, Lina) will find Mirana's Arrow a godsend as it allows them to easily land their spells. Any hero that detracts attention from Mirana (Axe, Tidehunter, etc) and allows her to not be the one absorbing the damage is also good ally of hers.

Some heroes can really take advantage of Moonlight Shadow. Initiators like Shaker or Tidehunter that can use the invisibility to set up the perfect Ravage or Echo Slam or channelers like Crystal Maiden that can abuse the invisibility to disappear off the map for a short duration while channeling will all appreciate Moonlight Shadow.

A major point to make is that Mirana a hero that will fit into almost any line-up, which is why you almost always see her in higher-tier play. Mirana isn't a hero you should be shy to pick, and will work well in most games.

Worst Enemies:

Stunners and heroes with long disables make short work of Mirana, disabling her ability to leap out of dangerous situations. For the same reason, Silencers such as Krob, Drow, and Bloodseeker also destroy her ability to get out of sticky situations.

Other heroes to watch out for are heroes with high burst damage combos (NA, Lion, Lina) or heroes with long DoT spells that might still kill you even if you're long gone (Doombringer, Venomancer's Poison Sting + Nova combo). Any hero that eliminates PotM's escape mechanism is always a constant threat on the battlefield.

Credits to Corsair July