Guide to Magina - The Anti-Mage

The Antimage- no other hero can chase his enemies as he can. Every caster or even strength hero fears a good Antimage and that’s what the Antimage wants them to do. He is a deadly assassin, able to chase, kill and retreat fast. Of course, he is not easy to play and if you play against a good team, it can be difficult. He needs much experience to play as well, and you need to know ALL heros in DotAand how dangerous they can be for you. At the end of this guide you should know how to play him but the true way to own with him comes from a lot of game experience. I think I can call myself, -PhoEniX-, a quite experienced Antimage player. I've done lots of games with him, testing items, guides, strategies and counters to nearly every hero. I have played him in publics as well in privates. For sure, I read most guides for him like the great one of dota-sensei, but in my opinion these entire guide writers think that their item and skill build is the only way to kill everyone. I think that as any other hero the items to get and the skill build is very situational. However, this guide is not for total DotAbeginners. You should know the basics like conduct as a melee hero in beginning to get exp and money and you should know where the secret shop is .


Vers. 1.00: Guide posted for vers. 5.84c.
Vers. 1.01: Some mistakes corrected and a new build and some replays added.
Vers. 1.02: Guide updated for the 6.xx versions. One new build added.
Vers. 1.03: New layout for the new dota-allstars forum and
further improvement of spelling and grammar.
Vers. 1.04: Added FAQ section. Removed shortforms. Further help
with some heros in the
How to deal with... section and added some more heros.
Improved effectivity of
the item builds (also by changing some contents) and
added two small graphics.
Vers. 1.05: Added Latest changes section. Updated guide for 6.10. Added a new replay.
Vers. 1.06: Changed an item in the dmg-setup. Updated the guide for 6.14. Some
content changes. Some grammatical and content errors fixed. 2 new replays.
Vers. 1.07: Update to 6.23. Reworked the guide both in layout and content. New replays for TFT 1.20. Added screenshots (thx to Ih2128)
Vers. 1.08: Update to 6.31. Fixed many spelling errors and renewed much of the content. Added ‘How to play vs pros’ section and new replays. Extended ‘How to deal with’ section. New replays.


Look at the stats. Decent strengthgrow makesntimage fragile but there is a nice agility gain. Intelligence gain is somewhat low. We are going to negate his weaknesses and boost his strenghs!


Skills

Blink
Lv1: Teleport with range of 800, cost 60 mana and has a cooldown of 12 secs
Lv2: Teleport with range of 800, cost 60 mana and has a cooldown of 9 secs
Lv3: Telport with range of 800, cost 60 mana and has a cooldown of 7 secs
Lv4: Teleport with range of 800, cost 60 mana and has a cooldown of 5 secs

This is the skill that makes the Antimage able to enter and leave combat very fast. It gives him the ability to chase heros to the death, dodge stuns, save allies, etc.... Once you've reached lv 4 Blink no enemy should escape your blade under 'normal' circumstances. It is a really great skill which is very effective in every state of the game.

Mana break
Lv1: Burns 16 mana per hit, passive skill
Lv2: Burns 32 mana per hit, passive skill
Lv3: Burns 48 mana per hit, passive skill
Lv4: Burns 64 mana per hit, passive skill

This skill makes him what he is: An Antimage. It not only burns mana with every hit, it also gives bonus dmg, making the Antimage deadly early/mid game. The dmg goes through armour and everything that protects the enemy. Important: Any orb effect (lifesteal,frost...) will cancel manabreak; so the Antimage needs other items to own with.
Mana break does not stack with diffusal blade; it will replace your 64 dmg mana break with the 18 dmg one of the item, so never get an orb!

Spell Shield
Lv1: Reduces magic damage taken by 10%, passive skill
Lv2: Reduces magic damage taken by 20%, passive skill
Lv3: Reduces magic damage taken by 30%, passive skill
Lv4: Reduces magic damage taken by 40%, passive skill

This skill makes the Antimage even more deadly against heros that rely on their dmg spells. Most casters in pubs fighting a 1v1 with an Antimage (which is already stupid ) throw everything that they have at the Antimage just to see that they do nearly no damage at all. When they notice this it's too late- Mana Void and maybe a short chase and the caster is history. Spellshield might also be helpful early game to survive longer vs nukers.
Read about the latest changes in the 'latest changes' section.

Mana Void (Ultimate)
Lv1: Deals 0.6 damage per mana missing in enemy hero's mana pool
Lv2: Deals 0.85 damage per mana missing in enemy hero's manapool
Lv3: Deals 1.1 damage per mana missing in enemy hero's mana pool

One word to describe: Phenomenal! This is one of the ultimates that does not lose its power in late game. Most casters will have a big mana pool so that they are nearly dead when they have it empty. Vs strength heros it is not that effective especially at lv1.

All these skills work like a charm together and you should never think about skipping one of them for stats. The order of skills is completely dependent of the heros in your line, and that's why I will talk about it a bit later.

II. Basics

a ) Tactics
These are the basic tactics you need to practice if you want to succeed

Blink&Break

This is is the concept you should learn again and again until you have mastered it. It means that you blink directly behind a hero (most time in early game to harass them).
Do so; while blinking right-click on your target and start hitting. Your target will loose hp and mana rapidly, forcing him to retreat. This tactic should be used up to lv 2 mana break and as often as possible. Here you need the game experience and the knowledge about ALL heros of DotAas I told you.
Blinking in a 1v2 situation behind a maiden and a lion while both have full hp and mana is not a good idea. You have to know what your enemy(s) in your lane will do. If he is a stunner he will stun you and run or in most cases hit you and so you will loose more hp than him and have to retreat. You have to time your blink&break really well. Wait for them to stun you. Than run back for a second, so they have to follow you. Blink behind them and start hitting until they are out of range or you know that they will be able to use their stun again soon. Beware of ultimates, since on early levels you won't be able to blink out as soon as needed. Examples: Maiden, Slayer, Tauren....
High-power-nukers like Zeus or Lich are very dangerous to use blink&break against in early game. Best way to respond them is to play passiv and carefully try to empty their manapool by either dodging spells or blink&break if it is possible. You may also use the ‘noob-in-disguise’ tactic which I will talk about in the next section of the guide.
Some people are really nice to be against, especially if it is a 1v1 lane. Simply blink behind them everytime they show their ugly face and make them fear you! If they have some experience with playing vs an Antimage they will retreat once you blink to them so you can only do about 2 hits until they are out of range. Better enemys will fire some shots after you when you run back, but you should still take less dmg than you did to them and in addition not every enemy buys regeneration as you will do.
Follow these easy preys if you have to heal or the enemy that comes to your lane is a problem for you. Examples: Bone(1vs1: Bone WILL change lane or he will be only at lv 8 when you are at lv 11); Medusa, Drow (a bit dangerous because they will slow you on your retreat), Sniper, Troll (take care for their ultis!)....
Of course there are also some strong melee heros facing you. They will try to last hit like you will do; try carefully to hit them without blinking to them when they do so. When their manapool is empty you can start to blink and keep them out of money or even exp distance. Examples: Sand King, Leroic (only without crit at the beginning!), Chaos Knight (also only witout crit), Naix....
Some of these melee heros have a warstomp-kind spell which can be a real problem for you if you don't take care. The key is to run towards them making them think you are going to attack them. Your enemy will press stomp, but you will blink away a bit and hit him sometimes. This is not easily done; you need some experiece to know when this warstomper is going to stun you and you will have to calculate delay. Examples: centaur, slardar....
In general: Take care for stunners, heros with criticals and ugly ultimates when aiming for blink&break. Know your enemys and how dangerous they can be to you early game.


Those were the basics about blink&break. Here are some scenarios:
1v1: Use the tactics I told you in the text above. In general this is your best way to make your enemies fear you. Know your enemy's hero to know when you can blink to him. If someone comes to ambush you you will hopefully be able to blink away.
2v1: Nice as well, especially if you are with an allied stunner. Be careful when you face a single strength hero; use the tactic I told you in the above shown text. Your enemy will hug the tower a lot but with a good ally you can still kill him!
2v2: A good point of time is when both retreat from your tower. Blink to them and hit one of them about 2 times. When both turn around to fight you, your next wave of creeps and your ally will help you (if he is not a complete noob^^). An ally with stun works well with you again. In general you have to think a bit when the best point of time to blink in is. Dont try to blink to one while both are next to each other. They will both throw their spells and stuns at you, and before your ally is able to help you, you will be dead or at the red.
1v2: Can be difficult because you won't be able to hold your tower. Blink&break is not the tactic you should use primary, instead use noob-in-diguise and stay passive. Blink&break can still be done well when your enemies reach your tower because your tower will attack them when they face you next to it. Worst situation is 1v2 if you are against 2 stunners. Spell shield will help you against the stun dmg but not against the hits you take while stunned... Play extra carefully and dodge incoming stuns.

To sum up, blink&break needs some experience. I can not stress this enough: Know your enemies, know what they will do when you blink in to break, know your allies and try to rate their game experience (look at their last hit skill, their movements etc.). Tell them what you are going to do, and ask them to support you. If you have problems in your lane, call for help! If an ally despairs because of a zeus, help him! If you think that this medusa becomes too strong, go to her lane before she does. DotAis a team game, and even with 10-0 stats you won’t be able to win a game vs a 5 lv higher medusa with a divine rapier and aegis.
A solo lane is not needed. I prefer the top lane for sentinel and bottom lane for scourge. Most time there is only one enemy so you can farm easier to reach your 1500 gold as soon as possible. Sometimes you get a 1v1 lane here which is nice too.
If you want to play offensive, go for middle lane. Maybe with 2 ror or one roh and an allied stunner...? You won't get your money that fast, but you can force your enemys back again and again and you can look at both lanes next to yours for kills when you got your aimed money. Note that at mid there are often the ugliest heros; 2 man teams like to choose mid for insane combos like Maiden+Slayer/Bane+Goblin.
Bottom lane for sentinel and top lane for scourge is a bad choice. Most time you will have to fight alone vs 2 enemys, making it impossible for you to farm or harass efficiently. In addition it's a quite long way to your fountain and since you have no Boots this way will waste your time. The most important point is that you don’t really need a solo lane for high levels, this should be granted to someone like Bone. A fast level 6 won’t help you if you don’t have the items required to start a successful hunt.

Noob-in-disguise

This is for the case you skilled spellshield early game.
When you face a nuker or someone that throws constant spells at you, you won't be able to blink&break them because you will lose hp much faster than your enemy. Spellshield can be useful if you play with one ring of regeneration (which I advise).
Noob-in-disguise means making your enemys think you are noob. Walk in "wrong" places where they can hit you easily with their spells. With spellshield on and your regen item you will be able to stay in combat where other heros have to run to fountain every few minutes. Blink&break them if possible, for example when they reach your tower in order to dmg them a bit. When you reach lv 6 show them who the real noob is.
Blink in, make them use their (probably last) mana and hit them. You will have less hp than them, but you have Mana Void so they will lose.
Ulti, maybe chase with blink, there's your kill!
It can also help your allies if a nuker focuses his spells on you and not on him.
Note that this tactic is not at all what you should aim for. Spellshield may help but at last it decreases your offensive potential. In earlier DotAversions 1 lv was enough but since spellshield only gives 10% reduction now the early game usage is questionable

About the importance of spellshield

I know that there are some people thinking that spellshield is not needed at all. If you are in danger, you can just blink out. Is this true!?
First of all I have to say that you can never be sure that there is not someone waiting to ambush and cast a spell on you. What if there is an enemy Zeus that found invisibility? What if it is night and the enemy just came from behind out of the fog of war? You won't be able to do ANYTHING against them and you will die. The stat boosts you got for skipping spell shield won't help you to survive a Lion's devastating spell combo.
When you have spellshield lv 4 you can just laugh about such attempts; a few hits, mana void and kill. With no spellshield you wouldn't be able to kill him because you lost so much hp that one other spell would probably kill you. There is your proof that spellshield helps you killing. Spellshield also sometimes makes you able to stay in lanes with high-power-nukers like Zeus where even a Centaur would despair. Note the comment I gave on this topic in the chapter above this one.
If there is NO enemy with a damage spell, you can skip Spellshield, but tell me, has this ever happened to you?

b ) Skill build
Having understood the basics, I now move on to the skill build(s)

Vs nuker (Zeus, Lich, ...):
Lv1 Spellshield
Lv2 Blink
Lv3 Manabreak
Lv4 Blink
Lv5 Manabreak
Lv6 Mana Void
Lv7 Manabreak
Lv8 Blink
Lv9-lv25: Now alternate Blink and Mana Break until both skills are maxed, getting Mana Void at level 6. After Blink and Mana Break are maxed, max out Spell Shield, getting Mana Void at level 11 and 16. Max out all skills before you get stats!

This is the general build on how to face nukers. One lv in spellshield helps a lot together with your regen item. If the nuker constantly focusses you, you should skill lv2 spellshield at once. If you are against really painful nukers like Lich or Zeus this is nearly always recommend unless they are noob.
A level in spellshield also helps to face stormbolters like Sven or vengful if you are not able to dodge their stuns.
Note: Since spellshield now only reduces magic dmg taken by 10% at lv 1 I suggest you check out for yourself if it still works for you early on. If not buy a second RoR or some flasks.

I skip points in manabreak for early spellshield and not in blink for a good reason. If you have only one lv in blink, manabreak lv 4 won�€™t help you because you can never catch the hero, he just runs away from you. Having one point less in manabreak lowers your killing potential just a little bit.

Vs fear-the-Antimage guys (Bone,Medusa...)
Lv1 Manabreak
Lv2 Blink
Lv3 Manabreak
Lv4 Blink
Lv5 Manabreak
Lv6 Manavoid
Lv7 Manabreak
Lv8 Blink
Lv9-Lv25: Same as for the vs high-power-nuker skill build.

This build is really strong for blink&break. It also makes you a hunter as fast as possible. Take care if there is an enemy caster like Zeus next to your lane who keeps on visiting you. Spellshield vs a Zeus up to lv 6 is always good to make him waste his ulti for you. This is normally the build i try to go for because it promises most kills early game.


As I said, these builds are only suggestions. If you first faced a Bone and he changed lane with a Lich you will have to skill Spellshield fast. Use these builds if you just started to play the Antimage or if you try out this guide. Change them whenever you want and develop your own style. Only thing important is never to skip skills for stats!

c ) Item Build(s)
I differ between a primary and a secondary setup. Primary setup contains standard items like Boots and a regen item plus other items that the Antimage needs to become a tough fighter. Secondary setup is the choice of a weapon.
I know that most Antimage players go straight for a high level item like Basher with nothing else than Boots or treads which is a big mistake. Read the following lines and you will understand. First I give the order when to get which item and than I am going to explain why. (*=advanced setups)

Primary setups

a ) The Anti-Stunner-Setup
1. Ring of Regeneration
2. Boots of Speed
3. 2x Null Talisman
4. Power Treads
5. Ogre Axe, Broadsword=>Black King Bar (BKB)

b ) The Hunter-Setup
1. Ring of Regeneration
2. Boots of Speed
3. 3x Wraith Band
4. Power Treads
5. Chainmail

*c ) The Guinsoos-Build
1. Ring of Regeneration
2. Boots of Speed
3. 2x Robe of the Magi
4. Chainmail
5. Power Treads
6. Sobi Mask, Quarterstaff=>Oblivionstaff
7. Voidstone, Staff of Wizzadry=>Guinsoo's Scythe
of Vyse
8. Broadsword, Claws of Attack=>Crystalize
9. Crystalis, Buriza recipe=>Buriza

-------A Gemof True Sight------

Secondary setups

a ) The Damage-Setup
1. Broadsword, Claws of Attack=>Crystalis
2. Crystalis, Buriza recipe=>Buriza

b ) The Ias-Setup
1. Mithril Hammer, Gauntlet of Ogre Strength=> Cranium Basher
2. Eaglehorn, Quarterstaff=>The Butterfly


Which item should I choose first? Boots is a very noobish choice because they don't help you to farm, stay in battle, harass or kill. Of course, later they are needed but never get them as a first item! In at least one of three games there will be someone that sends you back to your fountain every few minutes when you got Boots first.
In each case, a regen item is needed first. I believe that a Ring of Regeneration is better than the RoH in most cases. You can buy it at once and you don't have to lose any exp while going for the RoH. You can start your basic tactics at once since your hp will regenerate fast enough. At last you will sell this ring, so RoH is in most cases a waste. 2x RoR looks more attractive now because they lowered its cost a bit. This can replace early spellshield, but you will need an extra fountain trip and extra gold.

Here are the primary setups that I propose:
1.) You need a regen item, so either Ring of Reneration or you save some money for a Ring of Health or 2 RoRs. Also it is possible to get some flasks and stats adding items even though I don't like it.
2.)On your first trip back (optimal: save money until you have 1650Gc, means lv6-8) you should buy as much as you can. First item now are your Boots because they are needed to start the hunt.

These were the basic items you get first. Now you need something to boost your mana. Why? Well, let me explain. You want to start killing at lv 6-7. You will only have the mana to blink once and use Mana Void. This won't be enough to kill anybody, trust me. You will only get some kills if your enemy is already damaged or you do the last hit on a fleeing hero.
Next point is that the Antimage has some limitations. You will notice that sometimes you need only a few hits to kill the enemy. He reaches his Tower and you can not follow him because the Antimage hasn't got much hp or armour to survive this.
The other limitations are stunners. Stunners are the only heros an Antimage has to fear! You can kill other heros easily and blink away after. But what happens mid/late game if there is a big fight between your allies and your enemies? You blink to an enemy caster: BOLT, HEX, IMPALE, gg Antimage.... The enemies will wait for you to blink in keeping a finger on their hotkeys to stun and focus you at once you do so. Your spellshield will help you a lot against the pure damage of the spells, but not against the 5 heros focussing you while stunned. Also a little hp boost would be nice. That’s why here is the primary setup which helps you killing. Get it after your Boots every game.

3.) Get Power Treads here. Power Treads are a must have for the Antimage as they are for nearly any other hero, too. They give you a nice ias(increased attack speed) boost for low cost while they only need one inventory slot. If you want to play a bit more defensive or you see that your enemies are hugging their towers get the Chainmail before Treads.

a ) The Anti-Stunner-Setup
-2 Null Talismans
The 2 Null Talismans are for mana as I said. They give enough for 2 Blinks, which is the optimal amount to get an enemy without "wasting" too much money. The also give a small hp, ias and regeneration boost. I don’t get Wraiths here because I want to save one slot and some money and I also need a bit more mana because avatar needs it.
-Ogre Axe, Broadsword=>Black King Bar(BKB)
If there are a couple of stunners or disablers, you will be glad you got it! It has nearly the same cooldown as your Mana Void and gives you 9 sec invulnerability against spells (Attention: Some spells go through Avatar!) which should be enough for a kill. You can hunt an enemiy to the death, simply laughing about his allies who try to help him. You can escape easier from ambushes. You can kill that spell-spamming lion who is a danger for your whole team between 2 guarding heros. It also gives the needed hp boost and a small bonus dmg. Of course it is not cheap but when you first saw what this baby can do for you and your team you will want to get it nearly in every game.
I'm really annoyed about the last nerfs to BKB. 9 seconds are not enough to kill if the enemy runs at once and the higher price also hurts. But since there is no alternative this is still a must have against many disablers. I only go for this build if I'm 100% sure I need it. When you become better you will know how to kill disablers even without BKB. The key is to be patient and have an optimal point of time when to blink in.

b ) The hunter-setup
-3x Wraith Bands
Another way to get the needed mana: +9 intelligence is kind of a minimum! Replace one of the Wraiths with a Null if you have problems with Mana. 3 Wraiths give +18 agility in addition which is a lot. It really helps to kill enemys due to the ias and extra dmg. 3 Wraiths are better than 2 Nulls imo.
-Chainmail
This item is just made for the Antimage. Although you won’t combine it with anything else this item is really great! The +5 armour is a joke for only 650Gc. This item gives you the ability to chase and kill next to towers. You can even blink to a ½ hp hero hugging his tower if he has no disabling spell. You can chase your victims till they reach their firebush. This item is also great against high dmg outputter like Bone with Burize or a Medusa with high dmg output or a against armor decreasing items/spells etc.

Choose one of these setups for your game. You need some experience again to know what the best choice for this special game is. Don't get the Anti-Stunner-Setup if there is only a noob dragon knight that prefers stunning your caster creeps. In general you should aim for the Hunter-Setup because it gives way more offensive potential. Get the BKB if there is a dangerous disabler like Lion or more than 2 stunners. Take this as your rule for your first games with the Antimage. Than start to exchange items for others till you found your own style. Just get something for mana, hp and protection. I wouldn't advice to get Chainmail together with BKB because they are both not cheap and you need some ias and dmg to get kills.


Well, these were the basic items you should get. Now I will move on to your main items, your secondary setup. I think that even the main items should be choosed situational.


---Sometimes a Gemis needed. But with my new build (3 Wraiths Bands) it is no longer possible to carry it since you have not enough space. You can buy a Gemfor your team and give it to someone who can protect it. First you should ask farmers like Medusa or Razor to buy it but if no one wants to buy one you should do because it is really important not to let guys like Bone become too strong.---

Here are the secondary setups I propose:
There're two ways to make your Antimage own. Two different thoughts.

1)You want to use your manabreak optimal. In addition, bash is nice to stop running enemies.
Take advantage of the Antimages high attack speed. The higher it is the more mana is burned. For this reason the Butterfly is the best choice to push this. But pure ias is not always optimal. Combined with a Basher you take even more advantage of it.
2)You want to blink in, quickly kill an enemy and blink out. Stun is not needed, you rely on your killing speed.
Use the Burize, a great item for the Antimage. It gives you the wanted fast-killing potential.

a ) The Damage-Setup
-Broad Sword, Claws of Attack=>Crystalize: You get 250 dmg crits with this. Already not bad for finishing heros off.
-Crystalis, Burize recipe=>Burize
Let me explain why this item is so good for the Antimage. First of all I have to admit that there is no other serious dmg item than MKB which gives less dmg as I show in the What about... section.
When you use the Burize you will notice that the criticals are really strong for getting a finishing blow on heros . If that Lion runs away with 300 hp and you will only have the chance to hit once the MKB/Basher/Butterfly/whatever would not kill him. But a critical will. You get around 450 dmg crits which is nice together with your naturally fast attack speed.
In addition the Crystalis already helps with killing, more than a single Demon Edge would do.

b ) The Ias(=increased attack speed)-Setup
-Cranium Basher
Even with only Power Treadsthe Antimage has a quite high attackspeed. As a conclusion, a Basher works well. Getting a bash when you chase an enemy means most time the kill. This item also helps you to face strength heros when you have to. Disabling them for a few seconds is great and gives you a chance vs these tanks and other high dmg outputter. Bash can, like the MKB, stop channeling spells. The small bonus dmg is also nice. At last, it has a moderate price.
-Eagle Horn, Quarterstaff=>The Butterfly
Well, in most cases the game is over till you get it. But when you finish Butterfly after your Basher, you will be able to make even strength heros fear you. The evasion is great; you can even solo a tower if you think you need it^^. Evasion also helps you fighting the late game creeps with their high dmg. Most important thing about it is the great ias you get. Combined with your Basher you have a high chance to kill the enemy before he can dmg you seriously. This is also good to fight some heros that went straight for high dmg items like Burize or Divine Rapier^^
This setup is quit expansive but when you got your Basher at around lv 15, you should be able to kill every non strength hero with one lv3 items and Treads in a 1v1 fight; using your ulti of course.

What after these items? Most games do not go that long but if a game does feel free to get everything you want. You could buy a (second) Basher or the item from one of the 2 setups you didn't get. (MKB does not stack with Basher!) Hyperstones are always nice for some additional ias. Normally I buy Butterfly if I went for the dmg-setup and Burize if I went for the dmg-setup.
Remember that the evasion of two Butterflys does not stack and that any orb effects will cancel your great mana break.

What about....
-MKB: My older calculation was wrong!! Burize is and becomes even more effective the longer the game lasts when you have the money to buy it.
I found this topic here and it really convinced me. It sounded pretty serious and after some games with Burize I agreed.
If you don't believe me use the program I posted. You just have to fill the gabs at the top with some things like dmg, other items etc. And you see which item is better at which level of the game. It does include the ias MKB gives by the way.
This picture of a chart shows that Burize is better for my item build up to lv 16.

The image shows that Burize is more effective up to level 16 with my other items. Most games you get it even later and as you see in the chart it becomes more powerful.
Note: At last it ends up to be personal preference which item of the two you get. MKB ministun is usefull in many situatiations: It can not only stop channelling spells but also interrupt enemy’s attempts to cast normal spells! Often they find themselves without mana to cast it again after. Finally MKB increases your ability to empty your enemy’s mana pool.

-Helm of Iron Will: A very nice and overlooked item. It gives +2 regeneration and +5 armour which is enough for your early game. It is cheaper than Chainmail+Ring of Regeneration and needs only one slot. Problem is that you can not get it as a first item without going back to fountain. That is why I deleted one older build that advised helm first. But if there is a 3v3 match I always go helm first.
-Ring of Health: Works good if you are going to play an offensive style with spellshield later (the Vs Fear-the-Antimage build). I think that +4 regeneration is not needed even for this build, but sometimes this item can be nice.
-2x RoR: Is now more attractive than in 5.84c because the price is lowered a bit. The alternative to RoH.
-Aegis: I no longer give thevice to buy Aegis. It is just too passive and not effective for Antimage.
The high armour is not needed. You are not a tank and if you need hp you just need a few seconds to reach your fountain cause of blink.
The magic resistance does no longer stack with spellshield. (Except for you get it before skilling spellshield lv 2 which is crap).
The Aegis/Divine combo is also not that good on Antimage for that enormous amount of money it costs. Stun, IAS and criticals are way more effecient!
-Lothar’sEdge: Agility and dmg bonus sounds good, but do you really need it? This item will only stop you on your way to the much better ones. Invisibility is not needed at all, because you can blink in and out with no problems.
-Heart of Tarrasque: Gives you lots of hp and a nice regeneration for a high price. This item is good, but not for you! You are not a tank, you are an assassin and your main attribute is agility, not strength.
-Boots of Travel: Speed bonus is not needed because you have blink. Furthermore you can travel insanely fast with blink, no need to teleport.
-Battle Fury: One of those passive farming items. Mana and hp regen are not worth it on this hero and there are much better itemsto go for.
-Dagon: This item has only one possible function: Killstealing. It needs too much money and mana to support and it does not give a needed bonus like other items do.
-Radiance: Another item for farmers. Less dmg and ias than the MKB and less evasion than the Butterfly. The aura does not help that much because you have no splash or aoe spell.
-Linken’s Sphere: Another passive item. It costs even more than BKB and just sucks for Antimage imo. Blocking one spell every minute only is nothing and the rest is not worth the enormous cost. You cannot even know which spell will be blocked. Guess what happens if you fight a Lion. He uses manadrain first. GREAT, it is blocked... remaining hex, impale, ulti.
Additionally look at the bonus stats you gain: 3 Wraithbands are cheaper than the orb and give far more.
-Mekanism: Not that bad. Heal is nice if you chased an enemy past a tower and you just need +100 hp to survive. The Antimage is generally a low hp hero and so the heal is quite effective. Moreover you won't need any additional armour. But what you need is mana, much mana. I finally bought 3 Nulls just to be able to use this fucking heal sometimes. I still didn't have the needed mana to support it. The hp I got by using heal I lost because there was no more mana for blinking. I think this item may be good together with Maiden and her aura or with Keeper of Light who constantly refills your mana. Another use could be in a clan war. Sometimes pooling is allowed and all players in one team help to buy a fast mekanism. If they let you take it you can concentrate on mana.
-Yasha: Not a bad item, but a waste of an inventory slot in my opinion. The +5% movement and ias are not really noticable. The +agility is better gotten from Wraiths.

The primary and the secondary setups are not the only possibilitys; I think that they are the best choices for the Antimage in most cases, so first try to master your gameplay with them before switching items around and trying new ones or the advanced setup. Then you can try to develop your own item setup. Try whatever you want, only remember not to buy orb effect items or the diffusal blade.

Advanced Setup
!Warning! This Setup needs a bit more skill to own with, but if used right it is deadly. Please train your general DotAskill and your skill with the Antimage before trying it.

*c ) The Guinsoos-Build
This is a skill-heavy build using Guinsoos Scythe of Vyse. Most of you will think that it sucks for Antimage, but it is a great item for him! Let me explain...:
-First of all: what about the high price?
Let's say you go for a Basher (=3200 gold or something). You need some mana before which means 3 Wraiths (=1500Gc). So all in all you need 4700 for the Basher and mana, which comes close to the cost of a Guinsoos.
-but a Basher gives damage!
If you looked at your Guinsoos you will notice that it gives a nice +30dmg buff (=the dmg of the Basher).
-what about the stun?
When you have Basher at around lv 15 you won't do that many bashes until you get your Eaglehorn. Guinsoos gives you a great stun that comes more frequently than the one from Basher. You can use it whenever you want, maybe to save a retreating ally or to instantly stop a channeling spell. With this stun you can be sure that you get a retreating enemy; situations like "Damn, so unlucky! Didn't get a single stun with my Basher ..." simply won't happen.
Here are the pros and cons of the Guinsoo's build:

Pros:
+gives you much mana. You will never die because you didn't have the mana for the last saving blink.
+no enemy will be able to escape your blade if there is no further ally that stops you.
+more efficient than the Basher in mid/late game.
+cancels channeling spells at once
+saves allies
+great to kill windwalkers! Hit and run against your team won't be possible any longer because you can stun a windwalker at once and kill him
+good for 1v1 fights; even strength heros are killable because you can burn much of their mana away while they are sheeped.
+hit and run possible: Blink in and sheep an enemy. Do around 4 hits to lower his mana and then blink out.
+sheep stops evasion!: This is true, Guinsoos works very nice against heros with evasion like Faceless Void or Bounty Hunter. It stops any kind of evasion, also the one of the Butterfly!
+Fast killing of an important enemy supporter possible.
+allows you to travel much faster since you can spam blink
+ all in all a good teamplay item.

Cons:
-really needs some skill to own with. You need to use the hotkeys for blink, void and Guinsoos now. Best you use the number keys, but they are not easy to use (reach^^). However there are tools which help you to move those keys to your mouse for example.
-no joke, biggest problem is to click on that mini sheep after you stunned an enemy! If you click only next to it, stun is over before you could land a single hit.
-This setup does not give any bonus hp.

Here is the build:
-RoR
-Boots
-2x Robe of the Magi: I prefer to get it before Eul's because you also get some IAS and dmg through it, while only one Robe and the Sobi Mask don't give enough mana early-mid game, so get the second Robe you need for Eul's anyway here.
-Power Treads
-Chainmail: As I said there is no hp boost at all, you will need some armor at least.
-Sobi Mask
-Quarterstaff
-Voidstone, Staff of Wizardry and Guinsoos recipe.
Now you should go for the Buriza; the IAS setup is not needed here because you already have a stun and you now need more damage.
I know, most of you guys will try this setup once and then say its bullshit because it didn't work at all. That's the wrong attitude. It is not easy to use this setup, you need to train again and again before you own with it, but trust me, you will.
Note: This setup was developed by me in 5.84c times. Guinsoos has been nerfed a lot since this version.
Another argument is that since I replaced the 2 Nulls in my build with 3 Wraith Bands you really have the ias to support a mid game Basher.
I think this build still works but it is even harder to succeed with it.

Here is further help for those who really want to know their hero and already have a bit of experience with him.
These diagrams are here to show the extreme but still playable styles.
On the left and on the right hand the most extreme (but still good!) builds are shown. The middle shows the most balanced build. Try the "golden middle" first. Then try the extreme ones. You will learn which build is best in which situation. You can also try to create a new setup with the suggestions there. Maybe one for decent aggressive playing? Have fun trying

IAS<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->DMG

RoR, Boots,

RoR, Boots,

RoR, Boots,

2xNull, Hand of Midas,

3xWraith,

3xWraith,

Chainmail,

Chainmail,

Chainmail,

Treads

Treads,

Treads,

Hyperstone,

Basher/MKB/Butterfly

MKB, Burize

Butterfly

Defensive<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>Offensive

RoH, Boots,

RoR, Boots,

RoR, Boots,

2xNull,

3xWraith,

2xWraith, Treads

Platemail/BKB,

Chainmail,

2xWraith, MKB

Butterfly

Treads,

Burize

Basher/MKB/Butterfly

III.The Way
Here is a short overview of the gameplay.

early-game

The first few levels you should behave like a normal melee hero. Try to get the last hit on creeps and avoid losing too much hp.
When you get your lv 2 manabreak, start blink&break. Use noob-in-disguise as well and try to force your enemies back to their fountain as often as possible. Since most guys don't go for a regen item first (in pubbies), they will have to run back more often than you and so you should get a bit more exp than the other allies in a 2v1 or 2v2 lane. If you are with an ally, ask him nicely if he can share unit control for a sec so you can buy something oand don't have to run to your shop by ureself. Either patrol behind your caster creeps or use the basic tactics I told you. If there is someone with a chicken you should also ask him kindly.

It is important to get enough money to buy your Boots and one Null/Wraith at least, better both Nulls/3 Wraiths+1 Circlet before lv 8. The caster creep is always sure money if there is no enemy in your lane. With an ally in your lane you maybe get some kills before this level, but don't expect this. Try to stay in your lane as long as possible, but when you reach 1675 gold or lv 8 go back to your fountain to buy your Boots and mana items because it will be much easier to get kills with them. If you farm well you can even stay in your lane and get back to get all 3 Wraithbands+Boots at level 7.

When you got your ultimate at level 6, start looking at the lane(s) next to yours. Is there anyone with low mana or half hp? Go for him! Try to walk to him from behind. Blinking is not optimal, trust me. Your enemy will notice the sound of the blink at once and he will turn around to flee to his tower. At the low levels you don't have the mana and the short blink cooldown for a long chase, so you won't get him if you blink directly to him. Only blink if you have a long way to reach them and they could see you. But if you come from behind, you will be able to do some hits before he notices you. He will try to escape but your blink is ready so you will get some more hits. His mana pool should now be empty enough to kill him with your Mana Void. If it isn't, follow him until your blink is ready again and kill him. Of course there is a limit. Also note that you mostly lose more gold than you gain when you die to a tower after your kill. When you get lv4 Blink you can also blink in to attack. Waiting for the right point of time is key. Wait behind some trees for the two creep waves to meet and then blink in to attack.
After you killed your prey you will be damaged and have lost much mana. Now try to stand in this lane and just farm till an enemy forces you back.
I always like to give myself some aims in farming: "Stand here till you got the money to complete Treads" or "Stand here till your ulti is cooled down". This is an effective but also dangerous way since often I sit around with 300 hp or less if had to chase an enemy. I still try to stay in that lane as long as possible. If you get ganged and killed you stood too long Try to find your own time.

Here are a few tips if you play pubbies while being ‘advanced’ yourself: Always try to be a kind of "organizer". If you see a Medusa that levels too easy with out being stopped, call for a gangbang or kill her alone if you can (not that easy because of purge). If your enemy in your lane is missing, tell the others so they can avoid being ambushed. Tell them if you saw that an enemy got a power-up or when you know that someone comes for one of your allies which would insure death. Of course, you don't need to do this when you play a priv or with guys that are experienced enough to look around by theirselves, but most guys in publics will thank you at least for warning them. (though always say ‘miss’ if you can’t see an enemy at your lane^^)

mid-game

Basically do the same you did in early-game: Farm as efficent as possible, look at the other lanes for kills and try to use your basic tactics to keep your enemys at lower levels.
Mid-game is the major part of the game, where big team pushes and gangbangs are organized. Take part in them, but always remember this rule: Always be the last one that enters combat! Yes, be the last! You're still a low hp hero and not a tank or someone that can risk a whole team focusing you. Let your enemies focus their spells and attacks on your teammates. Than blink in to eliminate one of the enemy's important supporters or dmg outputters (that means caster or agility heros). Than blink out because you will be low hp since many enemys tend to focuss something that teleports in and kills.

Take advantage of your protection items, the chainmail or the bkb, to kill your enemys even next to their towers. Play your role as an assassin; kill and retreat, but try to play as a teamplayer, too. Save a retreating silencer that is chased by a bone. Maybe even sacrifice your life to save a dominating ally which will win the whole game for you if he survives.
I have to say that I have had some bad experiences with saving allies in pubbies. Most time it was me that died at last, while the 0-14 furion survived for a sec only to notice that he ran in the wrong direction, towards an enemy tower -.- . I'm not telling you not to help noobs, but if you die instead of one it does not help your team at all.... Furthermore there is in fact little you can do if your ulti is not ready and you are damaged yourself if you don’t have bash yet. Blocking an enemys way is of course always possible.

late-game

You have to be a bit careful before you got your main item, the Burize or the Butterfly. your damage is not one of the highest because you bought some protection items first. A problem can be a Buriza vs you because a couple of crits can kill you easily. Rely on your fast attack speed and on your ulti to get lots of kills (plus your armor item reduces crit dmg!). Your best weapon is your ulti! While other ones like maiden's freezing field loses effectivity late game, your mana void is still a great spell to kill someone. You should be able to kill every hero 1v1 even if you only played decent.
When you get your Buriza/Butterfly creeping will be a lot easier than before and you should get some other nice items if the game is not already over. With a Butterfly you could solo towers and rax, but in my opinion don’t do so. Backdoring is very annoying, best you never do it.


Here are 2 examples for a successful hunt.


My Prey is a low hp Omni. I followed him but he reaches his tower... Retreat?


No! Look how little hp I lost while chasing through the tower. Don't be afraid to take risks!


And here it is: your kill. On my way back I pass the Sentinel secret shop.



Look at the minimap. I have chased Troll from the Scourge secret shop to his last non base tower. Now he is ½ hp.


Troll is unsure what to do. Finally he decides to fight me.


A mistake! After my ulti he is nearly dead and runs towards his base.


Noticing that he will die after a further blink, Troll turns around hoping for the tower to kill me. I follow with Blink.


Kill! Look my mana. I just got enough for a final blink.


Phew. Close one. Some might say luck, I say skill. Without the 3 Wraiths i would either die before I could kill the troll or run out of mana for the final blink.