So 7.07 introduced this new item to us called
aeon disk.
This item really stuck out to me when reading
the patchnotes, because its just so weird!
This is why I want to discuss this item today.
So what the hell does the item actually do?
When your health goes below 80% due to hero-caused
damage, it procs.
Not at 20%, like one would think, but at 80...
Wait are we sure this is not a typo or something,
cause i swear it would make more sense if
it were to....
Nope! it really procs at 80%, so whats up
with that?
Moving on, when the item procs, a strong dispel
is applied and you gain a 2.5 second buff
that reduces all damage you deal - and recieve
- to zero.
To clarify, taking damage from Neutrals
or Roshan won't trigger this item, and interestingly,
its the only item that gives a strong dispel,
and as such is one of the few strong dispels
in the game.
Also, take a look at this: it says it has
been smuggled out of the Ivory Incubarium!
Now, the ivory inc...
I'm just kidding, nobody cares about the lore
other than SirActionSlacks.
Don't forget about the Stats this item gives
you, you get 250 Health and Mana, as well
as 25% Status Resistance.
To give you an idea, linas stun at max level
stuns for 2.5 seconds, and aeon disk will
reduce it to 1,875 seconds.
Its built from red beyblade arena, blue marble,
and the most expensive recipe in the game
for a total cost of 3,675.
--
Who can take advantage of this item?
You guessed right: Initiators.
An ancient issue of Dota (haha get it, ancient)
is that a hero will try to initiate, only
to get counterinitiated on, and consequently
die before creating a decent initiation for
their team.
This item counteracts this: It allows heroes
like slardar or Centaur to initiate, without
having to fear being immediatly killed.
Classic Situation: Slardar blinks in on their
carry, opponent team notices and quickly turns
on slardar, putting him at low health by the
time his team has followed up, and essentially
leaving his team without a strong middleman.
Now, Slardar can blink in on their carry,
opponent team is unable to turn on slardar,
because in the next 2.5 seconds, theres no
way he is going to fall below 80% health,
allowing his team to catch up and ensuring
he will be there in their time of dire need,
obviously assuming that he is indeed on team
dire, because otherwise he would have to be
there in their radiant time of need.
--
There is another interesting factor to Aeon
Disk however, which is: Countering a specific
hero.
The Item counters not only heroes with burst
damage, such as lina, skywrath mage, lion,
but also heroes with large teamfight ulties,
such as magnus, tidehunter or beastmaster.
Aeon Disk will help you against linas, cause
they cant just kill you in their euls combo.
Its still possible, but it will take longer
and just wont be that easy, and your team
will be able to react.
Also, keep in mind that youre just half a
second short of being able to blink away from
ANYTHING.
Similarly, if youre reverse polaritied or
something, you cant just die during it - in
fact, if they followup with huge damage, remember
that you get a strong dispel, meaning that
this item could very well be used for counteriniation.
Who knows the old classic arcade game "super
puzzle fighter"?
Its essiantly PvP Tetris, and in this game
there is a thing called "second diamond strats".
After 20 drops, both players will get a diamond,
which will destroy all gems of the color it
lands on, and send it to the other player.
One would think the faster you play, the better,
but in this game its quite the opposite!
The player that gets his diamond later than
the other has an advantage, because with his
diamond he gets to send all the blocks that
were sent to him by the other player's diamond
- resulting in way more damage.
I feel like Aeon Disk is similar.
Imagine a tidehunter with this item - he can
figuratively turn around any fight.
Get initiated on, be dispelled by aeon Disk,
be like SPURLGLRGLRL, there you go, their
initiate is gone, and you have just counterinitiated.
--
Nonetheless, like any other thing in Dota,
Aeon Disk is not guaranteed, and requires
planning and coordination with your team.
This is unfortunatly what Dota is just about.
That is why I should also mention that Aeon
disk is hilariously useless against some heroes.
Namely, Venomancer with his very long Damage
over Time, Enigma since Black Hole is a channel
and thus can't be dispelled, and any other
DoT effects.
In Addition, aeon Disk is very weak when bought
too early, as early in the game, an item that
will merely buy you an extra 2.5 seconds is
just not very good.
Its good late in the game, when teamfights
decide the entire game, but early your death
could mean nothing more than a tier 1 tower,
or 30 seconds not being in your lane, or even
absolutely nothing.
Likewise, it requires you to actually be useful,
so buying it when you aren't useful is not
a great idea, and an item with an actual impact
on the game should be considered instead.
--
Some more interesting interactions.
Even though in the patch it says that sheepstick
can no longer be dispelled, Aeon Disk will
work even when youre hexed.
Its also not affected by mute although mute
is supposed to disable your items.
Aeon Disk will activate even when you're ulted
by Disruptor with Aghanims, but you will obviously
still be silenced while his Ult is on the
ground.
As you guys will know, there is also a new
item that dispells and mutes an enemy.
The interesting thing is, Aeon Disk will activate
while youre affected by Nullifier, but Nullifier
CAN dispel Aeon Disk!
Channeling abilities such as rasta shackles
will be interupted by aeon disk, with the
exception of course being enigma, because
its a ground targeted ability.
--
To sum up, Aeon Disk is an excellent item
for intitiators and should be considered in
the lategame to ensure being able to properly
initiate and stay relevant throughout the
whole teamfight.
Furthermore, it is good against teamfight
ulties such as Reverse Polarity, as the dispel
will allow you to counterinitiate.
Or, if earthshaker is doing a lot of damage
with Echo slam, you can block most of the
damage.
