Dawnbreaker and Marci are the new faces of pro meta

It’s the mid-season of Tour 3 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) and as we move closer to the end game, it is time to analyze the pro meta. After 3 weeks of the season, two of Dota 2’s newest heroes, Dawnbreaker and Marci, surge on top, becoming one of the strongest heroes of the meta. 

The recent Patch 7.31d update didn’t shift too much of the meta (aside from the massive Healing Salve change). But Dawnbreaker and Marci definitely had a boost in popularity. Marci's sudden rise in the pro meta is also because Valve only recently added Marci into Captain's Mode. It might be that the hero has always been viable from the start. Nevertheless, let's jump straight into the stats.

*All stats are referred from Spectral Stats.

Throughout all regions in Tour 3 so far, Dawnbreaker and Marci are the two most trending heroes, with a 62% and 10% pick rate increase respectively. Dawnbreaker is the 3rd most picked hero with 112 picks out of 401 total DPC matches. Following Dawnbreaker, Marci sits at 4th place with 109 picks in total. Both heroes have been bombarding the pro matches, and even though their win rate is a little below average, they're undoubtedly a strong pickup. In contrast to Dawnbreaker who only has 58 bans, Marci proves to be an extreme nuisance with 170 bans.

In April 2021, alongside the Patch 7.29 update, Valve adds a celestial being into Dota 2’s pool of heroes known as the Dawnbreaker. Little did we know, this hero would be dominating the meta with Dawnbreaker now surging through the pro scene.

Why is Dawnbreaker a strong pick?

Dawnbreaker is extremely versatile, as she suits the carry, midlane, offlane, and even the support role. This yellow warrior is a nightmare to fight against in the laning stage; she has a stun ability, a great load of magic spells, an escape ability, and a passive that gives critical damage and HP sustain simultaneously. Not only that, her ultimate ability is a GLOBAL spell that heals surrounding allies and damages surrounding enemies - which makes her not only practical for ganks but also counter-attacks. That sums up how Dawnbreaker is an absolute, perfect package.

In the DPC, teams mainly play Dawnbreaker as position 3/core offlane. She is the 3rd most popular offlane hero behind Beastmaster and Mars, whilst sharing the same place as Dragon Knight.

Marci is one of the latest addition to the Dota 2 hero pool. She made an exciting entrance after her character blew up in the Dota anime, Dragon's Blood. Valve released Marci in October 2021 and she finally entered Captain's Mode (competitive) earlier in June 2022. Right after the gate to the competitive scene opened up for Marci, her numbers gradually rose, proving her threat in the meta.

Why is Marci a strong pick?

Marci's set of spells is incredibly stacked with so many different functions that make her viable for many roles as well. She has Dispose, which is an almost instant stun that not only damages the enemy but moves them from their position. This is a great ability to throw the enemy off their position just like a mini-Pudge Hook, Tusk Kick, and Disruptor Glimpse. Dispose can also help allies which makes it an amazing saving ability. She has an insanely long-range ability that enables her to go in and out of fights, strong attack damage and lifesteal buff, as well as a powerful attack speed ultimate.

Here's a glimpse at how Marci can be incredibly powerful or if you're on the other side of the river, insanely frustrating.

In the DPC, teams mainly play Marci as the position 4/ support offlane. She is the 2nd most popular position 4 with 73 picks, just behind Tiny, who has 75 total picks.

To see how these heroes perform in competitive matches, we have compiled a short list of DPC games where both Dawnbreaker and Marci were picked.

Note that as the article is written, there are live DPC matches going on so the numbers might slightly change.

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