The Techies rework in Dota 2 7.31 has been out for less than a day—and Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen is already owning with it.

Topson is no stranger to playing the strangest heroes in the midlane—even on the biggest stages. He dared to play Dawnbreaker in a win-or-go-home situation at The International 10, he was one of the pioneers of Grimstroke and Troll Warlord mid, and now, is showing off with the new Techies rework on his stream.

How is Topson playing the new Techies rework?

OG's Topson at the International 10 (TI10) Topson
Credit: OG

The former OG midlaner goes for an early Aether Lens, providing some much-needed mana regeneration. Techies are constantly spamming spells, including the three-charge Remote Mines. The added cast range also helps the hero to stay at the edges of the fight, throwing in spells without putting himself in danger.

The item also has a natural upgrade to Octarine Core, giving Squee, Spleen, and Spoon yet more mana, and cooldown reduction to toss out their bombs.



Next, Topson goes for an Ethereal Blade. The item was reworked in 7.31, changing its components to Kaya, Ghost Scepter, and a recipe. Now providing base spell amplification and lifesteal, further amping it with the active Ethereal Blast, Ethereal Blade is now a much better item for spellcasters.

Topson uses the item to instantly blow up people. Using Ethereal Blade, the opposing hero is slow and disarmed, making them unable to stop Techies’ Proximity Mines from blowing up in their face.

While the Techies rework gave them Reactive Taser that can disarm, it’s not as reliable, nor as painful, as an ethereal shotgun blast to the face.

While Techies requires some setup to fully reach their potential, Techies’ damage output can be terrifying. The demolition crew is now a capable teamfighter, and has an array of annoying crowd control effects like a slow, silence, and disarm

While some might have reservations on whether the hero’s changes are in line with its past core gameplay, there’s no denying that the new Techies will still be an explosive force—even from the midlane.

You can watch Topson’s official stream here. Read the full Dota 2 7.31 patch notes on Valve’s official website here.

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