The International 12 Carries - These Heroes Will Dominate

Here are some of The International 12 carries that we expect to dominate Dota 2’s biggest tournament of the year.

Following our overview of The International 12’s mid laners, it is time to take a look at TI12 carries as well. We all know that this is one of the fan-favorite positions, so it’s no surprise that carry players usually get more attention than the rest. The last couple of Dota 2 tournaments have given us access to a lot of different heroes, so TI12 is definitely going to be an interesting place to watch them in action.

Speaking of this Dota 2 tournament, the 20 best teams in the world will come together in just a couple of weeks from now in Seattle. We expect to see a lot of epic matches, so definitely follow us for more information. We will provide you with in-depth coverage of everything you should know regarding the event. With that said, let’s take a look at some of The International 12 carries you need to be aware of.

Keep in mind that we won’t include Vengeful Spirit on the list because most teams still use her as support. However, it’s worth knowing that she is one of the most popular options in the current meta and has a lot of fans, so we’ve also seen her in the carry position.

Contents

1 Terrorblade
2 Phantom Assassin
3 Sven
4 Gyrocopter
5 Wraith King

Terrorblade

When it comes down to TI12 carries that we expect to see at this tournament, there is no arguing that Terrorblade is topping the list. He is one of the few names in Dota 2 that is popular in every match and meta, regardless of the situation. Despite the fact that the hero’s pub win rate is dreadful, he has always been one of the most successful options for pro matches.

The reason why Terrorblade is so good is because of his amazing team fight and pushing capabilities. The hero is almost unstoppable to kill later on, so teams that pick him have a huge advantage. Having said that, Terrorblade only had a 50% win rate at DreamLeague Season 21, so it’s definitely possible to deal with him.

Needless to say, The International 12 is a place where you can find tons of world-class Terrorblade players. In fact, it’s safe to say that every team has at least one player that’s good with the hero.

Phantom Assassin

Normally, Phantom Assassin is definitely not one of the TI12 carries that people think of when talking about this tournament. In fact, the hero has always been a PUB star and rarely had the chance to shine in professional games. However, the changes from the last few updates paved the way for Phantom Assassin to dominate the Pro matches. Consequently, this is one of The International 12 carries that we definitely expect to see more of.

The most interesting thing about Phantom Assassin is that the hero can be effective without the need to get tons of items. Unlike Terrorblade, who’s unstoppable only in the ultra-late game, PA, who has a good start, can win in less than 30 minutes. Her ability to land deadly critical strikes means she can one-shot most supports. She’s also really hard to kill because of her evasion, which means that enemies need to get MKB even if they do not want to.

If we check the DreamLeague Season 21 stats, we can see that Phantom Assassin appeared in 22 matches and has 13 victories. This makes PA the most successful carry at the event.

Sven

Despite the fact that Sven is one of the heroes who can also work as support (in fact, the most recent buffs are support-orientated), he is one of the best Dota 2 carries right now. Consequently, he is one TI12 carries that we will see in action unless Valve decides to nerf him.

Sven has always been a solid option for a carry because of his ability to farm incredibly fast. Another thing that the hero is known for is his tankiness. The fact that he has a ton of armor and high HP means he is really hard to kill, especially with physical damage. There are only a handful of agility carries that can deal with him.

The only problem that Sven players need to be aware of is that they can be kited. Considering that this is a popular hero right now, we saw a lot of interesting options at DreamLeauge Season 21 that tried to deal with the hero. Although not all of them succeeded, heroes like Shadow Demon continue to be pretty good options.

Gyrocopter

If you are an old-school Dota 2 fan, you probably remember TI5 when a couple of heroes dominated the meta. Gyrocopter was one of them because the hero combines the unique ability to farm fast and take part in team fights. Gyrocopter is also one of the few names in Dota 2 that can clear stacks incredibly fast, so people who know how to play with him can achieve an impressive farming speed.

Despite the fact that he is not among the go-to TI12 carries, there is no arguing that the hero will appear in multiple games at this tournament. Gyrocopter showed up in 19 matches at DreamLeague S21, but unlike the other carries on the list, he only got a 36% win rate. It seemed like the best Dota 2 teams in the world haven’t found a way to use him yet, but we expect this to change for TI 12.

Wraith King

Although Wraith King was not one of the heroes that we were impressed with at DreamLeague Season 21, the hero’s PUB stats are really impressive. Consequently, we think he will be one of The International 12 carries that we will see much more than we think.

You probably know that Dota 2’s best teams in the world do not want to reveal their tactics before TI12. Since WK’s been one of the best in PUB games for a while now, we expect that many of the top-tier Dota 2 teams have special tactics around him. However, since they do not want to reveal them to the public, they are waiting until TI12.

Wraith King has the ability to farm fast, push, and take team fights early on. He is among the few carries that can focus on the late game or mid-game and be equally effective. It all depends on the item build.