Sand Wraith

Role

Wraith is an unique hero with the ability to cross any sort of terrain on the map, while having the ability to teleport to any enemy hero by using his ultimate.Thusly, He excels at taking down weaker opponents, while supporting the team with damage. He is a carry; good damage output and great chasing, but loses in direct confrontations with other straightforward carries. His best way of supporting the team is still through obtaining damage orientated items.In late-game, after you have gotten your core, he can also obtain a semi-tanking role by combining health items with his damage-reflecting skill.

Skills

Deserts Curse
Slows the enemy , and gives you your main strength in the game; cliffwalking, treewalking, unitwalking, you name it.Allows you to escape many a situation, and can be used to shortcut and gank creatively, making it a versatile spell which takes some time to master and use it to the fullest.Expensive early game, and not very powerful in damage. Should be used wisely.You do not need to follow the trail to cliffwalk.

Deserted
Does true damage, up to 45 at level 4. Only works when there are no allies of the enemy hero within 400 range. Gives 1v1 capabilities, and synergises with Mock Of Brilliance.Illusions receive this passive, but they do not stack. Only 1 true damage debuff is possible, so you do not gain extra dps with extra illusions like geometers bane or illusion rune gives you.

You can take stats instead of this spell if there are no 1v1 situations you can really use it. 

Dissipation
Another strong passive; returns 20% of the damage done to you back to the enemy, while make you immune to it (making you receive only 80%).
Great passive. Gives you the ability to tank a bit later in the game, after you have gotten your core.

You don’t want to get armour because of this spell, because it reduces the damage casted back by the passive. Stacking health is better, like sacri stone/heart.

Mirage
Your main strength, and one of the main reasons that make Sandwraith fun to play.

Spawns an illusion at every opponent on the map, attacking the enemy hero.

The illusions receive all the passives (including dissipation and deserted) you currently have. This works best in combination with Mock of Brilliance, making it a great ulti booster.After you casted, you have the possibility to use Mirage again to teleport to one of your illusions and take its place, allowing you to finish him off. Possibilities with items are endless: You can slow with diffusal blade, or max chase magicdamage using Deserted+ Mock Of brilliance. Great chasetool, especially with Desert’s Curse. Great instant teleport support anywhere on the map.

Skillbuild

1. Desert’s curse
2. Dissipation
3. Desert’s curse
4. Dissipation
5. Desert’s curse
6. Mirage
7. Desert’s curse
8 Dissipation
9. Dissipation
10. Deserted/stats
11. Mirage
12-15. Deserted /stats
16. Mirage
17-21. Deserted when you have taken stats
21-25. Stats

Stats versus Deserted: Deserted is only good when you are allowed to mapharass, and encounter 1v1 situations in either chases or ganks.

Items

Starting Items

x2
Low stats, needs stats. Spells are expensive and cost too much mana(not effective), so a potion when really needed comes in handy when you are saving yourself or a teammate.

Core

Explanatory, speed and health. Doesn’t need to rush upgraded boots because of the movement speedboost Primary Spell gives.
VS
Wraith’s Spells cost alot of mana, and agressive ulti-combo playstyle requires regen. I generally find bottle better. Can even combine both for mass mana/health regen.

$0D
Mid Game

Mock Of Brilliance
Generally the best item to get for wraith after Core, as your first big item.
Makes your ulti much more powerful, because every illusion gets the radiance damage bonus. Synergises with Deserted, which synergises with your ultimate’s illusion swap, giving you +45 true damage, and +40 magic.

Note: Sand Wraith suffers from poor farm(making the Mock good), and this item will not be farmable for you when your team is losing.

If you can’t farm it early game(nullfire is more important), get it later. It’s core as a big item.


Nullfire blade
Alternative to Mock; combines nicely with the illusion swap on ultimate. Has situational use versus heroes like Jeraziah.
Should be gotten when you cannot farm for Mock Of Brilliance, need to assist versus pesky heroes. Still worth to get after mock for slow.


Post-haste
Only get this after Mock/Nullfire. Increases your farm potential greatly(especially with mock).
The choice of post-haste over early phaseboots is that you needed the $1000 to rush for mock. Also, synergises with your ult for quick 1v1 ganking; use your ult, switch places with illusion, kill, move out.

You will be spending most of the game to get these items. If the game is still undecided, you have the following choices:

Late Game

Behemoths heart
Combined with Dissipation, gives wraith some nifty tanking capabilities. Although heart has changed(no health regen), the +10% damage it gives for agi heroes is still nice.
Can be built up during the game with the needed health items, giving you a safe and useful build-up with extra HP.
A very good late-game choice.


Sacrifical Stone
With behemoths heart being changed(losing the % health regen), the sacrifical stone is a good alternative when you are able to farm it with charges; the mana regen and heal-on-death is nice, too.


Barrier Idol
Always good to have, especially when you want to soak damage(and behemoths heart being changed for agis). Although the magic reduces the 20% of damage reflected back, the +health regen and credit-to-team damage soak is worth it.


Wingbow
Gives evasion; good damage game. Evasion is it’s main forte, neglecting damage given to you by 30%, while giving 20% back of the remaining 70% that hits.
Behemoths heart is a better item when you want to Dissipation tank.


Geometer’s Bane
Extra damage is always nice, but it does add to the passive true damage bonus, nor can you teleport to them. Does give a bit of an edge on any agi, nevertheless.
Wingbow is better.

Alternate Guide

Item Build A

Str Steam Boots
Starscream bands(2)
Nullfire Blade(By about 20min)
Geometer’s Bane
Behemoth’s Heart

Reasoning:

Steam boots because he has poort core stats and HP. Starscream bands are for badly needed stats and last hitting purposes. Nullfire is easily the best item for Sand Wraith and mana burn works on images. Dagger+Purge+(Possibly Desolate) is a deadly combination. Easy to farm due to low cost of components and they all boosts stats.
Geometer’s Bane for more dispersion damage from images, more pushing ability, ability to play mindgames, images get mana burn, you run faster since you’re a great chaser mid to late game. Behemoth for more tankage. The longer you stay in a battle, the more damage you do with dispersion.

Play Style

The way you play him. Stay in the farm lane and just last hit to get the experience. Whenever a sure gank happens, ult and assist in finishingthe kill. You should aim to finish off heroes since you are a carry. Why? Because Sand Wraith can potentially be one of the strongest lategame heroes, if allowed to farm luxury items. Keep farming. Stay in lane and just ult to instantly fight in team battles. Your priority is farm experience and finish off heroe ganks.

Why some items are bad on Spec:

Mock: This provides no stats to a hero that has bad stats. This reduces the ability for spectre to survive the early to mid game phase because he is trying to save up way too much cash that should rather be spent on cheaper, more cost-effective items. Radiance is best utilized if the bearer stays in a fight longer. A 700HP Sand Wraith will not last long in battle. And lategame? Eh, I’d rather farm a wingbow or a behemoth heart.
Abyssal Skull: No stats. Doesn’t need RoB. Rather save gold to purchase more core items. It’s a bad item, really. It’s only gotten on support heroes who just want to boost their team’s melee heroes. If gotten on a carry melee, then they are just wasting gold.
Hack’n'Slash: High cost. Maim% slow compared to 100% purge slow. Not cost effective on Sand Wraith.

Item Build B

1. Pretenders Crown + 2x Runes of the Blight + 1 Mana Pot + 1 Minor Totem
2. Soulscream Ring 1x or Fortified Bracelet 1x
3. Marchers + Gloves of the Swift
4. Punchdagger to make Enhanced Marchers
5. 2x Halberds
6. Elder Parasite
7. Slayer to make Savage Mace

Item Build C

2 Fortified Bracelets
Steamboots (STR)
Helm of the Black Legion
Behemoth’s Heart
Mock of Brilliance