Riding the waves: The Return of Morphling
Every patch, Dota 2 has a trend of making certain heroes overpowered. Even without receiving any buffs, some heroes will become extremely good due to the nerfs and buffs certain heroes receives. Most times, the broken hero doesn’t have a trend of repeating themselves, but this time players are worried that their worst nightmares will come back to haunt them. As the current meta is relatively new, with Radiance getting buffs, players are testing the heroes like Abaddon and Alchemist. With heroes like Alchemist making their way to the meta, Morphling, Alchemist counter, and the arch nemesis of many heroes has also started to trend in high-level pubs.
The Ephialtes
The last time Morphling was in meta, it caused a lot of tremors in the game. Picking alongside Earthshaker, the hero would easily wipe off the entire team after finishing his Aghanim’s Scepter build. Nothing could stop the combo, and it received a lot of hate as it was deemed unfair. Nevertheless, there were a lot of players that also abused this combo to climb the MMR ladder.
Luckily, the combo got nerfed before the start of The International 2021. Even though the combo didn’t get nerfed considerably, the combo became manageable after the nerfs, thus concluding the Morphling and Earthshaker meta. Since then, Morphling's picks started to decline, and eventually, Morphling became the hero of the past.
Resurgence
After nearly two years of being out of the meta, Morphling received his first buff back in patch 7.32. His most crucial ability, Attribute Shift, received rework, and the hero started to reappear in pubs again. But players struggled to find the hero’s place in pubs. Once again, in 7.32b, the hero received final buffs. In the patches that followed 7.32b, heroes that counter Morphling got nerfed, making the hero viable again.
The Statistics
Morphling is a difficult hero to play in Dota 2. If not dealt properly and quickly, the hero often dominates the game giving a free win. Players who play the hero need to get themselves comfortable with Attribute Shift. On top of being an agile hero, this ability allows Morphling to soak up or deal damage depending on the scenario.
Currently, Morphling has a win rate of 45.30% in high-level pubs. The hero’s pick rate will increase as players pick heroes like Alchemist or Abaddon.