Enigma could make his return to relevance in the Offlane
Sometimes, a lot has to go right for a hero to come back into the meta, and even more for one to show up in a new lane. The changes to jungle, new talent trees, and the evolving early game meta all seem to combine to give Enigma Offlane a pretty strong case. Evidence is still light, with the pro scene yet to really catch on, but pro players are playing it in ranked matchmaking, which means at the very least, the build can catch on in the pub scene. Let’s take a look at how it works and if it has staying power.
To Jungle, or Not to Jungle
The first question to ask is: Why the Offlane over the Jungle? It’s a fair one, as Enigma is still one of the fastest Junglers inthe game (save Broodmother) and he has the (right or wrong) perception of being mostly a support hero. In high level play though, Jungling can be punished as it strips the Enigma’s team of a valuable roaming support/4 position that can help sway one or more lanes in the team’s favor. In the past, teams have been willing to accept this in order to take advantage of Enigma’s super fast farming ability (9 minute Mekansm is a game changer), but the sacrifice may not even be necessary anymore. The Dire offlane jungle, with two camps super close to each other, gives a free level 2 and also offers an easy stack for level 3, all achievable before minute 2 is over.
That doesn’t mean it’s always the right decision. In the video above, the Slark (played by BSJ) takes total control of the lane and exposes Universe’s jungling, and ends up steamrolling the game. However, the simple ability to Jungle in the offlane area and transition it to the lane is a huge deal. It essentially forces the enemy team to either sit a support in that area (and put themselves in big danger of dying to any TProtation to shrine) or otherwise cede levels and farm to the enemy offlane. Enigma, like few other offlane heroes (Dark Seer), has a near guaranteed timely 6 and Mek, and the Pro Meta loves reliability where possible. In the game above, Universe’s team unfortunately got off to a bad start, but at the pro level, it’s much more likely they’d be able to control their safelane and thus reap the benefits of at least two cores free farming. If anything, allowing space to the enemy safelaner is much more common at the professional level, considering the popularity of ‘independent’ heroes such as Lifestealer, Juggernaut, and Weaver in the safelane role.
Laning Stage
If he doesn’t have to fall back to the jungle, Enigma is a rather tough hero to deal with for an enemy carry. Generally this requires a numbers advantage, as Enigma can’t 1v3 no matter how hard he tries (but if he does have a 1v3, refer to the above). In a 1v1 or 2v2 situation Eidolons pack a pretty big punch and can force further rotations to draw pressure off of mid and safelane. Once things get hot, Enigma can reset and fall back to the Jungle. The Dark Seer comparisons are somewhat apt, though the way they each pressure the safelane is quite different.
Enigma’s fast leveling even poses a huge threat to the enemy safelane, especially if they are splitting XP trying to zone the Enigma. Black Hole combined with 6 Eidolons is usually good for a reliable kill, and can start the snowball rolling. With Enigma’s 6 being virtually guaranteed before minute 6, It adds a danger that few other offlaners can provide that early. It’s perhaps reminiscent of Void’s Chronosphere or Clockwerk’s Hook combination, but both of those heroes are comparatively weaker at getting an early 6, not to mention their reliability on teammate rotations to secure said kills.
Mid-Game
Enigma’s Black Hole, which has the longest cooldown in the game, is the main attraction. So it isn’t surprising that he seems ineffective between cooldowns. Eidolons combine with Mekansm to make Enigma decent push threat in his own right, whether he groups with his team or splits the map up. Malefice, with it’s unique 3-instance stun mechanic, is a pretty solid tool to mess with enemies and delay or outright cancel some channeling spells. Midnight Pulse provides scaling Max HP damage and breaks trees to assist Enigma and his team with vision during pushes and ganks. Perhaps the biggest change for Enigma is his level 15 talent, which provides a 15% CD reduction, knocking Black Hole down to 136 seconds from 160 at level 18, putting him in line with other big AOE ultimates such as Ravage and Chaotic Offering.
None of this is unique to the offlane, of course, but it does provide a reason as to why teams would pick Enigma in the first place. Enigma is also very good against the ever frustrating Meepo, as well as some other popular heroes with no counter to Black Hole such as Juggernaut, Weaver, Lifestealer, and Shadow Fiend. To be fair, almost no hero save Wraith King is happy about being disabled for 5 seconds through BKB, but that’s just another point in Enigma’s favor. Enigma combos well with early game heroes like Luna to steamroll towers, but can also serve a Dark Seer-esque role of discouraging pushes with the ever looming threat of Black Hole.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Enigma Offlane is still mostly in it’s infancy this patch. The Professional scene will ultimately determine it’s popularity. 2 pub games from Universe and 2 more from Mineski’s carry Meracle are not complete proof of a meta shift just yet. Enigma in the offlane seems reliable and consistent though, and that’s something pros can get behind. With a focus on early fighting and winning the lanes, Enigma has a near-unstoppable early level 6 and his presence forces the enemy team to make a tough decision of stopping Enigma and losing the other lanes, or figuring out a way to counter the strong push he provides. Given that, it seems merely a matter of time before he shows up in professional scene.
