The Curse of Valve’s Recommended Items: Shadow Blade
Blink Dagger or Shadow Blade? For Blink Dagger, its purpose is obvious for supports, as it unlocks the potential for long range initiation with stuns and ultimates. Timing windows in Dota surround when an Earthshaker or Sand King buys a Blink Dagger. Shadow Blade’s purpose is a little more nuanced when it comes to fulfilling its uses for initiation, escape, or split push. What is not subtle, however, are the three heroes whom Valve has recommended Shadow Blade as a “core” item: Drow Ranger, Kunnka, and Sniper. It’s no surprise that Shadow Blade is among the top 3 most built items on these heroes in pubs, much to the detriment of everyone involved. Shadow Blade sits next to other core items, such as Power Treads and Magic Wand, misleading players to believe that it is just as essential. Kunkka has better synergy with Blink Dagger (since critical strike does not interact with Shadow Blade’s bonus damage), while Drow Ranger and Sniper are better off not building the item at all.
Blink Dagger For All
Unless you’re using Slark, whose unique skill set can capitalize on Shadow Blade’s benefits, Blink Dagger is more often the superior item. It has advantages in cost--in gold and mana--and it has more versatile uses across a broader swath of heroes. Support heroes almost never build Shadow Blade, now that Glimmer Cape has taken its place for heroes like Crystal Maiden or Witch Doctor who want to channel their ultimates while invisible. There are two major reasons to build Blink Dagger as a core item:
- To initiate with a stun or slow. (e.g. Slardar, Batrider, Axe)
- To initiate and maximize the impact of an AOE stun. (e.g. Tidehunter, Tiny, Sand King).
For all other purposes, in the vast area of mobility, Blink Dagger is still the superior item. As an escape tool, ever since Shadow Blade’s cooldown nerf, it fits more favorably with split pushing heroes, such as Invoker or Nature’s Prophet. It’s only in the niche cases among few heroes that Shadow Blade has a case for being a competitive item with Blink Dagger.
You’re Doing It Wrong
The top 5 users of Shadow Blade this week
Is there a reason why pub players are picking Shadow Blade, if for any reason other than it being among the recommended items (in either the core or suggested category)? One explanation could be the value of invisibility among average pub players. Despite buffs to Dust of Appearance and reduced costs of Sentry Ward, invisibility remains invaluable when no one buys either. This isn’t about late game scenarios where your carry has no slots for Dust, and the map is wide open to preempt Sentry Ward placement. It’s about the common scene where three teammates fumble into a gank, and the enemy Drow Ranger enables Shadow Blade and walks away.
Shadow Blade here is being used as an escape tool, and it’s in this case where pub players are doing it wrong. You can’t depend on a 2800 gold item to get away when it’s countered by a 180 gold item (though this will depend on your MMR bracket). For heroes like Sniper or Drow Ranger, who are too squishy to initiate, the money is better off spent on stat items, like Yasha.
As an initiation tool is where Shadow Blade recoups its cost. Shadow Fiend can channel 
Requiem of Souls on top of an unsuspecting enemy hero, almost guaranteeing an instant kill with damage up to 1440/2160/2880 (at levels 1/2/3). Dragon Knight also benefits from Blink Dagger, but as a strength hero he benefits more from Shadow Blade’s attack speed buff, with Silver Edge being a natural upgrade with it’s Sange component.
The difference between Shadow Blade and Blink Dagger as initiation items is that Shadow Blade puts pressure on the map by a core (safe or midlaner more often) instead of a support. Missing cores that can initiate are more difficult to anticipate than missing support heroes. Cores disappear and reappear on the map all the time, whether to farm the lane or the jungle. Sometimes you’ll see pro players use the threat of a missing core to put an enemy team on alert, then using that space to farm instead. It’s why heroes with solo pickoff potential such as Windranger or Lina can be more devastating in the mid-late game with Shadow Blade instead of Blink Dagger. Shadow Blade allows you not only to initiate but to stealthily move around the map, underneath enemy observer wards. For heroes that can best use it, it’s the threat of “my carry can pickoff your carry” that gives Shadow Blade an edge over Blink Dagger.
Shadow Blade Is A Situational Item
When Valve puts Shadow Blade as a core item for a hero like Sniper, it edges out Blink Dagger in the situational category. There’s not much reason to have both. In the process, players are misled to believe that one item is better, by necessity, than the other. In Dota, everything is situational. Some things are more situational than others, but it’s rare that one choice is always the best, and that’s why we keep playing.
Sources: Headline image by Nannou
Wow many don't like the analysis of eggs, but they've given a lot of good comments. Dotabuff could make another blog post out of these well written arguments.
Sb is item for slow hands and bd for quickcast user
While I agree with most of the points here it is usually worth it for the upgrade to silver edge (especially if there's a pa or someone on the enemy team).
I fucking know right! Blink is goat!
@Maverick I actually thought that was a joke and then I looked at your dotabuff profile and you're serious. Mind if I ask how do you use that item on Riki, where do you have it in build order and what average MMR is that in?
I hate how people always rush Shadow Blade for Nature's Prophet. It is much easier to have map awareness and grow trees around you and tp out if things get ugly (or if they might get). SB money can be used to buy necromicon early in the game. Necromicon is a hell of an item during the early stages, people need to realize that
kid item
Suggested items are made for new people anyway, after playing awhile any sane person will realize that volvo's build are not effective and build everything according to the situation
And then you see Miracle buildin sb on sven, Notail buying it for tiny and understand that its all a matter of choice and playstile. I personally think that blink price of 2250 is high for item wich gives you nothing but blink.
Im playing Brew with shadow blade now. Way better than usual blink. Better initiation and after ulti you have it again to fight or escape.
Please add Atos rod with SF .. very good item for SF
He already wrote "In Dota, everything is situational". I still don't get it why d*ckheads blame to this writer ? He didn't force to buy neither blink nor sb for certain heroes or certain rank. Use your brain before giving rage comments.
All those ppl don't know what is the meaning of "We agree to disagree" -_- sigh ~~
Stupid post.
As the author says, I too feel that Shadow Blade is completely situational however it isn't reliable. Shadow Blade can be easily countered.
@Maverick, Shadow Blade on Riki? You must be kidding, rofl.
I get SB on Spirit Breaker instead of Mask of Madness, while charging passed possible warded areas its awesome. Also on Ursa instead of blink just for speed boost and AS, turning it into Silver Edge if needed.
preach
heheh so many butthurt SB user. only read the title do ya?
I personally do not agree.
I always go for BD, only hero I consider to get SB is Slark. Even then I'm feeling dirty.
Weird Analitics. Really.
Most SB buyers are trying to build sb to get it into a silver edge.
Some of them fail bcuz the team is losing.
Just compare sb and se winrates.
Inobjective analisys with nutz argumets based on one-sided stats.
ggwpff
I love the idea of the suggested item builds but like 90% of them suck, or are actually worse for starting players then other choices, or in the case of spectre straight up random and confusing, why build a vanguard. They are also often out of date or they just have random new items thrown in to seem up to date. that especially apllies to heroes who got major changes, but sometimes to other heroes like pudge. And it keeps telling me to build linken's on heroes that dislike being stunned or silenced and not suggesting bkb, a much better and cheaper item, this one confuses me quite a bit especially on weaver who does not farm fast enough for it to be even remotely reasonable to go linken's first because it screws over his fighting and ganking and pushing potential in the early game.
shadow blade on shadow fiend is good almost all the time in my opinion since it allows you to spiritbomb someone and get solid initiation without getting spotted, maybe not so good if they have gem tho
I've tried it guys. I buy dagger, sb, force staff, eul, bkb, and ghost scepter (e-blade) on furion. Probably best escape mechanism?
^that's because you bought it when the game is ending anyway?
How about enemy getting radi? Just in case
who buys sb in ranked
5.3k here. I agree with this guy, especially the second last paragraph. SB does work on a handful of mid heroes and certain carries like Tiny/Slark/etc.
The author missed out the utility of Blink to disjoint projectiles and/or dodge spells/initiations like Chrono, though. I do consider that when buying the item. I get it on a couple of ranged safelane carries like Drow (who could also Blink>Gust as initiation against QoP, for example).
Another thing is how Blink enables you to get around the map much faster when farming (especially the jungle).
Anyone stating one item is absolutely better than the other in this comment thread should be ignored.