Theory Crafting: Silencer

 Current Mindset

People generally see Silencer as one of two things:

1. Support
2. Hard Carry

However, he just seems to blow in the current meta (push). So I'm re-examining him. First up, his skills:

1. Curse of the Silent: great for lane control in certain lanes. However, it doesn't have much use later in the game as heroes' mana pools and HP increases.
2. Glaives of Wisdom: this is his "carry" spell. It scales with INT, doing pure damage (i.e. ignores armor).
3. Last Word: a very annoying silence. It lets players cast a spell, but then they must be silenced for up to 3 seconds. The range is 750, which means Silencer must be close to the fight. It also steals INT from any enemy that dies in the area, or 2 INT if Silencer gets the kill.
4. Global Silence: a very powerful spell at all levels. It lasts 3/4/5 seconds, but costs a shit load of mana (450 at level 3).

The problem I see is that he has mediocre support spells:

• Curse is conditional. If they cast a spell, it goes away.
• Glaives isn't really a support spell
• Last Word is conditional and won't prevent anyone from casting a spell. It will stop Wombo Combos (e.g. Tiny's Toss/Stun). The INT Steal adds to his carry viability
• Global Silence is great, but it has a long cooldown

 He's also not particularly fast, he has no escapes, no guaranteed disables (other than his ult, but that's on a long cooldown), and is very squishy. Basically:

• He's not "supporty" enough to support
• He's not survivable enough to carry (i.e. he can get ganked stupid easy)

Theory Crafting

My theory is this: play him as a Ganking Semi-Support. Here's the reasoning:

• Silencer doesn't farm well, he doesn't survive well - instead, make him the offensive one
• Silencer needs to be around a lot of kills to soak up INT
• INT Fuels Silencer's carrying ability

 Skill Build:

Pretty typical stuff. If the other team isn't spammy, grab some levels of Curse. Otherwise go Glaives/Last Word so you can last hit or deal damage. Pure damage is pretty nice at all levels.

Just make sure you have at least a level of Last Word to get the ability to soak up INT.

Item Build:

Early Game Items:

• Tranquil Boots: You have no regen, you need the speed to get around the map quickly
• Soul Ring: If you're involved in kills, then the HP comes back to you
• Magic Wand: Is usually a solid pick up

 Mid-Late Game Items:

• Rod of Atos: You need the HP (the longer you're alive, the more annoying Last Word gets), you like the INT, and the slow is just one more utility spell (chase/escape). It's also cost effective for INT and you get a free active ability out of it.
• Eul's: More speed, more INT, more regen. Plus, it gives you an escape
• Push Stick: Int and DPS, plus an escape
• Orchid: Int, DPS, Regen, and a powerful silence
• Sheep Stick: Never a bad item

Situational:

• Linken's: Regen, Stats, and more survivability
• Shiva's: Int and Armor, both good for you. Also, a slow and aura
• BKB: should be obvious why this is here
• Dagon: Yes, it's gimmicky, but it also guarantees kills which help you and your team by draining 2 INT permanently from your victim.
• Drums: Gives you HP and INT, as well as some speed. Pretty good for him
• Necro Book: Both stats are good for you, the minions are good if you can micro well. One minion increases your move speed, which is good for escapes and chases. It gives you some pushing power. It also gives you detection at level 3.
• Ghost Scepter: If you need to avoid Physical damage and are feeling pretty safe from magic damage.

Play Style:

• Get your Tranquil Boots early and start roaming
• Get involved in a lot of kills early on so you steal lots of INT
• Use Soul Ring because you'll most likely get the kill or just use Tranquil boots to regen the HP lost.
• Early game, you can play sort of a Roaming Support position. If it goes well, you can transition into semi-carry / secondary carry.
• Mid/Late/Situational items are all really just situational, but some are more situational than others.
• Just remember, your biggest things are: you need to be tanky (for Last Word), you need INT (for damage), and attack speed, regen, etc. are very beneficial.
• Even if you're doing well, DO NOT pick up a Blood Stone. Yes, regen is nice, but there are so many items that benefit you far more than that. Regen is not your main concern as Silencer.

To conclude, this is just THEORY CRAFT at the moment. I'll make it a Hero Guide if it goes well over time.