WarBeast

Skill Build:

1 - Summon Hellhounds
2 - Battle Cry
3 - Summon Hellhounds
4 - Battle Cry
5 - Battle Cry
6 - Metamorphosis
7 - Battle Cry
8 - Summon Hellhounds
9 - Summon Hellhounds
10 - Primal Rage
11 - Metamorphosis
12 - Primal Rage
13 - Primal Rage
14 - Primal Rage
15 - Stats
16 - Metamorphosis
17 - Stats+

Justification / Modifications:

With the addition of Chalice to the game and Battle Cry's mana costs, this is the best build for Warbeast. Battle Cry gives +44 damage to all heroes on the map when used, and +16 to all owned minions.
Battle Cry actually gives more damage than Primal Rage when it is up, and with its diminishing mana cost (15/10/5/0), it should always be up whenever off cd. This aids your sidelanes greatly, especially the solo in the lane next to the jungle where you are.
2 level of Summon Hellhounds are taken initially as level 2 Hellhounds gain crit, and boosts their potential damage through the roof initially.

Starting Items:

(Monkey Courier), Crushing Claw, Mark of the Novice, Runes of the Blight

ONLY buy one if your team is too incompetent to buy one for you. Don't bother sharing it with them initially if you have to buy it.

Core:

Chalice >> Alchemist Bones >> Puzzlebox >> Steamboots

Farm your initial 325g for a Scarab and rush it to you on the courier asap.
Chalice is the way a Warbeast jungles effectively. He does not take much damage from neutrals with proper micro and Chalice allows him to always keep up Hellhounds. Ring of the Teacher first up is inferior now to Chalice on him with a Battle Cry build.
Alchemist Bones is now even better for you with charges, and since you spend a lot of time in the jungle, rushing this will pay off for you very quickly.
Puzzlebox is the single-best DPS item in the game for Warbeast. Puzzlebox minions with additional attack speed, MORE damage, 522ms and unitwalking.
Quite frankly, it's almost always worth rushing BEFORE boots. It's that good. Your ult gives you max movement speed anyway, and you should not be caught out without it with Hellhounds being able to scout for you.

After Core:

(Shrunken Head >>) Abyssal Skull >> Daemonic Breastplate >> Behemoth's Heart >> Frostwolf Skull

Shrunken Head is optional, yes. Get it if you feel you really need it. It is not uncommon to have 4k HP and a veritable ton of armour with a full kit of items 40min in, and as such, can laugh at disables as they simply can't burn you down in the disable time.
Abyssal Skull is still good on him as it is lifesteal, and not an Attack Modifier. The auras also help you and your creeps. It's just simply not worth getting before a Puzzlebox, as the Hounds don't need lifesteal to farm early on, or when they reach level 4. Daemonic Breastplate has the best synergy with your high HP and pushing ability, giving you a ton of armour and lowering armour on everything INCLUDING buildings. Best pickup for him after his core. Behemoth's Heart simply makes you more of a nightmare to kill. Frostwolf Skull tops this off for more HP, damage and a superior slow.
Sell your Chalice and then Alchemist Bones to make room as needed.

Information:

Roles: Hard Carry
Preferred Lane: Jungle
Difficulty: 4/5 (microing hounds properly to scout; farming efficiently past 20min when you're pushing as well)
Farming capabilities: 5/5 (Level 4 hounds can solo 2 neutral camps without you anywhere on the map)
Item dependent? Yes, very.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: Jungler (has extremely strong presence for your lanes with Battle Cry constantly)
- Mid Game / Ganks: 4/5 (****ing scary to see barreling down at you with 4 minions all at 522ms. The living definition of PAIN TRAIN)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 5/5 (Losing a teamfight against a Warbeast ensures that you've lost 2 raxes. Inbuilt crit, lowered BAT and extremely high damage make him extremely scary as a carry)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- Soloing Kongor at level 9 is still a trash idea. Get some help to do it from 1-2 others if you want to do it so bad.
- Battle Cry has a pitiful mana cost and should always be used constantly early on. Timing for things like after Tempest's Elementals split up is also useful when pushing.
- Hellhounds can solo 2 neutral camps at level 9 with Battle Cry or with level 4 Primal Rage. Use them to do so constantly to keep yourself raking in the gold.
- Hellhounds are also invisible at level 4 and can pull neutral camps for you, scout and even deny runes from the other mid player. They are among the most versatile skills in the game. The difference between a mediocre War Beast and a decent one is all in Hellhound usage.
- With even Puzzlebox 1, you should be knocking down 1st and 2nd tier towers VERY quickly. Charge at the tower irrespective of where the creep line is (without drawing enemy creep sight preferably), Summon Hellhounds and Puzzlebox minions just out of range, ult and rightclick the tower. Repeat. You can leave the minions there for a little bit if they are tping in, and the tower is nearly dead. All of the minions have a 925 leash range in which they can attack.
- Using the minions to block while you run away can mean the difference between getting away from a gank and dying. This obviously becomes less effective if the Hellhounds gain unitwalking from Metamorphosis, but leaving the minions behind to just attack someone while you run away is always more effective. Who cares if the Hellhounds or Puzzlebox minions live or not as long as you do?
- As of some questions raised, I'll post some sample camp times (in seconds taken to kill them) to show the viability of a 2/4/0/1 vs a 4/2/0/1 build:
4/2 vs 2/4
wild hunters - 13/11
mino - 18/14
catman - 17/18
vulture - 13/11

As you can see, the extra points in Battle Cry actually shave 1-2 seconds off all of the decent camps except Catmen (stomp dominates your lower HP Hounds), as well as offering superior benefits to your team for most likely screwing up their pub lanes :P

Counters:

- He has high physical damage and will most likely carry a Shrunken Head. Void Talisman is the most optimal counter to that. Armor Stacking will help too.
- Stormspirit serves a similar purpose as Void Talisman in being to save you or even team mates from his fury. If you can make use of them, get both items!
- Warbeast will most of the time be jungling. Make sure you pay him a visit from time to time as uninterrupted farming will make him a War BEAST faster than you might think.
- Make use of the fact that most Warbeast players will be almost completely useless before the 20-30 minute mark turning it into a 5vs4 in your favor. Push hard if you can.
- A Warbeast without Puzzlebox (usually Shieldbreaker like a tard) is easily outcarried.

Devourer. a.k.a Pudge

Consuming and destroying all in its path, the corpulent,
putrid Devourer exists only to feed. No pain can match
the agony of its hunger, and so it shrugs off all attacks,
spreading its rot and disease across the battlefield like doom itself.
——————–
Stats
Attack Type=Melee
Attack Damage=52-58
Attack Range=128
Movementspeed=285
Turnrate=320
Armor=1.96
MagicArmor=5.5
Strength=25
Agility=14
Intelligence=14
Strength per level=3.2
Agility per level=1.5
Intelligence per level=1.5
——————–
Spells
Guttling Hook

The Devourer launches his Guttling Hook
at a target unit or location. The first targetable
unit that touches the hook will be dragged back
to the Devourer.
Level 1 : Deals 100 physical damate to target, and drags to self. 400 Range
Level 2 : Deals 200 physical damate to target, and drags to self. 600 Range
Level 3 : Deals 300 physical damate to target, and drags to self. 800 Range
Level 4 : Deals 400 physical damate to target, and drags to self. 1000 Range
Mana cost 140
Cooldown 14 seconds
Explanation: Your main-skill skill it out ASAP, this is what makes this hero so skilled. I’ll explain more later.
Decay

The Devourer allows himself to decay,
draining his Health over time and releasing
poisonous gasses that both damage and
slow nearby enemy units.
Level 1 : 20% Movement slow, 25 magic damage per second to target and self
Level 2 : 20% Movement slow, 50 magic damage per second to target and self
Level 3 : 20% Movement slow, 75 magic damage per second to target and self
Level 4 : 20% Movement slow, 100 magic damage per second to target and self
Mana cost n/a
Cooldown n/a
Explanation: The ways to use it will be explained later on.
Cadever Armor

This grotesque armor increases the Devourer’s Magic
Armor and permanently adds strength for each hero kill
and strength for each creep kill he makes.
Level 1 : +0.9 Strength for Hero kill, +0.03 Strength for creep kill. +1 Magic armor
Level 2 : +1.2 Strength for Hero kill, +0.06 Strength for creep kill. +2 Magic armor
Level 3 : +1.5 Strength for Hero kill, +0.09 Strength for creep kill. +3 Magic armor
Level 4 : +1.8 Strength for Hero kill, +0.12 Strength for creep kill. +4 Magic armor
Mana cost n/a
Cooldown n/a
Explanation: A good lategame skill, this makes you to a really hard tank.
Ultimate
Devour

The Devourer grabs a target enemy
and feasts on their flesh, dealing massive
damage for every second he feeds.
Level 1 : 75 Magic damage per second, disables target while channeling.
Level 2 : 127 Magic damage per second, disables target while channeling.
Level 3 : 175 Magic damage per second, disables target while channeling.
Mana Cost 100/130/170
Cooldown 30 seconds
Channeling Time 3.3 seconds
Devour Effects
Silenced
Perplexed
Disarmed
Immobilized
Explanation: 3.3 seconds stun on level 6. Perfect in combination with Hook and Decay. More explained later on
——————–
Skillbuild
1. Decay – 1
2. Guttling Hook – 1
3. Guttling Hook – 2
4. Decay – 2
5. Guttling Hook – 3
6. (Ultimate) Devour – 1
7. Guttling Hook – 4
8. Decay – 3
9. Decay – 4
10. Cadever Armor – 1
11. (Ultimate) Devour – 2
12. Cadever Armor – 2
13. Cadever Armor – 3
14. Cadever Armor – 4
15. Attribute Bonus – 1
16. (Ultimate) Devour -3
17 – 25. Attribute Bonus
——————–
Itembuild
Start:
1 x Bottle

Explanation: You need the mana, the HP. Everything about this will be said later on.
Earlygame items:
2 x Fortified Bracelet

Explanation: Great HP and STR-bonus for a low price, perfect start in a good game
1 x Marchers

Explanation: You need 2 be fast to prevent your target from getting away
You should have these items after ca. 7 – 9 minutes
Midgame items:
1 x Enhanced Marchers

Explanation: Low price, why you should get these and not Post Haste I’ll explain later
1 xShamans Headress

Explanation: One of the best items for this hero, because in 90 % of the gangs you will have Decay on. Reduces the damage you will take dramatically.
The following item is a luxury item, only get it if you really have that much gold!!!
1 x Sacrificial Stone

Explanation: A very good item. With my roarming-strat you gonna have MANY kills, the HP and MP-reg helps roarming.
You should have these cheap items after ca. 16 minutes. You won’t need more midgame items. And now at last the
Lategame items
1 x (or later on maybe 2 x ) Behemoth’s Heart

Explanation: An item made for this hero mass HP and HP-reg, what you want more?
The following item is a situational item, only get it if you really need it!
1 x Shrunken Head

Explanation: If the enemy team got many dissables you can really think of buying this, because disabling an enemy for 3 seconds can be the point of turning an entire game.
The following items are luxury items, only get them if you really have that much gold!!!
1 x Mock of Brilliance

Explanation: You are a tank in the late game, so 35 damage per second to every enemy around you can beat the shit out of them. Only buy it if no one else wanna buy it in your team.
1 x Daemonic Breastplate

Explanation: Only get this if none of your teammates already got one!
This was the itembuild, it may look easy, but if you can’t get all of the needed items you won’t have a chance in the game.
And btw always have at least one of this in your inventory:

——————–
Skill-explanation
Guttling Hook: Your main-skill. It moves very fast the direction you click, grappling the first enemy or friend that comes in range of the hook. It comes back if it hits a hero or unit. That means the enemy hero will stand in front of you after getting hit by a hook. But the fact that the range on level 1 and 2 there won’t be many situations to use it. The level 3 range is good, but with hero-level 5 you don’t have that many options to hold the enemy next to you, so in most situations they just walk away. Level 4 (hero-level 7) is where the real power of this spells comes out. 400 damage on a range of 1000, this is a lot, but in combination with your ulti you can hold the enemy next to you for 3.3 seconds, while damaging him with Decay, too. How much damage this deals will be explained later. First I’ll show you a map with some good hookspots, but remember: The entire map is a good hook-spot, if you don’t try out new spots you will never learn this hero. Because training hooks is the alpha and omega!!!
They are subdivided in 3 categorys, simple spots (yellow), medium-hard spots (orange), hard spots (red)
The Map:

How you can see the most spots are at the river or at the lanes, because this is where the most enemys are.
I’ll explain some of the spots here.
The most used spot is the one in north-east of the first sentinel-mid tower. Easy to get an enemy standing at the tower with a level 4 hook.
Also often used are the yellow ones in the sentinel and in the scourge forest near the side-lane-towers.
The orange spots are only examples, you can start a hook on every cliff that faces the river in hope to get a low-health enemy.
The red spots are mostly lucky-ones, because you don’t have sight to the spot u want to hook. Either place wards near the first sentinel / scourge tower or have an ally there. But if you hit a hook there enemys have nearly no chance to get away.
Hooking Allys: Remeber that you can either hook enemys or allies. Allies won’t take damage if getting hit by a hook. With this you can save your mates from a gang or from dangerous situations. Hooking allies is one of the best saving possibility for the guy beeing chased. But be carefull, if the hook fails it can happen that the enemys will chase you after chasing your mate.
Remember: You won’t hit every hook in your first game. You have to learn to calculate the movement of you enemys.
Decay: 100 DPS on level 4, much, isn’t it? Well it damages you too, so use this skill wisely. But the damage it gives to you brings a nice small advantage to you, the option to kill yourself. Don’t underrate this aspect, you enemys won’t get gold or exp this way, so if there’s no chance to get away turn on Decay and hope it kills yourself. In the midgame you can also use it to lasthit creeps, but don’t use it to much. Most time you will use it in combination with Cuttling Hook. Hook somebody then turn on Decay and the target hero will take a lot of damage.
Cadever Armor: Everything said in the explanation in the spell-section.
Devour (Ultimate): The last puzzle-piece in your skill-combo. Using it disables the enemy for 3.3 on every level, but also deals a lot of damage. Most of the time you’ll use it in combination with hook and decay. Hook somebody, turn on decay and use devour on the hooked hero.
How you see Devourer has one of the best spell-combos in the game. Hook, Decay and Devour. Get a good spot where enemys can’t see you, wait until an enemy hero comes in your hook range, wait until the way between him and you is free, then hook him, turn on decay immediately after the hook starts, if the hook is a success, use devour on the hooked hero.
How much damages does this combo deals?
On level 4 of hook and level 4 decay and level 1 / 2 devour it deals:
400 + 4 x 100 + 127 x 3 = 1.025 magic-damage
400 + 4 x 100 + 127 x 3 = 1.181 magic-damage
A lot, isn’t it? Now you know why this is one of the hardest skill-combos in the game
—————-
Strategy
Start and earlygame:
Ok, let’s get ready to pwn some newbs with one of the skillest hero in the game. First buy a bottle and tell your mates to go solo mid.
Why to get a bottle: You need a level-advantage ASAP and this items helps staying on the lane or killing your enemy.
Why to go mid: I think a bottle is wasted if not going mid! And you will need to have an level-advantage to start roarming ASAP
Don’t try to harras your enemy with level 1. Stay in the back ( if its possible even stay in the shadow ) and only go in front to get a lasthit or to denie a creep. Always look for runes, if you find one you can harras your enemy a little bit and maybe playing out a small level-advantage. If you know your enemy is low HP and he’s standing good you can try to hook him. If it’s a success you will have a gold and a level-advantage, what means you can kill him even easily.
All in all: Try to farm and reach level 7 ASAP.
Midgame and roarming:
When you reach level 7 the game starts for you. Leave the mid lane and go harassing the enemys on the up- and downlane. They should be level 4 or 5 and should still have their starting items. The best situation is, if an enemy hero (or 2 – if one of them is low) is near your first tower. You won’t even have to hook, just come from behind and devour on of them, while your mates keep damaging him with their attacks, he should die within the 3 seconds devour lasts. If the other enemy is still in range you can try to place a hook. If it’s a success turn on decay and follow him. Your allys should do the rest =) Easy double-kill.
Another situation would be if you hide in the forest and try to hook out one of the 2 enemys on the sidelanes. He should die within the 3.3 seconds of devour. After roarming always move near the middle-lane and try to kill the on there, else he will get freefarm and will be overfed soon…
Repeat those 3 steps as often as possible.
All in all: try to kill as many enemys as only possible.
Lategame:
The lategame is completely different to the midgame. You won’t be able to kill enemy – heroes on your own. So try to stay with your allys and try to initialize a gang by hooking an enemy hero to your team. Your main function in the lategame is as gang-initializer and semi-tank.
All in all: You will have to change tactic from aggressive to defensive, but you’re still a useful teamplayer.
Good Allies / Bad enemys
This is an easy one.
All good allies should have either stuns or slows.

All bad enemys have either a blink or another spell to get away from you.

Now you know the basics of my tactic, but the key to a good Devourer is to bring in your own aspects you won’t be a good player just by coping those steps 1 by 1.
Now at last I will do some kinda FAQ, because I know which questions you will ask =) I hope i can answer some of them here.
——————-
FAQ
Q:Why do you go mid with bottle instead of going up with Runes of the Blight, Minor totems and some potions of mana?
A:Well, this tactic is based on the fact Devourer is one of the best roarmers in the game so you have to always need to have a level-advantage or you won’t be able to kill enemy heroes solo.
Q:Why don’t you buy Helm of the Black Legion?
A:You are no tank in the early-game so it would be wasted gold. Why do you need to block physical damage, when no enemy ever attacks you? They don’t chase you, you chase them! Got it?
Q:Runed Axe would be nice, much +dmg and much mana-reg, wouldn’t it fit perfect in your tactic?
A:NO! You don’t attack the enemys, because while disabling them your are disabled on your own. And when they try to walk away you still don’t have the time to attack them. Again: Wasted gold…
Q:Why don’t get Symbol of Rage?
A:Again: You don’t use your physical attacks that often.
Q:Why you get Enhanced Marchers instead of Post Haste?
A: Well let’s face the fact: you only need fast movement speed while chasing your enemys. Post-Haste gives permanent +90 MS, Enhanced Marchers give permanent +60 MS + 10 % MS means sth. like 30 MS and 60 + 30 = 90 same as Post-Haste for 6 seconds. And don’t forget the price: Enhanced Marchers 1550; Post-Haste 2700 means a difference of 1150. I hope now you know why i prefer Enhanced Marchers.

Magebane

Skill Build:

1 - Flash
2 - Mana Combustion
3 - Mana Combustion
4 - Flash
5 - Mana Combustion
6 - Mana Rift
7 - Mana Combustion
8 - Flash
9 - Flash
10 - Master of the Mantra
11 - Mana Rift
12 - Master of the Mantra
13 - Master of the Mantra
14 - Master of the Mantra
15 - Stats
16 - Mana Rift
17 - Stats+

Justification / Modifications:

Straightforward build. Flash is your main escape/chase tool and splashes extra temporary magic armour in an AoE to your team. Mana Combustion is maxed first as it is your main damage skill for the midgame (64 mana burnt, 60% of 64 is an extra +38.4 physical damage per hit), and one that ensures that you can't be left alone to just bash on a target, lest they sit at 0 mana and lose relevance for a fight. Master of the Mantra is a bit....lacking on range for an aura ability and its usefulness is in the little things you often don't notice initially, like -castspeed and small amounts of damage when people cast spells. It's worth taking over stats though, as the extra -castspeed can delay that one stun just long enough for you to dodge it with Flash. Ultimate can be delayed until 9 as it's pretty terrible early on initially against non-INT heroes, even with an empty mana pool.

Starting Items:

3x

Core:

(Hatchet >>) Iron Shield >> Lifetube >> Steam Boots >> Helm of the Black Legion/Runed Axe

Iron Shield is technically not needed, but in most lanes it is worth building. It protects you from harass and will help your farming a great deal even later on. An alternative route is to go for Runed Axe straight up instead of Helm, but this is much riskier and requires you to not be able to participate effectively in the midgame until your Shrunken Head is complete. Don't do it until you're competent (i.e. not needing to look at this guide)

After core:

Shrunken Head >> Frostwolf Skull/Symbol of Rage/Geometer's Bane >> Wingbow

With Helm, you are a midgame powerhouse with the damage potential of Mana Combustion and Mana Rift, so Shrunken Head is your next pickup. Your next item depends on how the game is going, and whether you will be required to be the harder carry or not. Frostwolf is generally better if you have another ranged carry farming well to help you out with the DPS requirements, but otherwise you'll need Symbol of Rage to last long enough as the active is a lot of HP regained with your lowered BAT. Wingbow is a nice generic fill-out item as by this point you'll have enough armour to make Evasion worth taking over extra armour, and you get more out of +attack speed than any other carry. If you have gone Runed Axe instead, it will be risky to participate in any sort of meaningful clash pre-Shrunken Head.

Instructions:

Roles: Hard Carry
Preferred Lane: Short
Difficulty: 2/5 (animation cancelling well and timing on when and where to blink in)
Farming capabilities: 2/5 (attacks quickly with Steamboots, but really suffers in flash farming without Runed Axe)
Item dependent? - Yes, very.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: 1/5 - Specific lanes required or a decent sense of how to engage and disengage effectively for early Mana Combustion to shine.
- Mid Game / Ganks: 3/5 (HotBL with Mana Combustion puts out a lot of damage midgame with any kind of help)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 5/5 (scales incredibly well with +damage and +attackspeed from agility stats on a lowered BAT)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- Farm, farm, farm but don't forget to help midgame as much as possible. Mana Combustion with a HotBL makes you very very very scary midgame, and some allied disables.
- Ancient stacking is a nice way to get him fat fast. A Whispering Helm after your first core item can help to start ancient stacking with the aid of a dominated minion.
- Mana Rift does its damage based on how much TOTAL mana the target is missing, as opposed to the % of the target's mana pool missing. What is often overlooked on the skill is that it does that same damage in a small AoE around the target. Later on, against INT heroes that will still use a significant amount of their large mana pool (like Defiler, Torturer, Doctor Repulsor etc.) this damage will be incredibly potent and will often wipe out nearby heroes even if it doesn't necessarily kill the initial target.
- There's a common misconception that Magebane is meant to be the counter to INT heroes, because all INT heroes rely on mana. This is not strictly true. While Mana Rift does increasing amounts of damage to heroes with large amounts of missing mana (INT carries for the most part), Mana Combustion lategame is not going to have a very noticeable effect before you actually just start killing them outright. Mana Rift means he counters INT carries particularly well.
- Mana Combustion from midgame onwards, has its most noticeable effects on heroes with LOW mana pools, as it is more likely that from level 7 onwards, Magebane can drain an entire Strength or even Agility hero's mana pool in anything between 6-7 hits at max, easily achievable. This of course, primes the target for use of a finishing Mana Rift. There are a lot of heroes in HoN that are completely crippled by the lack of ability to cast spells when they so desire.
- The reason why Mana Combustion only counters INT carries and not INT heroes in general is then because quite a lot of them will have disables and a large enough mana pool to still be able to cast it at least once to save themselves and make a difference before they run out of mana.

Counters:

- Long duration roots, disables and silence ruin his mobility.
- Itemwise, Sheepstick and Armor a solid choice. Barbed Armor is a good pickup especially if facing a trash Magebane who has gone Elder Parasite and Brutalizer (lol).
- Special shoutout to Void Talisman preventing him from autoattacking you, but will not stop Mana Rift!

Scout (i personally hate him)

Skill Build:

1 - Electric Eye
2 - Vanish
3 - Vanish
4 - Disarm
5 - Vanish
6 - Marksman's Shot
7 - Vanish
8 - Disarm
9 - Disarm
10 - Disarm
11 - Marksman's Shot
12 - Electric Eye
13 - Electric Eye
14 - Electric Eye
15 - Stats
16 - Marksman's Shot
17 - Stats+

Justification / Modifications:

Straightforward build. Eye is taken at level 1 to ward rune with one spare one for use in lane. If by some reason you're in the vertical lane, ward their pull camp rather than the rune. Make your team suffer for putting you in the vertical lane and buy wards for the rune (they're better anyway).
Get more levels of Eye early instead of Disarm if you want to block more creepcamps in the jungle, or feel you need more vision to stay safe in your lane.
As of the re-alignment patch, Marksman's Shot is now worth taking at 6.

Starting Items:

3x

Core:

(Hatchet >>) Power Supply >> Sustainer >> Steamboots >> Runed Axe

CK or die.
Power Supply can save your life with only 2 charges to be able to vanish. Mana Battery is worth the initial pickup, just for the charge mechanic giving you warning and survivability. After that get Lifetube against a strong lane or Manatube against a weaker lane first (Manatube allows for Vanish spam while Lifetube counters their harass). Complete Sustainer, pick up Steamboots and finish off runed axe. If your farm is really good skip boots until after Runed Axe (this means if you can get a <17min Runed Axe go for it).
Ghost Marchers are ok as long as you realize that it detracts from survivability, but adds slightly more damage than Steamboots for Vanish. Activating Phase breaks Vanish. Be careful.
Once you get Runed Axe, you can clear a full wave of creeps in a matter of 2 seconds out of Vanish. Make use of that to farm your luxury items.
CK or die.

After core:

Savage Mace >> Shrunken Head >> Symbol of Rage

Savage Mace is the DPS item of choice for a Scout whose carry potential is entirely within the space of a Flurry from Vanish. Pick up either lifesteal in the form of SoR or even a Shrunken Head to make sure you can do your thing in teamfights and live to see another Flurry.

Alternative Items:

Shieldbreaker: The listed build is relatively passive and safe. If you are farming very well, you can replace the lengthier Savage Mace with a quick Shieldbreaker beforehand. Farmed before the 25-30 minute mark it is very very effective.

Information:

Roles: Hard Carry
Preferred Lane: Horizontal lane, with a babysit.
Difficulty: 2/5 (a fairly easy hero to play, but has several important nuances to do with counterwarding and silencing effectively)
Farming capabilities: 3/5 (SEVERELY crippled until he gets Runed Axe, one of the fastest farmers in the game with it)
Item dependent? - Yes, very.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: 1/5 (Contributes nothing particularly, short of an Electric Eye in lane to silence)
- Mid Game / Ganks: 3/5 (Starts putting out a bit of damage after Runed Axe, ult is pretty good as a pickoff skill or initiation)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 4/5 (very strong if not countered by anti-invis)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- Get eyes. Plant them before the creeps spawn at your rune spot and, if in the long lane, in their neutral pull spot (put it into the trees next to the camp. This will still block the camp and they can't easily spot it).
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- If they have a jungling hero consider putting both wards into their forest, or even getting a third level of Eyes early. It really ****s up a Tempest or Ophelia.
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- Set an Eye before ganks and blow it up by pressing "E" one second after you break out of Vanish.
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- Once you get Electric Eye level 4, plant wards in their forest to check for easy gank opportunities. The beauty of Electric Eyes are that they stay indefinitely, but have a short vision range and are detected by proximity (walking close to them). You can afford to put them in obscure places, where nobody will feasibly walk near but still give vision of people passing by.
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- Early on, staying in Vanish for extended periods of time will drain your mana dry very quickly. Generally, you want to use it initially as a distance closer, or just to flick on and off to get yourself Flurry. The initial cost is only 30 mana, but the upkeep cost is 5 mana/second at level 4. It may take a bit of practice, but get in the habit of simply using it as a damage output when you need to with its low cooldown.
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.
- Electric Eyes are most useful for counterwarding as they reveal all kinds of invisible units. This is Scout's main way of ensuring that nobody comes to give him any surprises, by heavily cutting into any map control that the other team is trying to extend into your territory. This also cuts down on the burden of Wards and counterwards on your support heroes (if any are actually buying them!) and allows them to be used in more offensive ward spots. This allows the rest of your team to be much more aggressive without being blind to what they may be running into, which is ALWAYS a good thing.
- Is it time to win yet? If yes, genocide. If not, farm.

Counters:

- The obvious counters to Scout are invisibility revealing items: Dust, Wards of Revelation and Bound Eye. Dust and Wards are the best choice until later in the game when you can safely buy an Eye and push.
- He has high physical burst damage from Flurry so armour and especially Barbed Armour will work very well.

Pollywog Priest

Skill Build

1 - Morph
2 - Electric Jolt
3 - Electric Jolt
4 - Tongue Tied
5 - Electric Jolt
6 - Voodoo Wards
7 - Electric Jolt
8 - Morph
9 - Morph
10 - Morph
11 - Voodoo Wards
12 - Tongue Tied
13 - Tongue Tied
14 - Tongue Tied
15 - Stats
16 - Voodoo Wards
17 - Stats+

Justification / Modifications:

I recommend on always maxing Jolt first for lane dominance, pushing and farming. Morph is taken level 1 instead of Tongue Tied because while it isn't the longer disable, it isn't channeling and will save you from rune ganks, or enable them just as nicely.

Mid Starting Items:

Runes of the Blight, Healing Potion, Mark of the Novice, Crushing Claw, 2x Minor Totem

Core:

Bottle >> Chalice >> Striders/Ghost Marchers >> Portal Key

The usual Bottle/Chalice combo to keep Pollywog's demands for mana satisfied. Striders/Ghost Marchers for general mobility for a Morph or Tongue, and to chase with Jolt.
Portal Key is your next big item as it allows you the mobility you need in ganks and teamfights to effectively place your 2 disables and Voodoo Wards if need be.

After Core:

- Staff of the Master -> Restoration Stone: The way you end games with a Pollywog. Pushing a rax with 2 sets of these enhanced babies melts buildings like they were butter and makes very short work of a tower+rax.
- Kuldra's Sheepstick: Because 12 seconds of disable is never enough.
- Storm Spirit: Eul's (cheapstick) was good back in DotA when you could upgrade it to Guinsoo's (sheepstick). Now it's very lackluster. If you want to Ward-trap simply use Morph; there is no need for Storm Spirit in most of the cases as Voodoo Wards now have a small square in the centre to make Ward-trapping easier.
- Puzzlebox: Becomes viable when the opposing team is (counter-) warding. Also nice synergy with your CCs (cast minions and shackle the enemy while they beat him up).

Information:

Roles: Ganker, Pusher
Preferred Lane: Solo Mid
Difficulty: 3/5
Farming capabilities: 3/5 (Jolt, ult will farm towers)
Item dependent? - No, can function well with just boots and Bottle/Chalice but excels with items.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: 4/5 (nuke and disables)
- Mid Game / Ganks: 4/5 (Good pushing power with ult and Jolt to clear creep waves)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 3/5 (Still decent pushing, sotm->resto will melt raxes)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- If you are facing a double stun lane ask for a switch. It greatly reduces your effectiveness.
- Ward-Trapping: Cast Morph on an enemy, Place Voodoo Wards around him by targeting him with the spell, if he is not completely surrounded use Tongue Tied to prevent him from escaping and finish with Jolt.
- You can gank with Ward-Trapping from level 8 or 9 on (as soon as you get Morph). Don't go gank alone, its much less effective. You are a strong counter-ganker. Do this sparingly if you can push the tower straight after as well, as Voodoo Wards are much more awesome for knocking down towers, but use the opportunity if it presents itself.
- Always target their stunners/disablers with your Tongue Tied if possible. Otherwise they will interrupt it.

Counters:

- Voodoo Wards tend to die in 2 hits each, but there are enough of them that you'll suffer for trying to pick them all off. You can usually get out of a Ward-trap by killing one and running away.
- He usually is pretty squishy so he should be a primary target in team fights. He has enough disables to really make you suffer for leaving him alive.
- Nullstone or Shrunken Head will help if you keep getting CCd by him.

Valkyrie

Skill Build

1 - Courageous Leap
2 - Javelin of Light
3 - Call of the Valkyrie
4 - Call of the Valkyrie
5 - Call of the Valkyrie
6 - Javelin of Light
7 - Call of the Valkyrie
8 - Javelin of Light
9 - Javelin of Light
10 - Valkyrie's Prism
11 - Valkyrie's Prism
12 - Courageous Leap
13 - Courageous Leap
14 - Courageous Leap
15 - Stats
16 - Valkyrie's Prism
17 - Stats+

Justification / Modifications:

Get Javelin of Light first (Leap second) if you plan to rune-gank. It's probably the strongest rune-ganking skill in the game.
If you start mass pushing before level 10, get Valkyrie's Prism earlier. Call of the Valkyrie is maxed out first as it does the most single-target damage, and is your farming skill. Javelin of Light (arrow) is maxed next as it's your second nuke and less reliable to hit than Call.

Lane Starting Items:

2x Runes of the Blight, 2x Duck Boots, 2x Minor Totem

For early Bottle delivery.

Core:

Bottle >> Marchers >> (Power Supply >>) Ghost Marchers >> 1-2x Soulscream Rings

Ghost Marchers are viable, as positioning and mobility for the runes and throwing arrows is very important for her. Steam Boots favor carrying a bit more, but your early autoattack damage suffers drastically with Ghost Marchers.
The easier the game the fewer Soulscream Rings you will need.

After Core:

(Nullfire Blade >>) Frostburn >> Geometer's Bane/Frostwolf Skull split >> Savage Mace >> Riftshards

Get a Nullfire ASAP if your team needs to counter Jeraziah, Hellbringer, Hammerstorm or Dark Lady. Otherwise go for the listed semi-carry/carry build. Pick up a Shrunken Head if required.

Information

Roles: Carry, Ganker, Initiator
Preferred Lane: Any. Can solo mid, or side preferably paired with another disabler.
Difficulty: 4/5 (Arrows...)
Farming capabilities: 3/5 (Call helps a lot)
Item dependent? Yes, but can function well on her core for a short while.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: 3/5 (very dangerous arrow stuns, heavy nuke from level 5 on)
- Mid Game / Ganks: 4/5 (Fear the 5 second stun.)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 3/5 (Can be good if she dominated the midgame and/or has farmed enough, her ultimate is amongst the best initiation tools in the game)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- If you have problems hitting your Javelin, wait for someone else on your team to cast a disable, then throw the Javelin at the non-moving target.
- Valkyrie's Prism is a very strong initiation, escape and counter-gank tool. But the priority is on initiation, especially if you are lacking other good sources of it.
- Use Call of the Valkyrie (once it's level 3+) to punish enemy melee heroes if they go in melee range of the creep waves.
- Especially if you play in mid: Gank a lot!

Counters:

- Valkyrie is VERY hard to counter. 2 escape spells, high physical and magic damage, long range/duration disable. Hero-wise the best counters are stunners and disablers.
- Minimizing the amount of fog you're standing next to will help you react and dodge the inevitable long range arrow initiation early-mid game. This is important in tandem with map awareness.
- Item-wise I suggest you carry Dust for the inevitable invisibility initiation. Armour helps, but is not really an effective counter.
- Even when heavily farmed, a Valk is still relatively squishy without Frostwolf Skull or something similar. The best counter is to focus her when possible, especially if she's sitting in the midgame with Ghost Marchers and a Thunderclaw (bad item).

Behemoth

Skill Build

1 - Fissure
2 - Heavyweight
3 - Fissure
4 - Heavyweight
5 - Fissure
6 - Shockwave
7 - Fissure
8 - Enrage
9 - Heavyweight
10 - Heavyweight
11 - Shockwave
12 - Stats
13 - Stats
14 - Stats
15 - Stats
16 - Shockwave
17 - Stats+
23 - Enrage+

Justification / Modifications:

Fissure is your bread and butter skill pre-Portal Key and is maxed first. Heavyweight is taken for more damage on your combo, and for eventual synergy with Enrage for the stun.
Enrage can be taken as early as 3-4 if the ministun interrupt is important enough to consider. Enrage past level 1 is pretty meaningless, and stats are better.

Starting Items:

Runes of the Blight, Healing Potion, 4x Mana Potion

Core:

Chalice >> Striders >> Portal Key >> 2x Talisman of Exile

Get a Logger's Hatchet if you can farm the lane (no use in getting one if you are forced to stay back and tower hug, or are roaming). Then get your Chalice ASAP! Striders are amazing on Behemoth; the more mobile you are without having to buy TP's is a good thing.
Portal Key is your obvious goal for being the initiator you are.
Talismans can be taken before or even after Portal Key to flesh out your mana pool a bit further for your combo + more Fissures.

After core:

- Wards of Sight - Hell, even before you get Portal Key. Investing 100g to get more back from assist and proximity gold (and get EXP too!) is always worth it. After you have Portal Key, you're pretty much complete so these babies are the priority.
- Tablet of Command - Rates a mention as it can be used as a poor man's PK substitute. Or someone else can get it and push you in. Either or.
- Spellshards - Lowered CD's, mana regen and -ma. Makes your initiation THAT much more scary considering the amount of magic AoE you can pull off.
- Frostfield Plate - An extra AoE nuke for your initiation and bigger mana pool to do it with.
- Behemoth's Heart - It fits, ya know?

Information

Roles: Initiator, Roamer, Ganker
Preferred Lane: Any sidelane.
Difficulty: 4/5 (Placing Fissures makes or breaks the hero's early and midgame)
Farming capabilities: 3/5 (Enrage and Fissure with maxed Heavyweight will clear creep waves)
Item dependent? - Yes, requires Portal Key to initiate.
Power:
- Early Game / Lane Control: 2/5 (Fissure can net kills if properly used with someone who can make the most of it)
- Mid Game / Ganks: 3/5 (constant threat if ganking with others)
- Late Game / Team Fights: 4/5 (Arguably the best initiator with the amount of stun he has; creep waves don't start spawning smaller!)

30-Seconds-Guide:

- Ganking/Initiating WITH Portal Key: Wait for an opportunity, which in this case is if two or more enemy heroes are surrounded by creeps and within 560 distance of each other.
- Ganking/Initiating WITHOUT Portal Key: It's all about positioning, Portal Key or not. Stay out of your opponent's line of sight and fissure enemy heroes into a corner, or separate them so that your allies can more easily dispatch them. After the Fissure run up and Enrage->Autoattack.
- Often times you will have to save your idiot partners from their own stupid mistakes. Generally I have managed to save them with a well-timed Enrage (that Heavyweight stun does get quite hefty when levelled), but every once in a while when they really screw the pooch you've got to put a Fissure between the bloodthirsty opponents and your lovable idiot.

Counters:

- When pushing or defending, stay away from your creeps! Otherwise his initiation will be devastating.
- Try to spread out as much as you can so he doesn't hit you all with his Shockwave.
- Closely watch Behemoth's movement in the early game. Be very careful if he is trying to trap you with a Fissure. This is very very deadly!
- Finally a Barrier Idol can be a helpful counter if popped before his initiation.