Footmen frenzy heroes: Blademaster

The Blademaster is primarily a hero-killer with the combination of backstab damage from Windwalk and the huge amounts of damage that can result from successful Critical Strikes. Mirror Images can keep attacks off the real Blademaster and can provide a meatshield for ranged units or heroes. At high levels, Images provides some damage output as well. Bladestorm is an excellent AOE spell when used correctly.

Spells

Wind Walk

Wind Walk temporarily turns the Blademaster invisible, provides a speed bonus, and gives a single-target attack bonus on the Blademaster's first attack (which will break the Wind Walk). It is perfect for both escaping from the enemy and sneaking up on heroes. It can also be used during lulls to regain mana near the Archvault while remaining undetected.

Wind Walk can be partially countered by the free Archvault item 'Dust of Appearance', the Witch Doctor's sentry wards, and all creatures with Truesight. These will make the Wind Walker visible, but will not negate the speed bonus or the bonus 'backstab' damage on the first attack coming out of Wind Walk. Wind Walk always costs 75 mana and the cooldown is fixed at 7 seconds.

Level	Backstab Dmg	Duration	Speed Effect %
1	60 dmg	20 seconds	+10% move speed
2	125 dmg	40 seconds	+15% move speed
3	200 dmg	60 seconds	+15% move speed
4	275 dmg	60 seconds	+20% move speed
5	350 dmg	60 seconds	+25% move speed
6	600 dmg	120 seconds	+35% move speed

Mirror Images

Mirror Images dispels any effects on the Blademaster and creates illusions of the Blademaster for 50 seconds. These images are more susceptible to damage than the Blademaster. At Level 4, 5 and 6, the images do a small percentage of the Blademaster's attack damage. You can counter images by holding down the Alt key and noting which ones are doing the most damage or taking the least damage. An Orb of Static on a ranged hero is also a cheap way to determine illusions by attacking each one a couple times and to see which ones take the most damage.

Level	Images	Image Dmg	Damage taken	Cooldown	Mana
1	1	0% atk dmg	+200% dmg taken	7 seconds	125
2	2	0% atk dmg	+190% dmg taken	7 seconds	125
3	3	0% atk dmg	+180% dmg taken	7 seconds	125
4	4	15% atk dmg	+170% dmg taken	7 seconds	150
5	5	25% atk dmg	+160% dmg taken	7 seconds	200
6	9	35% atk dmg	+150% dmg taken	15 seconds	260

Critical Strike

Critical Strike is a passive skill that gives the Blademaster a chance to do bonus damage. Critical Strike includes any damage bonus items the Blademaster has, and a high-level Blademaster with some Claws can easily kill some heroes in one hit. Early game, it's helpful to focus on army units instead of heroes to gain gold quickly. Also note that the faster the Blademaster attacks, the more frequent Critical Strikes will connect over a set span of time; therefore, agility items are also very beneficial.

Level	Chance / Dmg multiplier
1	16% chance to do 3x more dmg
2	18% chance to do 4x more dmg
3	20% chance to do 5x more dmg
4	22% chance to do 6x more dmg
5	24% chance to do 7x more dmg
6	30% chance to do 9x more dmg

Bladestorm

Bladestorm causes the Blademaster to spin rapidly, damaging any units in his path. The Blademaster's movement can be controlled while using Bladestorm. He is also magic-immune while the spell is in effect, but is still susceptible to all physical damage. He will most likely not survive for long past the casting of this spell without a Potion of Healing or Invulnerability; both of which can be used during the Bladestorm without interrupting its effects. Generally, Windwalk is used to attain the best possible initial position for Bladestorm.

Note that it is possible to activate a Potion of Invulnerablity AFTER activating Bladestorm. If the potion is used beforehand, the effect will be canceled by the Storm.

Level	Damage per sec	Duration	Area	Cooldown	Mana
1	110 dps	7 seconds	200 AoE	180 seconds	200
2	250 dps	9 seconds	250 AoE	160 seconds	225
3	420 dps	12 seconds	325 AoE	140 seconds	225