All in all it makes it easier to buy said items because the recipe and component parts are cheaper. What's really nifty is Manta Style now gives +30 agility, the same as Butterfly. Nobody really knows why the item was buffed, it was quite strong already even if it was not used on that many heroes. We already know that its cooldown has been buffed to 40 seconds (from 70+ seconds previously) and also the mirror image animation delay has been shortened too. The original mirror image animation can be seen on Naga Siren's skill - notice how long the delay is. :P

Isn't it interesting that a recent competition limited Manta Style to one per side? What's the fuss? Giving an agility equal to Butterfly should be a case for reconsidering certain "cookie cutter" builds on some heroes.

For one, I'm already thinking that Rikimaru can be using this item in the future. The first is of course, he's an agility hero and the agility increases his damage and that of his images, not to mention it also gives attack speed to images in this way (Images don't gain attack speed through pure +AS items). Secondly, he's melee and melee images also burn mana and deal as much damage as the amount of mana burned (check here). Third, his images also have permanent invisibility though they do not have the Backstab ability. Hence Riki images can be used to scout around like Riki himself, and you won't give away Riki's backstab plans. The ridiculous cooldown is also a plus for Riki to continue using his images again and again in his quest to take revenge against the Scourge for his satyr dominion.

I won't argue that Butterfly is inferior. In fact as a level 4 item it definitely outmatches a level 3 item. The evasion is what makes the Butterfly stand out, and it will continue to be a good item on Riki, but since Smokescreen itself it more powerful now (6 sec duration, 15 sec vs 3 sec duration, 22 sec cooldown) we can delay the evasion from the Butterfly temporarily and use the skill instead. After all the skill does have significantly higher evasion (and silence and stun) than the item. On the other hand Diffusal Blade comes in handy in more situations than Butterfly, like using it to slow, remove buffs on enemy or self or to get the occasional +150 gold everytime Warlock sends in the infernal. Lol. Manta Style can also remove certain bad buffs upon casting, and it takes some time before a person can identify the real Riki.

Secondly, Spectre (as usual in 6.52e leagues). More agility = more damage and more mana burn = more damage (Manta Style burns 40 mana now vs 36 mana previously). Unlike Riki Desolate works on images. What makes the Butterfly less attractive on Spectre is that it interferes with the new Dispersion. If an attack misses it doesn't get dispersed, and so you do less damage though you do survive longer. It is a contradiction of sorts unlike the time when Dispersion had a 16% chance to reflect all incoming damage to enemies. Imbalanced :P

Third, Morphling. More agility = more damage & more agi ≡ more strength (3-lines not 2 lines :P). It also synergizes with Replicate, so you have like a total of 40 + 40 + 50 = 130% increased damage most of the time! The problem is the Feedback orb does not work on ranged images and you can't use Skadi because the two orbs don't stack, so those who don't like this can solve it by getting Lifesteal. Lifesteal always overrides Feedback, and it can also stack with Frost (Skadi) should you decide to get it. No issues with Butterfly.

Fourth, Luna. As I remarked previously this is a very underestimated item on Luna. Actually it can be even more destructive than the Satanic + Butterfly build due to the images having bounceys as well. Besides we're talking about 2 level 4 items versus 1 level 3 item. Why is it that one level 3 item can be on par with 2 level 4s? Pushing is an extremely advantageous strategy in 6.56 and guess what? With her images Luna can kill towers and buildings so easily like there's no tomorrow. I just finished a game and noticed that the bounceys can bounce between the two Scourge towers guarding the Frozen Throne. In a matter of seconds the two towers were destroyed by a Manta Style-wielding Luna. This is an important note in case.

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