Last Sunday mouz faced tR in the ENADC groupstage Group 2's tiebreak. Unlike the current competitive DotA scene's favourized mode -apxl, mouz and tR agreed to try something new and played the game in -rd. The rules for picking were based on Drayich's newly published ideas which he shared a few days ago.

	VS
Mousesports	[1:0]	the Rest

Game replay: Here

Bans	the Rest	Mousesports
Banned hero:	Puck	Pugna

Picks	the Rest	Mousesports
First pick:	Zeus	-
	-	Tidehunter / Lich
	Dazzle / Meepo	-
	-	Pudge / Sven
	Viper / Syllabear	-
Last pick:	-	Bane Elemental

Game examination

The most obvious difference between this game and today's league games was of course the mode. Instead of playing in -apxl, tR(eSuba) and mouz both agreed to play the mode in -rd based on Drayich's ideas. This did not only have vast changes on the hero picks, but also the playstyle itself during the game.

One of the major differences in this match was the direct elimination of most power house heroes, combat- and lane synergies. Seeing that the teams had to pick as precise and fast as possible and accordingly to the opposite team's picks, both had to follow their direct intuitions.

Final scores

A mix of these things turned the currently known 6.52e farming style upside down to a ward- and gank fest. Unable to count on crucial carry heroes and the right set of heroes to support them, the teams were partly forced to fall back to the well-known 6.48b gank playstyle. This included much offensive warding, huge map control and many deadly teamcombats. Not only did this bring back old memories from the gank-reliable period, it was also made much more interesting by the uncommon picks and new lineups that the both teams were forced to do.