The short version
- 1Ban the heroes that beat you most often, not the ones everyone's talking about.
- 2Hard-to-counter heroes in early picks; counter picks in late picks.
- 3Once the draft is done, state your team's win condition in one sentence.
01Bans That Matter
In Ranked All Pick, every player can nominate one ban, and only some nominations actually go through. Use yours well:
- Ban heroes that beat you again and again — Arcana's Draft Intel shows them from your own matches.
- Ban heroes that make your main hero unplayable.
- Don't ban something that rarely troubles you just because it's popular.
Coach's tips
- Keep a note of the heroes that always beat you — that's your ban list.
- Ban for yourself, not to guess what the enemy will pick.
- In Captain's Mode each captain has 7 bans — there, bans become team strategy.
02Pick Order
When you pick changes which heroes are safe to take:
- Early picks: heroes that are comfortable against many others, or can play several roles — hard to counter and they hide the plan.
- Late picks: counter picks, because the enemy has shown their heroes.
- If your main hero is easy to counter, ask your team for a late pick.
Countering with a hero you haven't learned is often worse than an imperfect main.
Coach's tips
- Flexible early picks make the enemy guess the lanes.
- Hold back the mid and carry picks if both are easy to counter.
- A last pick should fill what your team is missing, not only counter.
03Win Conditions
After the draft, look at both teams and answer: when are we strongest?
- Early game — strong laners and gankers: look for fights and towers before minute 20.
- Mid game — initiators with Blink and big ultimates: fight around Roshan and tier 2 towers.
- Late game — carries who need farm: defend, farm safely, skip fights you don't need.
Say it in chat. A team sharing one plan moves together.
Coach's tips
- Read the enemy's win condition too — and plan how to delay it.
- A late-game team that forces early fights often throws away its edge.
- An early-game team that farms quietly until minute 35 usually loses.
What's your call?
Decide what you'd do, then open the answer.
You pick last. The enemy has Lina, Lion and Leshrac — lots of magic burst. Your team has no offlaner yet.Show the answer
Take an offlaner you know well, and plan an early Pipe of Insight or BKB. The best counter is still a hero you can play properly.
Your team has four heroes that only come online after minute 35, and the enemy has a push lineup.Show the answer
Your win condition is the late game. Don't take open fights early: stay near towers, farm safely, and fight when they walk into your base's tower range.
Try it next game
During the draft, write one sentence of team plan (say, "fight at minute 20 with Blink Axe") and check at the end whether it happened.