Grimstroke
The people of Ashkavor crowded around the temple square, eager to witness the ascension of their new guardian -- to stand near the man as he bound their souls to his own. But as his final brush strokes fell against the runestone, and the bond of a new Ascended One was forged, everyone -- even those who'd stayed in their homes -- could sense that something had gone terribly wrong. He knew the cause instantly. The droplets of ichor he'd procured to amplify the potency of his inkpots had instead contaminated them, and the power of the binding spell he'd cast now threatened to consume him. An inky corruption snaked upward from the runestone, along the handle of his brush, soon overtaking his hands. From there it spread quickly. Once it overcame his face and his mouth, he couldn't have screamed even if he'd wanted to. All of his life he'd calculated on how to attain ever greater powers than…
Hero lore
The people of Ashkavor crowded around the temple square, eager to witness the ascension of their new guardian -- to stand near the man as he bound their souls to his own. But as his final brush strokes fell against the runestone, and the bond of a new Ascended One was forged, everyone -- even those who'd stayed in their homes -- could sense that something had gone terribly wrong. He knew the cause instantly. The droplets of ichor he'd procured to amplify the potency of his inkpots had instead contaminated them, and the power of the binding spell he'd cast now threatened to consume him. An inky corruption snaked upward from the runestone, along the handle of his brush, soon overtaking his hands. From there it spread quickly. Once it overcame his face and his mouth, he couldn't have screamed even if he'd wanted to. All of his life he'd calculated on how to attain ever greater powers than…
Compact stat and ability fields shown here were checked against patch 7.41e where this model represents the changed field. Talents and full mechanics remain in the official notes.
Grimstroke abilities
Grimstroke paints a curved path of ink with his brush, damaging and slowing enemies. The damage is increased with each enemy the ink hits. Can be put on alt-cast to have the path be straight.
Summons a phantom that moves quickly towards the target, latching to it when she arrives. Once latched, the phantom damages and silences. If she survives the full latch duration she rends her victim for heavy damage and refreshes Phantom's Embrace's cooldown.…
Grimstroke shrouds an allied unit in ink, increasing its movement speed. Enemies in range of the allied unit are damaged with inky tendrils over time. After 3 seconds it applies damage and stun in an area around the unit in proportion to how long ink tendril…
Binds a targeted enemy hero to its nearest allied hero within the bind radius, preventing both from moving away from each other. Any unit-targeted ability that either bound hero receives also gets cast on the other hero. If the bind is broken before the durat…
Grimstroke's attacks and spells cause affected enemy heroes to leave a trail of Ink behind them and deal less damage to Grimstroke for 4s.
Passive, HiddenPopular items by game phase
OpenDota professional-match aggregate as of Jul 21, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC. Popularity rows are independent phase totals, not a coherent build, sequence, or win-rate advice.
Starting
6 items- 1
Iron Branch139 selections · 20.3% - 2
Tango102 selections · 14.9% - 3
Blood Grenade91 selections · 13.3% - 4
Observer and Sentry Wards90 selections · 13.1% - 5
Faerie Fire61 selections · 8.9% - 6
Magic Stick56 selections · 8.2%
Early
4 items- 1
Boots of Speed89 selections · 74.2% - 2
Arcane Boots24 selections · 20% - 3
Null Talisman5 selections · 4.2% - 4
Urn of Shadows2 selections · 1.7%
Mid
6 items- 1Arcane Boots68 selections · 30.2%
- 2
Blink Dagger37 selections · 16.4% - 3
Staff of Wizardry18 selections · 8% - 4
Glimmer Cape16 selections · 7.1% - 5
Point Booster14 selections · 6.2% - 6
Aghanim's Shard12 selections · 5.3%
Late
6 items- 1
Aghanim's Scepter28 selections · 18.7% - 2Blink Dagger24 selections · 16%
- 3
Mystic Staff18 selections · 12% - 4
Scythe of Vyse13 selections · 8.7% - 5Glimmer Cape13 selections · 8.7%
- 6
Force Staff10 selections · 6.7%
More heroes to explore
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Grimstroke — frequently asked
What are Grimstroke's abilities in Dota 2?
Grimstroke's abilities are Stroke of Fate, Phantom's Embrace, Ink Swell, Soulbind, Ink Trail. It is a Intelligence ranged hero played as Support, Nuker, Disabler.
What is Grimstroke's primary attribute?
Grimstroke is a Intelligence hero, starting with 21 strength (+2.4/lvl), 18 agility (+1.9/lvl) and 25 intelligence (+3.8/lvl), and a base move speed of 290.
What do the popular Grimstroke item phases mean?
The saved OpenDota aggregate is dated 2026-07-22. The phase lists summarize professional-match item popularity; they are not one coherent build, a recommended sequence, or win-rate advice.