Nomad Guide HoN

Nomad

  Known for a long time to be HoN’s secret hero, back in the beta phase, Nomad did not quite made it to the actual game. That has changed recently! Dust has bee blown of the graphics, new skills invented and here he is in full splendor. He can call Sand Storms at his whim to hide him and his allies, he is master of mirages, being able to create an illusion of himself. Traveling a lot brings great experience and… damage it seems, and as ultimate he will unleash the power of sand upon he who dares lay target on him.
Skill overview
Sand Storm – Nomad summons a Sandstorm around him for 4 seconds. Allied heroes within receive 5/10/15/20% Movement Speed and invisibility. Enemy heroes within receive -5/-10/-15/-20% Movement Speed.

Somehow like Valkyrie’s ultimate this skill will make you and opponents invisible to enemies. The big drawback is that the opponents will see the sand storm moving and it will be way easier to spread, lay wards,  cast tons of AOE spells on you, etc. The short duration will not make it super useful for initiation (that’s because we live in a Portal Key world), but if used in the middle of a team fight! it will greatly disorient/cripple the enemy team. Since mana cost and cooldown, are both low it can be used at higher levels to move quicker from point A to point B. Similar, use the skill together with teammates when you start moving towards a far away target.

Mirage Strike– Learning Mirage Strike grants you True Strike and Mirage Strike, at 500 range, allowing you to confuse your enemies with illusions of yourself. Deals 60/100/140/180 bonus Physical Damage on impact. Cooldown is reset upon enemy death within 500 distance.

Let’s clarify the tool-tip first. Cooldown is 16/14/12/10 Seconds! the enemy death just makes your skill insta-available as a bonus. There are 2 version of this skill:
True Strike: Charges enemy at full speed dealing the bonus damage + True Strike will give you a 20%,40%,60%,80% attack speed boost for 3 seconds!!
Mirage Strike: Makes you invisible and sends out an illusion to charge at max speed at the enemy dealing also the bonus damage on impact.
Use True Strike to pound on the enemy and Mirage Strike as a harass tool / escape mechanism. As a rule of thumb on which one to use: If you think the enemy can stay away from you for 3 seconds (stun, cc, etc) then use Mirage Strike until you fool him to use that skill on your illusion. Otherwise use True Strike to charge as yourself and pound on enemy with the increased attack speed. Remember also that when you send your illusion, no one said you cannot also sneak up invisible on the enemy.
Wanderer – Gains a charge of Wanderer for every 10 distance traveled. Each charge grants your next hero attack .4/.6/.8/1% bonus damage, up to 40/60/80/100% bonus damage. Wanderer is discharged and used only when you have 20 charges. If you attack with less than 20 charges, 25 charges are added. Only works against heroes. (this makes sure you wont be using this for farming)

Although it sounds complicated, this skill at level 4 gives you [number of charges] in % bonus damage. And to not make you useless if you hold your ground with zero charges, it will give you some (25%) bonus damage every other strike. Illusions will not use up charges, but will benefit from the bonus modifier! This is the skill that will make you jump right away for + damage items. More on this in the the recommended items section.
Edge Counter – Enter a 1 second immobilized state. The first enemy hero attack or spell cast that impacts you will be nullified, and you will counter with a massive shockwave. The shockwave deals 200/310/420 Magic Damage and 2/2.5/3 second stun.

With this skill not on cooldown, enemies will think twice before targeting you with a spell or attacks as it can fire back badly on them. It will require some skill and proper timing, but the benefits are rewarding. A nuke and 3 seconds stun on multiple heroes is priceless in team battles, or when you are escaping enemies preferably chasing you in a line :).
Skill Build
When they’ve designed this hero, it seems like S2 did not do it with a specific role in mind. So what came up can be characterized as a harasser with good late-game potential.
1 Mirage Strike(1)
2 Sand Storm (1)
3 Wanderer (1)
4 Mirage Strike (2)
5 Mirage Strike (3)
6 Edge Counter (1)
7 Mirage Strike (4)
8 Wanderer (2)
9 Wanderer (3)
10 Wanderer (4)
11 Edge Counter (2)
12 Sand Storm (2)
13 Sand Storm (3)
14 Sand Storm (4)
15 Stats
16 Edge Counter (3)
17-25 Stats
This build focuses on maxing out harass damage from his Mirage Strike and Wanderer. If you have a very heavy oriented team get Sand Storm earlier because the extra movement speed difference between your team and opponents will benefit you greatly. That being said, get one level in Sand Storm for escaping, then Mirage Strike to harass the opponents out of your lane. Wanderer is next for more harassment, and ultimate is taken whenever available.
Item Build
You have a passive skill that boosts your damage percent-wise. So items that give you direct damage are a first choice.
or
Steam Boots can be used since you already have a skill giving max speed and unit walking. On the other hand Ghost Marchers give you a direct damage boost that will help with Wanderer and greater chasing power.
and
Helm of the Black Legion or Iron Shield will be needed for survivability. Iron Shield is to be preferred since it is cheaper and lets you work towards your damage items. HotBL can also be built instead in case of heavy harassment.

A very good item on him, will give some more survivability and will synergize with Mirage Strike to keep your pace up with your opponents.

Less armor = more damage. These will maximize the true damage from your damage bonus.
Notable items:

The insane attack speed that you will get from your True Strike ability combines well with a Nulfire Blade!
Example of a Practical Build and Strategy (this build will focus on making him an efficient harasser).
Starting Items: 1xMana Batery , 2x Minor Totem, 1x Runes of he Blight, 1x Health Potion
You will build towards a Power Supply for some extra stats, mana survivability early game. Nothing special here.
Early Game: 1x Power Supply+ 1x Iron Shield + 1x Ghost marchers
Early game is about farming and harassing. The second one is especially true for this hero. Use your Mirage Strike to constantly harass the enemy. Keep a close watch to the number of charges on Wanderer always, in order to inflict maximum damage. True Strike‘s attack speed can also be used for farming from time to time, but unless you have good reasons to waste that kind of mana, better concentrate more at last hitting.
Mid game: 1 x FrostBurn
FireBrand first! It will give you movement speed and agility.
In this phase you should roam with a ganker to support him with DPS’ing and chasing. Get involved in all team fights! Use your Sand Storm at the start of it to create confusion and DPS focus the same hero your team does. Keep you senses sharp for an opportunity to maximize the effect of your ultimate. A good 3 second line stun can turn a battle around.
Late Game: 1 x Daemonic Breastplate
Best late game item for Nomad. +60 Extra damage and it applies broken armor. What would you want more?
Your main role now is of second DPS-er. Good practice is to focus the same target your carry does. The minus armor and extra attack speed will guarantee a swift kill.