The Boston Major is debuting this weekend at the Wang Theatre, and for many teams, its the last chance to innovate on one of Dota 2s longest-lasting patches, 6.88. The current patch since June 12, 6.88 will have lasted through both an International and major, and has been considered one of the most balanced patches in Dota 2s history.Though smaller alterations have been made in the months since, the overarching 6.88 has been a solid rock for competitive, as teams have been free to innovate and create drafts to counter each others strategies rather than the prevailing metagame.The end of the Boston Major will be the end of that era, as 6.89 is likely to hit right after the major. And so the balance will shift again. For now, heres a few of the prevailing themes that dominate the current metagame, heading into the first major of the 2017 season.Perfect illusionOne of the recurring themes you will hear is illusions, or rather, specific carries that can make potent use of illusions. The Shadow Demon-Luna combo is infamous at this point, allowing teams to gradually siege towers with little commitment. Other carries, like Drow Ranger, have even been utilized in the illusion siege strategy, though Shadow Demon is often the crux of it.In response, teams have been turning to a variety of methods to deal with Shadow Demon. Banning the support out of the draft is a standard approach, but other heroes have crept into prominence between TI6 and now that help teams cope with the SD draft. Outworld Devourer, an Intelligence carry that has seen a resurgence in the mid-lane thanks to buffs to his Astral Imprisonment, can whittle down illusions well with his Arcane Orb, and provides a good deal of teamfight damage with his hammer ultimate, Sanitys Eclipse.Other teams have used items like Mjollnir, or heroes like Axe and Timbersaw, to effectively dispatch illusions sieging towers. Shadow Demon, and other illusion carries like Alchemist and Naga Siren, are still tough to handle, but teams have generally found methods to combat them. Still, you can likely expect at least one Shadow Demon-Luna combo at Boston; its beatable, but that doesnt mean it isnt strong.Rock of agesThough some teams put him to good use at The International 6, Warlock has since become a more hotly contested hero, with many seeing in him what a few saw back in Seattle. A series of gradual buffs over the past few patches has silently raised the old summoner to the top of the support pile, from a better healing ability to his golems having a bit more health to withstand hits.Warlocks magic immunity-piercing ultimate, Chaotic Offering, is the most obvious benefit of having the summoner in your draft. Even in the lane phase, though, Warlock makes his presence known with substantial healing from Shadow Word and his Fatal Bonds dealing massive damage across enemies.That bonds benefit is especially useful when considering the return of trilanes. After a long period of offlaners and four-role players all grabbing Iron Talon and heading to their respective woods, teams have started utilizing offensive and defensive trilanes more often, or even just rotating the four-role to the safe lane more often. Fatal Bonds allows you to still output significant damage as a dual-lane, and Shadow Word buys time for other players to teleport in, or your carry to make an escape from a gank. If youve been absent from Dota drafting meta-discussion since TI6, Warlock is probably the biggest phase youve missed in the ever-changing 6.88.Know thy enemyWhen pinning down meta discussion around 6.88, its better to look at individual teams. TI6 saw teams drafting catered to the situation, rather than a list of Must Bans and a catch-22 of letting one or two overpowered heroes through that your team could deal with better.More and more, picks and bans have been identifying weak points in teams, often singling out the points that a team wishes to attack another on. Against EG, Venomancer will likely be a frequent first-round ban, but other captains are more likely to never consider the hero. Teams playing OG or Team NP will look to remove Naga Siren from the pool, as each squad has proven Siren players; when facing Wings Gaming they will be less inclined to, as Chu shadow Zeyu holds a 36 percent win-rate on the hero going into Boston, and his only pick of Naga Siren since TI6 was in an 0/4/0 loss to Virtus.Pro at The Summit 6.Targeted bans will be more important than ever, and teams that better identify comfort picks and pillars will be more likely to advance in the single-elimination bracket. The increased importance placed on draft and replay analysis, with teams picking up more staff to identify key data in matches beyond what the coach sees, could be a make-or-break tool in Boston, and at events to come. In a meta as theoretically balanced as the current Dota 2 patch is, showing up prepared could mean the difference between the first major title of the 2017 or a quick trip back home from Massachusetts.The Boston Major will kick off group stage play Friday, with the main event bracket starting Wednesday, Dec. 7.Cheap Authentic Jerseys 2020 . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Wholesale Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. https://www.wholesalejerseysreview.com/ . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Cheap NFL Jerseys 2020 . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. China Jerseys 2020 . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.NEWARK, N.J. -- With a four game road trip looming, the New Jersey Devils knew how important two back-to-back, home-and-home sets would be. Kyle Quincey said the teams goal was to win all four games.New Jersey went out and did just that.Nick Lappin and Kyle Palmieri scored in the second period to lead the Devils to a 4-2 victory over the Sabres on Saturday night, beating Buffalo for the second straight night. Earlier in the week, New Jersey beat Carolina twice in three nights.When you look at the wins, its a combination of very good effort by the players, making smart decisions, making right decisions, making good plays, playing with passion, playing with purpose and having some mental toughness, Devils coach John Hynes said. I think when you look at this past week weve had those things more times than not, and thats why weve been able to find a way to win.Quincey and John Moore also scored for the Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 21 shots. Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Damon Severson had two assists each.Marcus Foligno and Matt Moulson scored for the Sabres, who have lost four straight. Robin Lehner finished with 23 saves.Lappin gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 6:11 of the second as he took a pass from Hall on a 2-on-1 and fired a shot past Lehner for his second career goal.Hes one of the most skilled players in the league so when I see him get the puck there I have a pretty good feeling its going to end up on my stick if hes passing it, Lappin said. I was just waiting for it and he made a great play and I was able to get it in.Palmieri made it 3-1 from the right circle with 8:47 left in the second for his third of the season. The goal withstood a video review after the Sabres challenged for an offside call.Moores shot off a pass from Henrique on a 2-on-1 trickled by Lehner 6 1/2 minutes into the third to give the Devils a three-goal cushion.ddddddddddddThe goal came during 4-on-4 play. Buffalos Evander Kane was sent to the penalty box for hooking Vernon Fiddler at 5:32. However, the Devils power play was short-lived as Severson was whistled for cross-checking the Sabres Johan Larsson 42 seconds later.Moulson capped the scoring at 9:43 of the third period with William Carrier getting his first NHL point on the play.Quincey scored his first goal with New Jersey for a 1-0 lead 4:01 into the game as his slap shot from right in front of the blue line found the back of the net.The Sabres tied it 3:41 into the second period as Brian Gionta picked off a pass by Jacob Josefson and found Folingo, who had a clear path to the goal.We had that push back, we were able to tie it up and when they are able to stop the momentum and create one of their own, Brian Gionta said. Its tough.Game notesThe Devils went 0 for 4 on power play, extending their streak to 20 straight man-advantage situations without a goal. ... New Jersey signed its third-round draft pick, 19-year-old forward Brandon Gignac, to a three-year, entry level contract. Gignac has five goals and 11 assists through 14 games with the QMJHLs Shawinigan Cataractes this season. ... The Devils acquired Petr Straka from the Flyers for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Draft. Straka will report to Albany (AHL). ... The Devils wore camouflage jerseys in warm-ups for Military Appreciation Night. ... This was the second of three games the teams will play this season. The final game is Feb. 6 at Prudential Center. ... This was the second of the Sabres league-high 19 back-to-back sets this year.UP NEXTBuffalo: At St. Louis on Tuesday night.New Jersey: At Dallas on Tuesday night. ' ' '