DOTA Shadow Fiend guide (item strategy)

• You already get a large boost in damage from Necromastery. Don't worry about extra stats at the start of the DOTA game.
• A lothar's dirk or blinking dagger will greatly improve your chances landing the Shadow Fiend's ultimate skill.
  

A demon of the burning legion so abhorred that he makes the skin of even his fellow demons crawl, Nevermore is a creature of the shadows that consumes the souls of those around him. He augments his power with the souls he has consumed, bearing down on his enemies with spiritually enhanced attacks and powerful spiritual blasts. Nevermore the Shadow Fiend is a terrifying opponent whom few have survive, and those who have perished under his tyranny have faced the most despicable fate of all.

First off, we're assuming that you're already familiar with this DOTA character. If you're not, take a look at the Nevermore hero guide page here for more information. Here's some of the popular Nevermore items in a build and my thoughts on them:

• Blink Dagger: Kelen's Dagger is fantastic on the Shadow Fiend, more so than a lot of other common characters. It's extremely useful for two purposes: Strategically aligning enemies for your requiem ultimate spell (there's many youtube videos of an entire team kill (5 heroes) this way). It's also useful for chasing after people and constantly razing them. Blink dagger is a fantastic DotA mid-game item for the shadowfiend.
• Mask of Madness: You generally don't need lifesteal on this hero in DOTA. However, getting this version does help with chasing and increased DPS. A decent choice early on as one of your first items. This is only assuming you took necromastery, which would raise your damage quite a bit based on the number of kills you have.
• The Butterfly: A common choice. The extra agility, damage, and attack speed are all nice. However, they're expensive in this item, and you don't really need evasion on Nevermore.
• Lothar's Edge: An invisible shadow fiend is a scary one. Works great if there's no invisible heroes on your team or you're playing against people who won't counter it. Start fights by sneaking up to someone and casting your ultimate. Many won't even notice until it's too late! Not recommended vs DOTA heroes who can stun.
• Force Staff: Perfect for defending yourself against melee heroes. Proper use of this item will get you a lot of kills during the middle of the match. It'll also help you position people to have them hit by extra shadowrazes.
  
• Buriza & MKB: More DPS items. You already get a nice DPS from your skills, so you can ignore these until late game.
• Eye of Skadi: A great choice of orbs if there's no one else on your DOTA team who can slow down enemies. As a side effect, it also reduces their attack speed, giving you a boost in any fight who's winner might be dependant on luck.
• Stygian Desolator: Has a good synergy with your armor reduction aura. That's pretty much the only reason to take it. It's always good for someone on your side to have the corruption orb effect though, so it's something to consider on the shadow fiend if no one else is grabbing a deso.