Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Anti-Mage
* While Anti-Mage does build a {Item ID:Battle Fury} he cannot manfight Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer commonly builds a {Item ID:Diffusal Blade} which can drain Anti-Mage's mana coupled with Juxtapose's illusions
* Phantom rush can be used to chase Anti-Mage after he Blinks away
Rubick
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge and dispel Fade Bolt's damage reduction debuff.
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge the stun from an incoming Telekenesis when he is not the primary target.
* Phantom Lancer is a common Diffusal Blade carrier leaving Rubick no mana to spam abilities from Spell Steal.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)Rubick
* Legion Commander's spells are relatively useless to Rubick, as Duel isn't suitable for someone as squishy as Rubick.
* Press the Attack can be useful, but its high mana cost will leave you with little mana.
* Overwhelming Odds only does damage and gives a movement speed bonus, Rubick can't do much with the extra move speed.
* Generally, you will be a prime target for Legion Commander's Duels, as Rubick is relatively frail.
Anti-Mage
* Duel renders Anti-Mage's escape capabilities with Blink and Counterspell useless.
* A good initiation from Legion Commander and her team is enough to effortlessly kill Anti-Mage.
Additional:
* Counterspell offer no protection against Duel at all.
* Duel locks down Anti-Mage for a long duration, preventing him from escaping with Blink. One successful Duel initiation is usually enough for Legion Commander's team to kill Anti-Mage.
Riki
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Rubick
* Riki has high damage and invisibility, meaning he can easily gank Rubick and kill him before Rubick has the chance to react.
* Almost all of Riki's spells are useless to Rubick.
* Smoke Screen is the only of Riki's spells that can be of some use to Rubick.
* Similar to Clinkz, Rubick has to buy a large amount of Sentry Wards to keep track of Riki due to Cloak and Dagger, preventing Rubick from getting better items.
* Riki is a common Diffusal Blade carrier leaving Rubick no mana to spam abilities from Spell Steal.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can use neither Blink nor
Manta Style to escape from Smoke Cloud.
* Even if he activates a Black King Bar, his
Manta Style illusions will still be blinded by Smoke Cloud.
* Riki has a very small mana pool and generally doesn't buy many items that increase it, making Mana Void ineffective.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Rubick
* While many of Silencer's spells are a great steal for Rubick, Silencer effectively neuters Rubick's excellent counter-initiation potential thanks to Global Silence.
* Rubick's relatively low intelligence for such a heavy caster means that losing Intelligence to Intelligence Steal will make your mana pool even smaller.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 42% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Additional:
* Chronosphere provides excellent lockdown against Anti-Mage, allowing for reliable kills in all stages of the game.
* Time Dilation while Blink and
Counterspell are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, shutting down his mobility and defensiveness.
* Faceless Void's low mana pool makes him a poor target for Mana Void, although he is very vulnerable should Anti-Mage burn all of his mana.
Rubick
* Time Dilation, while Spell Steal with
Aghanim's Scepter is on cooldown will make it unusable for a long time, reducing Rubick's potential.
* Rubick's own Chronosphere stolen with Spell Steal cannot stun Faceless Void.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Rubick
* Pounce and
Dark Pact together with some attacks can gank Rubick down quickly. Rubick can seldom retaliate because of the strong dispel of
Dark Pact. What is more, Rubick is the type of squishy support that Slark exactly wants to gank.
* Though Shadow Dance is a great spell to steal, Slark's untargetable nature and his low cooldown spells prevents Rubick from stealing it.
* Slark usually builds Diffusal Blade which can prevent Rubick to cast his abilities from Spell Steal.
Anti-Mage
* Pounce prevents Anti-Mage from using Blink, and lets him disengage from Anti-Mage if needed.
* Essence Shift allows Slark to permanently steal agility from Anti-Mage.
* Shadow Dance stops Anti-Mage from being able to fight back in a slippery situation.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 2%)Rubick
* Spin Web and Broodmother's auto-attacks allow her to gank Rubick easily before Rubick has a chance to retaliate, especially if Broodmother obtains
Orchid Malevolence.
* Broodmother loves buying Diffusal Blade, which drains Rubick's low supply of mana, preventing Rubick from spamming his abilities.
* Though Insatiable Hunger is a great spell to steal, Broodmother's untargetable nature and her low cooldown spells makes it a difficult spell to steal.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 18%)Anti-Mage
* Puck's high magical burst damage can be a threat to Anti-Mage early on in the game.
* Waning Rift Aoe Silences Anti-Mage, preventing him from blinking.
* Dream Coil Leashes Anti-Mage preventing him from blinking away, alternatively Puck can buy
Aghanim's Scepter causing
Dream Coil to pierce spell immunity and lock down Anti-Mage for 8 seconds.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Additional:
* Anti-Mage's Counterspell provides no protection against Clinkz's physical damage output.
* Clinkz can easily rush an Orchid Malevolence to prevent
Blinking, although Anti-Mage can easily dispel it via
Manta Style.
* Clinkz does heavy damage to towers, and can take map control away from Anti-Mage to limit the space he has to farm early game. If Clinkz is ahead he is capable of ending the game before Anti-Mage becomes a threat. He can also match Anti-Mage's ability to split push.
Rubick
* Considering Rubick's abysmal armor, Rubick is a squishy target for Clinkz to gank. None of his spells are useful except for Skeleton Walk.
* Clinkz usually builds Orchid Malevolence, which disables Rubick's ability to retaliate.
* Vast numbers of Sentry Wards are needed to deal with Clinkz because of
Skeleton Walk, making it harder for Rubick to buy more expensive and more useful support items like
Glimmer Cape or
Mekansm.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Crippling Fear makes Night Stalker one of the best early game gankers to shut down Anti-Mage.
* Night Stalker's low mana pool causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
Naga Siren
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 2%)Rubick
* Song of the Siren is very difficult for Rubick to Spell Steal when he is affected by sleep.
* Ensnare and Rip Tide together with some attacks can take Rubick down quickly, due to his low health pool and armor.
* Naga Siren usually buys Diffusal Blade, which will prevent Rubick from spamming his abilities from
Spell Steal.
* Mirror Image allows to dodge the incoming stun from Telekinesis (when she is not a target) and it can also to dodge and dispel
Fade Bolt's damage reduction debuff.
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Blood Rite prevents Anti-Mage from escaping with Blink.
* Blink will trigger the damage from Rupture.
* Both Blood Rite & Rupture are pure damage which can bypass Counterspell.
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Troll Warlord's passive root, high attack speed, and blind from Whirling Axes makes him an exceedingly difficult opponent for Anti-Mage to take down in a one-on-one fight.
* Troll Warlord's low mana causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
Additional:
* Whirling Axes (Melee) provides a 60% miss chance, preventing Anti-Mage from burning Troll Warlord's small mana pool.
* Troll Warlord's passive root allows him to very effectively fight an Anti-Mage by preventing Anti-Mage from Blinking away. This is even more effective when combined with a
Skull Basher or
Abyssal Blade.
* Counterspell will do nothing to prevent Troll Warlord's high physical damage.
* Due to Troll Warlord's abysmal base intelligence and intelligence gain, he is one of the worst targets to use Mana Void on.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Refraction protects against Anti-Mage's low burst damage, and allows her to win most fights against Anti-Mage during the early game.
* Meld's burst damage and armor reduction is often enough to finish off Anti-Mage before he Blinks away.
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage usually relies on Blink to escape, but with vision from Charge of Darkness it is easier to catch him.
* Spirit Breaker could single-handedly lock Anti-Mage down for 4 seconds (or even more with lucky bashes), allowing his teammates to follow up.
* As Anti-Mage is an elusive hero who likes to farm alone, Spirit Breaker could choose to charge whenever Anti-Mage is in sight.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Multiple Earthbinds allows Meepo to lock down Anti-Mage almost indefinitely.
* Meepo's clones can only use their mana for Poof, keeping their mana pool nearly full and thus making them a bad target for a Mana Void.
Additional:
* Earthbind can prevent Anti-Mage from using Blink, allowing Meepo to kill him with attacks and Ransack.
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Anti-Mage
* Glimpse brings Anti-Mage back after he Blinks away.
* Static Storm stops Anti-Mage from Blinking.
Additional:
* Similar to Queen of Pain, Glimpse can disable Blink, negating his mobility.
* However, Counterspell can negate a majority of Disruptor's damage, which may require him to have a partner to successfully kill Anti-Mage.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Rubick
* While Chaos Knight can land far away from Rubick due to Telekinesis, it can be counteracted by Reality Rift.
* Phantasm dispels Fade Bolt's damage reduction debuff.
* Rubick is fragile and can easily be killed by Chaos Knight and Phantasm's illusions, before he retaliates.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Slithereen Crush and
Bash of the Deep prevent Anti-Mage from using Blink, the latter even if Anti-Mage activates
Black King Bar.
* Corrosive Haze allows allies to take down Anti-Mage before he has a chance to Blink, and maintains vision over him even if he does Blink away.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Anti-Mage
* Disruption sets up Anti-Mage for a chain disable. The illusions will deal extra damage due to Mana Break.
* Soul Catcher causes Anti-Mage to take a large chunk of damage, and can hit him when he is inside from
Disruption.
* Shadow Poison hits Anti-Mage even after he's Blinked away.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Anti-Mage alone, Disruption's considerable cast range can become a perfect setup for any hard-disable to follow up. If he is pinned down, Anti-Mage will quickly face his demise when the illusions deplete his already low mana pool. Manta Style will easily allow him to escape, however.
* The illusions can be controlled to quickly sap mana from any other target, making Anti-Mage one of the most valuable targets to disrupt.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Berserker's Call prevents Anti-Mage from escaping with Blink, and works well with
Blade Mail against Anti-Mage's relatively low health.
* Counter Helix deals pure damage, ignoring the protection from Counterspell.
* Counter Helix will trigger even if Axe's depleted of mana, which will make Anti-Mage take more damage than he's dealing.
* Axe's low mana pool makes him a bad target for using Mana Void.
* Axe's high base health regeneration allows him to dominate the lane against Anti-Mage, especially with a support.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call is one of the most reliable ways to lock down Anti-Mage, preventing him from Blinking away.
* Anti-Mage's high attack speed, along with illusions from Manta Style, triggers Counter Helix continuously.
* Axe's low mana pool and high health pool makes Mana Void deal very little damage to Axe.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Terrorblade with Manta Style and
Conjure Image illusions overwhelms Anti Mage.
* Reflection turns Mana Break against Anti-Mage draining his mana making it useful in fights.
* Terrorblade's low mana pool makes him a poor target for Mana Void.
Additional:
* Reflection's illusion carries Mana Break as well, making it useful in fights.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 2%)Anti-Mage
* Doom shuts down Anti-Mage's escape capabilities with Blink. The ability also deals pure damage, which ignores the protection from Counterspell.
* If Doom has Aghanim's Scepter,
Infernal Blade can hit Anti-Mage loses his Mana Break and Counterspell, weakening both his offense and defense.
* Doom's low mana pool causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
Additional:
* Doom prevents Anti-Mage from maneuvering around a fight or escaping from an initiation using Blink. Additionally, Doom deals pure damage, which is not affected by
Counterspell. This can quickly whittle away Anti-Mage's naturally poor health pool.
* Be careful when using Doom as a well-timed Counterspell can block and reflect it back against Doom himself.
* An Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infernal Blade will also disable Mana Break and
Counterspell, which makes Anti-Mage significantly less effective in fights and more susceptible to the high magical damage of Doom's abilities and any allies'.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 15%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can easily withstand heavy magical burst due to Counterspell, but he is still somewhat vulnerable to physical damage. Phantom Assassin's burst physical damage can destroy Anti-Mage while
Blink is on cooldown or while he is stunned or hexed.
* Blur makes Anti-Mage unable to deal significant damage to her.
* Phantom Assassin has an abysmal mana pool and intelligence gain, making Mana Break and
Mana Void deal minimal damage.
Sven
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 43% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage is fairly fragile, and cannot stand against Sven in a prolonged fight.
* Sven's Black King Bar and low base mana protects against
Mana Break.
* Great Cleave destroys the illusions from Anti-Mage's Manta Style.
* Although Sven should be careful as a well-timed Counterspell can block and reflect Storm Hammer.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Rubick
* In general, heroes who are melee with no way to fight back can be very easily poked by Monkey King to gain his Jingu Mastery stacks: Dark Seer,
Riki,
Rubick.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 12%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes who take a long time to become strong are in for a rough mid game, such as Outworld Destroyer,
Magnus,
Medusa, and
Anti-Mage.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Anti-Mage
* A well-timed use of The Swarm provides vision over heroes with high mobility: Anti-Mage,
Arc Warden,
Dark Seer.
Centaur Warrunner
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage's
Mana Void won't do a lot of damage because Centaur has a low mana pool.
Mana Break is also relatively ineffective against him.
Mars
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 15%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes who cannot fight back during Arena of Blood in the early and mid game: Abaddon,
Anti-Mage,
Broodmother,
Drow Ranger,
Luna,
Sniper,
Troll Warlord,
Weaver,
Clinkz.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Rubick
* Oracle's high magic damage output can easily take down Rubick's low health pool.
* Because Oracle likes to combine his spells together, the only good Spell Steal target he gives is False Promise. This scenario can be avoided by shift queueing Fortune's End and casting it immediately, as it has no cast point, or by staying in the back line of fights if out of mana.
* As a position based hero, Rubick will have a very hard time against Fortune's End due to its absurd range and very long root duration.
Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can withstand magical burst damage much better than other carries, making him effective against nukers: Lich,
Necrophos,
Oracle, and
Leshrac.
Additional:
* Oracle has minimal damage potential against Anti-Mage due to Counterspell, and may even have some ability damage reflected at himself.
* Anti-Mage can easily overwhelm Oracle with Mana Break and
Mana Void.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to easily chase and take advantage of Oracle's low mobility.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 18%)Rubick
* On his own, Rubick can't do much to Shadow Fiend. However, Shadow Fiend can easily run Rubick over with his right-clicks and multiple Shadowrazes.
* Presence of the Dark Lord lowers Rubick's already low armor even further.
* Shadowraze can be somewhat risky to use if stolen, as two of them require Rubick to get up close, which is something Rubick doesn't like doing.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Lina
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 11%)Anti-Mage
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to get on top of Lina and deal damage with his
Mana Break.
* Counterspell makes Anti-Mage tanky against Lina's heavy magic damage.
* A well-timed Counterspell can block and reflect Laguna Blade.
* Mana Void is very strong against Lina, who has a high mana pool and quickly depletes it during fights.
Rubick
* Rubick will find all Lina's abilities useful:
* Dragon Slave provides a good way to clear creep waves and allows Rubick to deal tons of magical damage in teamfights.
* Light Strike Array gives Rubick a solid area stun, which is easy to set up right after Telekinesis.
* Laguna Blade gives Rubick a massive damage boost and great solo kill potential.
Morphling
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 12%)Rubick
* Rubick's ability to steal Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) makes him extremely annoying to deal with because Rubick's shifted attributes will remain even if he steals a new spell.
* If Rubick moves enough points to strength and then steals Adaptive Strike, he will have a powerful 3-second ranged stun in his arsenal as well.
* Waveform provides a reliable nuke/escape to Rubick.
Additional:
* Morphling's abilities can cause unique interactions on their own:
* Waveform is a damaging pseudo-blink, giving Rubick much needed mobility.
* Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) is a great ability for Rubick:
* The changes done by it are permanent even after losing the ability. Pumping all the agility into strength makes him much tankier. The armor loss due to reduced agility can be mitigated by cheap items like Medallion of Courage or
Solar Crest.
* The extra strength allows Rubick to survive Morphling's Ethereal Blade -
Adaptive Strike (Agility) combo.
* Beware when using Attribute Shift (Agility Gain)! Unlike Morphling, Rubick does not gain damage from it, since agility is not his primary attribute.
* Adaptive Strike (Strength) is a long-ranged stun.
* The true power of this ability is revealed when Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) has been stolen previously: it gives a 4 second ranged stun every 10 seconds, which greatly counters heroes with mobility, such as Morphling himself.
* All of Rubick's abilities break Linken's Sphere, a core item for Morphling.
Anti-Mage
* Counterspell's bonus magic resistance causes the
Ethereal Blade and Adaptive Strike combo to deal significantly less damage.
* Counterspell's active component can reflect the Ethereal Blast and Adaptive Strike combo back into Morphling, dealing significant damage or even killing him.
* Mana Break combined with
Manta Style can quickly burn away Morphling's mana, leaving him unable to use his spells.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 2%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage easily destroys Mana Shield with Mana Break, especially once he has
Manta Style.
* Anti-Mage effectively avoids Stone Gaze with Blink, and can reinitiate after its duration is over.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage's Mana Break burns Medusa's mana easily, especially when coupled with a
Manta Style.
* Can easily initiate on Medusa with Blink, burning her mana or forcing her to use Stone Gaze.
* Mana Void is effective against Medusa's big mana pool and mana usage, presenting a huge hazard to Medusa's allies around her since her Mana Shield still gives her some protection if she has mana.
Rubick
* Because of her need to get status items early to tank it up, Rubick can greatly reduce her damage early with Fade Bolt
* Her stationary nature and the slow cast time of her spells makes it easier for Rubick to steal Stone Gaze or
Mystic Snake
* Aghanim's Scepter's Mystic Snake is often better used by Rubick than by Medusa
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Rubick
* All of Vengeful Spirit abilities are very good for Rubick to Spell Steal:
* Magic Missile provides an additional nuke/disable to pair with Fade Bolt and
Telekinesis, respectively.
* Wave of Terror serves as a good scouting/armor reduction skill that Rubick and his team can benefit from.
* Nether Swap complements Rubick's mobility and pairs well with other mobility items he usually builds. He can also use it to save an ally from danger.
Anti-Mage
* Past the mid game, an isolated Vengeful Spirit makes for an easy kill for Anti-Mage.
* Magic Missile is the only disable Vengeful Spirit has against Anti-Mage, but he can either Blink away to disjoint the stun or reflect it back against Vengeful Spirit with
Counterspell.
* Nether Swap isn't very effective against Anti-Mage - if used offensively, Anti-Mage can simply blink away to safety, and if used defensively, Blink's low cooldown allows him to persistently chase as well.
Invoker
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 16%)Rubick
* All of Invoker's abilities scales with his level, thus Rubick possesses great potential in late game by owning any of Invoker's arsenal.
* Fade Bolt counters early push from Forge Spirit.
Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage's mobility and magic resistance make him nearly impossible to kill alone.
* Invoker's spells cost a lot of mana, and Invoker himself has a lot of mana. This means Invoker and his team are vulnerable to Mana Void's heavy damage.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from Invoker's combo if he doesn't have disables.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Rubick
* All of Venomancer's abilities are decent choices for Rubick's Spell Steal. Stealing Plague wards makes them apply Poison sting as well.
Anti-Mage
* Venomancer's damage-over-time abilities do little damage against Counterspell.
* Blink helps Anti-Mage get away from Venomancer's slows.
Additional:
* Counterspell provides magic resistance, diminishing the effectiveness of Venomancer's spells.
* Venomancer's lack of hard disable allows Anti-Mage to use Blink, circumventing the slows Venomancer depends on.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Rubick
* Fade Bolt can hinder Jakiro's early pushing power by clearing creep waves.
* All of Jakiro's spells are great for Rubick to Spell Steal.
* Ice Path is a great spell for Rubick so steal, since Rubick has no cast time on stolen abilities, making Rubick's version of Ice Path much more reliable than Jakiro's.
* Macropyre is a great way for Rubick to farm.
Anti-Mage
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to hunt down Jakiro, who has no way to escape.
* Counterspell protects Anti-Mage against all of Jakiro's magic damage.
* Mana Void is very effective against Jakiro because of his high mana.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 6%)Rubick
* Everything Enigma has is something Rubick will like:
* Malefice helps with interrupting channeling spells in case Telekinesis is off cooldown.
* Demonic Conversion helps with pushing or counter-pushing a lane.
* Midnight Pulse is great for blocking off areas or just doing steady damage in teamfights.
* Black Hole is one of the best spells for teamfights, and could easily turn a losing one around.
* Black Hole also requires channeling, making it an easy steal for Rubick because he usually stays back in a teamfight, making it hard to catch him with Black Hole.
* Telekinesis can break Enigma's Black Hole fairly easily.
* Fade Bolt counters early push strategy of Enigma's waves of Eidolons.
* Spell Steal pierces spell immunity, so Enigma can't prevent Rubick from stealing Black Hole by activating
Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Telekinesis has a longer range than the AoE of Black Hole for the purposes of cancelling it.
* All of Enigma's spells are useful to Spell Steal.
* Malefice is useful for interrupting channeling spells or long cast animations.
* Demonic Conversion can be used to push or counter-push a lane.
* Midnight Pulse is useful to block an area or for team fights.
* Black Hole is very easy to steal, as it is a channeled ability. It's also one of the best ultimate abilities for team fights, and it can easily turn the fight around for the enemy team.
Anti-Mage
* Enigma's Midnight Pulse damage can be substantially mitigated by Anti-Mage's high magic resistance thanks to Counterspell.
* In the early game, Anti-Mage's Mana Void can cancel a Black Hole until Enigma gets his Black King Bar.
* Should Anti-Mage survive a Black Hole combo, Enigma will have exhausted most of his skills and items, preventing him from defending himself against any counter initiation or a follow-up from a blink escape.
* Anti-Mage's {Ability ID:Blink|Anti-Mage} will make him a very hard target to use your ultimate on, having to solo ult him later on in the game or leave him out of the black holes.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 4%)Rubick
* Rubick can turn around entire teamfights if he manages to steal Reverse Polarity.
* Shockwave allows Rubick to farm pretty fast together with Fade Bolt, and also deals decent AoE damage in teamfights.
* If Rubick steals Skewer, he can use Telekinesis to displace enemies and Skewer them away.
Additional:
* All of Magnus's spells are perfect for Rubick to steal, especially Reverse Polarity for a counter-initiation.
* Telekinesis is one of the best instant-disables in the game, completely ruining Magnus's initiation.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Lich
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 11%)Rubick
* All his abilities is decent in Rubick's kit:
* Frost Blast allows Rubick to harass and constantly slow down enemies.
* Frost Shield increases Rubick's as well as his allies' and tower's survivability to physical attacks.
* A well-timed Chain Frost can be devastating to the enemy team.
Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can withstand magical burst damage much better than other carries, making him effective against nukers: Lich,
Necrophos,
Oracle, and
Leshrac.
Additional:
* Although he can be effective against Anti-Mage in an aggro offlane, Lich has a hard time nuking down Anti-Mage in the midgame due to his Counterspell.
* All of Lich's abilities are also targeted, which makes it much harder to disable Anti-Mage.
* In the lategame, Anti-Mage can easily pick off Lich with Blink, and the high mana cost of Chain Frost along with Lich's large mana pool makes him vulnerable to
Mana Void.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape Chain Frost.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can withstand magical burst damage much better than other carries, making him effective against nukers: Lich,
Necrophos,
Oracle, and
Leshrac.
Rubick
* If Rubick steals Reaper's Scythe, he can turn the powerful ultimate back against Necrophos' team. Even his other spells are useful in Rubick's hands, giving him a sustain or a weak initiation/protection tool.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 9%)Rubick
* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter,
Brewmaster,
Death Prophet, etc.
Additional:
* Fade Bolt reduces damage output of Anchor Smash.
* Ravage is an easy target to Spell Steal, so always be sure to use Anchor Smash immediately after Ravage when playing against a Rubick.
* Spells stolen by Rubick are potentially stronger due to the lack of cast animations, his talents, and his passive, Arcane Supremacy.
Anti-Mage
* Both Gush and
Ravage do little damage against Counterspell.
* Blink helps Anti-Mage escape through Anchor Smash.
* Tidehunter's small mana pool can be eated by Mana Break, preventing to spam his abilities and ignores the protection from Kraken Shell.
Additional:
* Mana Break quickly burns Tidehunter's mana pool, preventing him from spamming his abilities, and Kraken Shell does not mitigate the bonus damage component.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to enter combat quickly and safely after Ravage.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 1%)Rubick
* All of Omniknight's abilities are valuable for Rubick to Spell Steal, and Omniknight has no throwaway ability to cover his last used spell.
Additional:
* All Omniknight's abilities are perfect to steal:
* Purification can heal allies as well as damage enemies under the right circumstances. It is extremely useful since Rubick has no heal of his own.
* Heavenly Grace gives a strength bonus, status resistance, and health regeneration, which can help an ally or Rubick survive longer.
* Guardian Angel can turn the tide of battle by negating all physical damage, which is especially useful if the opposing team has physical attackers.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who can drain mana can make Omniknight useless after he uses one or two abilities: Lion,
Anti-Mage,
Nyx Assassin
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes that are naturally hard to gank, ranging from beefy tanks like Abaddon and
Wraith King to heroes with quick escape mechanisms like
Anti-Mage and
Storm Spirit are also undesirable targets for a lone, roaming Bounty Hunter to scout out and initiate on.
Rubick
* Rubick is a potential counter to Bounty Hunter as he can steal his Track and use it against his invisibility, and also provide his team with more gold if the tracked hero is killed.
Brewmaster
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Blinking heroes like Anti-Mage or
Queen of Pain can often chase down an injured Brewmaster after his ultimate expires.
Rubick
* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter,
Brewmaster,
Death Prophet, etc.
Snapfire
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break reduces Snapfire's already low mana pool.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to avoid being hit by
Lil' Shredder and
Mortimer Kisses.
Pudge
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 19%)Anti-Mage
* If Meat Hook is used before Blink, Anti-Mage may be able to escape Pudge's grasp by blinking safety.
* Counterspell grants Anti-Mage a large degree of magic resistance, a damage type Pudge is highly reliant on to secure kills. This make Anti-Mage a bad target for Pudge. The active can also block Dismember if timed correctly.
* Mana Break can quickly drains Pudge's low supply of mana, which may render Meat Hook & Dismember unusable and making him a prime target for
Mana Void.
Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Rubick
* Every ability Witch Doctor has is useful when Rubick manages to steal any of them:
* Paralyzing Cask provides an additional disable apart from Telekinesis and also helps Rubick to farm.
* Voodoo Restoration provides utility by healing Rubick and his team, since he has no heal of his own.
* Maledict is a solid damage-over-time nuke, which can be devastating to the enemy team.
* And most importantly, Death Ward is one of the best teamfight spells in the game. It also requires channeling, which makes it easy for Rubick to steal. And when combined with
Aghanim's Scepter, this can prove deadly to the enemy team.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will always toggle Voodoo Restoration while channeling
Death Ward to prevent that.
Additional:
* Rubick can steal Death Ward easily as it is a channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will toggle Voodoo Restoration immediately after placing his Death Ward to prevent that.
Gyrocopter
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 2%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break makes Gyrocopter, who has low mana pool, unable to use his abilities that most of his damage output depends on.
* Counterspell negates magical damages from Gyrocopter and it can also reflect Homing Missile back to himself.
* Anti-Mage can easily escape from Gyrocopter's attack range and Call Down with Blink.
Queen of Pain
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Because Queen of Pain's spells cost a decent amount of mana, Anti-Mage can easily use Mana Void if she spams her spells recklessly.
* Anti-Mage has similar mobility through Blink, which can allow him to catch up with her.
* Counterspell will reduce the damage done by Shadow Strike and Scream of Pain.
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 11%)Anti-Mage
* Because of the high mana cost of Ball Lightning, Storm Spirit is often vulnerable to Mana Void.
* Mana Break diminishes Storm Spirit's mobility with Ball Lightning, and Anti-Mage can catch him with Blink over short distances.
* Almost all of Storm Spirit's damage is magical, which is severely reduced by Counterspell.
* Storm Sprit has a very large mana pool which means Anti-Mage can do large amounts of damage to him with Mana Break and Mana Void.
Additional:
* Mana Break can quickly burn Storm Spirit's mana, preventing him from escaping.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to catch up to Storm Spirit when he tries to use his Ball Lightning to escape.
* Mana Void deals massive damage to Storm Spirit as well as his teammates, as Storm Spirit depletes his mana pool by using Ball Lightning.
* Counterspell's passive magic resistance reduces much of Storm Spirit's magical damage dealt to Anti-Mage, and the active aspect may even make Storm Spirit disable himself.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Thanks to Counterspell Anti-Mage can fight Techies head on and trip multiple mines once the late game hits.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Zeus almost exclusively relies on magical damage, which is heavily reduced by Counterspell.
* Zeus' complete lack of mobility makes him very easy for Anti-Mage to chase down with Blink.
* Zeus likes to stand in the back during team fights, but Anti-Mage can easily Blink to close the distance.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can burn mana, which is a big problem for a spellcaster like Zeus that heavily relies on it.
* Counterspell decreases magical damage taken from Zeus.
* Zeus' high intelligence and mana pool makes him a perfect target for Mana Void.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break is very effective against Tusk, as he has a very low mana pool.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from an incoming Snowball.
* Counterspell reflects the Snowball back onto Tusk
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with mobility spells like Queen of Pain,
Anti-Mage,
Riki,
Puck, and
Spirit Breaker that are cancelled by Frostbite can suffer greatly from the presence of Crystal Maiden. It is absolutely critical, however, to have followup from teammates, as all of the above heroes can make quick work of the squishy Crystal Maiden after they are released from her grip.
Rubick
* Everything she has is great in Rubick's kit:
* Crystal Nova deals crowd damage and slows enemies, also helps on farming.
* Frostbite helps Rubick locks down enemies, also is a decent farming ability.
* Freezing Field is a channeling ability and therefore can be stolen easily.
* Arcane Supremacy's Debuff Duration Amplification also benefits Crystal Nova and
Frostbite greatly.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with large health pools (Pudge) or good innate magic resistance (
Anti-Mage) can be very problematic for Crystal Maiden, since even if they are under the effect of her ultimate for the entire duration, the damage output is simply not enough to kill or force them to retreat.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 15%)Anti-Mage
* Ogre Magi only deals magical damage, which Anti-Mage is exceptionally resistant due to Counterspell.
* Anti-Mage dispels Ignite with
Manta Style.
* Ogre Magi has a very large mana pool which means Anti-Mage can do large amounts of damage to him with Mana Break and Mana Void.
Undying
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Tombstone's zombies rarely inhibit Anti-Mage, as he can either Blink away or onto the Tombstone and destroy it.
Clockwerk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can Blink into or out of Power Cogs, negating Clockwerk's initiation and bypassing his defenses.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can easily Blink out of Power Cogs, escaping any ganking or initiation attempts.
* Mana Break depletes Clockwerk's much-needed mana.
Luna
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Rubick
* Lucent Beam is a solid magic nuke.
* Eclipse can cause massive damage if cast in the right time.
* Rubick has a good chance to steal Eclipse for Luna has only two cast abilities.
* Aghanim's Scepter greatly increased the effectiveness of the ability, including more damage as well as longer cast range. In addition, it allows him to cast it on another hero so Rubick doesn't have to get close to the enemy team in teamfights.
Death Prophet
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* In early to mid stage, Silence is also a great way to counter escape oriented heroes such as Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain, and
Phantom Assassin to prevent them from escaping, provided that they don't have any basic dispels.
Rubick
* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter,
Brewmaster,
Death Prophet, etc.
Anti-Mage
* Death Prophet has a high mana pool and due to her heavy reliance on her spells, she will be a prime target for Mana Void.
* Death Prophet has less mobility than Anti-Mage due to Blink.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage dispels Phoenix's slows with Manta Style.
* Anti-Mage can Blink directly next to Supernova, giving him more time to destroy the egg.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Ursa can be kited by Blink. Additionally, Anti-Mage can steal
Aegis of the Immortal during Roshan attempts through the Pit.
* Anti-Mage usually builds Manta Style, which can dispel Earthshock's slow.
* Anti-Mage can control Ursa's low mana pool via Mana Break.
* Anti-Mage can farm much more quickly than Ursa, allowing Anti-Mage to overpower Ursa once a significant farm advantage is established.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)Rubick
* Fissure has a shorter cast time in Rubick's hands, making it a nice ability to either initiate or interrupt enemy ganks from a long distance.
* Though Echo Slam isn't as powerful for the lack of
Aftershock on Rubick, the damage can still be massive on enemies.
Winter Wyvern
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Rubick
* All of Winter Wyvern's spells are generally good for Rubick to steal:
* Arctic Burn provides bonus attack range, night vision and burn.
* Splinter Blast makes farming and pushing efficient while also slowing down the enemies.
* Cold Embrace can heal an ally and protect them against physical attacks.
* Winter's Curse can be stolen by Rubick and use it against herself or her own team.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Rubick
* Burrowstrike is one of the best and easiest steals for Rubick and Sand King should be careful when playing against him - it's much better to give away Sand Storm.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Echo Stomp and
Earth Splitter's long cast times give Anti-Mage plenty of time to Blink away.
Dark Willow
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Counterspell negates Dark Willow's high magic burst damage. Its active blocks
Cursed Crown.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to dodge Terrorize during its long cast animation, as well as avoiding the obstacles from Bramble Maze. On the other hand, if Anti-Mage gets caught inside Bramble Maze, he's unable to Blink away.
* Dark Willow's chained magic burst requires a lot of mana, setting her up for damaging Mana Voids.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Dark Seer's strength lies in his high-mana cost skills. So Mana Break can be a great nuisance for him, since it can reduce his mana and prevent him from casting his spells.
* Mana Void can deal a lot of damage if Dark Seer spent a lot of mana on his abilities.
Warlock
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break prevents Warlock from casting his spells.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from
Upheaval.
* Counterspell reduces damage from
Shadow Word and the {U:Warlock Golem}'s
Permanent Immolation.
* Mana Void deals heavy damage after
Chaotic Offering and interrupts
Upheaval.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break drains Abaddon's mana, preventing him from using Aphotic Shield to zone out enemies in lane.
* Counterspell decreases the amount of damage received from Aphotic Shield and
Mist Coil.
Underlord
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 9%)Rubick
* All of Underlord's abilities are useful for Rubick to Spell Steal.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage easily Blinks out of Cold Feet's freeze radius.
* Ancient Apparition lacks mobility, thus making him fall easily to Mana Void.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can Blink away from Cold Feet or to build a
Manta Style to dispel it.
* Counterspell minimizes the damage Anti-Mage takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Mana Break and
Mana Void deal a lot of damage to Ancient Apparition due to his high mana pool.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Pugna only deals magical damage, which Anti-Mage is exceptionally resistant due to Counterspell.
* Anti-Mage can dispel Decrepify with
Manta Style.
* Pugna has a very large mana pool. This allows Anti-Mage to constantly deal bonus damage to Pugna with Mana Break and devastate Pugna's entire team with Mana Void.
Additional:
* Since Pugna relies on his teammates for protection, it is fairly common for Anti-Mage to get multiple kills with a single use of his Mana Void on Pugna if he's missing a considerable portion of his mana.
* Pugna's massive mana pool will result in Anti-Mage's Mana Break almost always dealing the bonus damage from the mana burn.
* Counterspell negates a large amount of Pugna's damage, as most of Pugna's damage comes from his spells.
* Blink can be used to get out of a bad situation, and Pugna has no way to prevent him from casting it.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage Blinks directly into Magnetic Field, bypassing its protection.
* Anti-Mage's high mobility allows him to deal with Tempest Double while it is split-pushing.
* Anti-Mage's Battle Fury cleans up Arc Warden's
Necronomicon summons, and Counterspell protects him from Necronomicon Warrior's Last Will.
Additional:
* Arc Warden's high reliance on casting spells leads him to be dependent on mana, which Anti-Mage can easily burn with Mana Break. Coupled with the fact, that
Magnetic Field doesn't work against melee gap-closing heroes and Zet's low armor, Anti-Mage will almost always be able to kill Arc Warden in one-on-one situation.
* Blink mitigates the threat of Flux slow and allows Anti-Mage to close the distance between himself and Arc Warden.
* Anti-Mage's ability to farm quickly allows him keep up with Arc Warden's farm while also de-pushing the lanes Arc Warden shoves in with Tempest Double. When Tempest Double clone meets Anti-Mage, the former will be killed very quickly, giving Anti-Mage even more farm.
* Counterspell significantly reduces the effectiveness of Arc Warden's magic damage.
Razor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Blink can easily break Static Link and
Counterspell reflects Static Link on Razor.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 41% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes that can jump on her: Slark,
Queen of Pain,
Anti-Mage
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage's high mobility from Blink and tendency to build Battle Fury makes him strong against split-pushing heroes:
Nature's Prophet,
Tinker, and
Arc Warden.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Anti-Mage
* Phantom's Embrace stops Anti-Mage from Blinking away.
* Soulbind stops Blink and lets allies cast abilities on the tethered target to avoid Counterspell. It cannot be reflected by Counterspell.
Rubick
* Spell Steal allows Rubick to claim Grimstroke's powerful abilities for his own, all of which are valuable.
* Arcane Supremacy increases the efficacy of stolen abilities.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Morphling,
Storm Spirit
Viper
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Viper's skill set makes him an effective early game ganker against Anti-Mage before he is sufficiently farmed.
* Viper's Corrosive Skin and low mana pool causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
* Nethertoxin disables Mana Break and Counterspell, weakening both his offense and defense.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes that can drain mana negatively affect Viper's ability to use Poison Attack, Nethertoxin and Viper Strike: Lion,
Anti-Mage
Rubick
* If Rubick can use Spell Steal to take Nethertoxin, he will be able to disable Corrosive Skin, reducing much of Viper's durability.
* He can also steal Viper Strike, which can be used to hinder a hero on your team (or multiple heroes, if Rubick has Aghanim's Scepter).
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with high mobility can approach Sniper: Anti-Mage,
Earth Spirit,
Io,
Nature's Prophet,
Pangolier,
Puck,
Queen of Pain and most notably
Riki.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage can withstand magical burst damage much better than other carries, making him effective against nukers: Lich,
Necrophos,
Oracle, and
Leshrac.
Additional:
* Counterspell severely reduces Leshrac's magical damage.
* Leshrac already burns through his own mana with Pulse Nova, Mana Break will burn through even more.
* Leshrac's high mana pool will increase the amount of damage Mana Void does to him when his mana is low.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage's high mobility from Blink and tendency to build Battle Fury makes him strong against split-pushing heroes:
Nature's Prophet,
Tinker, and
Arc Warden.
Additional:
* Tinker is fragile and vulnerable against carries like Anti-Mage.
* Mana Break burns away his mana pool and deals bonus physical damage.
* Tinker's massive mana pool makes Mana Void deal large amount of damage, and can be used to cancel a
Boots of Travel teleport even through spell immunity.
* Blink gives Anti-Mage many options, like disjointing Heat Seeking Missiles or leaving March of Machines' area of effect. He can use Blink to wait out of sight for a split pushing Tinker or chase a blinking Tinker into trees.
* Tinker doesn't want any of his spells reflected back at him through Counterspell.
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with considerable mobility can easily escape from a rolling Pangolier: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Void Spirit,
Storm Spirit,
Ember Spirit,
Earth Spirit, moreover, if a player is familiar with how Rolling Thunder work, they can adjust their movement to avoid it entirely and of course outplay the Pangolier player.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes that have superior mobility that can easily catch up with Mirana even after she used Leap to escape: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Storm Spirit,
Riki.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 18%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with escaping and disjointing abilities can be good against Juggernaut:Anti-Mage
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Puck,
Storm Spirit,
Ember Spirit,
Slark etc.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 15%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* Kunkka can bring Anti-Mage back with
X Marks the Spot, effectively negating Blink or forcing him to wait out the debuff before Blinking.
Rubick
* Despite most Kunkka players depending on their immense physical damage, his spells provide a lot of utility for Rubick:
* Torrent is very easy to land when paired with Telekinesis.
* X Marks the Spot can potentially be more effective in Rubick's hands due to his tendency to increase his cast range with his talents and items.
* Ghostship, paired with Telekinesis, allows Rubick to land it very easily without requiring
Torrent or
X Marks the Spot.
Skywrath Mage
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Anti-Mage
* Counterspell gives Anti-Mage magic resistance to negate a majority of Skywraith Mage's magical damage.
* Anti-Mage often builds Black King Bar and
Manta Style which can dispel Ancient Seal and Concussive Shot.
* Huge mana cost on Mystic Flare means easy target for Mana Void.
* However, Anti-Mage is weak early-game to Ancient Seal until he can dispel silences, but still, Skywrath's solo kill potential is very low.
Lion
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Drain is very effective against heroes that have mana burn abilities such as Anti-Mage,
Nyx Assassin and
Keeper of the Light.
Rubick
* Everything Lion has is great in Rubick's kit, further amplified by Arcane Supremacy:
* Earth Spike adds a second bit of crowd control and some damage.
* Mana Drain solves a lot of Rubick's mana issues.
* Hex is one of the strongest single-target lockdowns in the game.
* Finger of Death is one of the best magical nukes in the game.
Additional:
* All of Lion's abilities are worth stealing with Spell Steal.
* Arcane Supremacy makes the disabling spells stolen from Lion very useful, allowing you to disable enemies for an extremely long time during fights or ganks.
* By using Telekinesis, Rubick can easily catch Lion out. Without any escape mechanism, Lion is helpless, especially when ganked.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 9%)Rubick
* Bristleback's abilities are nearly useless for Rubick to Spell Steal, as he does not gain the bonuses from Warpath.
Additional:
* Rubick deals little damage on his own, so Bristleback can simply shrug off all his spells and chase you down with his spells and attacks.
* Quill Spray requires multiple casts and close range to add up stacks. Because Rubick does not stay in the front lines, it's generally not a good spell for him to steal.
* Viscous Nasal Goo will slow Rubick down even further and reduce his armor, making him vulnerable to Quill Spray and the damage bonus from
Warpath.
Anti-Mage
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Bristleback small mana pool, preventing him from spamming Viscous Nasal Goo and
Quill Sprays.
* Bristleback has no innate mobility. Bristleback is easily kited by Blink, ignoring the protection from Bristleback.
Additional:
* Mana Break quickly depletes Bristleback's low mana, denying him the ability to spam Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo.
* Bristleback has no way to prevent Anti-Mage from using Blink.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Rubick
* None of Spectre's spells are very good for Rubick to Spell Steal.
Anti-Mage
* Spectre cannot chase down Anti-Mage with Spectral Dagger because of Blink, though it still grants her team vision over him.
* Counterspell reduces much of the damage from Dispersion and Spectre's
Radiance.
* Anti-Mage usually builds a Manta Style, preventing Spectre from dealing any
Desolate damage to him once he summons his illusions.
Additional:
* Spectre has no way to prevent Blink, for escape or initiation. Anti-Mage can easily pick off enemy supports and Spectre cannot do anything about it.
* Mana Break burns through Spectre's low mana pool.
* Manta Style's illusions prevent Desolate's damage.
* Even though Anti-Mage is outcarried by Spectre in the later stages of the game, a competent Anti-Mage with a Battle Fury can easily outfarm and get ahead of Spectre before she can come online.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Timbersaw Spells are all Pure damage which can be a threat to Anti-Mage in the laning stage however he has no way to prevent Anti-Mage from blinking away
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Huskar
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Anti-Mage
* Huskar's natural reliance on health instead of mana makes him very resistant against Mana Void. He is a proficient early ganker against Anti-Mage, but struggles to deal significant damage against Anti-Mage in the late game.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with illusions can overwhelm Huskar, as he has no AoE abilities: Phantom Lancer,
Anti-Mage,
Arc Warden,
Chaos Knight.
Bane
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Anti-Mage
* Fiend's Grip's very long disable prevents Anti-Mage from Blinking away or using
Manta Style. It also pierces spell immunity.
* Nightmare sets Bane's team up for chain disables on Anti-Mage.
* Enfeeble lowers Anti-Mage's status resistance and magic resistance, making him more vulnerable to disables and magic damage that normally would not affect him much.
Rubick
* Fiend's Grip is a powerful channeled ability, making it easy and useful to Spell Steal and interrupt with
Telekinesis.
* Stolen Fiend's Grip or Nightmare combined with Arcane Supremacy allows Rubick to disable Bane's allies for a long amount of time.
* As a natural Aghanim's Scepter carrier, Rubick can steal an upgraded Brain Sap and deal lots of damage to Bane's team.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage relies on blinking and attacking. Overgrowth prevents both.
* Be wary that he will eventually farm up a Manta Style that fully dispels Overgrowth. Good players will wait for your ultimate to use their manta. Perhaps an ally has a silence or similar that would force him to use his manta before your ultimate.
Rubick
* All of Treant Protector's abilities are worth stealing, and Rubick is able to cast them with no animation time.
Shadow Shaman
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Clinkz,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck
Anti-Mage
* As a caster, Anti-Mage's
Mana Break and
Mana Void are highly effective against him.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 18%)Rubick
* Wraith King's abilities are mostly passive (with regards to Spell Steal), so Rubick cannot steal most of them.
* Wraithfire Blast together with some attacks can gank Rubick down quickly.
Additional:
* Wraith King abilities are mostly passive making Spell Steal meaningless.
* Rubick's lack of mobility & low health pool is easily tear down by Wraith King physical attacks.
Anti-Mage
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Wraith King's small mana pool, preventing Reincarnation from triggering.
* Wraith King has no innate mobility. Even with Blink Dagger, Wraith King is easily kited by Blink.
* Anti-Mage can farm much more quickly than Wraith King, allowing Anti-Mage to overpower Wraith King once a significant farm advantage is established.
Additional:
* Mana Break can prevent Wraith King from reincarnating unless Wraith King has his Aghanim's Shard that removes the mana cost from Reincarnation.
* With Manta Style, his mana burning will triple because illusions can also use
Mana Break.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 18%)Anti-Mage
* Arcane Orb's pure damage goes through Counterspell, and deals splash damage to illusions spawned from
Manta Style.
* Sanity's Eclipse hits Anti-Mage while he is disabled with
Astral Imprisonment, and forces him to take heavy damage due to his low intelligence.
* Equilibrium keeps Outworld Destroyer at high mana, thus greatly reducing the damage from Mana Void.
Additional:
* Counterspell doesn't work versus Arcane Orb because it does pure damage.
* Anti-Mage cannot burn all of Outworld Devourer's mana without disables due to Essence Flux.
* Anti-Mage's Manta Style illusions are quickly destroyed by Arcane Orb.
* However, if the enemy has multiple means of removing mana, Mana Void becomes a threat to Outworld Devourer, Anti-Mage has better mobility than Outworld Devourer with
Blink, and
Counterspell blocks a large portion of the damage from Sanity's Eclipse.
Rubick
* Rubick can use Spell Steal to steal Astral Imprisonment, and if Rubick gets
Aghanim's Scepter he gets 2 charges of it. This can overpower Outworld Devourer in team fights.
* Rubick can also steal Sanity's Eclipse against Outworld Devourer's teammates.
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
About
This website was made to help you in pick stage of online game Dota 2. It calculates rating for each possible counterpicks based on tips from web-based database made up entirely of user contributions Dota 2 wiki.
You will get the list of recommended hero counters with a list of tips written by Dota 2 wiki contributors explaining why it's good against the particular hero. In comparison to other similar websites, which show only rating based on average hero winrate from dotabuff or similar service.
How to interpret this data
Take it with a bit of grain of salt, especially if the recommendation has a low rating (<= 1), some heroes
may win a lane in an early game but would lose in late game (and vice versa). That's why sometimes
you could hero names appearing as a counter and as being countered, as on image:
You can also add your own tips, update old data and fix mistakes by editing page on Dota 2 Wiki (it works like Wikipedia - anyone can contribute, you don't even need to register) these edits will appear on this website automatically (data is updated several times per week).
Right now there is no app/overlay that will detect picks automatically (like overwolf dota plus or become the gamer), instead, you can open web version in a steam in-game browser or use mobile version on your smartphone.
Want to know more? Check FAQ
List of new features that have been added
- Results now also sorted both by rating and average hero win rate for the chosen rank (data from dotabuff)
- You can share counterpick suggestions just by copying URL. Try it: Pudge and Phantom Assasin counters
- Results from the left and right column are partially merged now: the green color shows counterpicks and red color heroes who are countered by an enemy pick.
- Added link next to each hero pointing to wiki hero page
- Counterpick suggestions will appear as you type
- Added statistics: Total entries in the database: 557, last updated: about 1 month ago
- Filtering by role: carry/durable/support - data taken directly from the game (basically the filters which you see on pick stage in dota)
- Filtering by lane: off lane/safe lane/mid lane (dotabuff most played)
- Tips now include icons next to the heroes/spells/item names (just like on Dota 2 wiki)
- Added item suggestions
- Heroes now can be searched by their abbreviations: CM - Crystal Maiden, Kotl - Keeper Of The Light, AM - Anti Mage etc.
- Mobile website version
- importing picks from dotabuff/opendota URL or matchid
- sorting by personal winrate after logging via steam
- dota overlay(like Overwolf Dota Plus) that will automatically detect picks and bans this will also bring synergy and ban suggestion based on opponent recent games and most played/highest winrate heroes (but don't expect it soon).
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Anti-Mage
* None of Anti-Mage's skills are that effective against Drow Ranger. Gust prevents him from
Blinking in or out,
Counterspell is totally useless against Drow's physical damage, and as she usually doesn't have a high mana pool,
Mana Break and
Mana Void don't do much either.
Heart of Tarrasque and
Black King Bar, heroes that do heavy damage-per-second are needed.
* If Anti-Mage is going for
* Be careful however that Anti-Mage may eventually farm enough to Blink on top of you and kill you straight away, considering you have no natural tools to escape from him.
Rubick
* A well-timed Gust will prevent Rubick from casting abilities from
Spell Steal, and his lack of capabilities and low health pool usually dies very quickly.
Fade Bolt's reduction debuff with
Manta Style.
* Drow Ranger can dispel