Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* Slark has no sustained AoE to fight off Phantom Lancer's illusions as they continually spawn.
* Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark by spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from 
Shadow Dance.
* 
Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark if he tries to escape with 
Pounce.
Additional:
* Slark has no sustained AoE to deal with Phantom Lancer's many illusions.
* 
Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer dodge Dark Pact and Pounce, and partially wastes the duration of Shadow Dance.
* 
Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark via spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from Shadow Dance.
* Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark when he jumps away with Pounce.
Anti-Mage
* While Anti-Mage does build a {Item ID:Battle Fury}, he cannot manfight Phantom Lancer due to 
Juxtapose.
* Phantom Lancer commonly builds {Item ID:Diffusal Blade} which can drain Anti-Mage's mana coupled with Juxtapose's illusions, making him unable to 
Blink away.
* Phantom Rush can be used to chase Anti-Mage after he Blinks away.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)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.
* 
Essence Flux 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.
Slark
* Arcane Orb deals pure damage, which ignores armor granted from permanent agility stacks.
* Astral Imprisonment can disrupt any Pounce attempt by banishing the leashed ally.
* Slark's low intelligence and therefore mana pool makes him more susceptible to Sanity's Eclipse.
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (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.
Slark
* Thirst prevents Slark from healing with Shadow Dance.
* Rupture will deal damage during Pounce.
* 
Dark Pact cannot dispel Rupture, preventing Slark from escaping ganks.
Additional:
* 
Thirst makes Slark visible while at low health, canceling out Shadow Dance's passive. For this reason, Bloodseeker is usually considered the hardest counter to Slark.
* 
Rupture cannot be dispelled by Dark Pact, and using Pounce while affected by it will cause Slark to take damage.
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Slark
* Thunder Strike provides vision on him while Slark is invisible.
* Glimpse's range at lvl 3-4 is more than enough to pull him back to a favorable position for your team to group up and kill him.
* Even though he is capable of picking you off and deal enough damage to kill you, Slark will be literally sticking his neck out, since jumping on Disruptor means being on his battleground.
* AoE silence and the ability to mute Black King Bar is deadly to Slark at all stages of the game.
Additional:
* 
Static Storm and 
Kinetic Field locks down Slark, as he cannot use Dark Pact to dispel any disables, or Pounce out while silenced.
* 
Glimpse puts an end to any attempts at ganking Disruptor or his allies, and also negates Slark's mobility by bringing him back into the fight if he tries to escape with Pounce.
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.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)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.
Slark
* Berseker's Call catches Slark in Shadow Dance, wasting its duration and preventing him from escaping to regenerate.
* Unlike most disables, Dark Pact cannot dispel Berserker's Call, and the output damage would be returned by Blade Mail.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call forces Slark to attack him, even during Shadow Dance.
* Counter Helix will hit Slark in Shadow Dance, with pure damage. It also triggers frequently against Slark's high attack speed after having stolen agility with Essence Shift.
* 
Culling Blade finishes off Slark before he gets a chance to slip away and regenerate his health, preventing him from playing the hit-and-run style often associated with Slark.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* 
Slardar's level 25 talent makes 
Corrosive Haze undispellable, thus providing his allies a vision to Slark.
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.
Centaur Warrunner
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Both 
Hoof Stomp and 
Double Edge can hit Slark during Shadow Dance, the latter requiring a unit nearby for the ability to be cast on.
* Slark has very low health in the early game, making him susceptible to the burst from Double Edge.
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: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 16%)Slark
* Bulwark blocks much of Slark's basic attack damage, even during Shadow Dance.
* Slark finds it very difficult to have a good early/mid game when pressured in the early game by Spear of Mars and God's Rebuke.
* Spear of Mars and God's Rebuke can hit Slark through Shadow Dance.
* Should Pounce be on cooldown, Slark is very vulnerable inside Arena of Blood.
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.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 1%)Slark
* 
Slark's Dark Pact and Pounce can deny only one Earthbind and Poof can penetrate Shadow Dance if he doesn't build Black King Bar.
Additional:
* 
Earthbind and 
Poof will still hit Slark in Shadow Dance.
* Dark Pact can only remove one Earthbind.
* 
Ransack will still affect Slark, even if he has a Black King Bar.
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.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 44% 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.
* Be wary since a well-timed Counterspell can reflect it back to Doom itself.
* If Doom has 
Aghanim's Scepter, Doom can break Anti-Mage's 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 Doom 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 his allies.
Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: 
Silencer, 
Death Prophet, 
Puck, 
Doom
Puck
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 17%)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.
Slark
* 
Illusory Orb and 
Phase Shift allows Puck to avoid most ganking attempts.
* Waning Rift and Dream Coil makes it very hard for Slark to escape bad situations.
* Puck's abilities used together also deals significant magical nuke damage, none of which are targeted and thus cannot be avoided by Shadow Dance.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, 
Earth Spirit, 
Faceless Void, 
Magnus, 
Mirana, 
Monkey King, 
Morphling, 
Pangolier, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Phoenix, Puck, 
Queen of Pain, 
Riki, 
Sand King, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Timbersaw, 
Tusk.
Viper
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 6%)Slark
* Nethertoxin negates 
Essence Shift and the regeneration aspect of Shadow Dance.
* Dark Pact doesn't mean a lot against Viper's ubiquitous slows.
* Viper becomes a relevant presence in team fights before Slark can procure his standard items (e.g. 
Shadow Blade).
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
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 12%)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.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)Slark
* Though Slark's large damage output is most certainly a concern for the squishy Crystal Maiden, she does perform fairly well against him when coupled with aid from her team.
* Slark has no innate way to cancel Freezing Field, but the common purchase of Skull Basher does make Slark a substantially greater threat to Crystal Maiden as the game progresses.
* Freezing Field can still hit Slark while he is under the effect of Shadow Dance, and for the early and mid game, the damage output of Crystal Maiden's ultimate outscales Slark's passive regeneration, making a quick use of Freezing Field as soon as Slark uses Shadow Dance a great way to combat him.
* Crystal Maiden's Frostbite and Crystal Nova are helpful in disabling and slowing the slippery Slark so he can be killed by her teammates.
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.
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.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% 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.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 2%)Slark
* Heroes with Break abilities will prevent Slark from regenerating and gaining Essence Shift stacks: 
Viper, 
Shadow Demon etc.
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.
* If Shadow Demon managed to get Aghanim's Scepter, 
Demonic Purge will disable Anti-Mage's passive skills, making him more vulnerable and it cannot be dispelled.
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.
Slark
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove Shadow Poison before Shadow Demon can build up a big stack, or remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon, Slark, 
Legion Commander, 
Oracle.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 11%)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.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% 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.
Tiny
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* A 
Toss plus 
Avalanche combination deals heavy damage to Slark in the early game, making Tiny a very dangerous target to gank.
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.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 41% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Time Dilation while Dark Pact and Pounce are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, reducing his escape potential. However, Time Dilation is dispellable with Dark Pact so it needs to be timed well.
* Chronosphere will not reveal Slark during Shadow Dance, but covers the whole duration of Shadow Dance making him unable to use it to attack or escape. Slark still receives the regeneration benefit from Shadow Dance.
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.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Bane
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 54% 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.
Slark
* Low-health, normally mobile carries with a lot of damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, 
Gyrocopter, 
Juggernaut, Luna, 
Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, 
Phantom Lancer, Riki, 
Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, 
Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Enfeeble, as well as Nightmare and Fiend's Grip if timed well.
* Shadow Dance protects Slark from Bane's single-target-only abilities.
Underlord
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: 
Lina, 
Jakiro, 
Underlord, 
Leshrac, 
Dark Seer, 
Earthshaker, Timbersaw, 
Crystal Maiden
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)Anti-Mage
* A well-timed use of The Swarm provides vision over heroes with high mobility: Anti-Mage, 
Arc Warden, Dark Seer.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 13%)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.
Dazzle
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* Heroes that can deny Slark early kills will prevent him from snowballing: 
Dazzle, Abaddon
Keeper of the Light
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* 
Keeper of the Light can stall pushes with {Ability ID:Illuminate|Keeper of the Light} this makes him strong against pushing heroes: Terrorblade 
Naga siren 
Nature's Prophet and Anti-Mage
Slark
* Melee carries during the laning phase: 
Sven, Slark
Slark
* Heroes with dispels: Legion Commander, Oracle, Slark
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 3%)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.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* He has a hard time killing Sand King because of the survivability he gets from Burrowstrike and Sand Storm.
* Shadow Dance, which usually allows Slark to survive fights, is ineffective against Sand King's AoE damage.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% 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.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (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.
Slark
* Weak damage but high tick rate or persist in a long time: Slark, Gyrocopter, Queen of Pain, Shadow Shaman (
Shackles), 
Pugna
* Heroes that can quickly deal damage to her, regardless of how weak they are, can easily break through her Refraction:
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo, 
Witch Doctor, 
Lycan, 
Enigma, Shadow Shaman
* Multiple attackers thanks to illusions: Phantom Lancer, 
Chaos Knight, Naga Siren (bonus for her 
Ensnare). Also despite the visual effects, Templar Assassin does not spill damage against illusions or buildings, so she is not a really good hero to clean up illusions.
* Weak damage but high tick rate or persist in a long time: Slark, Gyrocopter, Queen of Pain, Shadow Shaman (Shackles), Pugna
Additional:
* Dark Pact rips through Refraction charges and still steals attributes during Refraction.
* Pounce and Dark Pact will still hit Templar Assassin while she is Melded. Since she cannot move, both abilities will be easy for Slark to land.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 8%)Slark
* Timbersaw can use 
Chakram as a scouting tool to find Slark if he tries to Pounce into the trees.
* None of Timbersaw's abilities require a target to be cast, allowing him to hit Slark inside Shadow Dance.
* 
Reactive Armor can be effective protection against a Slark who attacks quickly, since the strong armor and health regen cannot be stolen by Essence Shift.
* 
Timber Chain makes Timbersaw very mobile, meaning he is among the very few heroes who can actually give chase to a fleeing Slark.
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
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
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
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Slark
* Slark's dependence on Pounce and close range makes him very easy to hit with 
Purification.
* Slark's damage, even with a high count of Essence Shift, is easily negated by Omniknight's heals and 
Guardian Angel.
Anti-Mage
* Heroes who can drain mana can make Omniknight useless after he uses one or two abilities: Lion, Anti-Mage, Nyx Assassin
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Anti-Mage
* 
Phantom's Embrace stops Anti-Mage from Blinking away. However, it can be reflected back by Counterspell if quick enough.
* 
Soulbind stops Blink and lets allies cast abilities on the tethered target to avoid Counterspell. It cannot be reflected by Counterspell.
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
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 18%)Slark
* Shadow Dance does not protect Slark from Shadow Fiend's AoE spells.
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
Death Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: Silencer, Death Prophet, Puck, Doom
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.
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.
Lion
[wiki] rating: 0.2 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 17%)Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, Lion, 
Zeus
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.
Slark
* Pounce allows Slark to close in on Lion and prevent him from escaping.
* Lion's fragile health pool makes him easy prey for Slark's high burst damage through Pounce, Dark Pact and right-clicks.
* Shadow Dance prevents Lion from casting Hex, Mana Drain, or Finger of Death on Slark.
* Dark Pact allows Slark to dispel any of Lion's disables.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 0.2 (winrate: 49% 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
Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: Silencer, Death Prophet, Puck, Doom
Slark
* Slark's Dark Pact allows him to dispel Silencer's debuffs.
* Against a carry Silencer, Essence Shift will lower damage from both Glaives of Wisdom and his basic attack.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 45% 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.
Slark
* Medusa cannot chase Slark in any way and has no disable beyond her ultimate, making her unable to stop him getting away and regenerating before coming back to finish her off.
* Essence Shift removes 1 of every attribute, lowering Medusa's mana pool's cap and leaving her much more vulnerable in prolonged fights.
Additional:
* Medusa is especially vulnerable to Essence Shift, as both strength and intelligence contribute to her effective HP, while agility contributes to her damage.
* Dark Pact when timed right can be used to dispel Stone Gaze right after it petrifies Slark, allowing him to keep attacking Medusa throughout the duration.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Rubick's low mana pool, preventing 
Spell Steal abilities from triggering.
* Rubick's complete lack of mobility makes him very easy for Anti-Mage to chase down with Blink.
* Anti-Mage dispels 
Fade Bolt damage reduction debuff with Manta Style or severly reduced by Counterspell.
Slark
* 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.
Pudge
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 19%)Slark
* Dark Pact dispels Dismember if timed perfectly.
* Pudge's low attack speed and poor agility can be lowered even further by Essence Shift.
* Shadow Dance grants Slark invisibility and a high degree of mobility, which can make Slark a difficult target to hook and also protects him from Pudge's Dismember (including allies with an Aghanim's Scepter).
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.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark heightened regeneration when out of vision making DoTs effects less threatening.
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.
Warlock
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)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.
Slark
* Upheaval does not interrupt Slark too much, as he can just Pounce out of the area.
* 
Fatal Bonds and Shadow Word can be dispelled by Dark Pact.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* Dark Pact dispels debuffs from Gush, Anchor Smash and even Ravage if timed correctly.
* Kraken Shell cannot restore attributes stolen by Essence Shift or dispel the leash if he gets Pounced.
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.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 14%)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.
Slark
* Dark Pact dispels Ignite's slow and Fireblast's stun.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to regenerate HP, even when he is affected by Ignite and Fireblast.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)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.
Slark
* Dark Pact, if timed correctly, can dispel Wraithfire Blast's stun and slow.
* Since Wraith King has a lot of health and multiple lives, Slark can keep gaining Essence Shift stacks, increasing armor, damage, and attack speed and can beat down Wraith King twice.
* Slark sometimes carries Diffusal Blade to burn mana as an attempt to shut down Reincarnation.
* Because Wraith King has no AoE abilities, Shadow Dance is particularly useful against Wraith King.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (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.
Slark
* Slark can detect early Roshan attempts due to Shadow Dance if he frequently checks the Pit.
* Enrage cannot restore attributes stolen by Essence Shift and will reduce his physical damage output.
* Even if Ursa initiates with Earthshock, Slark can Pounce away or use Dark Pact after Ursa's initiation to avoid Fury Swipes' damage until Earthshock's slow is gone.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 4%)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.
Slark
* 
Flux is dispelled by Dark Pact.
* Pounce allows Slark to avoid 
Spark Wraiths.
* Tempest Double allows Slark to build up Essence Shift stacks, especially when it is being used for split pushing.
Razor
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 6%)Anti-Mage
* Blink can easily break Static Link and Counterspell reflects Static Link on Razor.
Slark
* Pounce can easily break Static Link, making it less powerful against him.
* Slark is one of the few heroes who can man fight a Razor, because of Essence Shift.
* Shadow Dance can prevent Razor from killing him and may provide an opportunity to kill Razor due to it preventing Razor from attacking Slark.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Heroes who have a high mobility (Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Slark, etc.).
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.
Morphling
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 12%)Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
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.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% 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.
Slark
* Slark is a natural Shadow Blade carrier, and with Pounce Sniper has no opportunity to escape or react.
* With Essence Shift and Shadow Dance, Slark will easily win a fight against Sniper.
Additional:
* Sniper is one of the most gankable heroes in the game, and has no defenses when Pounced on by Slark.
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)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.
Slark
* Dark Pact easily purges away both slow and disarm effect from Lucky Shot.
* With Pounce now apply leash to the target, Pangolier is helpless against Slark since both his Swashbuckle and Rolling Thunder will be disabled. Pounce also help Slark to easily escape from Rolling Thunder.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
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.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 13%)Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
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
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Slark
* If Slark sees the Sacred Arrow before it hits him, he can use Dark Pact to remove it a moment later.
* Pounce prevents Mirana from escaping with Leap.
* Slark can survive Mirana's Aghanim's Scepter​ combo with Shadow Dance.
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.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 12%)Slark
* Pounce prevents Tinker from blinking away.
* Slark frequently builds Shadow Blade, which allows him to approach Tinker unnoticed. Since Tinker's farming usually covers a significant amount of area on the map, Sentry Wards may not be cost effective.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to detect both common and unusual wards. Eliminating common ward causes Tinker trouble farming many lanes if he does not know who may be waiting to jump on him. Slark is also uniquely able to identify some of the less common wards used by Tinker, such as those placed on the cliffs at map edges which Tinker uses to give him vision over the trees he uses to hide in.
* Slark's extremely high move speed from Shadow Dance, potentially stacked with Shadow Blade, allows him to easily follow Tinker between lanes, especially if Tinker has pushed the lanes out.
* Dark Pact dispels Laser's blind.
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.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 8%)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.
Slark
* Enigma is fragile, and lacks escapes, being dependent on Blink Dagger for mobility. Ganking Heroes or Heroes with burst damage will likely kill him before he can do anything. Such Heroes include: Lina, Lion, Puck, Slark, Nyx Assassin, etc.
Lina
[wiki] rating: -1.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 9%)Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, Lion, Zeus
Slark
* Dark Pact can be cast during the cast animation of Light Strike Array and dispel its stun.
* Pounce allows Slark to close the gap to Lina.
* Shadow Dance prevents Lina from killing Slark with her Laguna Blade when his HP gets low.
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.
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)Slark
* Heroes that rely on their high mobility such as Queen of Pain, Slark and Weaver can be constantly engaged against due to your excellent ability to chase over any terrain. Make sure you carry true sight items (such as 
Dust of Appearance or 
Gem of True Sight) for invisible heroes that could potentially escape your clutches.
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.
Slark
* Pounce's leash prevents Storm Spirit from using Ball Lightning, making it hard for Storm Spirit to escape a gank from Slark.
* Dark Pact can dispel 
Orchid Malevolence's Soul Burn.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* Pounce also stops Nature's Prophet's 
Teleportation.
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.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 4%)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
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Heroes that can jump on her: Slark, Queen of Pain, Anti-Mage
Slark
* Heroes that can jump on her: Slark, Queen of Pain, Anti-Mage
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 19%)Slark
* Heroes with escaping and disjointing abilities can be good against Juggernaut:Anti-Mage Riki, Queen of Pain, Puck, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Slark etc.
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.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 10%)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.
Slark
* Slark with Dark Pact
* Heroes that can remove the Track debuff with their skills:
* Abaddon with 
Aphotic Shield and 
Borrowed Time
* 
Huskar with 
Life Break
* Juggernaut with 
Blade Fury
* Legion Commander with 
Press the Attack
* 
Lifestealer with 
Rage and 
Infest
* Naga Siren with 
Mirror Image
* 
Omniknight with 
Heavenly Grace
* Oracle with 
Fortune's End and 
False Promise
* Phantom Lancer with Doppelganger
* Slark with Dark Pact
* 
Ursa with 
Enrage
* Weaver with 
Time Lapse
* 
Tidehunter with Kraken Shell when damage received reaches the threshold.
Snapfire
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 5%)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.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 8%)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.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 8%)Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, Lion, Zeus
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.
Slark
* Zeus can deal a huge amount of damage, but he lacks defensive abilities, such as good mobility or resistance. Due to that, he doesn't like to be touched by any means. Heroes with higher damage output and good mobility will often get easily near Zeus and trade damage (eventually causing Zeus's downfall). Such Heroes include: Lycan, Slark, Storm Spirit, 
Spectre and others.
Batrider
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Flaming Lasso if is used in anticipation, but a Blink initiation from fog can catch the Slark off guard.
* Slark can also take off any Sticky Napalm stacks with Dark Pact in lane.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 8%)Anti-Mage
* Thanks to Counterspell Anti-Mage can fight Techies head on and trip multiple mines once the late game hits.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* Dark Pact can be used to remove Open Wounds.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to attack Lifestealer for its duration without any way for Lifestealer to fight back.
* Slark commonly buys a 
Silver Edge, which can break Lifestealer's Feast, severely diminishing his damage output and lifesteal.
Earth Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* Pounce's root prevents Earth Spirit from using Rolling Boulder to escape, making it easier for Slark to shut him down especially in the laning phase.
Winter Wyvern
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Slark
* Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast debuffs are dispellable with Dark Pact. Arctic Burn is also no escape against Pounce.
* Cold Embrace just gives Slark free Essence Shift stacks. He also relies mostly on magic damage early in the game.
Undying
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Anti-Mage
* 
Tombstone's zombies rarely inhibit Anti-Mage, as he can either Blink away or onto the Tombstone and destroy it.
Invoker
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)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.
Gyrocopter
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)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.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden
Slark
* Dark Seer relies on Surge for most of his mobility, so he's not very vulnerable to slows, but much more to root effects and walls or pseudo-walls such as 
Disruptor's Kinetic Field or Slark's Pounce.
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.
Clockwerk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% 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.
Dark Willow
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)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.
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.
Alchemist
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 14%)Slark
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to not be targeted by Unstable Concoction, making Alchemist stun himself and making himself vulnerable to the enemy.
* Dark Pact also allows him to just purge off the stun if timed correctly.
* Essence Shift will steal stats over long durations at a time should Alchemist lack the damage to kill Slark.
Queen of Pain
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Slark
* Both Scream of Pain and Sonic Wave should hit him during his Shadow Dance.
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.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* 
Spectral Dagger give vision over Slark, slows strong with the talent, can not be dispelled and can not be missed if targeted. With the cooldown reduction talent, Spectre can keep constant vision over Slark, so he has to use his Shadow Dance to disengage so he can't be targeted by the dagger, which can still latch on to him when ground targeted.
* Spectre deals a lot of AOE damage in teamfights which goes through Shadow dance.
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.
Slark
* Heroes with good escapes can usually outmaneuver and escape from Spectre: Slark, Clinkz, Weaver
Additional:
* Essence Shift deals 20 extra damage by draining one strength per hit, which cannot be reduced or spread by Dispersion.
* Pounce prevents Spectre from escaping with Spectral Dagger.
* 
Haunt illusions usually don't deal a lot of damage to Slark as he tends to buy a Shadow Blade, preventing Desolate's and Diffusal Blade's damage and activating Shadow Dance's regeneration to make up for any damage caused by Radiance.
* Slark is a natural Silver Edge builder.
Lich
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)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.
Brewmaster
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Anti-Mage
* Blinking heroes like Anti-Mage or Queen of Pain can often chase down an injured Brewmaster after his ultimate expires.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% 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.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)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 Shaman
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (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.
Slark
* Nyx Assassin, 
Bounty Hunter and Slark can all sneak up and kill you, Nyx being particularly deadly. Watch Slark carefully, as he can break either (but not both unless you are making a mistake) of your disables, with Dark Pact and leap out of a serpent ward ring. These heroes, however, rely heavily on escape and are themselves not very durable and none of them can survive a full lockdown with Mass Serpent Ward. Having Sentry Wards can turn you from prey to predator.
Beastmaster
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Slark
* Heroes with strong dispels can remove Primal Roar's stun: Abaddon, Slark, Oracle.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 7%)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
Lycan
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Lycan cannot escape from a Pounce even if he uses 
Shapeshift, and has no disabling abilities to stop Slark.
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.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden
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.
Luna
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Slark
* With Dust of Appearance, Luna will be able to use 
Eclipse on invisible heroes. Be mindful that Slark is exception because he'll be able to remove the debuff with Dark Pact.
Slark
* Shadow Dance prevents Luna from damaging Slark, and together with Shadow Blade he can kite her or escape.
* Luna has no way to escape from Pounce's leash.
Additional:
* Luna's lack of mobility and escape abilities makes her easily gankable by Slark.
* Shadow Dance will avoid all the damage from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Slark is a good ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Slark
* Heroes that can deny Slark early kills will prevent him from snowballing: Dazzle, Abaddon
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.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 16%)Anti-Mage
* Despite high magic resistance provided by Counterspell, somehow he is vulnerable to physical damage. 
Coup De Grace can destroy him in seconds when he is disabled or when his Blink is on cooldown.
* 
Blur makes Anti-mage unable to deal significant damage to her.
* Phantom Assassin has low intelligence and low mana pool, meaning that both Mana Break and Mana Void won't do significant damage to her.
Additional:
* 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.
Slark
* Slark's Pounce allows him to close the gap on Phantom Assassin and prevent her from escaping with 
Phantom Strike.
* As a hero who always goes for the Silver Edge and Abyssal Blade Slark can use it to disable Phantom Assassin and her Blur and Coup de Grace, drastically reducing her damage output and ability to evade attacks, and also preventing her from acting.
* Phantom Assassin's Coup de Grace requires Random Number Generation in order to proc, which gives Slark more than enough time to escape and recover himself.
Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)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.
* If Anti-Mage is going for 
Heart of Tarrasque and Black King Bar, heroes that do heavy damage-per-second are needed.
* 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.
Slark
* A well-timed Dark Pact can dispel Frost Arrows and Gust, letting Slark engage and escape freely.
* Shadow Dance lets Slark quickly close the gap and deal heavy damage without giving Drow Ranger a chance to retaliate.
* Pounce counteracts Frost Arrows' slow, letting Slark easily pin Drow Ranger down or flee.
Additional:
* Pounce and items like Shadow Blade makes it very difficult for Drow Ranger to keep her distance from Slark, thereby losing her 
Marksmanship bonus.
* 
Gust is rarely enough to keep Slark at bay, as Drow Ranger has no movement abilities and will simply be chased down afterwards.
* Drow Ranger's heavy dependence on agility also makes her significantly weaker after being drained by Essence Shift.
Riki
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% 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 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.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)Slark
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his Shadow Dance and Weaver in his 
Shukuchi.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's many AoE stuns help lock down Slark, and will often waste the duration of Shadow Dance.
Slark
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz, Slark, Storm Spirit
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 1%)Slark
* Natural Order aura prevents Slark from gaining armor from the agility stolen with Essence Shift.
* Echo Stomp and Earth Splitter can hit Slark through his Shadow Dance ultimate.
* Slark's stats gain is relatively low compared to most agility carries making him quite squishy without his agility-based armor.
Anti-Mage
* 
Echo Stomp and 
Earth Splitter's long cast times give Anti-Mage plenty of time to Blink away.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden
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.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 3%)Slark
* Dark Pact is minimally effective against Phantasm illusions, and Slark lacks area damage otherwise.
* Pounce can be counteracted by Reality Rift.
* Slark is naturally frail and dies quickly to Chaos Knight's burst damage before he can build Essence Shift stacks.
* Be aware, however, that Shadow Dance can make Slark hard to kill as he can't be targeted during its duration.
Additional:
* 
Phantasms have enough health to survive Dark Pact, and Slark has no other source of AoE damage to deal with them.
Anti-Mage
* Anti-Mage commonly builds Battle Fury, which can deal with Phantasm illusions easily.
* Counterspell, if timed right, will turn Chaos Bolt against the Knight, and can set up for a kill if he is not careful.
* Even if Counterspell is on cooldown, Blink can almost always dodge a Chaos Bolt because of its slow projectile.
* Mana Break will quickly drain Chaos Knight's mana.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)Slark
* 
Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
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 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.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 3%)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.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% 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:
* 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.
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
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.
Slark
* With Dark Ascension he can keep vision on Slark, disabling his
Shadow Dance regeneration. Slark is also too weak to seriously threaten Night Stalker in lane.