Luna
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Zeus
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 11%)Magnus
* Zeus can easily find Magnus who is often hiding in the trees with Thundergod's Wrath and
Lightning Bolt, which allows him to warn allies and disrupt his initiation attempts.
Winter Wyvern
* Any ally that Winter Wyvern tries to save with Cold Embrace can still be damaged by all of Zeus's spells.
* If Winter Wyvern tries to juke vision by flying up a cliff or in the trees, Zeus can gain vision there with Lightning Bolt or Thundergod's Wrath.
* If Zeus is forced to attack an ally by Winter's Curse, his unimpressive attack damage and attack speed means they won't be hurt much by him. Zeus will also stay near the back of fights away from his allies, making a deadly Curse less likely.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Magnus
* Tinker can break Magnus's Blink Dagger using March of the Machines and
Heat-Seeking Missile, therefore delaying any initiation or making Magnus use Skewer or
Force Staff to initiate. Tinker usually gets his own Blink Dagger as well, which makes him harder to lock down unless Magnus commits Reverse Polarity only for Tinker.
Winter Wyvern
* All of his damage is magical and pure, which makes Cold Embrace a good setup for his nukes.
* Winter's Curse is very hard to cast on Tinker because he usually stays in the back-lines in team-fights. In turn, Tinker has mediocre attack damage and will contribute very little when he is cursed to attack an ally. He can also save his ally under Winter's Curse effect with Ethereal Blade.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 17%)Winter Wyvern
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace is a death sentence against Pugna, since its the perfect setup for all his abilities, especially Life Drain.
* Decrepify can be cast to save the ally under Winter's Curse effect, wasting most of its duration.
* Winter Wyvern's abilities require a lot of mana, allowing Nether Ward to deal lots of damage.
Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Invoker
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 18%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace is the perfect setup for all his nukes - Chaos Meteor,
EMP and especially global
Sun Strike.
Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Winter Wyvern
* Guardian Angel completely counters Winter's Curse if he is able to cast it.
Additional:
* Guardian Angel completely counters Winter's Curse, allowing his team to survive Winter Wyvern's initiation.
* Purification and
Heavenly Grace are very useful against Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast as well.
Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 12%)Magnus
* 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.
Winter Wyvern
* 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.
Bane
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Winter Wyvern
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor,
Death Prophet,
Enigma,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Lich,
Magnus,
Mars,
Medusa,
Outworld Destroyer,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Fiend,
Treant Protector,
Underlord,
Winter Wyvern,
Witch Doctor,
Zeus.
Magnus
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor,
Death Prophet,
Enigma,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Lich,
Magnus,
Mars,
Medusa,
Outworld Destroyer,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Fiend,
Treant Protector,
Underlord,
Winter Wyvern,
Witch Doctor,
Zeus.
Lina
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 14%)Winter Wyvern
* Heavy nukers will do well against Cold Embrace (Lina,
Zeus etc).
Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Magnus
* Dark Ascension reduces vision for the enemy team, which makes it more difficult for Magnus to initiate with Blink Dagger and Reverse Polarity. It is also more likely that Night Stalker will scout out Magnus with
Aghanim's Scepter and a
Gem of True Sight, after which he can silence Magnus with
Crippling Fear.
Razor
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Plasma Field can slow Magnus during Skewer, and when combined with
Eye of the Storm, will potentially disable his Blink Dagger, preventing him from initiating.
* Static Link drains the bonus damage from Empower. However, it can be broken by Skewer and/or Force Staff.
* Storm Surge gives Razor and his allies high mobility needed to avoid Shockwave & Reverse Polarity.
Alchemist
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Magnus has very mediocre damage against Alchemist, because he can survive the stun duration of Reverse Polarity with Chemical Rage.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 8%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace makes its target immovable, allowing Ancient Apparition to easily land Ice Blast, or a Cold Feet stun
* Ice Blast also negates healing from Cold Embrace
Additional:
* Ice Blast disables the healing component of Cold Embrace, making it essentially a 4 second stun on an ally and a perfect setup for Ice Blast.
* If Cold Feet is cast on an enemy hero affected by Cold Embrace, it will almost guarantee the enemy comes out stunned.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 6%)Magnus
* Treant Protector can usually scout out Magnus in the trees with Eyes in the Forest and disrupt his initiation attempts. He can also counter Magnus' initiation with
Overgrowth.
Naga Siren
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 2%)Winter Wyvern
* Song of the Siren can be used to nullify the effects of Winter's Curse, and when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter it also outmatches the heal of Cold Embrace.
* If Winter Wyvern is reckless enough to put an ally in Cold Embrace, Naga Siren will be able to use her Ensnare to extend the disable on the hero affected by Cold Embrace.
Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Magnus
* Cleave heroes will clear her illusions. Such heroes include Sven,
Magnus,
Dragon Knight in Elder Dragon Form,
Ember Spirit (via item),
Phantom Assassin (via talent or item), etc.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Magnus
* Phoenix will usually be on the sidelines or further back ready to use Sun Ray. Even after Magnus successfully uses Reverse Polarity and skewer Phoenix's teammates, Phoenix can usually counter-initiate using all of its abilities.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Magnus
* Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and putting Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Wards, which makes Magnus real problems to blink and initiate.
Additional:
* Similar to Night Stalker, Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and put Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Ward, which gives Magnus problems when trying to blink in and initiate.
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Rupture deals extra damage to Magnus during Skewer or
Force Staff, preventing him from escaping or counter-initiating, forcing him to invest on a
Linken's Sphere.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Winter Wyvern
* Timbersaw relies on dealing massive amounts of pure damage, making Cold Embrace a good setup for his nukes.
* If he has Reactive Armor stacks, Timbersaw can tank the damage from his allies if he is targeted by Winter's Curse. If he's not the target, Timbersaw's abysmal attack damage will contribute next to nothing when he is cursed to attack an ally.
Undying
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter Wyvern cannot handle the Zombies created by Undying's Tombstone very well. In most situations, Zombies will have more movement speed than her.
* Undying can gain one or two easy Decay stacks on an ally in Cold Embrace. The ally will still take the damage as well.
Additional:
* Winter Wyvern cannot handle the Zombies created by Tombstone very well. In most situations, Zombies will have more movement speed than her.
* Undying can gain one or two easy Decay stacks on an ally in Cold Embrace. The ally will still take the damage as well, since it is magical.
Skywrath Mage
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace is a perfect setup for Mystic Flare.
* Winter Wyvern is a spellcaster, and the 6 second silence from Ancient Seal can prevent her from contributing much.
* Because Skywrath Mage tends to stay back in fights, Winter Wyvern will have to get close to a teamfight to cast Winter's Curse on him. However, if she chooses to cast it on one of his allies, his low attack speed and damage means that he won't do much.
Additional:
* Cold Embrace is the perfect setup for Mystic Flare, and his 6-second silence is good against Winter Wyvern in general.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 11%)Magnus
* Jakiro's abilities deal damage over time, which can disrupt Magnus's attempts to initiate with Blink Dagger and Reverse Polarity.
* Macropyre not only disables Blink Dagger for a considerable duration, but can also destroy Trees, revealing Magnus's cover and position.
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Magnus
* Disruptor can disable Magnus's Blink Dagger using Thunder Strike during a considerable duration, disrupting his initiation attempts.
* Glimpse brings Magnus back after he escapes with Skewer and/or Force Staff.
* Static Storm if used on a fight can prevent Magnus from using Reverse Polarity after he jumps in.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Magnus cannot manfight Huskar even with Empower, Berserker's Blood's high attack speed and health regeneration, combined with Huskar's high health and
Burning Spear stacks will allow Huskar to kill Magnus before he can kill him.
* From a safe distance, Huskar can surprise and counter Magnus's initiation with Life Break and
Burning Spear.
* Burning Spear also deals damage over time, disabling Blink Dagger and preventing him from initiating or escaping.
Viper
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Magnus
* Most of Magnus' abilities except Empower will trigger damage through Corrosive Skin.
* Poison Attack and Viper Strike can slow Magnus during Skewer, as well as putting his
Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 2%)Winter Wyvern
* Outworld Devourer's pure damage from Arcane Orb can go through Cold Embrace.
* Outworld Devourer can negate the healing from Cold Embrace using Astral Imprisonment, and steal mana while doing so.
* Outworld Devourer's damage during Winter's Curse is reduced due to Arcane Orb being unable to target allies.
Additional:
* Winter Wyvern must never put her allies in Cold Embrace against Outworld Destroyer as Arcane Orb will continue to steal Intelligence and deal damage to the defenseless hero.
* Arcane Orb does not hit his allies when he is taunted by Winter's Curse, making it weak against allies, but strong versus enemies.
* Astral Imprisonment can protect a target inflicted with Winter's Curse.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 3%)Magnus
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Shadow Shaman
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 13%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Magnus
* 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.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Magnus
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 1%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Heroes that have high health but little to no magic resistance are easy prey for Necrophos, as no matter how high they build their health up, Reaper's Scythe will kill them outright as long as they fall under a certain threshold, and Heartstopper Aura will deal the same amount of damage regardless, decaying their health the longer they stay within range. As such, Strength heroes like Chaos Knight,
Centaur Warrunner or
Magnus are good targets for his ultimate.
Mars
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 16%)Magnus
* Heroes who can disable Mars but cannot do any damage to him, meaning he just tanks their abilities: Doom,
Magnus.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 14%)Magnus
* 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
Batrider
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Heroes that have an escape that doesn't disjoint projectiles: Mirana,
Faceless Void,
Magnus
Keeper of the Light
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 5%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 21%)Magnus
* Even if Wraith King dies after Magnus disables him, Magnus' entire team will be slowed and vulnerable for counter-initiation.
Winter Wyvern
* Many physical-only single-target heroes like Lifestealer,
Sven,
Wraith King,
Phantom Assassin etc.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Magnus
* Shrapnel can sometimes scout out Magnus and also place his Blink Dagger on cooldown. Aside from that, Sniper likes to stay far back behind enemy lines, so it's difficult to catch him with Reverse Polarity unless you already have vision on him and can Skewer him to the rest of his team.
Magnus
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend,
Sniper, etc)
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Using Reality Rift sets up a Reverse Polarity on Chaos Knight and his illusions.
* Shockwave and
Skewer kill Phantasm's illusions quickly, as can
Empower cast on a melee carry.
Additional:
* All Magnus abilities are very good against Chaos Knight's Phantasm illusions.
Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace protects targets of Reality Rift.
* Winter's Curse turns Phantasm illusions against Chaos Knight or a teammate.
* Splinter Blast deals decent area damage to Phantasm illusions.
* Arctic Burn's percentage-based damage quickly wears down Chaos Knight's health.
Additional:
* Winter Wyvern can make Chaos Knight's illusions attack the real one, provided the player knows who it is.
* Alternatively, Winter's Curse can make Chaos Knight and all his illusions attack one of his allies.
* Cold Embrace protects ally who is focused by Chaos Knight.
* Splinter Blast deals decent area damage to Chaos Knight's illusions.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)Winter Wyvern
* Many physical-only single-target heroes like Lifestealer,
Sven,
Wraith King,
Phantom Assassin etc.
Magnus
* Reverse Polarity pierces through Rage, wasting part of it's duration.
* Magnus is tanky and mobile hero and hard for Lifestealer to focus and kill in all stages of a game.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter's Curse in late game is pretty much the end for Meepo or any of his nearby allies. Natural counter for Winter's Curse like
Linken's Sphere or
Lotus Orb is meaningless to her if she can land it on one of your clones.
Additional:
* Meepo's clones usually gets grouped in teamfight making any of them ideal target for Winter's Curse, forcing Meepo to literally kill himself. Also unlike another hero he cannot protect himself with Linken's Sphere.
Magnus
* Heroes with powerful area-of-effect disables can initiate on Meepo and his clones and shut him down, such as Enigma,
Invoker,
Magnus,
Puck, and
Sand King.
Additional:
* Meepo is vulnerable to area damage and disables from Magnus himself as well as his team through Empower.
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Magnus
* Empower helps Magnus' allies clear out illusions.
* Reverse Polarity and
Skewer will pull Phantom Lancer along with his illusions, and reposition them together for easy nuking.
Winter Wyvern
* Broodmother,
Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Beastmaster
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 4%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace mitigates Primal Roar's single-target initiation on allies.
* Winter's Curse can turn Beastmaster's summons and Inner Beast against his teammate.
Additional:
* Beastmaster's summons and Inner Beast are very useful to attack his cursed teammate.
* Cold Embrace effectively mitigates Primal Roar's single-target initiation on allies.
Magnus
* Heroes with AoE abilities are a bane to Beastmaster's summons: Storm Spirit,
Magnus,
Pangolier.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)Winter Wyvern
* Broodmother,
Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Magnus
* Heroes with cleave damage: Sven,
Magnus,
Kunkka
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Winter Wyvern
* Heroes with other kind of disables that pierce spell immunity can hold Pangolier in place during Rolling Thunder: Axe,
Beastmaster,
Enigma,
Magnus,
Pudge,
Batrider,
Bane,
Winter Wyvern
Magnus
* Heroes with other kind of disables that pierce spell immunity can hold Pangolier in place during Rolling Thunder: Axe,
Beastmaster,
Enigma,
Magnus,
Pudge,
Batrider,
Bane,
Winter Wyvern
Io
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace can render the extra attack speed from Overcharge meaningless.
* Splinter Blast and
Winter's Curse are very affective against Io, as it has to stay close to its tethered hero.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace saves allies from dying in Duels.
* Winter's Curse turns Legion Commander's high damage against her allies, giving the enemy team little time to react.
* However, Winter Wyvern lanes very poorly against Legion Commander due to Press the Attack removing all the debuffs she can give. Winter Wyvern also has little chances of surviving if she gets Dueled herself.
Additional:
* Cold Embrace is very effective against Duel.
* Also, casting Winter's Curse at Legion Commander while an ally is in a
Duel will stun her for most of the duration, possibly preventing lethal damage dealt to your ally. It can also turn her high-damage against her teammate.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 1%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace can protect allies from Lone Druid and the Spirit bear, who mainly deal physical damage
* Winter's Curse can turn Lone Druid and the Spirit Bear against his teammates.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace can heal herself or an ally, as well as protecting them from Clinkz' physical attacks and wasting his mana if Searing Arrows is on autocast.
* Winter's Curse allows Winter Wyvern to turn Clinkz' high damage (and high attack speed if he used Skeleton Walk) against his allies, or take advantage of Clinkz' fragility if he can't use Skeleton Walk.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Magnus
* Heroes who rely on illusions and spawns (Chaos Knight,
Beastmaster,
Nature's Prophet,
Enigma etc.).
Winter Wyvern
* Winter's Curse, when directly targeted on Enigma, can go through
Avatar, stopping Enigma's Black Hole channeling. It can also can turn his team against him, potentially killing him.
* Splinter Blast can be targeted on an eidolon, killing off other eidolons and damaging nearby heroes as well.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 18%)Magnus
* Skewer and
Reverse Polarity will often push Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
Underlord
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 8%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter's Curse and
Splinter Blast can devastate Underlord's team when they're grouped up for Dark Rift.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 6%)Winter Wyvern
* Arctic Burn allows Winter Wyvern to escape Lycan, even when he uses his ultimate.
* Splinter Blast is very effective in dealing with Lycan's summons.
* Cold Embrace saves allies from Lycan's raw physical damage and can buy allies enough time to turn the tide of battle.
* Winter's Curse stops lycan in his tracks and is very effective because of Lycan's summons.
Additional:
* All of Lycan's damage is physical which is totally negated by Cold Embrace.
* Lycan often moves around with large amount of creeps, wolves created by Summon Wolves, neutral creep dominated by
Helm of the Dominator and summons created by
Necronomicon which can be easily cleared by Splinter Blast or used as a great source of damage by Winter's Curse. If you catch Lycan with creeps nearby and affected by
Shapeshift using Winter's Curse on him will most certainly end up with his death.
Doom
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 3%)Winter Wyvern
* Heroes with the ability to heal allies, or those with good defensive abilities: (Chen,
Dazzle,
Io,
Oracle,
Omniknight,
Witch Doctor,
Winter Wyvern, (
Abaddon, etc.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 6%)Winter Wyvern
* Terrorblade and his illusions deal huge damage, which might used against him and his team with Winter's Curse.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 17%)Winter Wyvern
* Many physical-only single-target heroes like Lifestealer,
Sven,
Wraith King,
Phantom Assassin etc.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 19%)Magnus
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend,
Sniper, etc)
Morphling
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 12%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter Wyvern's
Winter's Curse turns Morphling's high attack damage and attack speed against his targeted teammate.
Centaur Warrunner
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter Wyvern's
Arctic Burn can also be a useful tool against Centaur, who generally has very high health.
Winter's Curse on Centaur can cause Retaliate to damage allies who are forced to attack him.
Axe
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 10%)Winter Wyvern
* Heroes who can slow and kite Axe will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback,
Crystal Maiden,
Batrider,
Arc Warden,
Winter Wyvern,
Clockwerk
Chen
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Magnus
* Heroes with cleave abilities and area of effect damage can make quick work of Chen's converted creeps and at same time gain farm: Magnus,
Jakiro,
Shadow Fiend,
Kunkka,
Luna,
Dragon Knight,
Medusa,
Alchemist.
Visage
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Magnus
* Heroes with cleave or multi-target attacks can quickly take on Familiars and reduce Visage's firepower like Gyrocopter,
Kunkka,
Magnus and
Medusa.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 20%)Winter Wyvern
* Heroes with abilities that can save are also effective such as Shadow Demon,
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Bane,
Pugna,
Tusk,
Winter Wyvern,
Io,
Underlord,
Treant Protector and
Keeper of the Light.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 17%)Winter Wyvern
* Winter Wyvern's
Winter's Curse works very well against the increased attack speed from Bloodlust.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 2%)Winter Wyvern
* Broodmother,
Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Sven
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 42% pickrate: 2%)Magnus
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: Sven,
Omniknight,
Enigma,
Luna,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Rubick,
Keeper of the Light,
Pugna,
Invoker,
Spectre,
Alchemist,
Treant Protector,
Lina,
Oracle,
Zeus,
Shadow Shaman,
Phoenix,
Razor,
Huskar,
Batrider,
Kunkka,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Sand King.
Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace saves any ally Sven initiates on and wastes the duration of God's Strength in team fights.
* Winter's Curse can be devastating to Sven's team, as his massive damage can take out a teammate before there is much time to react.
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Magnus
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace can protect Troll Warlord's target, especially during Battle Trance.
* Winter's Curse can turn Troll Warlord's high physical damage and attack speed against his allies.
Additional:
* Cold Embrace will protect your ally from being damaged if he gets focused by Troll.
* His high attack speed and bash will help to kill his cursed ally faster.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 8%)Magnus
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
Winter Wyvern
* Any hero that can nullify effects of Chronosphere: (Omniknight,
Keeper of the Light with
Aghanim's Scepter during daytime,
Winter Wyvern), banishing him or Faceless Void (
Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Earth Spirit with
Aghanim's Scepter) or protecting him in other ways (
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Abaddon) can greatly limit Chronosphere's potential.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 7%)Magnus
* Spectre can use Haunt to intercept and disrupt Magnus's initiation attempts.
* Spectral Dagger can severely slow down Magnus after he uses Skewer.
* Magnus often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so Desolate can be very effective against him.
Additional:
* Spectre disables Magnus' Blink Dagger using her ultimate, and later into the game can usually outlive Reverse Polarity's duration.
Winter Wyvern
* Arctic Burn makes it nearly impossible for Spectre to juke into the trees.
* Cold Embrace negates all of Spectre's physical damage. Furthermore, Cold Embrace will generally outheal Desolate.
* Winter's Curse can taunt illusions, not only wasting the entire duration of Haunt but also turning its illusions against Spectre's own team.
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).
Sharing link to this site is always appreciated.
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Magnus
* If Luna can use
Eclipse in anticipation, Magnus will be killed before he can even manages to cast
Reverse Polarity.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse is a very good counter-initiation tool against Magnus when he casts
Reverse Polarity, granted as long as Luna can cast it from safe distance.
*
Winter Wyvern
* Cold Embrace is no salvation against
Lucent Beam and
Eclipse.
Moon Glaives will not hit a hero affected by Winter's Curse, making it weak against allies, but strong versus enemies.
Lunar Blessing than Winter Wyvern when affected by Arctic Burn.
Lucent Beam and
Eclipse.
Moon Glaives will not hit a hero affected by Winter's Curse, making it weak against allies, but strong versus enemies.
Lunar Blessing than Winter Wyvern when affected by Arctic Burn.
*
* Luna has better night vision provided by
Additional:
* Cold Embrace is no salvation against
*
* Luna has better night vision provided by