* Fissure has a shorter cast time in Rubick's hands, making it a nice ability to either initiate or interrupt enemy ganks from a long distance.
* Though Echo Slam isn't as powerful for the lack of Aftershock on Rubick, the damage can still be massive on enemies.

* Frequent healing from Death Pulse and Mekansm/Guardian Greaves or Pipe of Insight makes it difficult for Earthshaker to execute his combo with Echo Slam.
* Necrophos usually buys Radiance to improve their burning aura damage from Heartstopper Aura will usually disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Reaper's Scythe allows to kill  Earthshaker while he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo (although Earthshaker is rarely a primary target).

* Reaper's Scythe and Heartstopper Aura deal percentage-based damage, ignoring Underlord's high health.

* All of Underlord's abilities are useful for Rubick to Spell Steal.

* 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.

* 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.

* Necrophos's Reaper's Scythe can finish off a low-health Morphling.

* Rubick's ability to steal Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) makes him extremely annoying to deal with because Rubick's shifted attributes will remain even if he steals a new spell.
* If Rubick moves enough points to strength and then steals Adaptive Strike, he will have a powerful 3-second ranged stun in his arsenal as well.
* Waveform provides a reliable nuke/escape to Rubick.
* Rubick can steal most abilities Morphling uses while Morphed, allowing Rubick to steal his own allies' abilities if the Morphling is not careful.
Additional:
* Morphling's abilities can cause unique interactions on their own:
* Waveform is a damaging pseudo-blink, giving Rubick much needed mobility.
* Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) is a great ability for Rubick:
* The changes done by it are permanent even after losing the ability. Pumping all the agility into strength makes him much tankier. The armor loss due to reduced agility can be mitigated by cheap items like Medallion of Courage or Solar Crest.
* The extra strength allows Rubick to survive Morphling's Ethereal Blade - Adaptive Strike (Agility) combo.
* Beware when using Attribute Shift (Agility Gain)! Unlike Morphling, Rubick does not gain damage from it, since agility is not his primary attribute.
* Adaptive Strike (Strength) is a long-ranged stun.
* The true power of this ability is revealed when Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) has been stolen previously: it gives a 4 second ranged stun every 10 seconds, which greatly counters heroes with mobility, such as Morphling himself.
* All of Rubick's abilities break Linken's Sphere, a core item for Morphling.

* Every ability Witch Doctor has is useful when Rubick manages to steal any of them:
* Paralyzing Cask provides an additional disable apart from Telekinesis and also helps Rubick to farm.
* Voodoo Restoration provides utility by healing Rubick and his team, since he has no heal of his own.
* Maledict is a solid damage-over-time nuke, which can be devastating to the enemy team.
* And most importantly, Death Ward is one of the best teamfight spells in the game. It also requires channeling, which makes it easy for Rubick to steal. And when combined with Aghanim's Scepter, this can prove deadly to the enemy team.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will always toggle Voodoo Restoration while channeling Death Ward to prevent that.
Additional:
* Rubick can steal Death Ward easily as it is a channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will toggle Voodoo Restoration immediately after placing his Death Ward to prevent that.

* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Warlock or Shadow Fiend.

* Everything she has is great in Rubick's kit:
* Crystal Nova deals crowd damage and slows enemies, also helps on farming.
* Frostbite helps Rubick locks down enemies, also is a decent farming ability.
* Freezing Field is a channeling ability and therefore can be stolen easily.
* Arcane Supremacy's Debuff Duration Amplification also benefits Crystal Nova and Frostbite greatly.

* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Warlock or Shadow Fiend.

* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter, Brewmaster, Death Prophet, etc.

Additional:
* Fade Bolt reduces damage output of Anchor Smash.
* Ravage is an easy target to Spell Steal, so always be sure to use Anchor Smash immediately after Ravage when playing against a Rubick.
* Spells stolen by Rubick are potentially stronger due to the lack of cast animations, his talents, and his passive, Arcane Supremacy.

* No matter how Tidehunter builds tanky items such as (Guardian Greaves, Crimson Guard or Pipe of Insight), all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to Reaper's Scythe.

* Despite most Kunkka players depending on their immense physical damage, his spells provide a lot of utility for Rubick:
* Torrent is very easy to land when paired with Telekinesis.
* X Marks the Spot can potentially be more effective in Rubick's hands due to his tendency to increase his cast range with his talents and items.
* Ghostship, paired with Telekinesis, allows Rubick to land it very easily without requiring Torrent or X Marks the Spot.

* Due to Doom's naturally high health, strength gain and common itemization for durability, Heartstopper Aura is particularly effective. The health loss is also large enough that, throughout all stages of the game, the aura effectively neuters the health regeneration granted by Devour.
* Necrophos can help to keep both himself and his allies alive during Doom through his natural regeneration granted by Heartstopper Aura (which is not disabled by Doom), or in the case of an ally, through his Death Pulse. Additionally, Necrophos is an ideal Mekansm carrier. Should one be bought, kills against Necrophos' team can be difficult to secure due to the damage-over-time nature of Doom and his abilities.
* Doom typically wants to be a hero that soaks attention from the enemy team and takes the role of an initiator and disabler. As such, Doom is an ideal target for Reaper's Scythe, as it is likely Doom will be at the fore-front of any fight.

* Reaper's Scythe will turn Tiny's high health against him.
* Heartstopper Aura does substantial damage to Tiny as a result of his high max health.

* All of Vengeful Spirit abilities are very good for Rubick to Spell Steal:
* Magic Missile provides an additional nuke/disable to pair with Fade Bolt and Telekinesis, respectively.
* Wave of Terror serves as a good scouting/armor reduction skill that Rubick and his team can benefit from.
* Nether Swap complements Rubick's mobility and pairs well with other mobility items he usually builds. He can also use it to save an ally from danger.

* Ghost Shroud can be use both offensively to slow Lone Druid or Defensively to prevent Lone Druid and The Spirit Bear from attacking him.
* Heartstopper aura burns the Spirit bear High HP over time. Additionally, it can deal decent damage to Lone Druid during his True Form.

* Reaper's Scythe can kill Terrorblade quickly before he has chance to use Sunder.
* Ghost Shroud protects Necrophos against Terrorblade's high attack damage.

* Heartstopper Aura is effective against high health heroes, and Pudge is no exception. Coupled with his constant self-damage from Rot, being around Necrophos could prove risky for an overconfident Pudge.
* Regardless of how much health Pudge gains through Flesh Heap, Reaper's Scythe will often kill Pudge should his health fall below 40%, making Necrophos an ideal counter versus Pudge.
Additional:
* No matter how high Pudge builds up strength with his Flesh Heap, all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to Reaper's Scythe. Considering his constant self-damage with Rot, being around Heartstopper Aura will prove risky for an overconfident Pudge.

* Frequent healing from Death Pulse and Mekansm makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with Culling Blade.
* Ghost Shroud's instant cast time allows Necrophos to turn ethereal before being initiated on by Berserker's Call. This prevents him from attacking Axe while taunted, thus lowering the chance to proc Counter Helix.
* Axe's high health is relatively ineffective against Heartstopper Aura's percentage-based health degeneration.
* Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's durability, and can kill him quickly after initiation.
Additional:
* Frequent healing from Death Pulse makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with Culling Blade.
* Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's tankiness, and can kill him quickly after initiation.
* Heartstopper Aura is effective due to Axe's high strength gain.

* Necrophos' largely magical damage completely ignores Bulwark.
* Ghost Shroud protects Necrophos from God's Rebuke but more importantly stops Mars from being a threat in lane.

* Heartstopper Aura effectively negates Timbersaw's large HP pool as well as HP regen.
* Death Pulse together with health and mana regeneration from killed creeps helps Necrophos and his teammates survive Timbersaw's burst damage.
* As a tanky hero that stays in the middle of teamfights, Timbersaw is an easy target for Reaper's Scythe.

* All his abilities is decent in Rubick's kit:
* Frost Blast allows Rubick to harass and constantly slow down enemies.
* Frost Shield increases Rubick's as well as his allies' and tower's survivability to physical attacks.
* A well-timed Chain Frost can be devastating to the enemy team.

* With high health and rarely buying Linken's Sphere or Black King Bar, Centaur Warrunner is a good target for Reaper's Scythe. However, Centaur Warrunner can resolve this problem by buying Pipe of Insight or Hood of Defiance to diminish its damage.
* Heartstopper Aura will do well against high health heroes such as Centaur Warrunner.

* 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.

* All of Treant Protector's abilities are worth stealing, and Rubick is able to cast them with no animation time.

* All of Venomancer's abilities are decent choices for Rubick's Spell Steal. Stealing Plague wards makes them apply Poison sting as well.

* Necrophos becomes a bigger threat the lower one's health gets, and unfortunately for Phoenix, most of its spells have noticeable health costs. Those costs, coupled with his Heartstopper Aura, means that staying in a teamfight for too long under Necrophos' presence will make Phoenix a more valid target for his ultimate, with its stun completely preventing any form of retaliation or protection. Necrophos players are also likely to buy more durability items such as Hood of Defiance, making him more able to withstand Phoenix's damage despite having no escape mechanisms.
* However, it is also important to remember that a Scepter-upgraded Supernova can help protect an ally from his ultimate.
Additional:
* Phoenix constantly depletes its own health due to the health costs of its abilities. Unlike heroes that have a similar mechanic, Phoenix does not benefit from low health, nor does it really have a countermeasure for it. As such, Phoenix is a very vulnerable target for Necrophos to prey on, especially when caught off guard before it can cast Supernova.

* Necrophos is a dangerous opponent to go against with. Regardless of how many strength Undying has gained from Decay, Necrophos can finish off Undying with Reaper's Scythe once Undying's HP falls below a certain threshold.
* Heartstopper Aura will do more damage to Undying if he gained strength from Decay, as it does damage based on a hero's maximum health.

* Fade Bolt can hinder Jakiro's early pushing power by clearing creep waves.
* All of Jakiro's spells are great for Rubick to Spell Steal.
* Ice Path is a great spell for Rubick so steal, since Rubick has no cast time on stolen abilities, making Rubick's version of Ice Path much more reliable than Jakiro's.
* Macropyre is a great way for Rubick to farm.

* Burrowstrike is one of the best and easiest steals for Rubick and Sand King should be careful when playing against him - it's much better to give away Sand Storm.

* Heartstopper Aura can do a decent damage overtime to Chen's High-Health-Creep Army, and Chen does not have any source of burst damage to Necrophos.
* Necrophos can purchase a Spirit Vessel to provide an AOE debuff that reduce the healing from Divine Favor and Hand of God.

* Because Huskar tends to stay at low health to gain the maximum bonuses from Berserker's Blood, it makes him an exceptionally prime target for Reaper's Scythe.
Additional:
* Huskar is often at low health, making him easy prey for Reaper's Scythe.
* Ghost Shroud prevents Huskar from stacking Burning Spear, and if Heartstopper Aura stacks are active, can regenerate health lost to existing stacks.

* Reaper's Scythe can kill Alchemist before Chemical Rage has the time to heal him.
* Ghost Shroud can prevent Alchemist from attacking Necrophos, as well as make him immune to Acid Spray and Unstable Concoction damage.
* Heartstopper Aura will do damage as long as Necrophos is alive based on health percentage, which is a problem for a strength hero such as Alchemist.

* Rubick is a potential counter to Bounty Hunter as he can steal his Track and use it against his invisibility, and also provide his team with more gold if the tracked hero is killed.

* Necrophos usually doesn't build much attack damage to steal from.
* He can use Ghost Shroud to prevent Razor from attacking him with the stolen damage from Static Link.
* Razor is somewhat vulnerable to magical damage, and Reaper's Scythe prevents him from escaping with his high movement speed when things get dangerous.

* Everything Enigma has is something Rubick will like:
* Malefice helps with interrupting channeling spells in case Telekinesis is off cooldown.
* Demonic Conversion helps with pushing or counter-pushing a lane.
* Midnight Pulse is great for blocking off areas or just doing steady damage in teamfights.
* Black Hole is one of the best spells for teamfights, and could easily turn a losing one around.
* Black Hole also requires channeling, making it an easy steal for Rubick because he usually stays back in a teamfight, making it hard to catch him with Black Hole.
* Telekinesis can break Enigma's Black Hole fairly easily.
* Fade Bolt counters early push strategy of Enigma's waves of Eidolons.
* Spell Steal pierces spell immunity, so Enigma can't prevent Rubick from stealing Black Hole by activating Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Telekinesis has a longer range than the AoE of Black Hole for the purposes of cancelling it.
* All of Enigma's spells are useful to Spell Steal.
* Malefice is useful for interrupting channeling spells or long cast animations.
* Demonic Conversion can be used to push or counter-push a lane.
* Midnight Pulse is useful to block an area or for team fights.
* Black Hole is very easy to steal, as it is a channeled ability. It's also one of the best ultimate abilities for team fights, and it can easily turn the fight around for the enemy team.

* Some heroes, such as Necrophos can be an issue if not initiated onto by Sven first.

Additional:
* His Heartstopper Aura deals the same gradual damage over time no matter how high Sven builds his strength or health pool up, and should he fall down to a certain percentage, his high health will no longer matter if Necrophos manages to land his Reaper's Scythe, killing him instantly. But it is best if Necrophos can either catch him off guard before he can possibly use his Black King Bar (which is an item Sven players commonly purchase), or bait him out of it.
* Ghost Shroud prevents Sven from hitting Necrophos, and if he doesn't have his Storm Hammer available, it could make him completely immune to Sven and allow Necrophos to easily kite him around.

* Heroes with magical burst damage can often kill Phantom Assassin before she gets to do much: Necrophos, Nyx Assassin, Gyrocopter.

* Heroes that have escape abilities (such as Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit or Timbersaw) can be either nullified by Reaper's Scythe or a complimentary item for Necrophos (like Rod of Atos or Scythe of Vyse). If Necrophos is quick enough and enters range, they can quickly, if not instantly, die if they are not quick enough.

* Heroes that have escape abilities (such as Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit or Timbersaw) can be either nullified by Reaper's Scythe or a complimentary item for Necrophos (like Rod of Atos or Scythe of Vyse). If Necrophos is quick enough and enters range, they can quickly, if not instantly, die if they are not quick enough.

* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter, Brewmaster, Death Prophet, etc.

* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Warlock or Shadow Fiend.

* Heroes with area heals prevents Bloodseeker from bringing enemies low, and therefore deny him his Thirst bonuses and health return: Necrophos, Dazzle

* A couple of long-range heroes with excellent laning like Mirana, Lina, Necrophos, Death Prophet. The key to success is sticking together and attacking Luna whenever she enters the range, without even giving Luna a chance to retaliate. Multiple long-range heroes is a reason to pick another hero.

* Lucent Beam is a solid magic nuke.
* Eclipse can cause massive damage if cast in the right time.
* Rubick has a good chance to steal Eclipse for Luna has only two cast abilities.
* Aghanim's Scepter greatly increased the effectiveness of the ability, including more damage as well as longer cast range. In addition, it allows him to cast it on another hero so Rubick doesn't have to get close to the enemy team in teamfights.

* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter, Brewmaster, Death Prophet, etc.

* All of Omniknight's abilities are valuable for Rubick to Spell Steal, and Omniknight has no throwaway ability to cover his last used spell.
Additional:
* All Omniknight's abilities are perfect to steal:
* Purification can heal allies as well as damage enemies under the right circumstances. It is extremely useful since Rubick has no heal of his own.
* Heavenly Grace gives a strength bonus, status resistance, and health regeneration, which can help an ally or Rubick survive longer.
* Guardian Angel can turn the tide of battle by negating all physical damage, which is especially useful if the opposing team has physical attackers.

* Heartstopper Aura and Reaper's Scythe go right through Dragon Knight's armor.

* Rubick can use Spell Steal to steal Astral Imprisonment, and if Rubick gets Aghanim's Scepter he gets 2 charges of it. This can overpower Outworld Devourer in team fights.
* Rubick can also steal Sanity's Eclipse against Outworld Devourer's teammates.

* Fiend's Grip is a powerful channeled ability, making it easy and useful to Spell Steal and interrupt with Telekinesis.
* Stolen Fiend's Grip or Nightmare combined with Arcane Supremacy allows Rubick to disable Bane's allies for a long amount of time.
* As a natural Aghanim's Scepter carrier, Rubick can steal an upgraded Brain Sap and deal lots of damage to Bane's team.

* Because of her need to get status items early to tank it up, Rubick can greatly reduce her damage early with Fade Bolt
* Her stationary nature and the slow cast time of her spells makes it easier for Rubick to steal Stone Gaze or Mystic Snake
* Aghanim's Scepter's Mystic Snake is often better used by Rubick than by Medusa

* Rubick will find all Lina's abilities useful:
* Dragon Slave provides a good way to clear creep waves and allows Rubick to deal tons of magical damage in teamfights.
* Light Strike Array gives Rubick a solid area stun, which is easy to set up right after Telekinesis.
* Laguna Blade gives Rubick a massive damage boost and great solo kill potential.

* Spell Steal allows Rubick to claim Grimstroke's powerful abilities for his own, all of which are valuable.
* Arcane Supremacy increases the efficacy of stolen abilities.

* If Rubick can use Spell Steal to take Nethertoxin, he will be able to disable Corrosive Skin, reducing much of Viper's durability.
* He can also steal Viper Strike, which can be used to hinder a hero on your team (or multiple heroes, if Rubick has Aghanim's Scepter).

* Everything Lion has is great in Rubick's kit, further amplified by Arcane Supremacy:
* Earth Spike adds a second bit of crowd control and some damage.
* Mana Drain solves a lot of Rubick's mana issues.
* Hex is one of the strongest single-target lockdowns in the game.
* Finger of Death is one of the best magical nukes in the game.
Additional:
* All of Lion's abilities are worth stealing with Spell Steal.
* Arcane Supremacy makes the disabling spells stolen from Lion very useful, allowing you to disable enemies for an extremely long time during fights or ganks.
* By using Telekinesis, Rubick can easily catch Lion out. Without any escape mechanism, Lion is helpless, especially when ganked.

* All of Invoker's abilities scales with his level, thus Rubick possesses great potential in late game by owning any of Invoker's arsenal.
* Fade Bolt counters early push from Forge Spirit.

* Heroes with wide AoE abilities will reveal Monkey King through Mischief: Necrophos, Phoenix, Alchemist, Earthshaker, Razor, Tinker, Leshrac, Queen of Pain

* Death Pulse can easily wipe out Broodmother's spiderlings if they're too close while also offering Necrophos a source of regeneration for Broodmother's harass in lane.
* Ghost Shroud prevents Broodmother or her spiderlings from damaging Necrophos temporarily.
* Heartstopper Aura will regenerate lost health and mana for every spiderling or spiderite Necrophos manages to kill.