* He can't take you very easily, and his nukes are not strong enough to deal with Centaur Warrunner.
* Centaur Warrunner deals huge AoE damage and applies an AoE disable through Hoof Stomp, affecting the double as well the main Arc Warden.
* Magnetic Field is not very effective against melee heroes.
* This ability also increases his allies' attack speed, meaning Retaliate will deal more damage.
* Stampede catches him easily due to the lack of escape mechanisms.

* Arc Warden can't use Magnetic Field to stall the damage of Nether Blast on towers, but he can buy Aghanim's Shard 20 minutes into the game to diminish its damage
* Arc Warden has no innate disables to stop Life Drain and Decrepify
* The short cooldown of both Life Drain and Decrepify also means Pugna can deal with Arc Warden and Arc Warden's clone simultaneously most of the time
* A good Pugna looks to end the match early while Arc Warden, a very item reliant hero, thrives in longer matches.

* Retaliate turns Phantom Assassin's attacks against herself, as he deals damage with every hit taken, and his big health pool makes sure that a lot of hits will be needed.
* If Centaur Warrunner gets the jump on Phantom Assassin first, she will be unable to activate Black King Bar and might be burst down with the help of his Double Edge.
* Stampede can save an ally under attack by Phantom Assassin, offsetting the slow from Stifling Dagger. If he owns an Aghanim's Scepter, he can prevent a low-health ally from being killed in one crit.
Additional:
* Retaliate deals damage to Phantom Assassin for every attack and Stifling Dagger thrown at Centaur.
* Blur cannot evade Double Edge.

* Ethereal state disarms the target and makes them more vulnerable to magic damage, both of which Phantom Assassin despises. Especially Pugna and any hero that is wielding Ethereal Blade, such as Mirana, Nyx Assassin or Morphling.

* Amazingly, Enchantress has even lower health than Pugna. Though she does pack quite a punch through Impetus, she can't use it if she is under Decrepify.
* Pugna's Magical DPS is way greater than the heal from Nature's Attendants, which will also harm her quite a bit if she's next to Nether Ward.

* Heroes with haste can negate Enchant's slow: Weaver, Dark Seer, Lycan, Centaur Warrunner.

* Troll Warlord can't switch targets at will, in order to build Fervor stacks, which makes it easy to use Decrepify in order to save allies
* During Battle Trance, Pugna can easily use Nether Blast, Decrepify and Life Drain on him

* Troll Warlord's high speed attack makes Retaliate deal a lot of damage to him.

* Heroes that are hard to gank: Dragon Knight, Mars, Centaur Warrunner.

* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Pugna, Death Prophet.

* Stampede can help his teammates escape from Windrun and Focus Fire.
* Return will shred through Windranger's health if she chooses to attack him during Focus Fire.
Additional:
* Focus Fire grants Windranger a massive attack speed bonus, while her attack damage is generally quite low. This, combined with Windranger's low health pool and armor, makes Retaliate do absolutely massive damage over a short time, making Centaur a hero she can never expect to kill or harass.
* Windrun grants evasion, but Centaur Warrunner does not rely on successful attacks in order to do damage. Hoof Stomp, Double Edge, and Stampede all do large amounts of magical damage and can completely demolish Windranger in a moment.

* Stampede can be used to free an ally from the grasp of Doom. Without any means of effective lockdown, kills can be difficult to secure when against an enemy Centaur Warrunner. Also, Centaur's tendency to have lots of health and HP regen tend to help counter Doom.
Additional:
* Whenever Doom casts his ultimate, Centaur Warrunner can cast Stampede and allow the Doomed hero to run away, wasting Doom's ultimate.

* Nether Blast is one of the best tower pushing abilities in the game, with a low cooldown. A competent Pugna will (at the very least) destroy tier 2 towers and make space for his team before Spectre can finally come online.
* Spectre's spells, while not spammable, have a fairly high mana cost, so Nether Ward can be fairly damaging to Spectre early game. The mana degen will also dampen Spectre's early game power significantly.
* Once Pugna gets Aghanim's Scepter, he can spam Life Drain on any illusion Spectre summons, whether it'd be from Haunt, Manta Style, or some other means.
* In addition, Pugna can disable Spectre's Desolate ability (although its damage is pure, it requires physical attacks) with his Decrepify ability, leaving Spectre only with Spectral Dagger.

* Nether Blast will still hit Slark in Shadow Dance.
* Pugna can rarely target Slark directly with Decrepify, but he can use it defensively on an ally to prevent Slark from getting stacks
* Despite being somewhat easy to break with Pounce, Pugna can damage and provide vision over Slark with Life Drain

* Due to the high mana cost of his spells and the low cool down of them, Nether Ward can seriously damage Skywrath Mage if he isn't careful.
* Skywrath Mage's fragility makes him very susceptible to Pugna's high burst damage.
Additional:
* Nether Ward will make Skywrath Mage next to useless in fights, as his low hp pool will not allow him to sustain through the damage of the ward should he choose to cast spells. Be wary though that Skywrath's huge burst will make very quick work of Pugna's low hp should the ward be destroyed, and Decrepify won't help you at all.

* Decrepify prevents Shadow Fiend from attacking for its duration, potentially preventing him from getting a kill.
* Nether Ward can do heavy damage to Shadow Fiend if he tries to cast his Requiem of Souls or spam Shadowraze.
Additional:
* Decrepify prevents Shadow Fiend from attacking for its duration, potentially preventing him from getting a kill.
* Nether Ward can do heavy damage to Shadow Fiend if he tries to cast his Requiem of Souls and his Shadowraze.

* All of Pugna's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Nether Ward punishes Shadow Demon's constant mana usage from spamming spells, especially Shadow Poison.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Nether Blast for the enemy.
* Life Drain can be used to heal Pugna or an ally to save them from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Pugna buys defensive items.

* Enigma's abilities have a huge mana cost, meaning that Nether Ward will deal a lot of damage to Enigma.
* Channeling Black Hole will render Enigma immobile, making him easy target for all of Pugna's abilities, especially Nether Blast, and Life Drain.

* Centaur can use Stampede to break Static Link. It also prevents Razor from chasing Centaur Warruner or his teammates with Eye of the Storm, and Plasma Field's slow will do nothing to slow them down.

* Decrepify prevents Faceless Void from attacking trapped allies inside Chronosphere, wasting a large portion of its duration if Faceless Void can't dispel it.

* Because Invoker relies on casting a large amount of spells to contribute to fights, Nether Ward can force him to not cast anything at all or take a large amount of damage to cast spells.
Additional:
* Nether Ward on its own can greatly hinder Invoker from casting many of his abilities, at least until he gets a significant amount of HP or is under the protection of spell immunity from Black King Bar
* Life Drain provides True sight, revealing Invoker through Ghost Walk, and forcing him or his allies to use an ability or item to interrupt its channeling
* Outside of Nether Ward's range, Invoker shall have the advantage, as Invoker has Tornado to purge Pugna's Decrepify when it is used defensively, Tornado or Cold Snap to prevent Pugna from channeling Life Drain
* A poorly used Decrepify on Pugna's allies means Invoker's abilities can be used to deal more damage to them.

* For the better part of the game, he will take more damage from your ward than he deals to you with Arcane Orb.
* It will take a huge difference in farm or itemization between you for him to deal any damage to you with Sanity's Eclipse, provided he doesn't die first from casting it next to your ward.
* Decrepify allows Pugna to be immune to the attacks from Arcane Orb.

* Decrepify prevents Omnislash damage, until Juggernaut gets a Nullifier.
* Without a disable, Pugna's high movement speed makes it harder to chase him with Blade Fury.
* Juggernaut has low mana and his skills cost large amount of mana. Nether Ward will hurt him more and even worse, the damage from the ward is inflicted before the Spell immunity provided by Blade Fury.
Additional:
* Decrepify is the perfect tool against Omnislash until he gets a Nullifier, and even then he will probably waste a couple of slashes before he uses it.
* Without an extra disable, Pugna's high movement speed makes it impossible to chase him with Blade Fury.
* Unlike some other carries like Slark or Phantom Assassin, Juggernaut's spells cost a hefty amount of mana and he will seriously get hurt by Nether Ward. Don't forget the damage from the ward is inflicted before the spell immunity is provided by Blade Fury.

* Decrepify prevents Legion Commander from attacking allies during Duel, regardless if it's used on her or on the ally .
* Pugna can easily cast Decrepify, Nether Blast and Life Drain on Legion during the 4/4.75/5.5/8 seconds of duel
Additional:
* Decrepify on either hero stops Legion Commander from completing a Duel, and dissuades her from initiating Duels on ethereal allies.
* Life Drain can help Pugna's teammates win a fight, either by killing Legion Commander or replenishing her target's health.

* Even though Pugna's low HP means that he can be quickly burst down, his Nether Ward heavily punishes casters whose spells cost a lot of mana, like Zeus. Casting 4 of his active spells, including Nimbus, close to an enhanced level 4 Nether Ward, can make the ward deal up to 1750 magical damage.
* Decrepify can further increase the damage dealt by Nether Ward upon Zeus. However, if used on Pugna himself or on one of his allies, it will amplify the damage done by Zeus' abilities.

* Leshrac needs to be close to target in order to do damage, Pugna can outrun Leshrac with ease due to his superior movement speed.
* Split Earth can also be hard to land on Pugna for the same reason.
* Leshrac uses huge amounts of mana to do damage, Nether Ward forces him to either not contribute in a fight or kill himself in the process.
Additional:
* Nether Ward punishes Leshrac's constant mana usage from spamming spells.
* Leshrac needs to be in the thick of the fight to deal damage, and so cannot escape from Nether Blast nor Life Drain easily.

* Nether Ward causes an unfriendly area for Medusa that drains her mana.

* Pugna's Decrepify allows him to save allies from being ganked by Viper, since Viper mostly relies on direct attacks in order to deal damage.
* Nether Ward can discourage Viper from spamming his abilities.
* Viper's damage over time is not enough to kill Pugna as he will have more than enough time to save himself (or his allies) with Life Drain and Viper has no solutions to cancel it.
* Pugna has no passive abilities, which renders Nethertoxin nearly useless.

* Decrepify can be used on allies to prevent them from attacking Axe and triggering Counter Helix during Berserker's Call. He can also cast it on Axe to prevent anyone from attacking him.
* Life Drain can be used to heal himself or allies caught in Berserker's Call, preventing them from dropping low enough for Axe to kill them with Culling Blade.

* Nether Ward discourages Tinker from using abilities and items due to its high damage against heavy mana usage.

* Nether Ward can punish Timbersaw, as Timbersaw is a spell-caster with low cooldowns. Furthermore, Timbersaw usually appears in the midst of battle, placing himself in range of Nether Ward's Mana Flares.
* Timbersaw has no stuns or silences to stop Life Drain. Since all of Pugna's Spells are magical, the damage can be devastating to Timbersaw.
* Decrepify can further increase all the magical damage done to Timbersaw, bypassing the enhanced physical resistance he can get from Reactive Armor.
Additional:
* Nether Ward can punish Timbersaw, as Timbersaw is a spell-caster with low cooldowns. Furthermore, Timbersaw usually appears in the midst of battle, placing himself in range of Nether Ward's Mana Flares.
* Timbersaw has no stuns or silences to stop Life Drain. Since all of Pugna's Spells are magical, the damage can be devastating to Timbersaw, especially when combined with Decrepify

* Pugna can save allies with both healing or by making them ethereal.

* Stampede can allow Soulbinded heroes to just ran away.

* Nether Blast, Decrepify and Life Drain deal high magical damage and bypasses Bulwark.
* Nether Ward reduces the amount of abilities Mars can use during fights and forces Mars to be careful about the heavy mana cost of Arena Of Blood.
* Pugna is one of few heroes that can contest Mars' ability to push and defend towers early on.

* Heroes that can keep Monkey King stunned for a long time can pose a threat: Axe, Centaur Warrunner.

* Heroes who can match Void Spirit's mobility (like the aforementioned Ember Spirit or Queen of Pain) or tank his spells (Dragon Knight or Centaur Warrunner) are very problematic for him.

* Heroes who are reliant on physical damage will be nullified by Decrepify: Riki, Wraith King, Juggernaut.

* Heroes with damage burst can often kill Chen or his allies before he can use Hand of God: Lina, Techies, Shadow Fiend, Pugna, Nyx Assassin.

* Nether Ward will be problematic for heavy nukers and spammers like Skywrath Mage, Lina, Lion and Invoker, but don't use Decrepify defensively against them as you'll be helping them out more than anything.

* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.

* Pugna's Decrepify prevents the target from taking physical damage or doing damage, which poses a huge problem for Lycan, as he mainly deals physical damage.

* Heroes who are reliant on physical damage will be nullified by Decrepify: Riki, Wraith King, Juggernaut.

* Heroes who are reliant on illusions: Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren.

* Bristleback, Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Pudge, Huskar: These heroes are too tanky for Puck to burst down. Also, all of them have spells which can deal with and shut Puck down reliably.

* Pugna's Decrepify makes sure that either Alchemist is unable to hit anyone while also being slowed and susceptible to magical damage, or can protect an ally from physical attacks. Besides, Pugna can push early on, when Alchemist is not strong enough to repel it, so by the time Alchemist comes online, he might be forced to sit in base.

* 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.

* Pugna: Decrepify prevent the Spirit bear from attacking or protect allies from it.

* Nether Ward will be problematic for heavy nukers and spammers like Skywrath Mage, Lina, Lion and Invoker, but don't use Decrepify defensively against them as you'll be helping them out more than anything.

* Heroes with high movement speeds like Pugna and Meepo can run around, to, or away from Snapfire during Mortimer Kisses and dodge the projectiles easily due to their slow speed.
* Heroes with mobility spells (such as Queen of Pain's Blink and Clockwerk with Hookshot) can easily avoid Lil' Shredder and Mortimer Kisses.
* Heroes with high movement speeds like Pugna and Meepo can run around, to, or away from Snapfire during Mortimer Kisses and dodge the projectiles easily due to their slow speed.

* 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.

* Pangolier will proc Retaliate several times if he attempts to use Swashbuckle on Centaur Warrunner.
* Centaur can cast Stampede to allow all of his allies to easily avoid Rolling Thunder.
* Centaur's tankiness makes it hard for Pangolier to burst him down in the late game.
Additional:
* When Swashbuckle hits Centaur Warrunner, Retaliate will deal significant damage, as it procs off every strike made.
* Stampede helps allies avoid or disengage from Pangolier during Rolling Thunder, as well as neutralizing the slow debuff from Lucky Shot.

* Nether Ward causes Death Pulse to actually lose you health rather than heal you. Meanwhile, Reaper Scythe's gigantic mana cost while under Nether Ward can often instantly kill you.
* Nether Blast and Life Drain both make quick work of Necrophos' small healthpool, especially during Ghost Shroud. The latter also makes him an unappealing target for Reaper's Scythe, and can often force you to use it defensively as Necrophos has no other means of interrupting his channeling.

* A Blink Dagger combined with Hoof Stomp can be used to catch Sniper.
* Centaur can also utilize Stampede to cover the distance.
* Double Edge can easily finish off Sniper after Centaur initiates on him.
* Retaliate punishes Sniper for focusing Centaur in teamfights.
Additional:
* Headshot and Shrapnel slow is ineffective against a team with haste (which Stampede gives).
* Commonly picked up mobility items and hasted movement during his Stampede (as well as his high health pool) make him extremely hard to kill from a distance, damaging Sniper with Retaliate and Blade Mail if he has one.
* A low health pool and no escape mechanism makes him an easy target for Centaur Warrunner's burst damage and initiation (even making his team possible initiators with Stampede).

* A good Centaur can catch Queen of Pain with a Blink Dagger and Hoof Stomp.
* Retaliate with Blade Mail reflects all of Queen of Pain's damage, especially Sonic Wave.
* Stampede grants a movement speed bonus, which can prevent Queen of Pain from initiating.
* Double Edge can shred her low health pool if she's not careful.

* Hoof Stomp and Double Edge makes short work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Retaliate together with Blade Mail reflects Phanton Lancer's damage.
Additional:
* His illusions will kill themselves in a few hits because of Retaliate. The nukes from Hoof Stomp and Double-Edge should be enough to clear them for a large portion of the game
* Centaur Warrunner's small mana pool makes Diffusal Blade's damage much lower once Centaur doesn't have any more mana left to burn. Keep in mind that Double Edge does not cost mana.
* Be wary when chasing down Phantom Lancer. Hoof Stomp's terrible cast time makes it quite easy to dodge with Doppelganger.

* Nether Ward can do a ton of damage to Disruptor because of his high mana costs.
* Life Drain can be used to heal an ally trapped by Static Storm-Kinetic Field combo (if Pugna is not a target).

* Pugna's Nether Ward damages Sand King when he channels Epicenter, preventing him from using Blink Dagger afterward.

* Pugna's Decrepify can render Templar Assassin's physical attacks useless.
* Pugna can also cast Life Drain on Templar Assassin, burning her Refraction instances.
* On the other hand, Pugna generally has low health and armor. Use this to your advantage.