Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 9%)Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 4%)Sand King
* Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from 
Epicenter, especially if he initiates during the battle.
* 
Sand King can't dodge X Marks the Spot - Torrent combo by his abilities. Torrent drags him out of his 
Sand Storm
Batrider
* 
X Marks the Spot breaks Flaming Lasso when used on ally and can break if used on Batrider.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 14%)Sand King
* Deals damage over time: 
Venomancer, 
Huskar, 
Ember Spirit, 
Dark Seer, Sand King, 
Doom
* The nature of some abilities turn them into an easy target for a turnover from Spiked Carapace:
* Slow-moving projectiles: 
Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, 
Necrophos
* Large area-of-effect with delay or require channeling: 
Enigma, 
Crystal Maiden, 
Invoker, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Pugna, 
Keeper of the Light
* Deals damage over time: Venomancer, Huskar, Ember Spirit, Dark Seer, Sand King, Doom
Batrider
* Nyx can walk into Firefly with 
Spiked Carapace and stun Batrider if he has no Spell Immunity.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Sand King
* 
Zeus usually stays at the back in teamfights and it is hard for Sand King to find Zeus and knock him down before Zeus deals his damage.
* All of Zeus' abilities, especially 
Thundergod's Wrath, disables Sand King's 
Blink Dagger, effectively reducing Sand King's initiation and counter-initiation potential.
* 
Lightning Bolt deals damage to Sand King in Sand Storm and reveals him. It also interrupts channeling of Epicenter.
Batrider
* Zeus is good against heroes that juke in trees or up cliffs, like 
Batrider, 
Monkey King, 
Spectre, and Tinker, by providing vision in any area with Lightning Bolt, or guaranteeing vision on enemies with Thundergod's Wrath.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Batrider
* 
Sticky Napalm, 
Flaming Lasso, and 
Flamebreak can all be instantly dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
* 
Firefly will continuously heal Abaddon under Borrowed Time.
Additional:
* 
Aphotic Shield and 
Borrowed Time can both dispel Flaming Lasso.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Batrider
* 
Plague Wards are very hard for Batrider to play against as they provide a lot of vision as well as disable Blink Dagger for a long duration.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Sand King
* Sand King has nothing to deal with 
Supernova, as none of his spells are effective.
* The damage-over-time abilities of Phoenix disable Sand King's Blink Dagger very often.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Batrider
* 
Time Lapse with 
Aghanim's Scepter dispels Flaming Lasso when used on allied hero.
* 
Linken's Sphere is core item for a Weaver making him a hard target for Lasso during entire game.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Batrider
* 
False Promise dispels Flaming Lasso.
* 
Fortune's End can root Batrider after he uses Flaming Lasso. It can also dispel Sticky Napalm and Flamebreak.
* 
Fate's Edict when used on a Lasso'd target will leave them immune to magical damage, making it difficult to burst them quickly before the Lasso ends.
Earth Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Sand King
* 
Boulder Smash will push Sand King out of Sand Storm to reveal his position or an activated Epicenter off of Earth Spirit's allies, potentially wasting his combo
* 
Rolling Boulder and 
Geomagnetic Grip allow Earth Spirit to easily stun and silence Sand King and interrupt the channeling of Epicenter, completely ruining his initiation.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Sand King
* Both 
Arcane Curse and 
Last Word punishes casters with spammable spells such as Sand King.
* As a strength caster, 
Intelligence Steal reduces Sand King's mana pool even more.
* 
Global Silence silences Sand King, effectively reducing Sand King's initiation and counter-initiation potential. It can also interrupt channeling of Epicenter.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Batrider
* With her Nether Swap, Vengeful Spirit can save the life of an ally who gets caught with Flaming Lasso. Nether Swap also makes it highly dangerous for Batrider to attempt a lasso, as it can lead to his own demise far behind enemy lines.
* Wave of Terror's flying vision allows Vengeful Spirit to spot Batrider trying to close in on his target with Firefly.
Additional:
* 
Nether Swap breaks Flaming Lasso when used on ally and can break if used on Batrider.
* Vengeful Spirit can disable Batrider's Blink Dagger before a fight with 
Wave of Terror.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Batrider
* 
Press the Attack dispels Flaming Lasso.
* Batrider is unlikely to win a 
Duel in any stage of the game.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 17%)Sand King
* 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.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 17%)Batrider
* 
Shadow Demon, 
Outworld Destroyer and 
Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Death Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Batrider
* 
Death Prophet is a terrible Flaming Lasso target if 
Exorcism has already been used, since it can still damage Batrider and his teammates, but if Batrider manages to Lasso her before that, it can lead to Death Prophet being quickly burst down.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Batrider
* Shadow Demon, Outworld Destroyer and Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Batrider
* 
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.
Sand King
* 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.
Sand King
* 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.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Batrider
* 
Enrage with Aghanim's Scepter can dispel Flaming Lasso.
Sand King
* Heroes that rely on slows to get kills: 
Lifestealer, 
Night Stalker, 
Ursa,...
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 9%)Sand King
* Quill Spray will hit Sand King inside Sand Storm, damaging him and putting Sand King's Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from escaping.
* Epicenter's numerous damage ticks will trigger Bristleback's passive repeatedly during teamfights.
Batrider
* Batrider's turn rate slow from Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 7%)Sand King
* Sand King has many tools to deal with Nature's Prophet's treants.
* Sand King also can interrupt Teleportation with 
Burrowstrike.
Additional:
* With Caustic Finale, Sand King can easily kill the treants from 
Nature's Call.
* Burrowstrike allows Sand King to prevent Nature's Prophet from using 
Teleportation inside of his 
Sprout.
Batrider
* Firefly can be used to clear Nature's Prophet's treants and allowing to jump on Sprout.
* Flaming Lasso prevents Nature's Prophet escaping using Teleportation.
Chen
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 0%)Sand King
* Burrowstrike and Sand Storm will deal a large amount of damage to Chen's creeps.
* 
Caustic Finale will quickly clear Chen's creeps at low health.
Batrider
* Sticky Napalm slows Chen and amplifies Batrider's damage.
* Flamebreak and Firefly can deal heavy damage to Chen and his creeps.
* Flaming Lasso pulls Chen away from his creeps, often to certain death.
Additional:
* Sticky Napalm slows Chen and his creeps and Flamebreak and Firefly can deal heavy damage to them.
* Flaming Lasso pulls Chen away from his creeps, often to certain death.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Sand King
* Sand King can quickly remove her 
Refraction with his Sand Storm.
* Once Refraction is down, she is very vulnerable to Epicenter's high magic damage.
Batrider
* Batrider's abilities are designed to deal damage over time, burning through Templar Assassin's layers extremely quickly. Flamebreak applies 7 instances of damage, burning through the entirety of Refraction, and Firefly applies damage on the place, forcing her to either get out of Meld and be attacked or stay in place or be incinerated.
Additional:
* Batrider's DoT damage quickly removes Templar Assassin's Refraction and can damage her during 
Meld.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 1%)Batrider
* Batrider's Flaming Lasso can become annoying when Batrider has a team nearby to kill the disabled Meepo. His Firefly is also good AoE damage, which when stacked with sticky napalm (which is AoE too and can hit all Meepos), he becomes a very formidable target.
Additional:
* Flaming Lasso is the perfect tool to isolate a single Meepo and focus him.
Sand King
* Burrowstrike can stun multiple Meepos, making them vulnerable targets.
* Epicenter and Sand Storm's AoE damage ensures all Meepo clones get damaged, making it hard for Meepo to choose which one to flee as all are taking damage at the same rate.
* Just be aware when using Sand Storm to escape, as Meepo has good AoE damage and disables, which, as explained in the "Bad Against" section, works well against an invisible Sand King.
Naga Siren
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 2%)Sand King
* Sand King and Phoenix has many tools to deal with a crowd of Heroes, which will work well against a crowd of illusions.
Batrider
* Many stacks of Sticky Napalm, combined with Flamebreak and Firefly, allows Batrider to destroy illusions from 
Mirror Image.
* If Batrider can manage to destroy all illusions from Naga Siren, he will be able to use Flaming Lasso on the real one, and will be able to drag her toward his team, potentially preventing Naga Siren to escape with 
Song of the Siren.
Additional:
* Many stacks of Sticky Napalm, combined with Flamebreak and Firefly, allows Batrider to destroy illusions from Mirror Image.
* If Batrider can manage to destroy all illusions from Naga Siren, he will be able to use Flaming Lasso on real one, and will be able to drag her toward his team, potentially preventing Naga Siren to escape with Song of the Siren.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)Batrider
* 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
* 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.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Batrider
* Heroes with catch to disrupt Sniper's positioning and deliver him into the enemies: Batrider, 
Disruptor, 
Pudge, 
Vengeful Spirit
Sand King
* Sand King is a strong ganker, allowing him to shut down squishy heroes in the early game: Phantom Assassin, 
Clinkz, 
Sniper, 
Enchantress,...
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Sand King
* Heroes that rely on slows to get kills: Lifestealer, Night Stalker, Ursa,...
Batrider
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: Batrider, 
Juggernaut, Ursa, Monkey King, Razor.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 15%)Sand King
* Phantom Assassin relies on her 
Blur to stay alive, but is very vulnerable to Sand King's heavy magic damage.
* With Burrowstrike, Sand King can often catch Phantom Assassin before she can use her 
Black King Bar.
* Sand King can dodge 
Stifling Dagger with Sandstorm.
* Phantom Assassin has a hard time killing Sand King because of his high mobility.
Mars
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Batrider
* Sticky Napalm slows turn rate, making it difficult for Mars to control the direction he is facing to activate Bulwark.
* Flaming Lasso disables Mars while enemies re-position themselves behind Mars to avoid Bulwark.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Batrider
* As long as Batrider is under the effects of Firefly, he can safely fly over mines.
* Sticky Napalm also punishes low mobility heroes that like to kite, such as Techies, by lowering their turn rate dramatically. This can also potentially delay Techies' Blast Off! if Techies tries to cast Blast Off! in a direction he's not currently facing.
Additional:
* As long as Batrider is under the effect of Firefly, he can safely fly over 
Proximity Miness (He does not receive vision over the mines).
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Sand King
* All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
* Epicenter will usually eliminate all illusions in one cast. Phantom Lancer lacks any disables to stop the channelling.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Batrider
* Firefly allows Batrider to gain vision of Monkey King while he is on an tree, as well as destroying any nearby trees, denying Monkey King spots to jump to, or causing him to fall.
* Sticky Napalm's turn rate slow makes it significantly more difficult for Monkey King to jump from tree to tree and gain Jingu Mastery stacks. It also reveals Monkey King while he is on a tree.
* Flamebreak and Flaming Lasso enable Batrider to remove Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
Additional:
* Firefly destroys trees and can turn 
Tree Dance into a free four second stun.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 2%)Sand King
* Caustic Finale allows Sand King to easily kill Broodmother's Spiderlings throughout the game.
* Sand King can usually catch a split pushing Broodmother with Blink Dagger and Burrowstrike.
Additional:
* Burrowstrike can be used as an escape or initiation against Broodmother.
* Sand Storm quickly kills any spiderlings caught inside if Sand King can manage to stun them.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 40% pickrate: 1%)Sand King
* Sand King is a strong ganker, allowing him to shut down squishy heroes in the early game: Phantom Assassin, Clinkz, Sniper, Enchantress,...
Sven
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 43% pickrate: 1%)Batrider
* Batrider often hides in the trees to initiate on a target. As such, he has a slight edge against heroes that have no scouting tools and cannot see him coming, such as 
Lion or Sven.
Lina
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)Batrider
* Heroes with abilities that can pull Lina out of position can easily bring her to their team mates, like Batrider with Flaming Lasso and Pudge with his 
Meat Hook.
Axe
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Batrider
* Heroes who can slow and kite Axe will severely inhibit his presence in fights: 
Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, 
Arc Warden, 
Winter Wyvern, 
Clockwerk
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Sand King
* Because of his massive AoE damage, Sand King is very effective against illusion heroes: 
Chaos Knight, 
Phantom Lancer, 
Terrorblade,...
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Sand King
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: 
Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Pugna, 
Earthshaker,...
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)Batrider
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: Invoker, Shadow Demon, Batrider
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Batrider
* 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
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Sand King
* Because of his massive AoE damage, Sand King is very effective against illusion heroes: Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade,...
Additional:
* Sand King's massive area damage output, particularly Epicenter, allows him to quickly take down Chaos Knight and his illusions.
* He can apply Caustic Finale to illusions with attacks for extra damage.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 15%)Sand King
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Pugna, Earthshaker,...
Lion
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Batrider
* Batrider often hides in the trees to initiate on a target. As such, he has a slight edge against heroes that have no scouting tools and cannot see him coming, such as Lion or Sven.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)Sand King
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Pugna, Earthshaker,...
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Batrider
* Heroes with disables that go through spell immunity can end Bloodseeker before he has the chance to do anything: Batrider, Beastmaster
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Batrider
* Heroes with the capability of removing or destroying trees greatly hinders the effectiveness of Treant Protector's abilities: Batrider, 
Nature's Prophet, Lina, Enigma, Mars
Additional:
* Firefly will cut trees with ease, cleaning-up an area that's been enchanted with 
Eyes In The Forest, and potentially revealing a Treant under the effects of 
Nature's Guise.
* Batrider's DoT spells are also good versus 
Living Armor,
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 9%)Batrider
* For the same reason, he has to be slightly more cunning when playing against heroes that can scout the treeline, such as 
Ancient Apparition and his 
Ice Vortex and Shadow Demon and his 
Shadow Poison.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Sand King
* Sand King is a strong ganker, allowing him to shut down squishy heroes in the early game: Phantom Assassin, Clinkz, Sniper, Enchantress,...
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Batrider
* Shadow Demon, Outworld Destroyer and Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Batrider
* For the same reason, he has to be slightly more cunning when playing against heroes that can scout the treeline, such as Ancient Apparition and his Ice Vortex and Shadow Demon and his Shadow Poison.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Sand King
* Lifestealer's Rage negates Sand King's spells which do magical damage.
Sand King
* Heroes that rely on slows to get kills: Lifestealer, Night Stalker, Ursa,...
Pugna
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Sand King
* Pugna's 
Nether Ward damages Sand King when he channels Epicenter, preventing him from using Blink Dagger afterward.
Sand King
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Pugna, Earthshaker,...
Batrider
* Kraken Shell is very useful against
Sticky Napalm and 
Flamebreak, easily dispelling them regularly.
Flaming Lasso, as Kraken Shell will remove it and Tidehunter often survives long enough to cast Ravage in the middle of Batrider's team. At the same time, if Batrider initiates on his teammate, Tidehunter will have the perfect opportunity to counter-initiate.
Kraken Shell can dispel Flaming Lasso.
Ravage.
* Tidehunter is probably the worst hero to target with
Additional:
*
* If Batrider drags Tidehunter back towards his team, it can be setup for a well placed
Sand King
*
Ravage, being an AoE disable, cancels Epicenter's channeling from a long range, limiting his potential to counter-initiate.
Black King Bar, then channel Epicenter, then finally initiate with 
Blink Dagger.
* This can be remedied, however, by first using a