Pugna
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Viper
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Viper abilities.
* Viper has no way to cancel Death Ward, even through Rod of Atos.
Shadow Demon
* Death Ward with
Aghanim's Scepter makes quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Witch Doctor buys Linken's Sphere or
Black King Bar.
* All of Witch Doctor's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Voodoo Restoration can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Maledict or
Paralyzing Cask for the enemy.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* Viper has no response to the standard initiation combo of Reality Rift into
Chaos Bolt.
* Phantasm can eliminate Viper almost instantly with its damage output.
Additional:
* As Viper focuses on single-target damage, he has trouble fighting off Phantasm illusions.
* Reality Rift counteracts Viper's slows and reduces his durability.
Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)Viper
* Shukuchi ignores slows and allows Weaver to escape Viper's onslaught.
* Time Lapse dispels Poison Attack and Corrosive Skin and undoes poison damage.
* Weaver's high burst damage allows him to kill Viper before being killed.
Shadow Demon
* You can potentially kill a fragile Weaver by using disruption during
Shukuchi with a well-placed
Sentry Ward, wasting the Shukuchi. But odds are he'll wait to get low health,
Time Lapse the damage away and Shukuchi away once more.
* Lycan and
Weaver has abilities that allow them to move at maximum movement speed, and those abilities can't be dispelled, potentially wasting the slow from Demonic Purge.
* You can potentially kill a fragile Weaver by using disruption during
Shukuchi with a well-placed
Sentry Ward, wasting the Shukuchi. But odds are he'll wait to get low health,
Time Lapse the damage away and Shukuchi away once more.
Lion
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 17%)Viper
* Heroes that can drain mana negatively affect Viper's ability to use Poison Attack, Nethertoxin and Viper Strike: Lion,
Anti-Mage
Shadow Demon
* All of Lion's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Hex and
Mana Drain can make quick work of whatever illusions you're creating, especially when he acquires his Talents at level 20 and 25.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Earth Spike or
Finger of Death with
Aghanim's Scepter for the enemy.
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)Shadow Demon
* Squishy heroes or heroes without hard disables or silences: Shadow Demon,
Shadow Fiend,
Venomancer,
Ancient Apparition etc.
Additional:
* Shadow Demon will have a hard time catching Storm Spirit, as he can get away with Ball Lightning.
* Static Remnant will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* With very high mobility and usually being paired with Orchid Malevolence, he can catch Shadow Demon with ease both in ganks and in teamfights if Shadow Demon has no survivability items.
Viper
* Ball Lightning allows Storm Spirit to escape through Viper Strike, wasting Viper's mana.
* It's also very easy to wait out the duration of Nethertoxin's break.
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Shadow Demon
* Doppelganger dispels Soul Catcher and
Shadow Poison.
* Demonic Purge slow is very ineffective against Phantom Rush.
* Beware that if Shadow Demon buys Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can disable
Juxtapose, so check his inventory whenever possible.
* Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy Disruption's illusions very quickly.
Viper
* Although Viper Strike cannot be dispelled by Doppelganger, Viper's lack of mobility and AoE damage makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer.
* Viper's various slows do not work against Phantom Rush
* Although Phantom Lancer should be wary due to Nethertoxin applying a break.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer can overwhelm Viper with spawned illusions from Spirit Lance and
Doppelganger.
* Viper's various slows do not work against Phantom Rush. Additionally, it is almost impossible to keep Lancer inside Nethertoxin's radius in order to disable the passive.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
* Doom's
Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences him.
* Bloodseeker's
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's
Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge with Aghanim's Scepter cannot break
Reincarnation, which could put him in a disadvantage against Wraith King if his whole team is with him.
* In addition Shadow Demon doesn't build Diffusal Blade to burn Wraith King's mana, which is the only item that can help him against Wraith King.
* Vampiric Spirit can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, Wraith King is a single-target hero, so he cannot deal with Disruption illusions.
Viper
* Viper's Nethertoxin cannot disable Reincarnation, which could put him in disadvantage against Wraith King if his whole team is with him.
* In addition, Viper doesn't like buying Diffusal Blade, which is the only item that can help him against Wraith King.
* Wraith King's high burst damage allows him to kill Viper before being killed.
Viper
* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector,
Kunkka,
Alchemist,
Troll Warlord,
Wraith King,
Tiny,
Sven.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Lycan and
Weaver has abilities that allow them to move at maximum movement speed, and those abilities can't be dispelled, potentially wasting the slow from Demonic Purge.
* You can potentially kill a fragile Weaver by using disruption during
Shukuchi with a well-placed
Sentry Ward, wasting the Shukuchi. But odds are he'll wait to get low health,
Time Lapse the damage away and Shukuchi away once more.
Viper
* Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: Clinkz,
Pugna,
Nature's Prophet,
Dark Seer,
Lycan,
Tusk
Naga Siren
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 2%)Viper
* Naga Siren can easily disjoint, and dispel Corrosive Skin with Mirror Image.
* Since Viper is a single-target hero, he will not stand a chance against Naga Siren because she is an illusion based hero.
* However, Nethertoxin can clear her illusions quickly if Naga Siren does not micromanage them well.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 2%)Viper
* Viper's lack of escape and durability means he can be ran over in a laning stage by Spiderlings.
* Broodmother can bring Viper down quickly with Insatiable Hunger activated.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 17%)Shadow Demon
* All of Puck's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Shadow Demon will find a hard time catching a Puck, as he can get away with Illusory Orb or even
Waning Rift;
* Puck can dodge Shadow Poison waves and potentially avoid the damage from Demonic Purge with Phase Shift. Furthermore, after Disruption ended, Puck can use Phase Shift to avoid any further danger and can blink away with
Blink Dagger.
* Waning Rift can be used to initiate Shadow Demon, prevent him from using any spells.
* Puck usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova will tear apart any illusions spawned from Disruption
* Split Earth can punish improper usage of Disruption.
* Leshrac does not have any buffs that can be removed by Demonic Purge.
Additional:
* Pulse Nova makes quick work of any illusions with amplified damage, and deals damage even if Leshrac is in Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Split Earth for the enemy.
* Disruption does not stop Diabolic Edict and
Pulse Nova once they start pulsing, and even worse it provides a safe shelter for Leshrac to keep pumping up his powerful AoE damage onto the battlefield.
* Leshrac usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Leshrac out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Leshrac.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 13%)Viper
* Viper Strike can be countered through Snowball, wasting Viper's mana through his ultimate.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 1%)Viper
* Viper is an agility hero, and his item build mostly includes agility items, so Natural Order can be devastating, removing all armor and greatly decreasing the effectiveness of Corrosive Skin, weakening Viper's magic resistance. Additionally, Echo Stomp and Earth Splitter deal both magical and physical damage, and can help bringing Viper down fast.
* Aghanim's Scepter may be necessary to take Viper down due to
Nethertoxin's break.
Queen of Pain
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* All of Queen of Pain's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* However, Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Queen of Pain.
* Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from Shadow Demon's abilities if he doesn't have disables.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Sonic Wave for the enemy.
* Queen of Pain usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere or Spell Block talent to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
Ember Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption is not reliable enough to catch an Ember Spirit with a backup Fire Remnant.
* Sleight of Fist will also make quick work of the spawned illusions.
* Ember Spirit usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* The best you can do against an Ember Spirit is to dispel his Flame Guard with your Demonic Purge.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* 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).
Enigma
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 8%)Viper
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman,
Warlock
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 4%)Viper
* Ranged heroes will have a hard time hitting enemies inside Magnetic Field: Silencer,
Viper.
Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with summons or illusions to counter Flux, such as {Hero ID:Beastmaster} , Chen, or
Shadow Demon.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 4%)Viper
* Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: Clinkz,
Pugna,
Nature's Prophet,
Dark Seer,
Lycan,
Tusk
Additional:
* Clinkz does not have any passive abilities at all, making Nethertoxin nearly useless.
* Viper's Corrosive Skin provides no protection against Clinkz's physical damage output.
Beastmaster
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Viper
* Illusion or summon-based heroes can be a problem to Viper due to his lack of AoE damage: Naga Siren,
Phantom Lancer,
Beastmaster
Shadow Shaman
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman,
Warlock
Warlock
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Viper
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman,
Warlock
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: Clinkz,
Pugna,
Nature's Prophet,
Dark Seer,
Lycan,
Tusk
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's main source of damage is his low cooldown, high damage spells - meaning Last Word and Global Silence will pretty much take him out of the game for the duration.
* Shadow Demon likes to spam his abilities, which makes him vulnerable to Arcane Curse.
* If Shadow Demon dies near Silencer, he will lose intelligence, reducing his mana pool, mana regen and attack damage. Furthermore, if the game is long and Shadow Demon dies often, the intelligence losses will also reduce his spell damage.
Viper
* Heroes with damage-increasing passive abilities, such as Viper and
Riki, will usually kill Silencer in a short time before he even has time to set up his abilities.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Rage ignores all of Viper's magical damage.
* Feast and
Open Wounds combine to heal through Viper's physical damage.
Shadow Demon
* Melee carries such as Sven,
Ursa or
Lifestealer can be slowed and easily kited with Demonic Purge.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)Viper
* Viper's damage over time and lack of disables makes him easy to Sunder.
* Viper's physical damage is mitigated by Terrorblade's high armor.
* Terrorblade under Metamorphosis can quickly kill Viper with heavy physical damage.
Additional:
* Almost all of Viper's damage revolves exclusively around single-target damage-over-time effects. Furthermore, without any hard disables, Terrorblade can almost always get a Sunder off.
* Viper has low mobility and Corrosive Skin doesn't protect against physical damage, which means that Terrorblade under Metamorphosis can quickly kill Viper.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can dominate his illusions or create their own illusions of him: Dark Seer,
Morphling,
Enchantress,
Shadow Demon.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Her illusions with Desolate are very valuable, especially when they are usually paired with
Radiance. Unlike blink or force movement,
Spectral Dagger's escaping mechanic requires manual movement, and therefore Demonic Purge can hold her back really hard and allow your allies to finish her off.
* If she tries to kill you or any key ally with Haunt at any point of the game, remember to not panic and always use Disruption on the illusion, whether it is fake or the real Spectre herself. When the situation calls, Demonic Purge can save a second victim from a haunting Spectre.
* When upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can remove Spectre from a fight by disabling Desolate and
Dispersion, negating her damage and tankiness respectively.
Viper
* Nethertoxin disables Desolate and
Dispersion, leaving Spectre with far less damage output and damage mitigation in engagements.
* Spectre is one of the weakest heroes at early levels. Viper can stifle her farm with early fights before Spectre purchases any major items.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin disable passives, negating Spectre's damage and survivability by removing both
Dispersion and
Desolate.
* Due to Haunt and
Radiance's burn, Spectre is heavily susceptible to being persistently slowed and damaged by
Corrosive Skin without even directly attacking Viper.
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike further slow Spectre's movement speed to a crawl, while his improved magic resistance means he can easily shrug off
Radiance's burn.
Axe
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption will save Shadow Demon's teammates from being killed by Counter Helix or Culling Blade.
* Soul Catcher and
Shadow Poison can put Axe's Blink Dagger on cooldown.
* Demonic Purge slows Axe to a crawl, making him nearly useless after initiating. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter, it will also break Counter Helix.
Viper
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike slows Axe significantly, and puts his
Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating.
* Nethertoxin can break Counter Helix.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin prevents Counter Helix from triggering, which significantly lowers Axe's damage output in the early to mid game.
* Viper's various slows and damage over time prevents Axe from initiating as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Corrosive Skin means Viper can often outlast Venomancer in a battle of attrition.
* Venomancer has no mobility without items, which makes him vulnerable to constant slows.
Shadow Demon
* In the laning stage, making illusions of Venomancer will turn his Poison Sting back at him, making for an easy gank at level one, and for later when your mid comes for ganks.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption can save an ally from a fatal Reaper's Scythe.
* Demonic Purge can remove Ghost Shroud, making Necrophos vulnerable to physical damage and preventing him from regenerating health.
Viper
* Nethertoxin prevents Heartstopper Aura from dealing damage or healing Necrophos.
* Viper's magic damage is amplified whenever Ghost Shroud is used.
* Corrosive Skin makes Viper tankier against Death Pulse and
Reaper's Scythe.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 8%)Viper
* Nethertoxin disables Bristleback's passive.
* Viper Strike and
Poison Attack slow down Bristleback's movement speed so he's unable to get out from Nethertoxin.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin's break removes Bristleback and prevents
Warpath from building stacks. Besides losing his eponymous defensive passive, Bristleback also lose his ability to build up damage over lengthy battles.
* Viper can perpetually kite Bristleback with Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's
Soul Catcher hinders Bristleback's tanking capabilities.
Demonic Purge with
Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 18%)Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks both Necromastery and Presence of the Dark Lord, reducing his damage massively.
* Corrosive Skin gives Viper bonus Magic Resistance against Shadowraze and Requiem of Souls.
* Viper can easily take advantage of Shadow Fiend's lack of escape and mobility spells with Viper Strike and
Poison Attack. Poison Attack also serves as a great way to harass Shadow Fiend.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Mars
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks the damage block from Bulwark.
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike's slows make it difficult for Mars to contribute to fights due to his low mobility.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin breaks Bulwark entirely, making Mars far less tanky. Using Nethertoxin inside
Arena of Blood may discourage enemies from following up with Mars' initiation.
* Rod of Atos is currently common on Viper and keeps Mars in position long enough to be killed.
* Viper is not very tanky earlier in the game, so positioning against Mars is important since a well-timed Spear of Mars can be the end of Viper.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with break abilities: Nyx Assassin,
Shadow Demon (with
Aghanim's Scepter),
Viper.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback,
Spectre,
Phantom Assassin,
Enchantress,
Dragon Knight.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback,
Spectre,
Phantom Assassin,
Enchantress,
Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin,
Sven,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
Viper
* In the early game, a Dragon Knight without Black King Bar is basically defenseless against Viper.
Additional:
* Dragon Knight is easily harassed by Poison Attack after the laning stage ends.
* Corrosive Skin protects Viper from Breathe Fire and returns damage.
* Nethertoxin mitigates Dragon Blood, Dragon's Knight main source of armor and health regeneration.
* Between Poison Attack and Viper Strike, Viper can keep Dragon Knight permanently slowed even in Elder Dragon Form.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks Sniper's passives.
* Viper Strike together with
Poison Attack can slow Sniper and tears through his low health and mobility.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks Fury Swipes, making Viper a decent counter to Ursa in a laning stage.
* Viper Strike is a strong, undispellable slow, making it much easier to kite Ursa for everyone.
Shadow Demon
* Ursa struggles against heroes with strong (and especially undispellable) disables (Disruptor,
Puck,
Shadow Demon,
Outworld Destroyer and etc).
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* His Poison Attack is very useful against Huskar, since he tends to stay at low health.
* Nethertoxin disables passive skills like Berserker's Blood.
* It is dangerous for Huskar to jump on Viper because Corrosive Skin and
Viper Strike with the slowdown of movement and attack speed which usually will be deadly for Huskar.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin disables Berserker's Blood, which Huskar relies upon for attack speed and healing.
* The damage from Burning Spear and
Life Break is largely absorbed by Corrosive Skin. It also will return some damage, making it risky to use Burning Spears in the laning stage.
* Because Huskar wants to be on low health for Berserker's Blood, he is particularly vulnerable to Poison Attack.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with abilities that break Berserker's Blood, lowering Huskar's attack speed and health regeneration: Doom,
Shadow Demon,
Viper.
Alchemist
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 14%)Shadow Demon
* Alchemist is a well-known Radiance carrier among other auras your illusions will benefit from. They also get the extra move speed and reduced base attack time from his
Chemical Rage, and it's even better if you can catch him as his own rage is about to expire.
* Disruption will buy enough time for all allies to retreat when Alchemist starts to activate Unstable Concoction.
Viper
* Viper can bully Alchemist out of mid lane quite easily, forcing him to either retreat into jungle, or stay harassed in lane, and get very few last hits. Vipers break also completely disables
Greevil's greed which prevents Alchemist to earn his amazing amounts of money.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: -1.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)Viper
* Heroes that can drain mana negatively affect Viper's ability to use Poison Attack, Nethertoxin and Viper Strike: Lion,
Anti-Mage
Viper
* Viper's skill set makes him an effective early game ganker against Anti-Mage before he is sufficiently farmed.
* Viper's Corrosive Skin and low mana pool causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
* Nethertoxin disables Mana Break and Counterspell, weakening both his offense and defense.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption sets up Anti-Mage for a chain disable. The illusions will deal extra damage due to Mana Break.
* Soul Catcher causes Anti-Mage to take a large chunk of damage, and can hit him when he is inside from
Disruption.
* Shadow Poison hits Anti-Mage even after he's Blinked away.
* If Shadow Demon managed to get Aghanim's Scepter,
Demonic Purge will disable Anti-Mage's passive skills, making him more vulnerable and it cannot be dispelled.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Anti-Mage alone, Disruption's considerable cast range can become a perfect setup for any hard-disable to follow up. If he is pinned down, Anti-Mage will quickly face his demise when the illusions deplete his already low mana pool. Manta Style will easily allow him to escape, however.
* The illusions can be controlled to quickly sap mana from any other target, making Anti-Mage one of the most valuable targets to disrupt.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: -1.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove Shadow Poison before Shadow Demon can build up a big stack, or remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Viper
* Because Poison Attack has a low cooldown at all levels, Aphotic Shield is ineffective as a hard dispel.
* Nethertoxin prevents Borrowed Time from activating passively and blocks
Curse of Avernus
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon with an Aghanim's Scepter will use
Demonic Purge to disable Curse of Avernus and the passive component of Borrowed Time. If this is combined with a silence, Borrowed Time will not trigger at all.
* Even without Aghanim's Scepter, he can still waste Borrowed Time with
Disruption. Curse of Avernus fully works on illusions, turning the passive ability against him.
Sven
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 43% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin,
Sven,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback,
Spectre,
Phantom Assassin,
Enchantress,
Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin,
Sven,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
Viper
* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector,
Kunkka,
Alchemist,
Troll Warlord,
Wraith King,
Tiny,
Sven.
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector,
Kunkka,
Alchemist,
Troll Warlord,
Wraith King,
Tiny,
Sven.
Shadow Demon
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his
Astral Imprisonment, and
Shadow Demon and his
Disruption.
* Heroes with hide abilities can often dodge a Ghostship just before it hits.
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his
Astral Imprisonment, and
Shadow Demon and his
Disruption.
* A Eul's Scepter of Divinity can also do the trick, but, unlike the previously mentioned abilities, you can only use it on yourself and not your allies.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 1%)Viper
* Heroes with break can disable Untouchable for a while: Doom and
Shadow Demon (via
Aghanim's Scepter),
Viper
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with break can disable Untouchable for a while: Doom and
Shadow Demon (via
Aghanim's Scepter),
Viper
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 8%)Viper
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with ways to protect themselves or allies from Spirit Breaker's initiation: Shadow Demon
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 12%)Viper
* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector,
Kunkka,
Alchemist,
Troll Warlord,
Wraith King,
Tiny,
Sven.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 41% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption can banish Faceless Void or an ally in Chronosphere, making it less effective of an ability.
* Faceless Void's illusions created by Disruption will not get stunned by Chronosphere, allowing Shadow Demon to attack Faceless Void in his Chronosphere.
* Casting Disruption after releasing
Shadow Poison charges will make Time Walk unable to backtrack the damage.
* Shadow Poison is a good way to deal damage as the initial damage and the release damage can't both be Time Walked at the same time.
* Demonic Purge is a great slow, useful to force out a Time Walk early and can break Time Lock with
Aghanim's Scepter.
Doom
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 2%)Viper
* The slow applied from Corrosive Skin offsets the movement speed bonus granted by Scorched Earth and the tick-based damage from Infernal Blade and Doom will continually slow Doom down. This allows Viper, much like Sniper, to 'kite' Doom and keep him at a safe distance between the two. Additionally,
Corrosive Skin applies an attack-speed slow which is fairly crippling to a hero such as Doom that, naturally, has a high base attack-time, poor agility gain and builds little attack-speed items.
* Since Doom does not disable auto-cast abilities, Viper's Poison Attack will continue to work. Doom may find it hard to close the distance between himself and Viper, and thusly difficult to effectively lockdown and continually deal damage through his abilities.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 4%)Viper
* 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.
Tiny
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Tiny has low movespeed and attack speed, making him vulnerable to Viper's slows.
* Corrosive Skin provides magic resistance to lower Tiny's magic burst damage.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Assuming they have not bought anti-evasion items, attack dependent heroes such as Viper,
Ursa or
Clinkz can be a minor threat for Phantom Assassin early in the game, and may even be completely dominated by her thanks to her evasion.
Shadow Demon
* Doom,
Disruptor with
Aghanim's Scepter, and hex abilities all prevent item usage, which is a severe problem for Phantom Assassin as it prevents her from using
Black King Bar, the one item that helps protect her against the aforementioned dangers.
Doom and
Shadow Demon with
Aghanim's Scepter also disables Phantom Assassin's Evasion and Critical Strike, removing much of her damage and survivabaility.
Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks Phantom Assassin's passive skills.
* Viper Strike goes through
Black King Bar.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* Nethertoxin disables Vengeance Aura.
* Vengeful Spirit has no mobility spells aside from Nether Swap, which Viper can take advantage of with his slows.
* Viper can easily bully Vengeful Spirit out of a lane with Poison Attack.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin prevents attack damage bonus from Vengeance Aura and the components of
Nether Swap.
* Both Magic Missile and
Wave of Terror are counteracted by Corrosive Skin, making Vengeful Spirit's fighting harder against Viper.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 8%)Viper
* Corrosive Skin counters Zeus in lane by canceling the effects of
Clarity as Zeus relies on Arc Lightning to farm and secure last hits.
* Corrosive Skin also increases Viper's magic resistance to shrug off Zeus's magical nukes.
* Nethertoxin breaks Static Field.
* Due to Zeus' poor mobility, Viper Strike will cripple Zeus and will allow Viper and his teammates to land a lot of attacks.
Additional:
* Corrosive Skin severely reduces Zeus's damage output throughout the game.
* During the laning stage, Viper can abuse Zeus' reliance on spells by hugging the creep wave. Zeus will take constant damage over time from Corrosive Skin unless he drives Viper from the lane or returns to farming in his absence.
* Prior to buying Blink Dagger or
Force Staff, Zeus is fragile and possesses low mobility. Any of Viper's numerous slows can set up an easy kill.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption instantly removes Phantom Embrace, and can potentially save allies affected by Soulbind.
* Demonic Purge dispels Ink Swell.
Riki
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Viper's Nethertoxin disables Cloak and Dagger, negating Riki's invisibility and much of his damage. It also makes him more vulnerable to magic damage, which does not go well with Riki's low health pool. With the talent applied, he can't even blink to safety or hide with Tricks of the Trade.
* Corrosive Skin makes it hard for Riki to chase Viper and attack him due to the attack speed slow.
* Viper Strike stays on Riki even after he goes invisible.
* Poison Attack makes it risky for Riki to get last hits and can make the laning phase difficult for him.
Slark
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove Shadow Poison before Shadow Demon can build up a big stack, or remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with Break abilities will prevent Slark from regenerating and gaining Essence Shift stacks: Viper,
Shadow Demon etc.
Viper
* Nethertoxin negates Essence Shift and the regeneration aspect of
Shadow Dance.
* Dark Pact doesn't mean a lot against Viper's ubiquitous slows.
* Viper becomes a relevant presence in team fights before Slark can procure his standard items (e.g. Shadow Blade).
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 8%)Viper
* Nethertoxin prevents Timbersaw from gaining stacks on Reactive Armor with silence talent also prevents Timbersaw using his abilities.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 8%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's spammable illusions can be used to scout Techies' Proximity Mines. The illusion of your carries can be even used to trick Techies into detonating his precious
Remote Mines.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)Viper
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike allowing to kite and slow Earthshaker significally, putting
Blink Dagger on cooldown and preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Nethertoxin breaks Aftershock. The silence from Level 25 talent also prevents Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
Additional:
* Being a melee hero, Earthshaker's movement is liable to suppression by Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
* Earthshaker's kit, with the exception of Enchant Totem, deals magic damage. Corrosive Skin effectively blunts his killing potential with a standard Blink combo among other things.
* Nethertoxin disables Aftershock, which removes the stun and bonus damage from
Enchant Totem and
Echo Slam. Additionally the level 25 talent will silence Earthshaker, making him vulnerable to Viper's teammates without stuns.
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Viper
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage Viper takes from all of Disruptor's skills.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 13%)Viper
* Poison Attack makes it hard for Void Spirit to lane against him.
* Corrosive Skin reduces the magical damage from Void Spirit's spells.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)Viper
* Nethertoxin cancels out Kraken Shell and stops the hard dispel from passively activating, preventing Tidehunter from functioning as a frontline tank.
* Anchor Smash is mostly irrelevant against a ranged hero.
* Tidehunter relies on the threat of Ravage, which has an obscenely long cooldown. Viper can exploit the downtime with his short cooldowns.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Nethertoxin prevents the buildup of Jingu Mastery stacks.
* Viper's poison magical damage-over-time stops Monkey King from using Tree Dance. It also ignores the extra armor bestowed by Wukong's Command.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin prevents the buildup of Jingu Mastery stacks.
* Monkey King's high base movement speed is of little worth against the array of slows Viper possesses.
* All of Viper's magical damage over time stops Monkey King from using Tree Dance. It also ignores the extra armor bestowed by
Wukong's Command.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* The damage over time from Viper's Poison Attack and
Viper Strike rapidly wear down Refraction charges, allowing Templar Assassin to be damaged. Additionally,
Corrosive Skin causes her attacks to apply damage over time on her as well.
* Nethertoxin is a big threat to Templar Assassin. Her initially low range making it very hard to deal against Nethertoxin in the laning phase. At any stage of the game, a Nethertoxin can always force her to undo her Meld.
Additional:
* All of Viper's abilities quickly burn through Refraction charges.
* Templar Assassin's short range, aside from Psi Blades' spill damage, makes her vulnerable to Poison Attack harassment.
* Templar Assassin traditionally forgoes health and armor items for damage. Outside of Black King Bar, Viper will almost always be able to kill her when
Refraction is down.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 14%)Viper
* Nethertoxin breaks Multicast.
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage during Ignite and Fireblast.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)Viper
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage Viper takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Ancient Apparition's slow movement speed, squishy nature, and lack of escape abilities can easily be taken advantage of through Poison Attack and
Viper Strike.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 7%)Viper
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage from Impale and
Mana Burn.
* Nyx Assassin cannot survive several poison damage-over-time, even Spiked Carapace is activated.
* However the Vendetta break can be dangerous for Viper.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 10%)Viper
* Viper's poison abilities can slow Bounty Hunter's movement speed and allows to chase him with True Sight items.
* Nethertoxin can break Jinada, and the silence from level 25 prevents Bounty Hunter from using all of his spells.
Visage
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 1%)Viper
* Nethertoxin cuts off Gravekeeper's Cloak, Visage's primary defense mechanism.
* Viper can ignore Grave Chill's attack speed slow with his magic damage output.
Additional:
* Since Visage is a slow hero, Viper can easily kite him with
Poison Attack and
Viper Strike while successfully chipping away at Gravekeeper's Cloak.
* Nethertoxin removes all layers of Gravekeeper's Cloak, leaving Visage exposed.
* Corrosive Skin makes Viper highly resistant to Soul Assumption.
Razor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 6%)Viper
* Viper's Poison Attack and
Viper Strike that can slow Razor, and is one of the few heroes that can keep him immobile.
* Altogether, Viper's skills reduce Razor's attack speed, heavily reducing the benefit of the damage drain from Static Link.
Additional:
* Storm Surge is counteracted by Nethertoxin, leaving Razor without faster MS.
* Static Link's damage drain doesn't bother Viper a lot as most of his early to mid game damage is magical.
Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* Omniknight: An undispellable
Heavenly Grace can easily save a victim of Shadow Demon.
Viper
* Heroes who can harass Omniknight out of lane will keep him weak in the mid game: Viper,
Venomancer,
Clinkz
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can purge buffs can dispel Guardian Angel: Invoker,
Shadow Demon,
Oracle.
Additional:
* Demonic Purge can dispel Guardian Angel on the key target during combat, allow your allies to finish them.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Viper
* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector,
Kunkka,
Alchemist,
Troll Warlord,
Wraith King,
Tiny,
Sven.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)Viper
* Heroes who can easily harass Crystal Maiden out of lane in the early game (Clinkz,
Viper) can prevent Crystal Maiden from being able to level effectively, and can ultimately slow down her level 6, 12, and 18 to a point where enemy carries already have items to address her ultimate.
Luna
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes that create illusions (such as Spectre,
Shadow Demon,
Phantom Lancer,
Naga Siren,
Chaos Knight,
Terrorblade) or bring other units into the fight (such as
Nature's Prophet,
Lone Druid,
Chen,
Enchantress and the aforementioned
Meepo and
Arc Warden) can cause Eclipse to strike the illusions/summons unintentionally. (However, in many cases Moon Glaives can resolve this issue and eliminate them before activating Eclipse).
Additional:
* Demonic Purge takes off Luna's superior mobility, removing the need for chasing her and allowing your team to reposition in team fights or escape when at low HP. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Sceptre it will also take away glaive bounces and extra damage from Luna's passive.
* Luna's illusions created by Disruption are very valuable with their Moon Glaives. These will effectively counter her pushing attempts and are painfully effective in team fights.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally from Eclipse.
Windranger
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Windrun evades Poison Attack and counteracts the slow.
* Viper's low mobility makes him an easy Shackleshot target.
* Focus Fire grants Windranger significant physical damage output to quickly wear Viper down.
* Powershot is a strong harassment and zoning tool against Viper in lane.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon can waste precious seconds of Windrun with Disruption.
* Alternatively, Demonic Purge can be used to dispel it altogether, leaving her completely defenseless for 7 seconds.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally if they get stunned by Shackleshot.
Viper
* Since Windranger is bad against magical damage, heroes with continuous magical damage or magical nukes can blast her: Zeus,
Tinker,
Leshrac,
Viper,
Skywrath Mage,
Lion,
Lina,
Venomancer.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon,
Phantom Lancer,
Nature's Prophet.
Chen
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 0%)Viper
* Hand of God has a long cooldown, so damage over time spells can be hazardous for Chen, forcing him to use it prematurely: Jakiro,
Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Phoenix.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 19%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with abilities that can save teammates are also effective such as Shadow Demon,
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Bane,
Pugna,
Tusk,
Winter Wyvern,
Io,
Underlord,
Treant Protector and
Keeper of the Light.
Additional:
* Be ready to save an ally from Omnislash with your Disruption.
* Spawning Juggernaut's illusions is a great deal, as his base attack time is low and he has a critical strike. Illusions will benefit from both.
* Demonic Purge will prevent Juggernaut's desperate attempt to flee using Blade Fury. However, it cannot stop him if he is using
Town Portal Scroll.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac,
Shadow Demon,
Pugna,
Death Prophet.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 12%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: Invoker,
Shadow Demon,
Batrider
Oracle
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove Shadow Poison before Shadow Demon can build up a big stack, or remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption can protect Shadow Demon's allies from Fortune's End, preserving healing or buffs. It can also catch Oracle's allies, allowing
Shadow Poison and
Soul Catcher to be used without being dispelled.
* Demonic Purge prevents over-time healing during False Promise, such as Purifying Flames and
Urn of Shadows. If he has
Aghanim's Scepter, this issue can persist for longer or on multiple allies.
* It will not, however, prevent healing from instant abilities, items, or auras, making Mekansm a good choice against him.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: Clinkz,
Pugna,
Nature's Prophet,
Dark Seer,
Lycan,
Tusk
Shadow Demon
* The constant dispel from Demonic Purge will make any attempt to save the victim or himself by Surge become futile. For what it's worth, Demonic Purge will also dispel
Ion Shell.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* Poof will destroy Shadow Demon's illusions created by Disruption and quickly escapes from
Shadow Poison &
Demonic Purge.
Viper
* Nethertoxin prevents the lifesteal from Ransack. The silence from Viper's level 25 talent also prevents Meepo escaping with Poof.
* Meepo and his clones have a lack of magic resistance, so they're vulnerable to Poison Attack &
Viper Strike directed onto one clone.
Lina
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Dragon Slave will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Light Strike Array for the enemy.
* Lina usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Lina out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Lina.
Viper
* Nethertoxin prevents buildup of Fiery Soul stacks.
* Corrosive Skin provides magic resistance against Lina's spells.
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike can burn away Lina's small health pool.
Batrider
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* 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.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon,
Outworld Destroyer and
Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 11%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove Shadow Poison before Shadow Demon can build up a big stack, or remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can hide the Dueled target (Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Tusk,
Phoenix with
Aghanim's Scepter etc).
Additional:
* Disruption can save allies and mess up an initiation from an enemy Legion Commander. Using Disruption on your ally that is affected by Duel will leave her totally exposed without the benefit of the life steal from
Moment of Courage. A precise decision to Disrupt Legion Commander or her victim is crucial to waste Duel's potential.
* Demonic Purge cannot be dispelled by a hard dispel from Press the Attack, which in turn can be dispelled by your ultimate.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from Shadow Demon abilities, especially Demonic Purge.
* Phoenix AoE abilities remove Shadow Demon's illusions created by Disruption.
Viper
* Corrosive Skin gives Viper additional resistance to Phoenix's magical damage, and since they deal damage over time, Phoenix would be constantly afflicted by his passive's own debuff, making him not an ideal target for Phoenix's harassment. Phoenix's abilities also constantly drain its own health away, becoming more vulnerable to
Poison Attack.
Invoker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Viper
* Ice Wall and
Ghost Walk can be used to kite and escape from Viper.
* Chaos Meteor and
Sun Strike deal heavy damage and can quickly bring Viper down.
* Cold Snap,
Tornado, and
Deafening Blast are powerful disables that reduce Viper's effectiveness.
* EMP burns Viper's limited mana pool, reducing his potential poison damage.
* Forge Spirits can melt Viper's armor and reduce his durability.
Viper
* Corrosive Skin makes Viper receive less damage from Invoker's spells
* Viper can harass Invoker with his Poison Attack in the early game.
* Viper Strike and
Poison Attack can kill Invoker easily if Ghost Walk is on cooldown.
Bane
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Viper
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman,
Warlock
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Tusk,
Phoenix with
Aghanim's Scepter
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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Clockwerk, Pudge, Invoker, Shadow Shaman, Sniper
Silencer, Zeus, Faceless Void, Sniper, Sand King
Huskar, Pudge, Alchemist, Luna, Phantom Assassin
Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Tusk, Axe, Tiny
Drow Ranger, Sniper, Earthshaker, Bristleback, Riki
Tinker, Pudge, Earthshaker, Elder Titan, Gyrocopter
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Riki, Invoker, Chaos Knight
Dazzle, Ogre Magi, Invoker, Rubick, Phantom Assassin
Spirit Breaker, Outworld Devourer, Axe, Warlock, Ursa
Winter Wyvern, Lich, Ember Spirit, Underlord, Leshrac
Leshrac, Shadow Shaman, Sniper, Necrophos, Terrorblade
Abaddon, Bane, Storm Spirit, Grimstroke, Phantom Lancer
Abaddon, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition, Axe
Windranger, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Riki, Alchemist
Brewmaster, Pudge, Storm Spirit, Phantom Lancer, Oracle
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Axe, Arc Warden
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Axe, Alchemist
Luna, Vengeful Spirit, Storm Spirit, Undying, Beastmaster
Juggernaut, Zeus, Sven, Ancient Apparition, Spirit Breaker
Axe, Ancient Apparition, Bloodseeker, Clinkz, Chaos Knight
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Huskar, Queen of Pain, Earthshaker
Axe, Drow Ranger, Vengeful Spirit, Windranger, Winter Wyvern
Juggernaut, Shadow Shaman, Windranger, Meepo, Spirit Breaker
Abaddon, Alchemist, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition
Abaddon, Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden
Juggernaut, Ember Spirit, Shadow Shaman, Ogre Magi, Brewmaster
Shadow Shaman, Spirit Breaker, Sniper, Wraith King, Earthshaker
Invoker, Grimstroke, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Phantom Assassin
Treant Protector, Puck, Vengeful Spirit, Shadow Fiend, Anti-Mage
Phantom Assassin, Wraith King, Skywrath Mage, Silencer, Shadow Fiend
Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Invoker, Phantom Lancer, Vengeful Spirit
Shadow Demon
* 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.
Nether Blast for the enemy.
Life Drain can be used to heal Pugna or an ally to save them from Shadow Demon's abilities.
*
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a
*
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Pugna buys defensive items.
Viper
* 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.
Life Drain and Viper has no solutions to cancel it.
*
* 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
* Pugna has no passive abilities, which renders Nethertoxin nearly useless.