Silencer
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: 2.0 (winrate: 41% pickrate: 4%)Bristleback
* Time Dilation prevents Bristleback from spamming his low-cooldown abilities, greatly reducing his damage and effectiveness.
* Chronosphere allows allies to resposition and hit Bristleback from the front, bypassing his defensive bonus from behind.
* Bristleback has no way to prevent Faceless Void from using Time Walk.
Additional:
* Time Dilation while Quill Spray and
Viscous Nasal Goo are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, rendering Bristleback nearly useless.
* Bristleback cannot turn inside the Chronosphere, which makes it easy to attack him from the front, completely bypassing his passive damage reduction.
Witch Doctor
* Beware of placing the Death Ward if Chronosphere is off cooldown, as it will cancel the effect and leave Witch Doctor vulnerable if he does not react in time.
Undying
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Witch Doctor
* Generally, any fragile heroes will have a hard time dealing with Undying's tankiness, and even more so if Decay is used on them. Some examples are Crystal Maiden and
Witch Doctor.
Bristleback
* Undying's Decay is a dangerous ability against Bristleback, as it makes him more vulnerable and reduces his tankiness.
* Undying's Tombstone together with Flesh Golem can slow Bristleback down significantly.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Witch Doctor's Maledict burst damage can be prevented by Sunder, if timed correctly.
* Death Ward deals physical damage, and Terrorblade's high armor can help him survive against Death Ward.
* However, be careful that Paralyzing Cask is commonly tricky to dodge as Terrorblade, due to his reliance of illusions, and
Maledict can kill Terrorblade if he has no target to be Sundered with, especially in the early game.
Bristleback
* Terrorblade's
Sunder is not affected by the Bristleback damage reduction.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
Bristleback
* Phantom's Embrace silences Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray.
* Ink Swell stuns Bristleback and gets allies in position faster with increased movement speed to attack his front, countering his passive ability.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes like Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Bristleback
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw,
Bristleback,
Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with slow movement speeds and small health pools (supports like Crystal Maiden or
Witch Doctor) are easy targets for Phoenix. Should they be inflicted by its DOT debuffs, they will be very quickly killed without even getting a chance to fight back.
Bristleback
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray: Axe,
Pudge,
Bristleback,
Mars.
Lina
[wiki] rating: 1.2 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)Bristleback
* Heroes who deal single instance burst damage will only proc Bristleback once: Lina,
Lion.
Witch Doctor
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with
Death Ward and
Bane's
Fiend's Grip.
Additional:
* Light Strike Array cancels out Death Ward from a long distance.
Razor
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 4%)Bristleback
* Eye of the Storm melts Bristleback's armor, and makes him much less tanky.
* Static Link can completely drain Bristleback's bonus damage from Warpath.
Additional:
* Eye of the Storm melts Bristleback's armor, and makes him much less tanky.
* Static Link can completely drain Bristleback's bonus damage from Warpath.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 17%)Bristleback
* Sanity's Eclipse only triggers Bristleback's passive once, and deals high damage against Bristleback's low intelligence.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 18%)Witch Doctor
* Wraithfire Blast cancels Death Ward in decent range.
* Death Ward is meaningless while Reincarnation is off cooldown.
* Vampiric Aura can out-heal the {tooltip:DoT|Damage over Time} from Maledict.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Witch Doctor
* Sacred Arrow can be used to interrupt Death Ward from a safe distance, forcing him to cancel it to dodge or get hit.
* Paralyzing Cask is a slow-moving stun, and Mirana can Leap away from her allies to keep it from bouncing.
* Witch Doctor has low health and can easily be killed with an Aghanim's Scepter combo or just when hit with an arrow.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's tankiness doesn't help him very much against Fury Swipes in long teamfights.
* With no escape mechanism and a slow movement speed, getting jumped on by Ursa usually spell a quick end for Bristleback in the early game.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* Kraken Shell dispels the stun from Paralyzing Cask. However, it does not dispel the damage from Maledict.
* Once Witch Doctor first uses his Death Ward in team fights, Tidehunter can simply cancel it with Ravage, turning the tables against him, especially if Witch Doctor does not have a
Black King Bar.
* As a precaution, let Tidehunter use Ravage first before channeling Death Ward to turn a team fight in your favor.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 1%)Witch Doctor
* Guardian Angel protects allies from Death Ward's physical damage.
* Purification and
Heavenly Grace will most likely save teammates from dying to Maledict.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Reaper's Scythe and
Heartstopper Aura deal percentage-based damage, ignoring Bristleback's high health.
* Heartstopper Aura's HP removal does not trigger Bristleback's passive.
Additional:
* Heartstopper Aura deals percentage-based damage flagged as HP removal, so it is not reduced by Bristleback, nor does it trigger passive
Quill Sprays.
* Reaper's Scythe is very effective against Bristleback not only due to its percentage-based damage, but rather because it first stuns and then deals its damage, allowing Necrophos to position in front of Bristleback in time.
Witch Doctor
* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Warlock or
Shadow Fiend.
Bristleback
* Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include Bristleback (although only from behind),
Spectre,
Ursa, and
Dragon Knight.
Lion
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Bristleback
* Mana Drain is a headache for Bristleback to deal with during the laning stage, as it denies him the ability to get last hits with Quill Spray.
* Finger of Death deals high damage to Bristleback, and only triggers his passive once.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Bristleback
* Shukuchi gets Weaver in front of Bristleback, negating the protection from the Bristleback passive.
* Weaver's mana break talent depletes Bristleback's mana pool, preventing him from spamming abilities.
Hoodwink
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's passive Bristleback can be disabled by Hoodwink's
Sharpshooter ability for a long period of time
Lich
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 11%)Bristleback
* Sinister Gaze forces Bristleback to face Lich, exposing him to damage.
* Lich's plethora of slows make it easy to kite Bristleback.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Bristleback
* Guardian Sprint allows Slardar to outrun Bristleback, even when slowed by Viscous Nasal Goo.
* Corrosive Haze's armor reduction makes Bristleback much less tanky.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Bristleback
* Whirling Death deals damage as well while reducing 15% of Bristleback's strength, which reduces Bristleback's tankiness.
* Reactive Armor can sustain through multiple Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray stacks.
* Timber Chain makes it hard for Bristleback to slow down Timbersaw with Viscous Nasal Goo.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Vengeful Spirit has two abilities to interrupt Death Ward, even through Black King Bar.
Mars
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's reliance on physical damage with Quill Spray is negated by Bulwark.
* Mars can knock back Bristleback to prevent him from chasing down allies with Viscous Nasal Goo.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 12%)Bristleback
* Duel makes Bristleback fight Legion Commander face to face, forcing him to take full damage.
* Press the Attack dispels the slow from stacks of Viscous Nasal Goo.
Additional:
* When dueled, Bristleback will have to face Legion head on, not allowing his passive Bristleback to come into effect.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 14%)Bristleback
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Bristleback small mana pool, preventing him from spamming Viscous Nasal Goo and
Quill Sprays.
* Bristleback has no innate mobility. Bristleback is easily kited by Blink, ignoring the protection from Bristleback.
Additional:
* Mana Break quickly depletes Bristleback's low mana, denying him the ability to spam Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo.
* Bristleback has no way to prevent Anti-Mage from using Blink.
Morphling
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 13%)Witch Doctor
* Morphling can Attribute Shift to strength after being hit by Maledict. Since Maledict deals its damage based on the difference between HP on cast and HP after two seconds, odds are Morphling will have more HP than when Maledict was cast, thus resulting in no damage.
* On the upside, players prone to panicked reactions may Morph to agility, making Maledict even more efficient than intended.
* Adaptive Strike (Strength) can interrupt Death Ward at a decent range.
Visage
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 1%)Witch Doctor
* Stone Form can easily interrupt heroes with long channeling spells, like Crystal Maiden,
Bane,
Witch Doctor, or
Enigma.
Bane
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor,
Death Prophet,
Enigma,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Lich,
Magnus,
Mars,
Medusa,
Outworld Destroyer,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Fiend,
Treant Protector,
Underlord,
Winter Wyvern,
Witch Doctor,
Zeus.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 15%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
Windranger
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Witch Doctor
* Death Ward's first target (before it bounces) can evade it, therefore Windranger and
Phantom Assassin are poor choices to use it on.
* However, once the first hit landed, the bounces can no longer miss. Don't forget to manually aim for a target with no evasion !
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes who rely on channeling abilities can be interrupted in teamfights by Rolling Thunder: Crystal Maiden,
Pugna,
Witch Doctor
Batrider
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Batrider's turn rate slow from
Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with channeled abilities which Assassinate may cancel at long range: Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Shadow Shaman,
Pugna
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 15%)Witch Doctor
* Death Ward's first target (before it bounces) can evade it, therefore Windranger and
Phantom Assassin are poor choices to use it on.
* However, once the first hit landed, the bounces can no longer miss. Don't forget to manually aim for a target with no evasion !
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with long channeling abilities like Witch Doctor are easy targets for Kunkka to interrupt in team fights.
Additional:
* Torrent can cancel Death Ward from a far distance.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high health targets such as Bristleback.
* Doom disables Bristleback's low cooldown abilities, preventing him from triggering Warpath. With
Aghanim's Scepter, it also breaks Bristleback's passive, rendering him more vulnerable.
Additional:
* Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high HP targets such as Bristleback.
* If Doom gets an Aghanim's Scepter, he can disable
Bristleback, taking away much of his durability.
* Doom prevents Bristleback from casting his two low cooldown abilities, which then prevents him from utilizing Warpath.
Witch Doctor
* Heroes with the ability to heal allies, or those with good defensive abilities: (Chen,
Dazzle,
Io,
Oracle,
Omniknight,
Witch Doctor,
Winter Wyvern, (
Abaddon, etc.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 1%)Bristleback
* Lone Druid and The Spirit Bear cannot burst down Bristleback due to Bristleback
* Bristleback can easily run to Lone Druid without any hesitation, with Viscous Nasal Goo to reduce armor and slow the Spirit Bear or Lone Druid and
Quill Spray can deal damage to both Lone Druid and the Spirit Bear at the same time
Witch Doctor
* Paralyzing Cask is likely to bounce between him and his bear every single time.
* Lone Druid's lack of mobility makes him vulnerable to Death Ward and Maledict.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Chaos Knight's Phantasms.
Witch Doctor
* Maledict cannot be dispelled by Phantasm, and can be used to tag the real Chaos Knight hiding within his illusions.
* If Witch Doctor has an Aghanim's Scepter,
Death Ward will bounce between Chaos Knight's illusions, destroying them quickly.
* However, Death Ward is easily interrupted by Chaos Bolt until Witch Doctor buys
Glimmer Cape or
Black King Bar.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Paralyzing cask bounces between him and his wolves, keeping him stunned for long amounts of time.
Bristleback
* Lycan's wolves deal little damage to Bristleback, and are easily killed by Quill Spray, even when they're invisible.
* Lycan's lack of burst damage makes it very hard for him to kill Bristleback, especially when his back is turned.
Additional:
* Quill Spray can be used to kill Lycan's summons.
* Bristleback allows him to stay alive against Lycan while dishing out counter attacks
* He can overpower Lycan with his Warpath instead.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Heroes with damage-over-time abilities will not only proc Bristleback's passive continuously, they will also do little harm to him when he is facing away from the source: Venomancer,
Arc Warden
Witch Doctor
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Poison Nova and
Poison Sting.
Tiny
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 6%)Bristleback
* Bristleback decreases Tiny's high burst damage against Bristleback.
* Tiny's high damage will also proc Bristleback multiple times.
* Viscous Nasal Goo can help counteract the bonus armor granted by Grow.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 1%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray usually hits Meepo's clones, although Bristleback cannot turn his back when rooted with Earthbind.
Io
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray is very effective against Io, as it has very low armor and has to stay close to the fight to not break its Tether.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 14%)Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo can hinder Crystal Maiden's already abysmal mobility, which allows Bristleback (or his teammates) to run her down and kill her.
* Bristleback frequently builds Blade Mail, which can quickly kill Crystal Maiden if her ultimate is used while he is under its effect.
* The passive part of Bristleback will trigger many, many times under the damage from Freezing Field, and as the stacks increase, the damage output from each successive cast (or proc) will eat away at Crystal Maiden's small HP pool.
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's tankiness and damage reduction from the rear makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to chase and finish off, due to his lack of burst damage.
* Quill Spray destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bristleback's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with
Diffusal Blade.
Additional:
* Quill Spray cleans up Phantom Lancer's illusions in no time.
* Phantom Lancer's complete lack of burst damage makes it nearly impossible for him to kill Bristleback during chases.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)Bristleback
* Macropyre's frequent damage ticks causes Bristleback to activate repeatedly, resulting in free damage as long as Bristleback faces away from Jakiro.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's tankiness and Bristleback allow him to outlast Burning Spears' damage-over-time at almost any point in the game. In addition, if Huskar chooses to cast Life Break on Bristleback, Bristleback can simply turn around before it hits and receive little damage.
* Viscous Nasal Goo will reduce Huskar's low armor even further, and
Quill Spray and
Warpath will tear him down extremely quickly.
Additional:
* The damage from Burning Spear can be reduced by turning away from Huskar.
* Bristleback can bait Huskar into using Life Break on him, then turn around and receive very little damage.
Dark Willow
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray's constant AoE damage will hit Dark Willow even in Shadow Realm. Its automatic damage will hurt her if she tries to get close and use Bedlam.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Bristleback
* 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.
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter Bloodseeker's Thirst.
* Rupture is generally useless against Witch Doctor while he is staying on Death Ward.
* Although Witch Doctor needs to be careful as Blood Rite can interrupt Death Ward.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 6%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's tankiness can enable him to chase Enigma out of a teamfight, making it difficult to initiate with a Black Hole.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter,
Bristleback,
Slardar.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback,
Clinkz,
Luna,
Shadow Fiend,
Slardar
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Bristleback
* Heroes who continue dealing damage while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Pudge
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 19%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes that have a channeled ability can be interrupted by Meat Hook: Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
Additional:
* Meat Hook interrupts Death Ward from a decent range, even through
Black King Bar &
Glimmer Cape.
* Pudge can survive the damage from Maledict because of his Flesh Heap stacks.
* However the damage-over-time from Rot is counteracted by Voodoo Restoration.
Bristleback
* Bristleback is one of the hardest heroes to gank with a Meat Hook and
Dismember combo, and attempts to do so sometimes backfire on Pudge.
Additional:
* Pudge is particularly susceptible to Bristleback's Viscous Nasal Goo and
Quill Spray due to his naturally low armor & poor agility gain.
* Bristleback, in combination with his strength gain, high health, common itemization for magic resistance and damage reduction from Bristleback makes him a poor target for Pudge.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Bristleback
* Shadow Demon's
Soul Catcher hinders Bristleback's tanking capabilities.
Demonic Purge with
Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passive.
Witch Doctor
* 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.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Witch Doctor
* Arc Warden's
Magnetic Field dodges all damage from Death Ward. Should he choose to buy a
Necronomicon, they are quite effective to absorb some shots from your cask, and attack you during Death Ward.
Bristleback
* Bristleback need not worry about charging into Magnetic Field, and quickly clearing up Arc Warden's summons and
Tempest Double with Quill Spray.
Additional:
* Bristleback activates frequently while he escapes from Arc Warden's Necronomicon army.
* Arc Warden has little armor and mobility, which makes him an easy target to apply Quill Spray and
Viscous Nasal Goo stacks.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 2%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with plenty of summons, such as Broodmother or
Nature's Prophet can have their minions soak up most of your Paralyzing Cask.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray destroys spiderlings, and hits Broodmother even when she's regenerating in her webs. This makes Bristleback one of her hardest counters in lane.
Additional:
* Bristleback reduces most of Broodmother's and her spiderlings' damage.
* Quill Spray will hit any spiders in its proximity, hindering Broodmother's fighting and farming capabilities.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 7%)Witch Doctor
* Heroes with plenty of summons, such as Broodmother or
Nature's Prophet can have their minions soak up most of your Paralyzing Cask.
Bristleback
* Heroes that have AoE damage: Lina,
Keeper of the Light,
Timbersaw,
Leshrac,
Bristleback,
Axe
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 17%)Witch Doctor
* Every ability Witch Doctor has is useful when Rubick manages to steal any of them:
* Paralyzing Cask provides an additional disable apart from Telekinesis and also helps Rubick to farm.
* Voodoo Restoration provides utility by healing Rubick and his team, since he has no heal of his own.
* Maledict is a solid damage-over-time nuke, which can be devastating to the enemy team.
* And most importantly, Death Ward is one of the best teamfight spells in the game. It also requires channeling, which makes it easy for Rubick to steal. And when combined with
Aghanim's Scepter, this can prove deadly to the enemy team.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will always toggle Voodoo Restoration while channeling
Death Ward to prevent that.
Additional:
* Rubick can steal Death Ward easily as it is a channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will toggle Voodoo Restoration immediately after placing his Death Ward to prevent that.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's abilities are nearly useless for Rubick to Spell Steal, as he does not gain the bonuses from Warpath.
Additional:
* Rubick deals little damage on his own, so Bristleback can simply shrug off all his spells and chase you down with his spells and attacks.
* Quill Spray requires multiple casts and close range to add up stacks. Because Rubick does not stay in the front lines, it's generally not a good spell for him to steal.
* Viscous Nasal Goo will slow Rubick down even further and reduce his armor, making him vulnerable to Quill Spray and the damage bonus from
Warpath.
Viper
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* 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.
Witch Doctor
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Viper abilities.
* Viper has no way to cancel Death Ward, even through Rod of Atos.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 9%)Bristleback
* Axe forces Bristleback to turn around with
Berserker's Call, allowing allies to attack him without fear of his passive.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can slow and kite Axe will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback,
Crystal Maiden,
Batrider,
Arc Warden,
Winter Wyvern,
Clockwerk
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Witch Doctor
* Death Ward does little damage against Dragon Knight's armor, and Dragon Knight's high health regeneration minimizes damage from
Maledict.
Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.
Riki
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 15%)Witch Doctor
* Without Dust of Appearance or Sentry Wards, Riki is able to silence Witch Doctor with Smoke Screen, and is likely to build a Diffusal Blade, leaving Witch Doctor without mana to cast Voodoo Restoration, as well as Skull Basher to interrupt Death Ward.
Bristleback
* The bonus Backstab damage from Cloak and Dagger is rendered irrelevant with Bristleback and hurts Riki more than him because of the passive Quill Spray.
* Riki still gets damaged by Bristleback's Quill Spray while invisible, and it can be hard to deal with in lane.
* Bristleback is not too bothered by Smoke Screen. Though he cannot use Quill Spray manually inside it, it still procs passively when he takes damage from the back. The movement speed from Warpath allows him to get out of the area easily.
* Due to Bristleback's natural tankiness, he is an ideal Gem of True Sight carrier.
* Riki rarely buys Silver Edge to break Bristleback's passive because the invisibility aspect of it is redundant.
Additional:
* Quill Spray will hit Riki even when he is invisible.
* Cloak and Dagger's bonus backstab damage is rendered irrelevant against Bristleback.
* Smoke Screen does not stop Bristleback's passive from activating.
* Due to Bristleback's natural tankiness, he is an ideal Gem of True Sight carrier, directly countering Riki's invisibility.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* It is especially easy for Oracle to negate the damage from Maledict, and even heal through it with Fate's Edict and
Purifying Flames.
* If by some miracle an enemy is still about to die because of Maledict, he can still save him with False Promise.
Bristleback
* Fortune's End cannot dispel Warpath stacks on Bristleback or
Quill Spray stacks on allies.
* Bristleback can heavily reduce Oracle's damage output. With it, Oracle may accidentally heal Bristleback with Purifying Flames, especially if Bristleback has bonus magic resistance.
Luna
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Witch Doctor
* Lucent Beam interrupts Death Ward from a decent range.
* Eclipse kills Witch Doctor during Death Ward, even through
Glimmer Cape.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray and
Bristleback harass Luna more efficiently than she does with Lucent Beam.
* Bristleback withstands Luna’s nukes, and gives lots of damage in return.
* Viscous Nasal Goo and
Warpath are enough to outrun a speedy Luna.
* Bristleback tends to be a frequent carrier of Crimson Guard, which is good protection from bouncing glaives.
Additional:
* Multiple instances of damage from Eclipse will trigger Bristleback's passive repeatedly in a short time, dealing tremendous damage to Luna and her teammates.
* Luna's damage burst may be high, but it will not be enough for her to take down Bristleback.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 5%)Witch Doctor
* Fragile supports with low armor are always a good prey, also her Psionic Trap will wear down most attempts to flee with their built-in disables: Silencer,
Crystal Maiden,
Warlock,
Ancient Apparition,
Grimstroke,
Witch Doctor
Witch Doctor
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo,
Witch Doctor,
Lycan,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes that can quickly deal damage to her, regardless of how weak they are, can easily break through her Refraction:
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo,
Witch Doctor,
Lycan,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman
* Multiple attackers thanks to illusions: Phantom Lancer,
Chaos Knight,
Naga Siren (bonus for her
Ensnare). Also despite the visual effects, Templar Assassin does not spill damage against illusions or buildings, so she is not a really good hero to clean up illusions.
* Weak damage but high tick rate or persist in a long time: Slark,
Gyrocopter,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Shaman (
Shackles),
Pugna
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Witch Doctor
* Paralyzing Cask's short stun rarely prevents Monkey King from ambushing Witch Doctor.
* Death Ward's long channel is easily interrupted by Boundless Strike.
Witch Doctor
* Another hero that should not leave a special circle for his ultimate. The only thing to be afraid is Boundless Strike.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 18%)Witch Doctor
* Low health spellcasters: Lina,
Witch Doctor,
Tinker,
Keeper of the Light, all rely heavily on their spells and are fragile heroes. They all also have avoidable spells, allowing Puck to get to them and quickly burst them down.
Bristleback
* 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.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 9%)Witch Doctor
* Low mobility heroes: Heroes with no/little means of traveling fast have difficulty getting to/away from Bounty Hunter due to his slowing Jinada and hastening Track. Few examples of such heroes are: Crystal Maiden,
Sniper,
Ursa,
Witch Doctor, etc.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's
Viscous Nasal Goo can catch and slow Bounty Hunter.
Warpath and
Quill Spray can defeat him quickly due to his small HP pool when compared to Bristleback's.
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.
Dota 2 is a registered trademark of Valve Corporation. This site is not affiliated with Valve Corporation. All game images and names are property of Valve Corporation.
Most popular searches list
Slark, PudgeDazzle, Pudge
Techies, Spectre
Tusk, Elder Titan
Bounty Hunter, Huskar
Axe, Legion Commander
Ancient Apparition, Abaddon
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage
Axe, Techies, Spectre
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition
Kunkka, Axe, Grimstroke
Phantom Assassin, Crystal Maiden
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Pugna
Slark, Pudge, Ancient Apparition
Faceless Void, Drow Ranger, Slark
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Bane
Abaddon, Alchemist, Ancient Apparition
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage
Pudge, Invoker, Drow Ranger, Weaver
Abaddon, Alchemist, Arc Warden, Bane
Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Axe, Dark Willow
Dazzle, Witch Doctor, Bristleback, Spectre
Riki, Crystal Maiden, Visage, Treant Protector
Anti-Mage, Abaddon, Axe, Bane, Batrider
Riki, Invoker, Bristleback, Sniper, Lion
Crystal Maiden, Magnus, Enigma, Sven, Luna
Weaver, Invoker, Pudge, Lich, Ember Spirit
Sniper, Slark, Troll Warlord, Visage, Ursa
Ogre Magi, Ursa, Troll Warlord, Meepo, Lich
Ogre Magi, Treant Protector, Necrophos, Chaos Knight
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden
Gyrocopter, Riki, Slardar, Bloodseeker, Meepo
Faceless Void, Tinker, Lion, Brewmaster, Pudge
Riki, Legion Commander, Tiny, Invoker, Spectre
Alchemist, Lina, Lycan, Luna, Nature's Prophet
Pudge, Zeus, Lich, Juggernaut, Centaur Warrunner
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
Witch Doctor
* Like any hero with a channeled spell,
Last Word is a counter to it.
Global Silence goes through spell immunity and prevents Witch Doctor from casting his spells.
*
Bristleback
*
Arcane Curse stacks every time Bristleback uses an ability, forcing him to stop spamming his abilities, or take heavy health degeneration.
Glaives of Wisdom steals intelligence both permanently and temporarily, causing mana issues for Bristleback .
Last Word and
Global Silence stops Bristleback from using his abilities altogether.
Viscous Nasal Goo or
Quill Spray while silenced, effectively blocking a major part of the hero's damage and preventing
Warpath charges from stacking.
*
*
Additional:
* Bristleback will not be able to cast
* Arcane Curse slows Bristleback down and lasts longer the more abilities he uses. On the other hand, if he doesn't use any abilitiess, he will begin to lose Warpath charges.