Ancient Apparition
* Riki can get on top of Ancient Apparition very easily with 
Blink Strike. This can also double as a way to dodge Ice Blast, along with 
Tricks of the Trade.
* Ancient Apparition will frequently resort to casting Ice Blast right before dying. 
Smoke Screen can be used to prevent this, stopping Ancient Apparition from having any impact.
Medusa
* With Smoke Screen, Riki will silence and catch Medusa in a surprise with high miss chance flushing her from positions easily in team fights.
* He can deal a huge amount of damage through 
Cloak and Dagger, even through Mana Shield.
Ancient Apparition
* As Ancient Apparition likes to stay far away from the fight to get full effectiveness from 
Ice Blast, he is a very good target for a 
Haunt gank.
* Ancient Apparition also has no hard disables and escape spells, making him an easy kill for Spectre.
Medusa
* Heroes that build 
Diffusal Blade or can fit it well into their item build will also make Medusa much less tanky: 
Riki, 
Naga Siren, 
Terrorblade, 
Juggernaut, 
Spectre, 
Slark.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: 
Invoker, 
Silencer, 
Nyx Assassin, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Lion and etc.
Medusa
* With her passive 
Split Shot, Medusa can be easily interrupted by Spiked Carapace during combat, especially during her precious 
Stone Gaze.
* Mana Burn quickly destroys 
Mana Shield, especially if Medusa only increases her mana pool by bolstering intelligence (which has the added bonus of increasing Mana Burn's damage).
* Uncontrollable damage from 
Mystic Snake and Split Shot can trigger Spiked Carapace.
* 
Medusa lacks single target damage, making a Burrowed Nyx Assassin hard to kill.
Additional:
* 
Vendetta burns a significant amount of mana on hit, and the damage from the ability drains Medusa's mana pool even further.
* Due to the passive nature of Mystic Snake and Split Shot, it can possibly proc Nyx's 
Spiked Carapace if he's within range of Medusa's abilities and isn't invisible.
* Medusa lacks single target damage, making Nyx with 
Aghanim's Scepter extremely hard to deal with if Medusa is the team's main damage source.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker, Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Shadow Shaman, Lion and etc.
Medusa
* Silencer burns easily through her effective HP from Mana Shield, by taking away her intelligence.
* 
Arcane Curse punishes her repeatedly casting Mystic Snake to keep her mana pool high. He can force her to use 
Manta Style before he has cast 
Global Silence and Medusa usually does not want to build 
Black King Bar.
Ancient Apparition
* Since Primal Beast is highly mobile with Onslaught alone, he will be difficult to catch with both 
Cold Feet and Ice Blast.
* Ice Blast is less effective due to Primal Beast's massive health pool and resistance to taking damage.
* While 
Chilling Touch can be used to slow Primal Beast briefly, it is not enough to beat him back, and can also contribute to his Uproar stacks.
* Primal Beast has a dispel talent at level 15 that will remove Cold Feet immediately when Uproar is used.
Medusa
* Hard carries who just want to farm and be left alone will not appreciate Primal Beast, heroes such as Medusa, 
Drow Ranger...
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker, Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Shadow Shaman, Lion and etc.
Medusa
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Medusa's mana to weaken Mana Shield.
* Medusa's lack of mobility makes her easy to kite with Invoker's spells.
Additional:
* 
E.M.P. is a large mana burn nuke which can hit Medusa's Mana shield with enough damage to lose even more mana.
* 
Deafening Blast disarms Medusa's ability to deal pseudo-AOE damage during teamfights.
* 
Cold Snap allows the opposing team to repeatedly stun Medusa in short succession, preventing her from successfully casting her ultimate due to its long cast time.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Dissimilate and 
Astral Step allow Void Spirit to quickly escape from Cold Feet.
* Void Spirit deals both magical and physical damage, which makes Ancient Apparition an easy target to ambush.
* If Void Spirit purchases Aghanim's Scepter, the silence provided by 
Resonant Pulse can disrupt Ancient Apparition during fights, as he is entirely reliant upon spells to contribute.
Medusa
* Heroes who take a long time to become strong are in for a rough mid game, such as 
Outworld Destroyer, 
Magnus, Medusa, and 
Anti-Mage.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Finger of Death can instantly shred many targets, especially fragile Heroes like 
Keeper of the Light, 
Ancient Apparition or 
Bounty Hunter.
Medusa
* Medusa lacks mobility or escape mechanisms. 
Earth Spike and 
Hex can neutralize her strong damage potential and allow for Lion's team to focus her down.
* In addition to easily breaking her commonly bought 
Linken's Sphere with its low cooldown, 
Mana Drain can quickly drain her Mana Shield, making her far less tanky.
* Mana Drain, along with Hex, destroy illusions instantly, which may be extremely helpfull and efficient against core builders of Manta Style, like Medusa herself.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Sunder allows Terrorblade (or an ally) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Terrorblade often buys Manta Style which can dispel Cold Feet.
Additional:
* Sunder is not affected by Ice Blast and will still swap health with any target as usual.
Medusa
* Heroes that build Diffusal Blade or can fit it well into their item build will also make Medusa much less tanky: Riki, Naga Siren, Terrorblade, Juggernaut, Spectre, Slark.
Ancient Apparition
* Phantom Lancer can dispel or escape from Cold Feet with 
Doppelganger and 
Phantom Rush, respectively. Phantom Lancer also frequently builds a Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition has trouble dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions due to a lack of Area of Effect damage other than Ice Blast.
* Phantom Lancer tends to build a Diffusal Blade, which greatly amplifies his damage against Ancient Apparition due to Ancient Apparition's high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape/mobility mechanisms, making him an easy target for Phantom Lancer at any stage of the game.
Medusa
* Phantom Lancer with Diffusal Blade will very quickly burn Medusa's mana, making Mana Shield significantly less effective.
* Doppelganger's 1 second invulnerability can be used to dodge Medusa's petrification from Stone Gaze, as well as Mystic Snake.
* Phantom Lancer's illusions outnumber Medusa's targets from Split Shot, likely shielding his team in the process.
Ancient Apparition
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* 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 and mutes 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.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, 
Queen of Pain, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Windranger, Bounty Hunter, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Night Stalker, 
Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Medusa
* Heroes that build Diffusal Blade or can fit it well into their item build will also make Medusa much less tanky: Riki, Naga Siren, Terrorblade, Juggernaut, Spectre, Slark.
Medusa
* He can use either his own or his double's 
Flux to bypass the spellblock from Linken's Sphere, using the leftover Flux + 
Spark Wraith to slow Medusa's already low move speed to a crawl.
* Arc Warden has a farming advantage with double 
Hand of Midas, and can generally bully Medusa with other items that benefit from duplication.
Ancient Apparition
* 
False Promise can dispel the stun from Cold Feet and can save an ally that's about to shatter from Ice Blast, even allowing healing with 
Purifying Flames by delaying it until after the debuff expires.
* Purifying Flames allows Oracle to deny his allies if they're affected by Ice Blast. If he brings his allies' health to or below the shatter threshold, it will count as him denying the ally. However, this does not work on Oracle himself.
* 
Fate's Edict provides 100% magic resistance, making it good against all of Ancient Apparition's abilities at all stages of the game.
* 
Fortune's End can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
Additional:
* False Promise can prevent the shatter from Ice Blast and Fate's Edict can protect an ally from the magical damage over time for a while.
* Oracle can deny allies who are frostbitten. If he uses Purifying Flames to reach the shatter threshold, it will count as a deny.
* Fortune's End can dispel Cold Feet on affected allies, preventing them from getting frozen.
Medusa
* Fiend's Grip provides mana drain, which can heavily damage Mana Shield and prevent Medusa from using Stone Gaze.
* Even if she does use Stone Gaze, Nightmare can buy enough time to protect allies and reset the fight.
Additional:
* 
Fiend's Grip leaves Medusa defenseless, since not only does it deal damage, it also drains mana.
Ancient Apparition
* 
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.
Ancient Apparition
* Cold Feet is extremely easy to nullify with Shukuchi.
* 
Ice Vortex does not slow Weaver in Shukuchi.
* Time Lapse will still affect his health, even when hit by Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition has no escapes or saves and is very squishy, making him an easy target for Weaver to get on top of.
Additional:
* 
Time Lapse allows Weaver (or an ally if upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* 
Shukuchi completely ignores the slow from Ice Vortex and helps him escape the freeze range of Cold Feet.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Primal Split makes Brewmaster invulnerable for the duration, rendering effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast useless.
* 
Dispel Magic can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
* Brewmaster can easily run Ancient Apparition down with the slow from 
Thunder Clap and 
Cinder Brew.
Medusa
* Medusa's tankiness doesn't help her very much against Fury Swipes in long teamfights.
* With no escape mechanism and a slow movement speed, getting jumped on by Ursa usually spells a quick end for Medusa in the early game.
Additional:
* Ursa's status resistance from 
Enrage reduces duration of Medusa's Stone Gaze.
* Ursa can stack damage with 
Fury Swipes easily against her Mana Shield in a prolonged team match.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Leap allows Mirana to easily escape the freezing range of Cold Feet. Mirana also tends to build Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* During 
Moonlight Shadow, the invisibility makes it hard to catch Mirana's team with Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition's lack of mobility/escape capabilities makes him an easy target for Mirana at any stage of the game.
Medusa
* Medusa is a fairly immobile hero that deals damage around her with Split Shot. Sniper should outrange her and should stay out of harm's way from Split Shot.
* More importantly, Sniper should have enough attack range to fire at Medusa during her Stone Gaze without turning to stone, so the ultimate is mostly wasted against him.
Additional:
* Sniper can outrange both Medusa's arrows and Stone Gaze, allowing him to focus her down during a teamfight.
Ancient Apparition
* Ancient Apparition's only skill to stop Storm Spirit is Cold Feet, which is bad in general when trying to stop a Storm Spirit without any other disable.
* As a fragile support with low Strength gain and no magic resistance, Ancient Apparition is vulnerable to Storm Spirit's combos.
Medusa
* With 
Static Link, Razor can effectively make Medusa useless in teamfights by reducing her main damage output. It can, however, be blocked by a Linken's Sphere.
* 
Plasma Field allows Razor to get on top of Medusa, slowing her already slow movement speed to a mere crawl.
* 
Eye of the Storm capitilizes on Medusa's low armor and causes her to be very vulnerable, even through Mana Shield.
Ancient Apparition
* Lone Druid's early game is good against slow, squishy supports since his bear is very strong early game and an Entangling Claws proc almost always guarantees a kill: Ancient Apparition, 
Crystal Maiden, Shadow Shaman, etc.
Ancient Apparition
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like Phantom Assassin or 
Clinkz.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker, Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Shadow Shaman, Lion and etc.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker, Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Shadow Shaman, Lion and etc.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Medusa
* Heroes with extremely slow movement speed will cripple against Solar Bind: Medusa, 
Viper
Additional:
* 
Will-O-Wisp will keep Medusa busy after she got hit by 
Blinding Light.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Ancient Apparition
* 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
Medusa
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: 
Tidehunter, 
Bristleback, 
Slardar.
Ancient Apparition
* Squishy heroes, usually supports, like Lion, Ancient Apparition, Keeper of the Light etc can die quickly to Tiny's magic burst.
Ancient Apparition
* 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.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Icarus Dive helps Phoenix escape from Cold Feet.
* However, all of Pheonix's basic abilities do cost health, which can be harmful under the effects of Ice Blast.
* 
Supernova can save Phoenix from Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Supernova with or without Aghanim's Scepter allows to save ally or himself through Ice Blast.
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from Cold Feet.
Ancient Apparition
* Since all of Phoenix's abilities (except for Supernova) have health costs, heroes like Ancient Apparition or 
Necrophos can turn Phoenix's abilities against it. However, Supernova does completely protect Phoenix from Ice Blast.
Ancient Apparition
* Lina builds 
Shadow Blade (and upgrades it into a 
Silver Edge), which makes it hard for Ancient Apparition to land his abilities.
* Laguna Blade can kill Ancient Apparition easily due to his low health pool and lack of mobility.
Medusa
* Heroes with a lot of burst damage, especially those who rely on casting spells: 
Lina, 
Zeus.
Medusa
* Medusa cannot chase Slark in any way and has no disable beyond her ultimate, making her unable to stop him getting away and regenerating before coming back to finish her off.
* Essence Shift particularly removes 1 intelligence point per hit, thus lowering Medusa's mana pool's cap and leaving her much more vulnerable in prolonged fights.
Additional:
* Medusa is especially vulnerable to 
Essence Shift, as both strength and intelligence contribute to her effective HP, while agility contributes to her damage.
* 
Dark Pact when timed right can be used to dispel Stone Gaze right after it petrifies Slark, allowing him to keep attacking Medusa throughout the duration.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes like Slark, Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Additional:
* Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
Medusa
* 
Bulwark can make each of Medusa's attacks target him instead, reducing Medusa's contribution on team fights.
* 
Spear of Mars stuns Medusa and also pushes her away from teamfights, taking advantage of Medusa's low mobility.
* 
Arena Of Blood blocks Medusa's attacks from outside the arena.
Medusa
* Medusa's Stone Gaze forces Mars to choose between getting petrified, or turning his vulnerable back on Medusa.
Ancient Apparition
* Despite Ancient Apparition's fragileness, he can easily harass Luna on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with Ice Vortex can make it difficult for Luna to escape from Cold Feet
* Ice Blast can nullify any healing Luna receives and any attempt for her to save herself with 
Satanic, even through Black King Bar.
* For the same reasons, Ancient Apparition makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Medusa
* Should Luna choose to buy Manta Style, Medusa will be able to kill illusions from them with Split Shot and 
Mjollnir, which is a common item on Medusa.
* Mystic Snake allows Medusa to easily harass Luna and steal mana from her, preventing Luna from retaliating with 
Lucent Beam.
* Medusa can survive 
Eclipse thanks to Mana Shield, which can cause Luna to struggle greatly in bursting down Medusa and force her to buy Diffusal Blade and it's upgrade 
Disperser.
* Even with Black King Bar, Medusa's Stone Gaze will still be able to disable Luna, which could even discourage her from counter-initiating with Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Medusa makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Additional:
* Should Luna choose to buy Manta Style, Medusa will be able to kill illusions from them with Split Shot and Mjollnir, which is a common item on Medusa.
* Mystic Snake allows Medusa to easily harass Luna and steal mana from her, preventing Luna from retaliating with Lucent Beam.
* Medusa can survive Eclipse thanks to Mana Shield, and since Luna is not a hero that often goes for Diffusal Blade, she will struggle greatly in bursting down Medusa.
* Even with Black King Bar, Medusa's Stone Gaze will still be able to disable Luna, which could even discourage her from counter-initiating with Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Medusa makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast prevents Lifestealer from lifestealing and healing with Infest in fights.
Medusa
* Lifestealer's low mobility makes him easy to kite.
* Stone Gaze pierces 
Rage, wasting its cooldown and making Lifestealer unable to fight.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, else he be faced with a quick death if focused on.
Medusa
* Mana Shield can tank most of the damage from Reaper's Scythe; with sufficient mana, the kill threshold drops significantly.
* Necrophos has a movement speed equal to Medusa, and is easy to chase down with a slowing item in Medusa's inventory.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast can prevent healing from 
Hand of God and kill Chen's creeps.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Chen on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with Ice Vortex makes it impossible for Chen to escape from Cold Feet. Ice Vortex can also make Chen's creeps more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents 
Divine Favor and Hand of God from healing his allies or himself.
Medusa
* Medusa's Split Shot can easily kill Chen's creeps.
* Mystic Snake can quickly kill Chen's creeps and deal intense damage for every killed creep while also draining their mana with each bounce. Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Mystic Snake can also disable both, Chen and his creeps upon impact.
* Mana Shield will make it impossible for Chen to burst down Medusa.
* Stone Gaze can disable Chen from using Hand of God to save himself or his allies.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with global abilities can give Legion Commander's opponent an edge in Duels from anywhere on the map: 
Nature's Prophet, Ancient Apparition, Zeus, Invoker, 
Treant Protector
Medusa
* Mana Shield makes Medusa very hard to take down in Duels.
* Stone Gaze stops Legion Commander from Dueling altogether, regardless of who she targets.
Medusa
* Enchantress often has a small army of neutral creeps, allowing Medusa to hit her with a later bounce of her Mystic Snake.
Medusa
* Doom does not disable Mana Shield. As such, Doom's damage is largely mitigated by her mana shield. Additionally, Medusa is not reliant on her abilities to be effective during a teamfight, making Medusa an unproductive hero to target.
* Medusa is an ideal Linken's Sphere carrier. Should one be purchased, and without any additional disables, Doom may find that few opportunities exist to effectively lockdown, disable, and kill Medusa.
Medusa
* Split Shot will keep attacking Pangolier even when he is rolling around.
* Stone Gaze stuns Pangolier during Rolling Thunder, or forces him to roll away.
Ancient Apparition
* Snapfire is vulnerable while she is casting 
Mortimer Kisses making her an easy target for the effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast, Cold Feet, and Ice Vortex are easier to land on Snapfire while she channels her Mortimer Kisses.
Ancient Apparition
* Cold Feet and Ice Vortex both hinder Dragon Knight's movement greatly during teamfights.
* Ice Blast ignores Dragon Knight's armor, disables his health regeneration, and kills him prematurely.
Medusa
* Mana Shield makes it very hard for Sven to burst her within Storm Hammer's stun duration.
* Stone Gaze makes it very difficult for Sven to fight Medusa at any stage of the game.
* Mystic Snake can slow Sven down enough for allies to capitalize on his commitment in a fight.
Additional:
* Stone Gaze allows Medusa to easily kite and kill Sven.
* Mana Shield negates much of Sven's burst damage.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering adional health, and using it will even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
Additional:
* Ice Blast stops Morphling from gaining additional health with 
Attribute Shift.
* Using Attribute Shift would even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In the lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
Medusa
* Medusa's Split Shot can make quick work of Enigma's Eidolons and take advantage of their considerable bounty.
* Medusa can also kill Eidolons with her Mystic Snake that can also greatly damage Enigma and drain some of his mana.
* If Medusa activates Stone Gaze at the start of a fight, it can make initiating and landing an effective 
Black Hole exceedingly difficult, because Stone Gaze can cancel Enigma's Black Hole even through spell immunity, which can discourage Enigma from even trying to initiate with Black Hole.
Additional:
* Medusa's Split Shot can make quick work of Enigma's Eidolons and take advantage of their considerable bounty.
* If Medusa activates Stone Gaze at the start of a fight, it can make initiating — and landing an effective Black Hole exceedingly difficult. Stone Gaze can cancel Enigma's Black Hole even through spell immunity, which can discourage Enigma from initiating with Black Hole.
Ancient Apparition
* Cold feet can be used to ensure that the full channel of 
Freezing Field doesn't go off.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from Spirit Siphon and Exorcism.
* However, there is a way for Death Prophet to counter Ice Blast: Since Death Prophet is not healed until the spirits are returned to her. She can attempt to outrun her spirits to delay their return until Ice Blast duration runs out.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from 
Spirit Siphon and 
Exorcism.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast nullifies the health regeneration granted by 
Chemical Rage, which Alchemist greatly relies on to stay alive in battle.
* Alchemist tends to build 
Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast cancels out Chemical Rage's rapid health regeneration. It can also take advantage of Alchemist's Armlet of Mordiggian toggling, as it will make HP drain insanely fast, essentially killing the bearer in no time.
Ancient Apparition
* Muerta doesn't have the speed to easily escape Cold Feet, potentially controlling her during Pierce the Veil.
* Ancient Apparition outranges Muerta with Chilling Touch, allowing him to poke her down safely.
Medusa
* Mana Shield makes it very difficult for Bloodseeker to gain his Thirst bonuses.
* Rupture rarely kills Medusa through Mana Shield.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast negates healing from Shadow Wave, and lasts longer than Shallow Grave.
Additional:
* 
Shallow Grave prevents Ice Blast's shatter for up to 5 seconds, but can mostly only delay it as Ice Blast's debuff lasts 10 seconds and prevents 
Shadow Wave from healing them.
Medusa
* Split Shot can destroy Tombstone Zombies and Tombstone itself while still damaging heroes.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast cancels Warlock's Golem's and Shadow Word's healing.
* Cold Feet stuns Warlock if he stands in place, forcing him to stop channeling Upheaval immediately or be forced to stop channeling it by it's stun.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Cold Embrace makes its target immovable, allowing Ancient Apparition to easily land Ice Blast, or a Cold Feet stun.
* Ice Blast also negates healing from Cold Embrace.
Additional:
* Ice Blast disables the healing component of Cold Embrace, making it essentially a 4 second stun on an ally and a perfect setup for Ice Blast.
* If Cold Feet is cast on an Allied hero affected by Cold Embrace, it will almost guarantee the Ally comes out stunned.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing an ally with 
Tether and prevents healing from 
Overcharge
* Io is a common 
Mekansm builder which is useless if he is affected by Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing the target.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Io on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with Ice Vortex makes it nearly impossible for Io to escape from Cold Feet. Ice Vortex can also make Io and it's tethered target more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast nullifies 
Borrowed Time's and 
Mist Coil's healing.
Additional:
* Ice Blast's nullifies Abaddon healing from Borrowed Time and Mist Coil and it is not dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
Medusa
* Poof won't damage Medusa and she can use Stone Gaze to disable all of Meepo's clones.
* Mystic Snake will easily become the bane of Meepo early game.
Ancient Apparition
* 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.
Medusa
* Heroes with Linken's Sphere as core item: 
Weaver, 
Morphling, Medusa.
Ancient Apparition
* Ancient Apparition's Cold Feet will freeze Clockwerk in place if he stays inside his Power Cogs. His immobility while in his cogs also makes him a very easy target to Ice Vortex and Ice Blast.
Medusa
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: 
Sven, 
Omniknight, 
Enigma, 
Luna, Naga Siren, 
Mars, 
Jakiro, 
Venomancer, 
Elder Titan, 
Faceless Void, 
Rubick, Keeper of the Light, 
Pugna, Invoker, Spectre, 
Alchemist, Treant Protector, Lina, 
Oracle, Zeus, Shadow Shaman, 
Phoenix, 
Razor, 
Huskar, 
Batrider, 
Kunkka, Tidehunter, 
Wraith King, 
Sand King, Medusa, 
Dawnbreaker.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with large magical AoE damage will fare well against Omniknight: 
Lich, Ancient Apparition, Jakiro, 
Disruptor.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes like Slark, Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Medusa
* Heroes with a lot of burst damage, especially those who rely on casting spells: Lina, Zeus.
Medusa
* Heroes with cleave or multi-target attacks can quickly take on Familiars and reduce Visage's firepower like 
Gyrocopter, Kunkka, Magnus and Medusa.
Additional:
* Visage's familiars are easy targets to Split Shot.
* Mana Shield will resist Soul Assumption instances without effort.
Ancient Apparition
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Medusa
* If Medusa activates Stone Gaze before Spirit Breaker reaches her with Charge of Darkness, the charge will inevitably fail.
* Medusa has three ways to counter Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness: Stone Gaze can disable Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness if he faces Medusa directly. Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Mystic Snake can disable Spirit Breaker and cancel his Charge of Darkness if it hits him. And 
Cold Blooded provided by 
Aghanim's Shard that can cast a single-targeted Mystic Snake at Spirit Breaker if he uses Charge of Darkness on her.
* Mana Shield and overall tankiness allows Medusa to easily survive Spirit Breaker's initiation. And to make things worse, Spirit Breaker is not a common Diffusal Blade nor Disperser wielder to counter this problem at all.
* Overall, any attempt for Spirit Breaker to gank and kill Medusa will hurt him more than the other way around.
Medusa
* Heroes that build Diffusal Blade or can fit it well into their item build will also make Medusa much less tanky: Riki, Naga Siren, Terrorblade, Juggernaut, Spectre, Slark.
Medusa
* Medusa's Split Shot and Mystic Snake combined with Mjollnir, a common item for Medusa, will whittle down all of Naga Siren's illusions, including Naga Siren herself.
* Medusa's Stone Gaze can disable Naga Siren even for the duration of 
Song of the Siren and even if Naga Siren is spell immune, discouraging Naga Siren from even trying to use Song of the Siren to save herself or counter-initiate against Medusa.
Additional:
* Medusa's Split Shot and Mystic Snake combined with Mjollnir, a common item for Medusa, will whittle down all of Naga Siren's illusions, including Naga Siren herself.
* Medusa's Stone Gaze can disable Naga Siren even for the duration of Song of the Siren and even if Naga Siren is spell immune, discouraging Naga Siren from even trying to use Song of the Siren to save herself or counter-initiate against Medusa.
Ancient Apparition
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like Phantom Assassin or Clinkz.
Medusa
* Heroes with disables that ignore spell immunity will render Phantom Assassin quite useless in teamfights throughout the game: 
Axe, Enigma, 
Vengeful Spirit, Doom, 
Bane, 
Beastmaster, 
Pudge, Medusa, Warlock.
Medusa
* Axe can take advantage of Medusa's awfully low HP to insta-kill her with 
Culling Blade, making it extremely difficult for her to farm for items to compensate for the lack of strength during early and mid-game while Axe is continuously harassing around.
Medusa
* Mana Shield reduces the effectiveness of Counter Helix.
* Stone Gaze makes it very difficult for Axe to initiate on Medusa and her allies.
Medusa
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter, Bristleback, Slardar.
Ancient Apparition
* 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.
Ancient Apparition
* 
Shapeshift increases Lycan's movement speed and renders him unslowable, allowing him to easily avoid and escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Lycan has fast summons, both his wolves from 
Summon Wolves can do heavy damage to Ancient Apparition due to his immobility and low armor.
Medusa
* Her Mana Shield is too tough for Lycan to break.
* Mystic Snake can hit for a massive damage once it spread between his summons.
Additional:
* Can be easily petrified despite his speed.
* Summoned wolves will be targeted by Split Shot or Mystic Snake
Medusa
* Webbed areas can be used to hit and run, covering distance hastily weakening her on the way and initiating ganks.
* Even though Medusa can hunt down Spiderlings easily when given enough range, 
Silken Bola will cause her attacks to miss and get her swarmed in no time.
* Medusa usually does not build a Black King Bar to benefit from Mana Shield fully while Broodmother can fit a Diffusal Blade to burn away all of Medusa's mana.
Additional:
* 
Spin Web will allow Broodmother to pick her own fights and sometimes slip away to ambush Medusa.
* Though Medusa's Split Shot and Mystic Snake can help Medusa deal with Broodmother's spiderlings, Broodmother will create too much of them for her to handle, allowing her to outnumber Medusa's targets from Split Shot and shield her team in process.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast prevents 
Insatiable Hunger lifesteal, Spin Web regeneration and quickly kills spiderlings.
Medusa
* 
Burning Spear's damage over time can rapidly burn Medusa's mana and health alike.
* 
Inner Fire can slow and disarm Medusa and also allow Huskar to follow up with Life Break.
Ancient Apparition
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing, regeneration, health gained from activating an Armlet of Mordiggian and will kill him when his health dips below a threshold. This makes it very dangerous for him to use his abilities.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing with 
Berserker's Blood and negates any lifesteal, making him significantly weaker in battle.
* Burning Spear and 
Life Break cost Huskar his own health, killing him under the effects from Ice Blast.
* Huskar often builds Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
Medusa
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter, Bristleback, Slardar.
Medusa
* Medusa cares less than other heroes about armor reduction, since Mana Shield blocks 70% of all damage without taking armor/magic resistance into consideration. This makes 60% of your Corrosive Haze ineffective until Medusa's mana is drained.
Ancient Apparition
* Anti-Mage easily Blinks out of
Cold Feet's freeze radius.
Blink away from Cold Feet or build a 
Manta Style to dispel it.
Counterspell minimizes the damage Anti-Mage takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
Mana Break and 
Mana Void deal a lot of damage to Ancient Apparition due to his high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition lacks mobility, thus making him fall easily to Mana Void.
* Counterspell reduces all Ancient Apparition's spell damage.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can
*
*
Medusa
* Anti-Mage easily destroys
Mana Shield with Mana Break, especially once he has 
Manta Style.
Stone Gaze with Blink, and can reinitiate after its duration is over.
Mana Break burns Medusa's mana easily, especially when coupled with a 
Manta Style.
Blink, burning her mana or forcing her to use Stone Gaze.
Mana Void is effective against Medusa's big mana pool and mana usage, presenting a huge hazard to Medusa's allies around her since her Mana Shield still gives her some protection if she has mana.
* Anti-Mage effectively avoids
Additional:
*
* Can easily initiate on Medusa with
*