* Ancient Seal's instant cast time will often silence Brewmaster before he can do anything.
* Brewmaster also has no defense against Skywrath Mage's massive magical damage.
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Lina
* Blinking heroes like Anti-Mage or
Queen of Pain can often chase down an injured Brewmaster after his ultimate expires.
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Morphling,
Storm Spirit
* Outworld Destroyer's pure damage will mop up Primal Split's units very quickly.
* Nether Swap breaks one ally out of Soulbind, and can be used to redistribute the shared damage to Vengeful Spirit herself.
* Hex's instant cast time will force Brewmaster into the awkward situation of needing some form of spell immunity or block to prevent being immediately hex upon blinking in, or wait until Shaman has used all his crowd control before entering a fight.
* Brewmaster also has no defense against Shadow Shaman lockdowns.
* Phase Shift can easily disjoint Phantom Embrace and waste half of the Soulbind's duration.
* Puck is very mobile hero who can jump backsides and burst Grimstroke before he can cast anything.
* Hex's instant cast time will force Brewmaster into the awkward situation of needing some form of spell immunity or block to prevent being immediately hex upon blinking in, or wait until Lion has used all his crowd control before entering a fight. His direct magic burst also makes Brewmaster's Drunken Brawler worthless versus Lion.
* Exorcism kills Primal Split's units very quickly.
* Disruption instantly removes Phantom Embrace, and can potentially save allies affected by Soulbind.
* Demonic Purge dispels Ink Swell.
* Sniper's position in the far back line makes him unlikely to be hit by any of Grimstroke's abilities during teamfights.
* Sniper is relatively unaffected by the silence from Phantom's Embrace.
* Sniper's long range and fast projectile speed allows him quickly to destroy any Phantoms attacking his allies.
* Stampede can allow Soulbinded heroes to just ran away.
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Lina
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Lina
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Morphling,
Storm Spirit
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Morphling,
Storm Spirit
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Lina
* After Brewmaster has committed Thunder Clap and Cinder Brew to gank, Bane can use Nightmare on Brewmaster to wait out the debuffs, and might even turn the tables by buying time for allied reinforcements.
* Bane can also prevent Brewmaster from using Primal Split with his long disables.
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
* Blinking heroes like Anti-Mage or
Queen of Pain can often chase down an injured Brewmaster after his ultimate expires.
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage,
Queen of Pain,
Morphling,
Storm Spirit
* A combination of Soulbind and
Phantom's Embrace can prevent Anti-Mage from casting spells.
* If Grimstroke has Aghanim's Scepter,
Dark Portrait can reflect Anti-Mage's Mana Break, making it useful in team fights.
* Brewmaster can make the Spirit Bear a much smaller threat with Cinder Brew.
* Cyclone removes the bear from a fight so that his team can easily focus on the hero.
* While most heroes would be worn down by a Spirit Bear Radiance in the time it takes to kill Lone Druid, Brewmaster is protected in Primal Split.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind will always reliably connect onto both of them if they are close together.
* Brewmaster can waste a large portion of Lycan's ultimate by putting him in Cyclone.
* Lycan has no way to stop Brewmaster from using Primal Split by himself.
* Lycan's team often tries to push towers as a group, and Brewmaster excels at winning teamfights while trying to defend a tower.
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: Lycan,
Ursa,
Troll Warlord.
Additional:
* Stroke of Fate deals more damage when it hits more targets which makes it very effective in dealing with Lycan and his units.
* Soulbind prevents Lycan from running away and makes him very easy to deal with.
* Storm's Dispel Magic combined with Thunder Clap deals high damage against Chaos Knight's illusions even in the late game.
* Chaos Knight's reliance on physical damage is easily hindered by Drunken Brawler.
* Chaos Knight's lack of area effect and mobility makes him easily overwhelmed by Primal Split.
Additional:
* Dispel Magic from {U:Storm} can instantly kill Phantasms early on, and can still deal a lot of damage to them late game, revealing the real Chaos Knight.
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: Chaos Knight,
Broodmother,
Naga Siren.
* In general, Brewmaster's Cinder Brew and Thunder Clap makes him good against physical damage carries: Ursa,
Clinkz,
Faceless Void,
Troll Warlord,
Templar Assassin,
Phantom Assassin.
Additional:
* Thunder Clap and
Drunken Brawler prevent Faceless Void from maximising his damage potential in fights.
* Cyclone disables Faceless Void during Chronosphere or in general.
* Soulbind pierces spell immunity and prevents Faceless Void from escaping with Time Walk.
* If Ursa uses Enrage Brewmaster can use Cyclone to render him harmless during his ultimate.
* Brewmaster has two spells to slow down Ursa, allowing his team to kite around him easily.
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: Lycan,
Ursa,
Troll Warlord.
* In general, Brewmaster's Cinder Brew and Thunder Clap makes him good against physical damage carries: Ursa,
Clinkz,
Faceless Void,
Troll Warlord,
Templar Assassin,
Phantom Assassin.
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: Lycan,
Ursa,
Troll Warlord.
* Heroes who produce many summons will have a hard time against Storm's Dispel Magic during teamfight: Broodmother,
Enigma,
Nature's Prophet.
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
* Heroes who produce many summons will have a hard time against Storm's Dispel Magic during teamfight: Broodmother,
Enigma,
Nature's Prophet.
* Heroes with area of effect abilities that increase in power based on the number of units struck: Earthshaker,
Legion Commander,
Grimstroke.
Additional:
* Stroke of Fate can deal heavy damage to Broodmother and her spiders, and with enough spiders it can kill her instantly.
* Phantom's Embrace provides vision on Broodmother when she's fleeing into the trees.
* Stroke of Fate's damage increases the more units are hit by it, making it effective against Phantom Lancer's army of illusions.
* Phantom's Embrace and Ink Swell's stun can prevent Phantom Lancer from escaping with Doppelganger if properly timed.
* If he has already used Doppelganger, Soulbind can tie Phantom Lancer to one of his own illusions to keep him in place, or to ensure a kill if Grimstroke's team is unsure which one is the real hero.
Additional:
* Stroke of Fate clears Phantom Lancer's illusion easily as it deals bonus damage to more targets.
* Ink Swell can be used on an allied hero or Grimstoke himself to stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
* Soulbind has an undispellable debuff that can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer. It also prevents him from using Doppelganger.
* Timbersaw relies heavily on his abilities so Phantom's Embrace's silence makes it more difficult for him.
* Timbersaw cannot use Return Chakram or attack the phantom during Phantom's Embrace, forcing him to take full damage and refreshes Phantom's Embrace's cooldown.
Additional:
* Timbersaw is completely powerless against Phantom's Embrace if
Chakram is out.
* 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.
* Soulbind ignores spell immunity, forcing Pangolier to roll in place during his ultimate as well as anchoring the other victim to his vicinity.
* Terrorblade's lack of escape mechanisms makes it hard for him to escape both Ink Swell and Stroke of Fate.
* Phantom's Embrace's silence will also prevent him from casting Sunder to save himself.
* Cinder Brew and
Drunken Brawler makes it hard for Monkey King to stack Jingu Mastery.
* Cyclone can remove Monkey king for 6 seconds if his allies lack dispels.
* Dispel Magic can dispel Jingu Mastery's bonuses.
* Phantom's Embrace can silence Crystal Maiden and disrupt Freezing Field's channeling. Her slow movement speed and fragile nature will also make her an easy target for Stroke of Fate and Ink Swell.
* Ghost Shroud amplifies damage taken from all of Grimstroke's abilities. Necrophos is particularly vulnerable to Ink Swell and Phantom's Embrace while in Ghost Shroud.
* Death Pulse works against Necrophos in lane by keeping his creeps alive and add damage to Stroke of Fate.
* Cyclone from Storm in
Primal Split can waste Nyx's Spiked Carapace, since its duration is shorter than the Cyclone's.
* Phantom's Embrace cannot be dispelled by Slark's
Dark Pact, and will cause him to suffer damage if he doesn't kill Phantom fast enough.
* Soulbind also cannot be dispelled by Slark's
Dark Pact, and will cause Slark to suffer from a single-targeted ability used on his ally that is also affected by it.
* Dispel Magic from {U:Storm} instantly removes Heavenly Grace and Guardian Angel from Omniknight's allies in its radius of effect.
* Soulbind can target both Io and its Tethered ally, allowing Grimstroke and his team to target both with single target spells. Should Io try to
Relocate, Phantom's Embrace can stop its channel to prevent escape.
Additional:
* Grimstroke can catch Io and his Tethered ally easily with
Soulbind as Io has a tendency to
Tether himself with an ally frequently, which also makes them easier targets for
Soulbind.
* Io is highly vulnerable to disables. Hence, Grimstroke's Phantom's Embrace is a great ability to hinder Io's potential.
* Brewmaster can use Cyclone to disable Huskar's healer for much longer than most other heroes can, to make Huskar vulnerable.
* Huskar has no way to stop Brewmaster from using Primal Split by himself, but can cut a good amount of his high health away if Huskar's team wants to burst Brewmaster down during a different disable.
* 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.
* {U:Earth} has passive Spell Immunity, allowing him to walk into the Echo Stomp radius to stun Elder Titan with his
Hurl Boulder.
* {U:Storm}'s Cyclone can cancel the channeling of Echo Stomp and take Elder Titan out of the fight for {show:A|Storm|Cyclone|value2} seconds.
* {U:Storm} can use Cyclone on Abaddon when he activates Borrowed Time, wasting its duration.
* Drunken Brawler and
Thunder Clap hinder Abaddon from applying Curse of Avernus' silence on him.
Additional:
* Dispel Magic can remove Abaddon's Aphotic Shield or
Curse of Avernus on an allied hero.
* Cyclone's lengthy duration wastes much of Borrowed Time's duration.
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: Chaos Knight,
Broodmother,
Naga Siren.
* Windranger heavily relies on her abilities for any form of tactical advantage and damage. A well timed silence will make her useless: Puck,
Silencer,
Death Prophet,
Skywrath Mage,
Drow Ranger,
Earth Spirit,
Grimstroke.
* In general, Brewmaster's Cinder Brew and Thunder Clap makes him good against physical damage carries: Ursa,
Clinkz,
Faceless Void,
Troll Warlord,
Templar Assassin,
Phantom Assassin.
* Hard-hitters who relies mostly on raw stats or good passive and therefore make a perfect target for Dark Portrait:
Naga Siren,
Faceless Void,
Terrorblade,
Luna,
Anti-Mage
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
* Any long duration disables that can pierce through both, Pierce The Veil and Black King Bar are devastating against Muerta:
Enigma's
Black Hole,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian,
Axe's
Berserker's Call,
Naga Siren's
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Ensnare and
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter,
Jakiro's
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Macropyre,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Batrider's
Flaming Lasso,
Beastmaster's
Primal Roar,
Grimstroke's
Soulbind,
Medusa's
Stone Gaze,
Magnus's
Reverse Polarity.
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damaging and/or disabling abilities will be able to intercept Underlord and his team when they exit from Fiend's Gate: Luna's
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian,
Axe's
Berserker's Call,
Mars's
Arena of Blood,
Jakiro's
Macropyre,
Dual Breath and
Ice Path,
Naga Siren's
Song of the Siren,
Razor's
Eye of the Storm and
Plasma Field,
Lina's
Light Strike Array,
Broodmother's
Spinner's Snare from
Aghanim's Scepter,
Elder Titan's
Earth Splitter and
Echo Stomp,
Alchemist's
Unstable Concoction and
Acid Spray,
Queen of Pain's
Sonic Wave,
Dark Seer's
Wall of Replica and
Vacuum,
Venomancer's
Noxious Plague and
Poison Nova from
Aghanim's Scepter,
Oracle's
Fortune's End and
Rain of Destiny from
Aghanim's Shard,
Bloodseeker's
Blood Rite,
Enigma's
Black Hole and
Midnight Pulse,
Shadow Fiend's
Requiem of Souls,
Batrider's
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Flaming Lasso,
Firefly,
Flamebreak and
Sticky Napalm,
Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast,
Sand King's
Epicenter,
Sand Storm and
Burrowstrike,
Gyrocopter's
Call Down,
Ember Spirit's
Sleight of Fist,
Death Prophet's
Exorcism and
Silence,
Monkey King's
Wukong's Command,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Muerta's
The Calling,
Medusa's
Stone Gaze,
Zeus's
Nimbus from
Aghanim's Scepter.
Dark Willow's
Bramble Maze,
Pangolier's
Swashbuckle,
Grimstroke's
Soulbind,
Ink Swell and
Stroke of Fate,
Earthshaker's
Echo Slam and
Fissure,
Puck's
Dream Coil and
Waning Rift,
Winter Wyvern's
Winter's Curse,
Magnus's
Reverse Polarity.
* In general, Brewmaster's Cinder Brew and Thunder Clap makes him good against physical damage carries: Ursa,
Clinkz,
Faceless Void,
Troll Warlord,
Templar Assassin,
Phantom Assassin.
* Heroes who produce many summons will have a hard time against Storm's Dispel Magic during teamfight: Broodmother,
Enigma,
Nature's Prophet.
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
* Heroes with area dispel can kill multiple skeletons at once: Brewmaster,
Oracle.
* Brewmaster with
Primal Split
* Heroes that can dodge Glimpse:
* Puck with
Phase Shift
* Riki with
Tricks of the Trade
* Phantom Lancer with
Doppelganger
* Ember Spirit with
Sleight of Fist and
Activate Fire Remnant
* Chaos Knight with
Phantasm
* Naga Siren with
Mirror Image
* Tusk with
Snowball
* Juggernaut with
Omnislash
* Brewmaster with
Primal Split
* Lifestealer with
Infest
* Phoenix with
Supernova
* 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
* The three Primal Split brewlings all attacking Templar Assassin at once will remove her Refraction quickly, especially with Fire's Permanent Immolation.
* Templar Assassin has no way to stop Brewmaster from using Primal Split by herself, and may get unlucky and miss her Meld if trying to burst him during her ally's disable.
* Brewmaster is slow and has low armor, making his laning stage very difficult against Geminate Attack.
* Apart from the slow moving Hurl Boulder, which can be disjointed, he has no control to catch Weaver.
* Phantom's Embrace and Soulbind prevent Weaver from using Shukuchi or
Time Lapse to escape.
* Ink Swell discourages Weaver from moving through and damaging allies with Shukuchi.
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Brewmaster
* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like
Tidehunter,
Brewmaster,
Death Prophet, etc.
Grimstroke
*
Stroke of Fate provides Rubick with a short cooldown nuke.
Phantom's Embrace is an unique ability with extra silence and damage.
Ink Swell is a great initiation/counter-initiation ability for frontliners.
Telekinesis, Rubick can grant extra duration for
Phantom's Embrace's phantom latch, or throw an enemy within the area covered by
Ink Swell.
Soulbind, as a powerful ultimate, gives Rubick extra crowd control and sows chaos among enemies.
Telekinesis and
Fade Bolt are single-target abilities, and can be applied twice on the enemy. The damage of
Fade Bolt is effectively doubled as the bounce is very likely to happen as the bound heroes must walk together.
* Note that Rubick uses a fixed 0.15 second cast time for the skill, much shorter than the 0.6 second cast time for Grimstroke.
*
*
* With
*
* Both