Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 11%)Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 5%)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 and build
Lotus Orb can prefer reflects to Viscous Nasal Goo .
Oracle
* Heroes who are not easily crippled by Fate's Edict or Fortune's End, such as Timbersaw, or those who can dispel them, such as
Phantom Lancer, can kill Oracle unhindered.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Bristleback
* Time Dilation prevents Bristleback from spamming his low-cooldown abilities, greatly reducing his damage and effectiveness.
* Chronosphere allows allies to reposition and hit Bristleback from the front, bypassing his defensive bonus from behind.
* Bristleback has no way to prevent 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.
Oracle
* Time Walk and
Backtrack allow Faceless Void to easily negate Oracle's burst damage.
* Time Dilation is effective against Oracle's low-cooldown spells. Although dispellable with Fortune's End, it can still catch Oracle off guard if Fortune's End is on cooldown.
Oracle
* Any hero that can nullify effects of Chronosphere: (Keeper of the Light with
Aghanim's Scepter during daytime,
Winter Wyvern), banishing him or Faceless Void (
Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Earth Spirit with
Aghanim's Scepter) or protecting him in other ways (
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Abaddon) can greatly limit Chronosphere's potential.
Undying
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)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.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 15%)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.
Additional:
* Bristleback will not be able to cast Viscous Nasal Goo or
Quill Spray while silenced, effectively blocking a major part of the hero's damage and preventing
Warpath charges from stacking.
* Arcane Curse slows Bristleback down and lasts longer the more abilities he uses. On the other hand, if he doesn't use any abilities, he will begin to lose Warpath charges.
Oracle
* Oracle's reliance on spamming his spells can be easily hindered by Silencer's Arcane Curse.
* Last Word and Global Silence negates Oracle's attempt to save his allies with his spells.
* Fate's Edict is useless against Glaives of Wisdom's pure damage.
Oracle
* Fortune's End can nullify Arcane Curse,
Last Word, and
Global Silence, if cast at the right time with the right targets.
* Fate's Edict can prevent Silencer from attacking, which he relies on with Glaives of Wisdom, for a lot of his damage.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 11%)Oracle
* Oracle's burst damage is ineffective against Dispersion.
* Disarm provided by Fate's Edict is not as significant debilitation for Spectre as it might be for other carries since She can do damage even without landing attacks.
Additional:
* Oracle's burst damage is not enough to take down Spectre due to Dispersion.
* Disarm from Fate's Edict does not hinder Spectre that much, since she can deal damage even without landing a single attack.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Bristleback
* Essence Shift allows Slark to hit bristleback freely whether on the front or back, stealing attributes and make bristleback much less tanky.
* Pounce can be used to disengage and recover loss HP with his ultimate passive, and can return to fight in a short period while bristleback is already injured and got some of his attributes stolen.
* Dark Pact makes it near impossible to keep
Viscous Nasal Goo debuff on slark.
* Although Dark Pact cannot dispel
Quill Spray, means Slark will still receive quill stack damage even if he uses
Shadow Dance before.
* Slark builds Silver Edge in almost every game, an item that greatly counter birstleback.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Bristleback
* Sanity's Eclipse only triggers Bristleback's passive once, and deals high damage against Bristleback's low intelligence.
* Outworld Destroyer's high burst damage is not negated by Bristleback's passive, So even if Bristleback turns his back on Outworld, Outworld Destroyer can decimate Bristleback quickly,
* If Bristleback attempts to flee, or tries to close the gap, Outworld can banish him with Astral Imprisonment, both reducing Bristlebacks much needed mana, and allowing Outworld to move in front of him, forcing him to take the full damage from his spells, This will also allow Outworld to land a devasting Sanity's Eclipse, without it being reduced by Bristleback's passive,
Weaver
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)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.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Bristleback
* Axe forces Bristleback to turn around with
Berserker's Call, allowing allies to attack him without fear of his passive.
Oracle
* False Promise will not save an ally from Culling Blade if their health is low enough.
* Fate's Edict, offensively or defensively, does little to protect Oracle's allies from the majority of Axe's damage.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can slow and kite Axe will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback,
Crystal Maiden,
Batrider,
Arc Warden,
Winter Wyvern,
Clockwerk
Viper
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)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 disables
Bristleback and prevents
Warpath from building stacks. Besides losing his defensive passive, Bristleback also loses his ability to build up damage over lengthy battles.
* Viper can perpetually kite Bristleback with Poison Attack and
Viper Strike.
Hoodwink
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Bristleback
* Sharpshooter deals massive damage to Bristleback and applies a high duration disable on his passive.
* Bushwhack and
Scurry can be used to easily kite Bristleback.
Additional:
* Bristleback and
Warpath can be disabled by Hoodwink's
Sharpshooter ability for a long period of time, reducing his both offense and defense.
* Scurry and
Bushwhack can be used to kite bristleback.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Bristleback
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge with
Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
Oracle
* Disruption can protect Shadow Demon's allies from Fortune's End, preserving healing or buffs. It can also catch Oracle's allies, allowing
Shadow Poison to be used without being dispelled.
* Demonic Purge prevents over-time healing during False Promise, such as Purifying Flames and
Urn of Shadows. If he has
Aghanim's Scepter, this issue can persist for longer or on multiple allies.
* It will not, however, prevent healing from instant abilities, items, or auras, making Mekansm a good choice against him.
Oracle
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)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 his upgraded level 25 talent, 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.
* Doom prevents Bristleback from casting his two low cooldown abilities, which then prevents him from utilizing
Warpath.
* If Doom gets an Aghanim's Scepter, he can disable
Bristleback and
Warpath, taking away much of his durability and damage potential in team fights.
Oracle
* Supports with useful teamfight or contribution spells will be helpless against Doom: Dazzle,
Oracle,
Warlock.
Oracle
* Heroes with the ability to heal allies, or those with good defensive abilities: Chen,
Dazzle,
Io,
Oracle,
Omniknight,
Witch Doctor,
Winter Wyvern,
Abaddon, etc.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)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.
Lion
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)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.
Oracle
* Heroes with long disables, like Lion,
Night Stalker, or
Legion Commander, can prevent Oracle from using spells or items.
Oracle
* Lion is extremely dependent on his abilities. Silences like Silencer's
Last Word, magic resistance like
Oracle's
Fate's Edict, and dispels like
Legion Commander's
Press the Attack all make his abilities less effective.
Visage
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Because Oracle uses few, powerful instances of damage to kill enemies, Templar Assassin's
Refraction and
Visage's
Gravekeeper's Cloak can absorb his burst damage.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Oracle
* Heroes who can take advantage of Oracle's low mobility or catch him out of position, such as Clinkz and
Anti-Mage, can easily pick him off.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 4%)Oracle
* Heroes with long disables, like Lion,
Night Stalker, or
Legion Commander, can prevent Oracle from using spells or items.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)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.
Oracle
* Heroes with long disables, like Lion,
Night Stalker, or
Legion Commander, can prevent Oracle from using spells or items.
Oracle
* Fate's Edict prevents Legion Commander from attacking for a few seconds, potentially saving Oracle's ally.
* Fortune's End dispels Press the Attack's healing and attack speed buff, as well as the movement speed bonus from Overwhelming Odds.
* False Promise protects allies and prevents Legion Commander from winning Duels and gaining bonus damage.
Additional:
* Provided that the enemy team does not have an Axe, Oracle can guarantee that his ally survives for the duration of the Duel with False Promise and has decent nuke potential to help ally to win a Duel. He can also disarm Legion Commander with Fate's Edict.
* Oracle can dispel enemy buffs like Overwhelming Odds and
Press the Attack with Fortune's End.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Oracle
* Elder Titan's
Echo Stomp can turn into a 5 second stun on an ally under the effect of False Promise, as it delays all damage and makes it impossible to break the damage threshold of Echo Stomp.
Lina
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Bristleback
* Heroes who deal single instance burst damage will only proc Bristleback once: Lina,
Lion.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Oracle
* Because Oracle uses few, powerful instances of damage to kill enemies, Templar Assassin's
Refraction and
Visage's
Gravekeeper's Cloak can absorb his burst damage.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 2%)Bristleback
* Terrorblade's
Sunder is not affected by the Bristleback damage reduction.
Razor
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)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.
* Storm Surge allows Razor to outdistance Bristleback, even with a few stacks of Viscous Nasal Goo on him, Also, if Razor has his Shard, but Bristalback does not, Viscous Nasal Goo will deal damage to Bristalback every time he uses it, And normally, it won't be affected by Bristlebacks Passive, as Bristleback will face him to cast it.
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.
Oracle
* Fortune's End can catch out or impair position-based heroes with low mobility, such as Sniper or
Razor.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 25%)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, and Bristleback can simply shrug off all his spells and chase Rubick down with his Quill Spray and the damage bonus from
Warpath.
* Rubick does not tend to charge forward in teamfights, stay in the front lines under most circumstances, yet effective casts of Quill Spray and
Viscous Nasal Goo requires the opposite as they require multiple casts and close range to add up stacks.
* Rubick does not benefit from Warpath through casting the stolen spell.
Oracle
* Oracle's high magic damage output can easily take down Rubick's low health pool.
* Because Oracle can combo spells in rapid succession (due to low cooldowns), it may be difficult for Rubick to Spell Steal False Promise. This scenario can even be avoided by shift queueing Fortune's End and casting it immediately, as it has no cast point, or by staying in the back line of fights if out of mana.
* As a position based hero, Rubick will have a very hard time against Fortune's End due to its absurd range and very long root duration.
Dark Willow
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)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.
Oracle
* Fortune's End not being disjointable is almost an ensured disable if Dark Willow tries to escape with Shadow Realm. Dispels Cursed Crown and Terrorize.
* Fate's Edict negates all her magic damage in case she catches a single hero.
* False Promise's strong dispel removes Dark Willow's disables.
Additional:
* Fortune's End can easily dispel Cursed Crown before it times out and stuns. He can also save a stunned ally with False Promise.
* Fate's Edict can easily negate Bedlam's over-time damage, since the spell provides no form of control. Similarly, he can also negate the magic burst from
Shadow Realm.
* Fortune's End can dispel the fear effect from Terrorize, and it can remove the root from
Bramble Maze if cast quick enough. Be mindful that Fortune's End only dispels your allies' debuffs on the primary target.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)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.
Oracle
* Heroes with little health or magic resistance are easily picked off with Oracle's magic burst, such as Skywrath Mage,
Crystal Maiden, or
Enchantress.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)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
Oracle
* Fortune's End and False Promise easily dispel many crippling debuffs, such as Venomancer's
Venomous Gale, or
Skywrath Mage's
Ancient Seal.
Additional:
* Fortune's End can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting from allies.
* Fate's Edict grants 100% magic resistance to target, inhibiting the damage from Venomancer abilities.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)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.
Oracle
* Oracle with
Fortune's End and
False Promise
* Heroes that can remove the Track debuff with their skills:
* Abaddon with
Aphotic Shield and
Borrowed Time
* Huskar with
Life Break
* Juggernaut with
Blade Fury
* Legion Commander with
Press the Attack
* Lifestealer with
Rage and
Infest
* Naga Siren with
Mirror Image
* Omniknight with
Heavenly Grace
* Oracle with
Fortune's End and
False Promise
* Phantom Lancer with
Doppelganger
* Slark with
Dark Pact
* Ursa with
Enrage
* Weaver with
Time Lapse
* Tidehunter with
Kraken Shell when damage received reaches the threshold.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Oracle
* All of Pugna's damage is magical, which can get blocked by Fate's Edict's 100% magic resistance.
* Oracle has two abilities that apply a dispel, which can easily remove Decrepify on his ally or Oracle.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Chaos Knight's Phantasms.
Marci
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Oracle
* Fortune's End dispells Marci's
Sidekick, removing additional damage and lifesteal.
* Fate's Edict disarms Marci, preventing her from attacking with
Unleash. Also it is useful against Marci or her ally affected by
Sidekick.
* False Promise is a great tool to save an ally focused by Marci.
Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Oracle
* 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.
Tiny
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)Bristleback
* Tiny's nonexistent armor in the early game makes him very vulnerable to Quill Spray's large amounts of physical damage.
* Bristleback decreases Tiny's high burst damage against Bristleback.
* Viscous Nasal Goo can slow Tiny to a crawl and allows Bristleback to easily kite him with his high movement speed and Quill Spray's long range, as Tiny has no ability to escape.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Oracle
* Fate's Edict gives full immunity from Ogre Magi's mostly magical damage.
* Fortune's End can dispel Ignite (when used on allies) and Bloodlust (when used on enemies).
* False Promise can dispel Ignite and Fireblast.
Ember Spirit
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 11%)Oracle
* Oracle can shut down both of Ember's early game abilities. Fortune's End can dispel Flame Guard on Ember Spirit and
Searing Chains on allies.
* When Ember Spirit is affected by Fortune's End, his Fire Remnants move at 0 movement speed.
* Disarming him with Fate's Edict does affect Ember's Sleight of Fist ability, possibly making him useless for a few seconds in the late game without a dispel or spell immunity. This is especially good if he has a rapier or two. However, positioning for this is difficult when Ember plays far back.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)Oracle
* Oracle can negate all of Techies' skills with Fate's Edict, as they are all magic damage. Fate's Edict can also be used to search and trigger Proximity Mines when crossing mined territory.
* Oracle can dispel Reactive Tazer off Techies, as well as the silence from
Blast Off!, with Fortune's End.
* Oracle can further delay Techies' burst damage capability with False Promise.
Additional:
* Fate's Edict gives 100% magic resistance, which prevents most of Techies' damage.
* Oracle's Fortune's End dispels Reactive Tazer buff from Techies allowing him to be attacked. However, Reactive Tazer will instantly perform the area of effect disarm that is normally applied at the end of the duration.
* Fortune's End will also dispel Blast Off silence, Techies' Etheral Blade, Proximity Mines' magic resistance reduction, and Sticky Bomb's slow. However beware that it will only dispel Sticky Bomb's first or second instance of slow and not the damage, which will trigger as normal.
Pudge
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 29%)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 and 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.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Oracle
* Oracle's Fate's Edict will protect an ally from Leshrac's nuking damage.
* Oracle's False Promise can dispel Leshrac's stun and slow from his abilities, allowing an ally to escape.
* Fortune's End can stop Leshrac from chasing opponents or running away.
Luna
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)Bristleback
* Multiple instances of damage from Eclipse will trigger Bristleback's passive repeatedly in a short time, dealing tremendous damage to Luna and her teammates.
Additional:
* Quill Spray and
Bristleback harass Luna more efficiently than she does with Lucent Beam.
* Bristleback helps return a lot of damage to Luna’s team if she uses her nukes on him and he has his back to her.
* 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.
Primal Beast
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Oracle
* Oracle can negate and shut down Primal Beast simply with Fate's Edict, especially in the early game, as a majority of his damage-dealing spells are magic.
* Oracle can interrupt Primal Beast's Onslaught charge with a well-timed Fortune's End.
* Primal Beast's lethal burst damage combos can be further stalled with False Promise; combined with Fate's Edict and regen from Purifying Flames, Oracle can even completely negate Primal Beast's offense.
Additional:
* Fate's Edict completely negates all of Primal Beast's major damage-dealing spells in the early game and can render Primal Beast useless when cast on a target he is focusing, or in Oracle's defense against Primal Beast himself.
* Fortune's End keeps Primal Beast in place, especially while trampling or in the middle of an Onslaught charge.
* False Promise can interrupt Primal Beast's Pulverize, as well as further delay Primal Beast from dealing lethal burst damage. In combination with
Fortune's End, Oracle can potentially save an ally from Primal Beast's spell combos.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)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.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Bristleback
* Bristleback's constant harass from Quill Spray will greatly hurt Enigma's laning and kill his Eidolons.
* However, Bristleback has no way of canceling Black Hole at all. And Bristleback is not a hero that goes for disabling items to counter that problem.
Skywrath Mage
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)Oracle
* Fate Edict can completely negate Skywrath Mage's heavy magic damage.
* Fortune End dispels Ancient Seal.
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Fate's Edict can disarm Troll, rendering him useless in a teamfight, especially if he has already used Battle Trance.
* Fortune's End and
Purifying Flames can provide ample magic damage to help burst down Troll Warlord quickly in the early to mid game.
* False Promise can save an ally from Troll Warlord's initiation, forcing him to switch targets and lose his Fervor stacks, or waste time during Battle Trance.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 12%)Bristleback
* While Jakiro's damage is going to be little more then average against him due to his Bristleback. His large quantity of stuns can prevent Bristleback from getting his much needed
Warpath stacks, while also giving his allies a chance to counter his high defense.
* Dual Breath and Liquid Frost both reduce Movement Speed, removing one of Bristlebacks greatest strengths
* Liquid Fire reduces Bristlebacks Attack Speed, making it harder for him to burst down a hero with Warpath
* However Bristleback can generally catch and kill a lone Jakiro. Your only effective in a group
Bristleback
* Macropyre's frequent damage ticks causes Bristleback to activate repeatedly, resulting in free damage as long as Bristleback faces away from Jakiro.
Oracle
* Fate's Edict allows Oracle to make allies spell immune, allowing him to save allies from Jakiro's spells.
* Fate's Edict can be cast onto Jakiro to disarm him and prevent him from pushing with his Liquid Fire.
* False Promise allows Oracle to free allies from Jakiro's Ice Path.
Beastmaster
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* False Promise effectively nullifies Primal Roar's single-target initiation on allies.
* Purifying Flames kills Beastmaster's Hawk instantly and Boar with two casts.
Io
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% 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.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Fortune's End dispels Ion Shell and Surge, making any gank attempt on Dark Seer in the laning phase likely to succeed.
* Fate's Edict prevents all magical damage that comes from Dark Seer's abilities.
* Fortune's End dispels Ion Shell on creeps, which Dark Seer relies on to farm and zone.
Additional:
* Fortune's End can dispel Ion Shell, a skill that helps Dark Seer immensely in the laning phase, as well as
Surge, a move-speed buff, effectively allowing Oracle to control Dark Seer, especially in the laning phase.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Arc Warden has relatively lower armor and mobility, which makes him an easy target to apply Quill Spray and
Viscous Nasal Goo stacks.
* Arc Warden also does not like to build a Silver Edge as it takes a long time to build up and may slow down the timings for other important items needed in the game like
Gleipnir.
* However, do note that in a game where Arc Warden's team has many jumping capabilities or good passives, like a Tidehunter or
Spectre, a
Silver Edge becomes incredibly valuable on Arc Warden as not only can he run away from the jumps, he effectively gets 2 breaks, and Bristleback may not be the best pick.
Riki
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 13%)Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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 can still get 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.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)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
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)Oracle
* Fortune's End's AoE dispel will remove Heavenly Grace and Guardian Angel.
* Fate's Edict can give spell immunity for protection against Omniknight's abilities at the cost of being disarmed.
Additional:
* Oracle can dispel Heavenly Grace (which he can also bait out with Fate's Edict).
* With Fortune's End, Oracle can dispel Guardian Angel in an area of effect.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 1%)Bristleback
* Quill Spray usually hits Meepo's clones, although Bristleback cannot turn his back when rooted with Earthbind.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 3%)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.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 11%)Oracle
* Fortune's End can catch out or impair position-based heroes with low mobility, such as Sniper or
Razor.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 1%)Bristleback
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter,
Bristleback,
Slardar.
Mars
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)Oracle
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: Timbersaw,
Dark Willow,
Enigma,
Invoker,
Pugna,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Zeus,
Oracle.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Heroes with little health or magic resistance are easily picked off with Oracle's magic burst, such as Skywrath Mage,
Crystal Maiden, or
Enchantress.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)Oracle
* Fate's Edict cripples many heroes who rely on attacks, such as Phantom Assassin,
Sven, or
Enchantress, without a dispel or a
Black King Bar.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 12%)Bristleback
* Heroes that have AoE damage: Lina,
Keeper of the Light,
Timbersaw,
Leshrac,
Bristleback,
Axe
Sven
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Fate's Edict cripples many heroes who rely on attacks, such as Phantom Assassin,
Sven, or
Enchantress, without a dispel or a
Black King Bar.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Oracle
* Heroes that can purge his slow and disables are very difficult to go on and their team: Abaddon,
Oracle.
Bane
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Heroes with strong dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: Oracle,
Legion Commander,
Omniknight.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Oracle
* Heroes with area dispel can kill multiple skeletons at once: Brewmaster,
Oracle.
Puck
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)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.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback,
Clinkz,
Luna,
Shadow Fiend,
Slardar,
Terrorblade
Keeper of the Light
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Oracle
* Heroes with dispels: Legion Commander,
Oracle,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 11%)Oracle
* Heroes with abilities that can save teammates are also effective such as Shadow Demon,
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Bane,
Pugna,
Tusk,
Winter Wyvern,
Io,
Underlord,
Treant Protector and
Keeper of the Light.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)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.
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.
Oracle
* During the laning stage, Oracle's Purifying Flames nullifies any damage that Heartstopper Aura might inflict.
* Fate's Edict and
False Promise can protect an ally from Reaper's Scythe.
* Oracle can dispel Ghost Shroud with Fortune's End.
Additional:
* Fortune's End can dispel Ghost Shroud, negating the skill's utility. Also it's worth noting that Necrophos takes additional magic damage when in Ethereal state, which makes Purifying Flames a powerful nuke against him.
* Fate's Edict fully negates the damage from Reaper's Scythe, which its own delayed animation makes it relatively easy to predict and nullify.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 15%)Oracle
* 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.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 15%)Oracle
* Heroes that can protect or dispel stunned allies such as Legion Commander,
Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon and
Oracle can reduce the effectiveness of Sacred Arrow.
Batrider
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Batrider's turn rate slow from
Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Oracle
* False Promise dispels Flaming Lasso.
* Fortune's End can root Batrider after he uses Flaming Lasso. It can also dispel Sticky Napalm and Flamebreak.
* Fate's Edict when used on a Lasso'd target will leave them immune to magical damage, making it difficult to burst them quickly before the Lasso ends.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)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.
Oracle
* 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.
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Oracle
* Heroes who are not easily crippled by Fate's Edict or Fortune's End, such as Timbersaw, or those who can dispel them, such as
Phantom Lancer, can kill Oracle unhindered.
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 quickly 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:
* 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.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Bristleback
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray: Axe,
Pudge,
Bristleback,
Mars.
Oracle
* Phoenix does significant magic damage over time which can either be dispelled or negated by Fate's Edict.
* Oracle's burst damage potential can prove lethal to Phoenix, as they already have to sacrifice health to cast their basic skills.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Oracle
* Oracle cannot easily deal with swarms of units, making him weak against heroes like Phantom Lancer or
Broodmother.
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.
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Bristleback
* Spirit Breaker's
Nether Strike with
Aghanim's Shard disables Bristleback's passives.
Bristleback
* Heroes who continue dealing damage while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Slardar
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)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.
Oracle
* Fortune's End applies a basic dispel which can be used to dispel Corrosive Haze, or even Slardar's own Guardian Sprint.
* False Promise is able to dispel Corrosive Haze and Slithereen Crush stun/slow from any allies Oracle chooses to cast it on.
* Fate's Edict can also be cast on Slardar to prevent him from proccing his Bash of the Deep.
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 win rate 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 Assassin 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 (lane data is parsed from hero guides dotabuff)
- 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
- Improved UX on small screens - when selecting heroes page automatically scrolls so hero select input is displayed at the very top of screen, leaving more space for results.
- importing picks from dotabuff/opendota URL or matchid
- sorting by personal win rate 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 win rate 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
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Bristleback
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Bristleback's small mana pool, preventing him from spamming
Viscous Nasal Goo and
Quill Sprays.
Bristleback.
Mana Break removes both a percentage and flat amount of your mana, preventing you from using abilities in the lane.
Blink Anti-Mage has very high mobility with this skill, and can easily escape from you since you have no way to prevent his blink. He can also use this offensively to get in front of you during fights.
* Bristleback has no innate mobility. Bristleback is easily kited by Blink, ignoring the protection from
Additional:
*
*
Oracle
* Anti-Mage can withstand magical burst damage much better than other carries, making him effective against nukers:
Lich,
Necrophos,
Oracle, and
Leshrac.
Counterspell, and may even have some ability damage reflected at himself.
Mana Break and
Mana Void.
Blink allows Anti-Mage to easily chase and take advantage of Oracle's low mobility.
Additional:
* Oracle has minimal damage potential against Anti-Mage due to
* Anti-Mage can easily overwhelm Oracle with
*