* Blink allows Quen of Pain to easily escape ganking or initiating attempts with Hookshot and Power Cogs.
* All of Queen of Pain's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* However, Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Queen of Pain.
* Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from Shadow Demon's abilities if he doesn't have disables.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Sonic Wave for the enemy.
* Ember Spirit's Fire Remnant is an easy way to escape from Clockwerk's Power Cogs.
* Flame Guard blocks most of the magical damage Clockwerk does.
* Disruption is not reliable enough to catch an Ember Spirit with a backup Fire Remnant.
* Sleight of Fist will also make quick work of the spawned illusions.
* The best you can do against an Ember Spirit is to dispel his Flame Guard with your Demonic Purge.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge with Aghanim's Scepter cannot break Reincarnation, which could put him in a disadvantage against Wraith King if his whole team is with him.
* Vampiric Spirit can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, Wraith King is a single-target hero, so he cannot deal with Disruption illusions.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* You can potentially kill a fragile Weaver by using Disruption during Shukuchi with a well-placed Sentry Ward, wasting the Shukuchi. But odds are he'll wait to get low health, Time Lapse the damage away and Shukuchi away once more.
* Single-target disablers will have difficulty locking down a Chaos Knight with Phantasm active: Bane, Beastmaster, Bloodseeker, Clockwerk, Doom, Shadow Shaman.
* Chaos Knight, Lone Druid, Meepo and Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
* {U:Familiar}s can spot Clockwerk, allowing Visage's allies to dodge or block Hookshot attempts.
* Familiars will not be damaged by Blade Mail or Clockwerk's abilities, dealing dangerous amounts of damage to him.
Additional:
* Familiars can scout for Clockwerk's location allowing Visage to dodge or block Hookshot attempts.
* Gravekeeper's Cloak greatly absorbs damage from Hookshot.
* Shadow Demon's main source of damage is his low cooldown, high damage spells - meaning Last Word and Global Silence will pretty much take him out of the game for the duration.
* Shadow Demon likes to spam his abilities, which makes him vulnerable to Arcane Curse.
* If Shadow Demon dies near Silencer, he will lose intelligence, reducing his mana pool, mana regen, and attack damage. Furthermore, if the game is long and Shadow Demon dies often, the intelligence losses will also reduce his spell damage.
* Glimpse moves Clockwerk away from allies struck by Hookshot, or under attack by Battery Assault.
* Static Storm can turn Power Cogs into Clockwerk's own grave, and if Disruptor has Aghanim's Scepter, then Clockwerk will not be able to use Blade Mail to return damage at all.
* Dragon Slave will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Light Strike Array for the enemy.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Lina out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Lina.
* Spirit Siphon can deal some serious damage to Clockwerk while he is in Power Cogs while healing Death Prophet in process. Exorcism can also be used to take down Clockwerk faster while he is in Power Cogs.
* Death Prophet usually buys a Hurricane Pike or Eul's Scepter of Divinity which allows her to easily escape from Power Cogs or save her allies from Clockwerk.
* Silence can prevent Clockwerk from using his ablities during teamfight, especially since Clockwerk is an easy target for it while in Power Cogs.
Additional:
* Spirit Siphon can deal some serious damage to Clockwerk while he is in Power Cogs while healing Death Prophet in process. Exorcism can also be used to take down Clockwerk faster while he is in Power Cogs.
* Death Prophet usually buys a Hurricane Pike or Eul's Scepter of Divinity which allows her to easily escape from Power Cogs or save her allies from Clockwerk.
* Silence can prevent Clockwerk from using his ablities during teamfight, especially since Clockwerk is an easy target for it while in Power Cogs.
* Shadow Demon will have a hard time catching Storm Spirit, as he can get away with Ball Lightning.
* Static Remnant will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* With very high mobility and usually being paired with Orchid Malevolence, he can catch Shadow Demon with ease both in ganks and in teamfights if Shadow Demon has no survivability items.
* Searing Arrows makes Clinkz one of the hardest heroes for Clockwerk to lane against.
* All of Lion's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Hex and Mana Drain can make quick work of whatever illusions you're creating, especially when he acquires his Talents at level 20 and 25.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Earth Spike or Finger of Death with Aghanim's Scepter for the enemy.
* All of Puck's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Shadow Demon will find a hard time catching a Puck, as he can get away with Illusory Orb or even Waning Rift;
* Puck can dodge Shadow Poison waves and potentially avoid the damage from Demonic Purge with Phase Shift. Furthermore, after Disruption ended, Puck can use Phase Shift to avoid any further danger and can blink away with Blink Dagger.
* Waning Rift can be used to initiate Shadow Demon, prevent him from using any spells.
* Death Ward with Aghanim's Scepter makes quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Witch Doctor buys Linken's Sphere or Black King Bar.
* All of Witch Doctor's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Voodoo Restoration can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Maledict or Paralyzing Cask for the enemy.
* Waveform allows Morphling to easily escape Power Cogs.
* Clockwerk's lack of burst damage makes it nearly impossible for him to kill a Morphling using Attribute Shift (Strength Gain).
Additional:
* Morphling can escape from Power Cogs with Waveform.
* Even if Morphling is trapped in Power Cogs, Morphling can use Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) to survive the duration.
* Battery Assault's damage is dispersed against Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Phantom Lancer can blink out of Power Cogs with Doppelganger.
* When chasing, a Phantom Lancer can close in with Phantom Rush and burn down Clockwerk's mana with Diffusal Blade, rendering him helpless before he has a chance to erect a defensive Power Cogs.
* Because Clockwerk does not like to buy items to deal with multiple enemies at once, like Battle Fury, Maelstrom and Mjollnir, he will be unable to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions coming from Juxtapose.
Additional:
* Doppelganger. lets Phantom Lancer jump in and out of Power Cogs.
* Clockwerk's low mobility makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer to rush on, and overwhelm with clones.
* Although Phantom Lancer will generate strong illusions, and you can also break his Juxtapose with an Aghanim's Demonic Purge, you have a small chance of guessing which is the real Phantom Lancer after he uses Doppelganger.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences 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.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer's strength is the sheer amount of illusions he can conjure, Dissimulate can be cast on an ally that he is focusing to quickly thin out his ranks
* Landing a upgraded Demonic Purge on the real Phantom Lancer prevents him from making very many illusions (His only source being Doppelganger), You can reapply as needed if you have the Shard
* Disrupting Phantom Lancer allows you to create multiple extra illusions with Juxtapose, As he is a common carrier of Diffusal Blade, you can also drain the mana of any nearby heros
* Due to Clockwerk's slow damage output, Chen can often save a trapped ally with Hand of God.
* Clockwerk does not have any source of damage to deal with Chen Creeps.
* Chen can use his creeps to block Clockwerk's attempts to use Hookshot.
Additional:
* Due to Clockwerk's very low damage output, Chen can often save a trapped enemy hero with Hand of God.
* Penitence's attack speed amplification allows Chen and his allies to kill Clockwerk quickly after his initiation.
* Chen's creeps can be used to block Hookshot initiation from all sides, as well as distribute Battery Assault's damage.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* Chaos Knight, Lone Druid, Meepo and Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
* Lycan and Weaver has abilities that allow them to move at maximum movement speed, and those abilities can't be dispelled, potentially wasting the slow from Demonic Purge.
* Vengeful Spirit can Nether Swap enemies out of Power Cogs.
Additional:
* Nether Swap gives Vengeful Spirit a way to save an ally from Clockwerk's Power Cogs.
* Magic Missile will interrupt Clockwerk trying to run down Vengeful Spirit's allies with Battery Assault.
* 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.
* Skywrath Mage's Mystic Flare can deal huge damage to Clockwerk inside his Power Cogs.
* With Feast and Rage, Lifestealer is nearly impossible for Clockwerk to bring down, and is the last hero Clockwerk wants to be trapped with in Power Cogs.
* Melee carries such as Sven, Ursa or Lifestealer can be slowed and easily kited with Demonic Purge.
* Juggernaut is invulnerable while using Omnislash, meaning that neither Blade Mail or Power Cogs will save Clockwerk, this is especially common during the early laning phase.
* Blade Fury will also ignore any damage dealt by Battery Assault, as well as dealing heavy damage. As long as Juggernaut has mana to cast it.
* Overall, any attempt for Clockwerk to trap Juggernaut with Power Cogs will hurt him a lot more than the other way around.
* Heroes with abilities that can save teammates are also effective such as Shadow Demon, Dazzle, Oracle, Bane, Pugna, Tusk, Winter Wyvern, Io, Underlord, Treant Protector and Keeper of the Light.
Additional:
* Be ready to save an ally from Omnislash with your Disruption.
* Spawning Juggernaut's illusions is a great deal, as his base attack time is low and he has a critical strike. Illusions will benefit from both.
* Demonic Purge will prevent Juggernaut's desperate attempt to flee using Blade Fury. However, it cannot stop him if he is using Town Portal Scroll.
* Poof will destroy Shadow Demon's illusions created by Disruption and quickly escapes from Shadow Poison & Demonic Purge.
* Because only one clone needs to be killed in order to kill Meepo, heroes that excel at singling out enemies can also be a detriment to him, such as Batrider, Beastmaster, Pudge and Clockwerk.
* Purification does great damage to Clockwerk when fighting an enemy inside Power Cogs.
* Due to Clockwerk's very low damage output, Omniknight will have more than enough time to Purification and Heavenly Grace any enemy hero Clockwerk initiates on.
* For the same reasons, Omniknight also makes a powerful ally for Clockwerk when the situation is reversed.
* Heroes that can purge buffs can dispel Guardian Angel: Invoker, Shadow Demon, Oracle.
Additional:
* Demonic Purge can dispel Guardian Angel on the key target during combat, allow your allies to finish them.
* Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova will tear apart any illusions spawned from Disruption
* Split Earth can punish improper usage of Disruption.
* Leshrac does not have any buffs that can be removed by Demonic Purge.
Additional:
* Pulse Nova makes quick work of any illusions with amplified damage, and deals damage even if Leshrac is in Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Split Earth for the enemy.
* Disruption does not stop Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova once they start pulsing, and even worse it provides a safe shelter for Leshrac to keep pumping up his powerful AoE damage onto the battlefield.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Leshrac out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Leshrac.
* Heroes with long cast animations can be continuously interrupted by Battery Assault: Centaur Warrunner, Jakiro, Leshrac, Naga Siren, Underlord.
Additional:
* Clockwerk naturally builds Blade Mail, reflecting Leshrac's high magic damage output back at him.
* Power Cogs will prevent Leshrac from reaching Clockwerk's team and dealing large AOE damage to them.
* Power Cogs will also keep Leshrac close, wasting his Diabolic Edict on just Clockwerk.
* Battery Assault interrupts Leshrac's long cast times of Split Earth and Lightning Storm.
* Shadow Fiend usually buys a Hurricane Pike allowing him to easily escape from Power Cogs.
* Shadow Fiend can farm Clockwerk's Power Cogs to gain Necromastery stacks.
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper, Shadow Fiend, Troll Warlord, Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
* Conjure Image and Reflection illusions may give Clockwerk a hard time to find an angle for Hookshot.
* Because Clockwerk lack burst damage, Terrorblade can often save himself with Sunder.
* Heroes who can summon illusions and summons because Terrorblade has no abilities to deal with multiple enemies at once outside Reflection: Shadow Shaman, Naga Siren, Broodmother, Lycan, Enigma, Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Demon, Dark Seer, Nature's Prophet, Invoker, Morphling, Visage, Grimstroke with Aghanim's Scepter.
* Aghanim's Shard upgraded Poison Touch can be used to hex Clockwerk, silencing him, disarming him, slowing him, and muting him, and thus rendering him unable to use Blade Mail to return damage or to do anything at all.
* Shadow Wave will hit Clockwerk every time when he's fighting with an enemy inside Power Cogs.
* Due to Clockwerk's very low damage output, Dazzle will have more than enough time to Shallow Grave any enemy hero Clockwerk initiates on.
Additional:
* Shadow Wave will hit Clockwerk every time when he's fighting with an enemy inside Power Cogs.
* Due to Clockwerk's steady damage output, Dazzle has plenty of time to Shallow Grave anyone Clockwerk initiates on.
* Some heroes with extreme range, like Zeus, Invoker or Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
* Firesnap Cookie can be fed to Snapfire herself or to an ally caught inside Power Cogs.
* A badly placed Power Cog makes it easier for Snapfire to aim Mortimer Kisses on Clockwerk
* Heroes with mobility spells (such as Queen of Pain's Blink and Clockwerk with Hookshot) can easily avoid Lil' Shredder and Mortimer Kisses.
* Heroes with high movement speeds like Pugna and Meepo can run around, to, or away from Snapfire during Mortimer Kisses and dodge the projectiles easily due to their slow speed.
* Power Cogs prevent Windranger from fleeing with Windrun.
* Battery Assault repeatedly interrupts Focus Fire, disrupting Windranger's damage output.
Additional:
* Windranger cannot escape with Windrun when she is trapped inside Power Cogs.
* Battery Assault repeatedly interrupts Focus Fire, disrupting Windranger's damage output.
* Shadow Demon can waste precious seconds of Windrun with Disruption.
* Alternatively, Demonic Purge can be used to dispel it altogether, leaving her completely defenseless for 7 seconds.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally if they get stunned by Shackleshot.
Additional:
* Shadow Demon can waste precious seconds of Windrun with Disruption.
* Alternatively, Demonic Purge. can be used to dispel it altogether, leaving her completely defenseless.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally if they get stunned by Shackleshot.
* Clockwerk is also the least optimal target for Sniper to attack in a teamfight, although more experienced players will rarely make this mistake.
* With no mobility or disable skills, getting trapped in Power Cogs is a death sentence for Sniper.
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper, Shadow Fiend, Troll Warlord, Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
* Power Cogs keeps Primal Beast pinned down, preventing him from doing damage with Trample. Primal Beast's slow attack speed makes it hard for him to break the cogs and get away. In addition, Power Cogs' knockback is forced movement and thus will intercept Primal Beast's Onslaught if placed well.
* Battery Assault on a lone Primal Beast in the early game effectively keeps him from winding up Onslaught or basic attacking.
* Rocket Flare and Jetpack (from purchasing Aghanim's Shard) give Clockwerk many options to scout for Primal Beast, whose kit benefits greatly from ambushing.
* Primal Beast really suffers against supports he cannot bully in the lane: this includes Dazzle, Shadow Demon and Dark Willow since they can use their respective abilities to stop Primal Beast from dealing burst damage, or make it hard for him to stay in range.
* Rocket Flare can find Tinker if he blinks into the treeline, and Hookshot will prevent him from teleporting out.
* Battery Assault makes Tinker unable to Rearm by stunning him repeatedly.
Additional:
* Clockwerk can easily catch a split pushing Tinker with his Hookshot and prevent him from escaping with Power Cogs and Battery Assault. Clockwerk can also find a Tinker hiding in trees with his Rocket Flare.
* Clockwerk usually buys a Blade Mail, which does lots of damage to Tinker if he gets hit by his abilities (especially March of the Machines).
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: Invoker, Shadow Demon, Batrider.
* Clockwerk can use Power Cogs to repel Spirit Breaker when he charges in with Charge of Darkness.
* Spirit Breaker's slow 0.6 second attack animation attacks do little damage against Clockwerk. It can also constantly be interrupted by Battery Assault.
* Nether Strike's 1.2 second charge time gives Clockwerk plenty of time to activate Blade Mail and for Battery Assault to cancel it.
Additional:
* Battery Assault will continuously prevent Spirit Breaker from using Nether Strike, Charge of Darkness and even right clicking because of his slow base attack speed.
* Heroes with ways to protect themselves or allies from Spirit Breaker's initiation: Shadow Demon, Outworld Destroyer, Omniknight, Dawnbreaker.
* Getting trapped in Power Cogs usually means the end for Drow Ranger.
Additional:
* Hookshot lets Clockwerk close the gap to Drow Ranger, disabling her Marksmanship bonus.
* Power Cogs and Battery Assault keep Drow Ranger from escaping.
* Power Cogs and Battery Assault also keep Drow Ranger close, nullifying Marksmanship.
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper, Shadow Fiend, Troll Warlord, Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
* Disruption will save Shadow Demon's teammates from being killed by Counter Helix or Culling Blade.
* Demonic Purge slows Axe to a crawl, making him nearly useless after initiating. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter, it will also break Counter Helix.
* Demonic Cleanse clears Battle Hunger and Aghanim's Shard Counter Helix Damage Reduction, both allowing targets to escape and reducing your own survivability.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Axe alone, Disruption can be used to save your allies from Axe's initiate Berserker's Call, or, if timed correctly, from his Culling Blade.
* Illusions spawned from Axe has the Counter Helix passive, which with deal some nasty damage if an enemy focuses them
* Your upgraded Demonic Purge breaks Axe's primary damage output: Counter Helix, This can be used on him during Berserker's Call to seriously hinder him.
* Demonic Cleanse will clear Battle Hunger, which is Axe's method of catching heroes, and Shard upgraded Counter Helix's Damage Reduction, which is one of Axe's primary survivability abilities.
* Battery Assault's mini-stuns can severely disrupt Legion Commander's attack animation when she enters a Duel, potentially saving Clockwerk (or his allies) and possibly even giving him an edge in securing a win himself.
* Power Cogs pushes Legion Commander away from Clockwerk's allies when she enters a Duel.
* Heroes who can hide the Dueled target (Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter etc).
Additional:
* Disruption can save allies and mess up an initiation from an enemy Legion Commander. Using Disruption on your ally that is affected by Duel will leave her totally exposed without the benefit of the life steal from Moment of Courage. A precise decision to Disrupt Legion Commander or her victim is crucial to waste Duel's potential.
* Demonic Purge cannot be dispelled by a hard dispel from Press the Attack, which in turn can be dispelled by your ultimate.
* Heroes with nukes that can jump her: Clockwerk, Snapfire, Spirit Breaker, Techies
* Heroes with break can disable Untouchable for a while: Doom and Shadow Demon (via Aghanim's Scepter), Viper, Shadow Shaman with Hex Breaks talent.
* Heroes who can stun Sven even with an activated Black King Bar can be an issue: Clockwerk, Beastmaster.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
* Shadow Demon's spammable illusions can be used to scout Techies' Proximity Mines.
* Clockwerk's long range initiation and catch makes it incredibly difficult for Nature's Prophet to split push and show on the map alone.
* Rocket Flare can be used to scout Nature's Prophet if he is hiding in the forest, and can provide vision inside of Sprout.
* Power Cogs pushes Monkey King out of Wukong's Command, ending his ultimate.
* Rocket Flare allows Clockwerk to scout Monkey King in the trees, and chase him with Hookshot.
* Disruption instantly removes Phantom Embrace, and can potentially save allies affected by Soulbind.
* Demonic Purge dispels Ink Swell.
* Meat Hooking a Clockwerk can backfire for Pudge, as Battery Assault and Blade Mail will hurt Pudge more than he hurts Clockwerk.
* Illusions and summons are double-edge sword type of matchup for Luna. On one hand, they can tank damage from Eclipse, but on the other hand, she can easily clear them before Eclipse with Moon Glaives. Examples include Spectre, Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade) or bring other units into the fight (such as Nature's Prophet, Lone Druid, Chen, Enchantress, Meepo and Arc Warden).
* Every hero that can withstand or prevent Eclipse at level 7: Juggernaut, Riki, Clockwerk, Drow Ranger, Abaddon, Faceless Void, Weaver, Outworld Destroyer.
* Demonic Purge takes off Luna's superior mobility, removing the need for chasing her and allowing your team to reposition in team fights or escape when at low HP. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter it will also take away glaive bounces and extra damage from Luna's passive. And Luna's commonly items Manta Style and Black King Bar does not work dispell to Demonic Purge
* Luna's illusions created by Disruption are very valuable with their Moon Glaives. These will effectively counter her pushing attempts and are painfully effective in team fights.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Shadow Demon makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Additional:
* Demonic Purge takes off Luna's superior mobility, removing the need for chasing her and allowing your team to reposition in team fights or escape when at low HP. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Sceptre it will also take away glaive bounces and extra damage from Luna's passive.
* Luna's illusions created by Disruption are very valuable with their Moon Glaives. These will effectively counter her pushing attempts and are painfully effective in team fights.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Shadow Demon is a very good ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
* Battery Assault, Power Cogs, and Hookshot can interrupt Freezing Field, the latter two being able to go through invisibility should Crystal Maiden use Glimmer Cape.
* Rocket Flare can be used to find Crystal Maiden should she try to hide in the trees to try to safely cast Freezing Field.
* Hookshot allows Clockwerk to easily close in on Crystal Maiden and kill her.
* Disruption can save an ally from a fatal Reaper's Scythe.
* Demonic Purge can remove Ghost Shroud, making Necrophos vulnerable to physical damage and preventing him from regenerating health.
* In the laning stage, making illusions of Venomancer will turn his Poison Sting back at him, making for an easy gank at level one, and for later when your mid comes for ganks.
* Alchemist is a well-known Radiance carrier among other auras your illusions will benefit from. They also get the extra move speed and reduced base attack time from his Chemical Rage, and it's even better if you can catch him as his own rage is about to expire.
* Disruption will buy enough time for all allies to retreat when Alchemist starts to activate Unstable Concoction.
* Battery Assault will continuously interrupt Earthshaker's long cast animations.
* Power Cogs can also trap Earthshaker after he initiates.
Additional:
* Battery Assault interrupts Earthshaker's long cast animations, preventing him from using any abilities apart from Echo Slam.
* Power Cogs often separate the battlefield so that both enemies and allies are unlikely to cluster.
* Rocket Flare allows Clockwerk to scout Earthshaker before a fight starts and potentially cancel his Blink Dagger.
* Hookshot enables Clockwerk to catch Earthshaker before he gets a chance to initiate a fight.
* The constant dispel from Demonic Purge will make any attempt to save the victim or himself by Surge become futile. For what it's worth, Demonic Purge will also dispel Ion Shell.
* Battery Assault easily interrupts Centaur Warrunner due to his poor cast animation.
* Power Cogs can negate Stampede.
* Clockwerk's Battery Assault disables Earth Spirit's Rolling Boulder, while his Power Cogs ensure, that Earth Spirit can't move away from it.
* His Hookshot allows him to chase after Earth Spirit, while using Rocket Flare to gain vision.
* Her illusions with Desolate are very valuable, especially when they are usually paired with Radiance. Unlike blink or force movement, Spectral Dagger's escaping mechanic requires manual movement, and therefore Demonic Purge can hold her back really hard and allow your allies to finish her off.
* If she tries to kill you or any key ally with Haunt at any point of the game, remember to not panic and always use Disruption on the illusion, whether it is fake or the real Spectre herself. When the situation calls, Demonic Purge can save a second victim from a haunting Spectre.
* When upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can remove Spectre from a fight by disabling Desolate and Dispersion, negating her damage and tankiness respectively.
* Black Hole requires channelling, making it easy to be interrupted with Hookshot.
* Enigma lacks mobility without a Blink Dagger and also is squishy, making him fall easily when ganked by Clockwerk.
Additional:
* Hookshot's stun pierces through spell immunity and Enigma's channeling can be easily cancelled from a safe distance, assuming none of his allies are in the way, and the Black Hole is not centered directly on Enigma.
* Shadow Demon's Disruption will allow his allies to maneuver around you. It can also be used to protect an ally from your abilities, or Astral Imprisonment - Meteor Hammer combo.
* Disseminate turns your high damage Arcane Orb and Sanitiy's Eclipse against you and your teammates.
* Scepter upgraded Demonic Purge will break your Essence Flux passive for 7 seconds, preventing you from regaining mana, and severely hindering your damage output.
* 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.
* Battery Assault's continuous mini-stun makes it hard for Elder Titan to cast his spells due to his poor cast animation.
* Elder Titan's channelling with Echo Stomp makes a good setup for Hookshot if timed correctly.
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge with Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
* Heroes with long cast animations can be continuously interrupted by Battery Assault: Centaur Warrunner, Jakiro, Leshrac, Naga Siren, Underlord.
* Heroes with break abilities: Shadow Demon (with Aghanim's Scepter), Viper.
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his Astral Imprisonment, and Shadow Demon and his Disruption.
* Heroes with hide abilities can often dodge a Ghostship just before it hits.
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his Astral Imprisonment, and Shadow Demon and his Disruption.
* A Eul's Scepter of Divinity can also do the trick, but, unlike the previously mentioned abilities, you can only use it on yourself and not your allies.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
* Heroes with long cast animations can be continuously interrupted by Battery Assault: Centaur Warrunner, Jakiro, Leshrac, Naga Siren, Underlord.
Additional:
* Battery Assault prevents Jakiro from casting spells as all his spells have very long cast times.
* Jakiro is also an easy target for Clockwerk's Hookshot + Power Cogs combo, as he has little mobility and no escape without items.
* Alternatively, if the enemy Clockwerk traps one of his own allies or Jakiro's allies in the cogs, it gives Jakiro an ideal setup to punish Clockwerk and his ally or to save Jakiro's ally, respectively.
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper, Shadow Fiend, Troll Warlord, Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
* Hex abilities prevent attacking, ability and item usage, which is a severe problem for Phantom Assassin as it prevents her from using Black King Bar, the one item that helps protect her against the aforementioned dangers. Doom and Shadow Demon with Aghanim's Scepter also disables Phantom Assassin's Evasion and Critical Strike, removing much of her damage and survivabaility: Doom, Disruptor with Aghanim's Scepter, Dazzle with Aghanim's Shard
* Heroes with long cast animations can be continuously interrupted by Battery Assault: Centaur Warrunner, Jakiro, Leshrac, Naga Siren, Underlord.
* Heroes with long range abilities are also able to touch Zeus, such as Clockwerk, Kunkka, Puck, Skywrath Mage, Spirit Breaker, Tusk and others.
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* Disruption can banish Faceless Void or an ally in Chronosphere, making it a less effective ability.
* Faceless Void's illusions created by Disruption will not get stunned by Chronosphere, allowing Shadow Demon to attack Faceless Void in his Chronosphere.
* Casting Disruption after releasing Shadow Poison charges will make Time Walk unable to backtrack the damage.
* Shadow Poison is a good way to deal damage as the initial damage and the release damage can't both be Time Walked at the same time.
* Demonic Purge is a great slow, useful to force out a Time Walk early and can break Time Lock with Aghanim's Scepter.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* Shadow Demon with an Aghanim's Scepter will use Demonic Purge to disable Curse of Avernus and the passive component of Borrowed Time. If this is combined with a silence, Borrowed Time will not trigger at all.
* Even without Aghanim's Scepter, he can still waste Borrowed Time with Disruption. Curse of Avernus fully works on illusions, turning the passive ability against him.
* Ursa's high physical burst damage combined with his big attack speed and durability makes him a very bad target for Power Cogs.
* Even with Blade Mail, Ursa's Enrage will negate most of the reflected damage.
* Heroes who can provide constant vision inside the Roshan Pit can negate one of the strongest advantages of Ursa, which is the possibility of quickly killing Roshan at the early game, with minimum itemization needed (Clockwerk, Beastmaster, etc).
* Melee carries such as Sven, Ursa or Lifestealer can be slowed and easily kited with Demonic Purge.
Additional:
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge renders Ursa useless even through Black King Bar as it slows him, continually purges his Overpower charges and can not be dispelled by Ursa's Enrage.
* Disruption is a good way to save teammates against Ursa. Disrupting Ursa is also a good way to kite him, as it can not be dispelled by Enrage.
* For the same reason, he has to be slightly more cunning when playing against heroes that can scout the treeline, such as Ancient Apparition and his Ice Vortex and Shadow Demon and his Shadow Poison.
* Shadow Demon, Outworld Destroyer and Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying Dagon and Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
* Anti-Mage can Blink into or out of Power Cogs, negating Clockwerk's initiation and bypassing his defenses.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can easily Blink out of Power Cogs, escaping any ganking or initiation attempts.
* Mana Break depletes Clockwerk's much-needed mana.
* Counterspell makes Clockwerk's very low damage output only tickle Anti-Mage.
* Disruption sets up Anti-Mage for a chain disable. The illusions will deal extra damage due to Mana Break.
* Shadow Poison hits Anti-Mage even after he's Blinked away.
* If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can break Mana Break and Counterspell, weakening both his offense and defense.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Anti-Mage alone, Disruption's considerable cast range can become a perfect setup for any hard-disable to follow up. If he is pinned down, Anti-Mage will quickly face his demise when the illusions deplete his already low mana pool. Manta Style will easily allow him to escape, however.
* The illusions can be controlled to quickly sap mana from any other target, making Anti-Mage one of the most valuable targets to disrupt.
* All of Pugna's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Nether Ward punishes Shadow Demon's constant mana usage from spamming spells, especially Shadow Poison.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Nether Blast for the enemy.
* Life Drain can be used to heal Pugna or an ally to save them from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption unless Pugna buys defensive items.
* Pugna's squishiness and lack of mobility make him easy prey for a Hookshot initiation.
* Clockwerk's high health, low mana costs, and lack of reliance on Blink Dagger make Nether Ward ineffective.
* Battery Assault shuts down Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Life Drain, as the repeated ministuns prevent Pugna from channeling for an extended length of time.
Additional:
* Clockwerk loves to Hookshot low health, immobile targets like Pugna.
* Pugna's Life Drain gets immediately and repeatedly (if an Aghanim's Scepter was purchased) cancelled due to Battery Assault, especially if Pugna is trapped inside Power Cogs.
* Clockwerk also loves to build Blade Mail, which will deal more damage to Pugna than Clockwerk due to Pugna's low health pool.
* Finally, both Hookshot and Rocket Flare can allow him to finish off Pugna out of range of his Nether Ward.
* Clockwerk cannot go head-to-head with Huskar in Power Cogs, as Berserker's Blood and Life Break will destroy him faster than the other way around.
Additional:
* Clockwerk's abilities cannot handle Huskar in a one-on-one fight, even if he gets the jump on him.
* Shadow Demon's Shadow Poison can quickly stack to the point where Huskars generally low health is easily finished off.
* Shadow Demon's Disruption can turn Huskar's high attack speed and regeneration against him, It also makes him an easy target for Shadow Poison,
* Shadow Demon commonly builds a Meteor Hammer, allowing him to land a heavy stun on Huskar
* Shadow Demon's upgraded Demonic Purge breaks Huskar, It also pierces Spell Immunity, Without his passive for 7 seconds Huskar quickly falls in battle
* However note that Shadow Demon is a squishy target and you can often overwhelm him if he is alone, But he can still Disrupt you to escape
Additional:
* Shadow Poison can quickly stack up on Huskar, And with his naturally low health you don't need as many stacks to be effective.
* Disruption turns Huskars high attack speed against him, They also have the highest survivability as illusions due to his passive Berserker's Blood, It also allows you to put Shadow Poison stacks on him,
* Dissimulate turns Huskar's burning damage against his team, You can cast it on an ally who is taking a bunch of Burning Spear stacks and cause Huskar to take high amounts of damage as well
* Scepter upgraded Demonic Purge is your most effective weapon against him, It's 7 second Break causes him to quickly die in battle
* Chaos Knight, Lone Druid, Meepo and Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
* Heroes with summons or illusions can counter Flux, such as Beastmaster , Chen, or Shadow Demon.
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Pugna, Death Prophet.
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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.
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may win a lane in an early game but would lose in late game (and vice versa). That's why sometimes
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Clockwerk
* Clockwerk being confined in his own Power Cogs means Clockwerk is unable to quickly escape from Phoenix's Sun Ray and Supernova.
* Sun Ray will also heal the enemy Clockwerk is fighting, making it unlikely for Clockwerk to take an enemy down with him.
* For the same reasons, Phoenix also makes a powerful ally for Clockwerk when the situation is reversed.
Shadow Demon
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from Shadow Demon abilities, especially Demonic Purge.
* Phoenix AoE abilities remove Shadow Demon's illusions created by Disruption.