Dark Willow
* 
Ancient Seal instantly shuts down Dark Willow's abilities, rendering her defenseless against his high burst damage spells, while she cannot cast spells of her own.
* 
Mystic Flare deals immense burst damage in an area, damaging Dark Willow through Shadow Realm.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: 
Zeus, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, 
Lina
Dark Willow
* 
Ball Lightning allows Storm Spirit to bypass Bramble Maze into the backline, and zip back into battle if he gets hit by Terrorize.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: 
Anti-Mage, 
Queen of Pain, 
Morphling, 
Storm Spirit
Dark Willow
* 
Rage protects and dispels all of Dark Willow's abilities.
Additional:
* Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Dark Willow's abilities.
Dark Willow
* 
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.
Grimstroke
* 
Nether Swap breaks one ally out of Soulbind, and can be used to redistribute the shared damage to Vengeful Spirit herself.
Dark Willow
* 
Blade Fury dispels most of Dark Willow's abilities, allowing Juggernaut to pass through Bramble Maze and cancel out Cursed Crown before the stun occurs.
* However, Dark Willow can tank 
Omnislash with Shadow Realm. As she is a valid target, but invulnerable to right clicks.
Additional:
* None of Dark Willow's spells pierce Spell Immunity, making Blade Fury a good counter against her. Additionally, it dispels Cursed Crown and Bramble Maze.
* Dark Willow is generally fragile, which results in Omnislash being devastating against her.
* However, if Shadow Realm is activated during Omnislash, then the attack damage is negated (though Omnislash can still jump to other enemies).
Dark Willow
* 
Last Word and 
Arcane Curse have the range to hit Dark Willow beyond Bramble Maze.
* 
Global Silence renders Dark Willow useless in teamfights.
Dark Willow
* Nyx Assassin's high burst damage can be the bane of Dark Willow, as her low health makes it difficult to survive long enough to escape through Shadow Realm.
* 
Spiked Carapace can be triggered by walking deliberately into Bramble Maze, leaving Dark Willow stunned and defenseless.
Dark Willow
* 
Gust can hit Dark Willow beyond a defensive Bramble Maze, and before she gets close enough to hit Drow Ranger with Bedlam.
* Drow Ranger's long range allows her to hit Dark Willow's team without venturing into her Bramble Maze.
Dark Willow
* 
Berserker's Call forces Dark Willow to attack, cancelling Shadow Realm.
Grimstroke
* 
Stampede can allow Soulbinded heroes to just ran away.
Dark Willow
* 
Magnetic Field lets Arc Warden or allies evade Dark Willow's shadow realm attacks. The duration of the evasion can be extended with the clone.
* 
Spark Wraith also exploits Dark Willow's low mobility.
Dark Willow
* Jakiro's area of effect abilities can hit Dark Willow even while she is hidden during the Shadow Realm.
* Waiting about 2 seconds after Dark Willow casts Shadow Realm to cast Ice Path will stun her while her Shadow Realm is at it's maximum damage.
* Jakiro can stun Dark Willow when there is about 1 second left on Cursed Crown, Jakiro's Ice Path stun lasts slightly longer then Cursed Crown.
Dark Willow
* 
Flame Guard blocks Dark Willow's magical burst damage, and harms her if she tries to get close to attack with Bedlam.
* 
Sleight of Fist and 
Fire Remnant makes it hard for Dark Willow to fully disable Ember Spirit.
Grimstroke
* 
Disruption instantly removes Phantom Embrace, and can potentially save allies affected by Soulbind.
* 
Demonic Purge dispels Ink Swell.
Grimstroke
* 
Stroke of Fate provides Rubick with a short cooldown nuke.
* 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.
* 
Phantom's Embrace is an unique ability with extra silence and damage.
* 
Ink Swell is a great initiation/counter-initiation ability for frontliners.
* With 
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.
* Both 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* 
Smoke Screen prevents Dark Willow from using her abilities, rendering her defenseless and unable to deal any serious damage.
* 
Blink Strike lets Riki jump past Bramble Maze.
Dark Willow
* Heroes with high burst damage and 
Black King Bar can take down Dark Willow quickly: 
Phantom Assassin, 
Sven, 
Wraith King
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Lina
Grimstroke
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Morphling, Storm Spirit
Grimstroke
* 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
Dark Willow
* 
Counterspell negates Dark Willow's high magic burst damage. Its active blocks Cursed Crown.
* 
Blink allows Anti-Mage to dodge Terrorize during its long cast animation, as well as avoiding the obstacles from Bramble Maze. On the other hand, if Anti-Mage gets caught inside Bramble Maze, he's unable to Blink away.
* Dark Willow's chained magic burst requires a lot of mana, setting her up for damaging 
Mana Voids.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Morphling, Storm Spirit
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* Heroes who can silence will shut down Dark Willow entirely: 
Death Prophet, Silencer, 
Drow Ranger
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Lina
Grimstroke
* Heroes with mobility spells can quickly escape from Stroke of Fate or break out of Soulbind: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Morphling, Storm Spirit
Dark Willow
* Heroes with high burst damage and Black King Bar can take down Dark Willow quickly: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Wraith King
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Lina
Dark Willow
* Heroes with high burst damage and Black King Bar can take down Dark Willow quickly: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Wraith King
Dark Willow
* 
Rot and 
Meat Hook hits Dark Willow even when she uses Shadow Realm.
* 
Flesh Heap reduces Dark Willow's magic burst damage.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: 
Bane, 
Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, 
Enigma.
Dark Willow
* Bramble Maze prevents Timbersaw from 
Timber Chaining away without getting rooted.
* Cursed Crown can still catch Timbersaw if he Timber Chains away.
* 
Reactive Armor offers little protection against Dark Willow's high magical damage.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* Terrorize forces Faceless Void out of 
Chronosphere.
Grimstroke
* Soulbind pierces spell immunity and prevents Faceless Void from escaping with Time Walk.
Dark Willow
* Terrorize, Bedlam and Cursed Crown can damage Muerta through 
Pierce the Veil.
* Even if Muerta has Black King Bar and Pierce the Veil active, Dark Willow can still use Shadow Realm to protect herself against the Pierce the Veil's high damage, as Muerta cannot attack her for it's duration.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* Heroes with powerful rooting abilities will disable most of Pangolier's skills, a bonus point if it pierces spell immunity since it will also be able to stop Pangolier during his Rolling Thunder: 
Treant Protector, 
Meepo, Crystal Maiden, 
Dark Willow, 
Underlord, Naga Siren
Grimstroke
* Soulbind ignores spell immunity, forcing Pangolier to roll in place during his ultimate as well as anchoring the other victim to his vicinity.
Dark Willow
* 
Windrun does not protect Windranger from Cursed Crown's stun or Dark Willow's magical nukes.
* 
Focus Fire cannot target Dark Willow in Shadow Realm and will be interrupted if targeted earlier, wasting the ultimate.
Additional:
* Windrun does not protect Windranger from Cursed Crown stun or Dark Willow's magical nukes.
* Focus Fire cannot target Dark Willow in Shadow Realm and will be interrupted if targeted earlier, wasting the ultimate.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* Dark Willow's burst damage and stun prevents Troll Warlord from approaching her until he has Black King Bar.
* Troll Warlord's lack of burst damage makes it hard for him to kill Dark Willow before she slips into Shadow Realm.
Grimstroke
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: 
Lycan, 
Ursa, 
Troll Warlord.
Dark Willow
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* Bramble Maze will very likely catch Marci midair, disabling Marci's chasing/fleeing ability.
* Shadow Realm prevents Marci from bursting Willow down since she relies on physical attacks and unit target spells. With Aghanim's Scepter, Willow can hit Marci while Marci can't hit Willow.
* Bedlam and 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity allows Willow to manfight if Marci initiates with Rebound.
* Terrorize and Cursed Crown combo can waste Marci's ultimate for almost half of its duration.
Dark Willow
* Terrorize forces Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* 
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.
Dark Willow
* Bramble Maze stops 
Charge of Darkness in its tracks. Its very long duration means it can be used as an obstacle to block off an incoming Spirit Break during teamfights.
* Shadow Realm and Bedlam can be activated when Dark Willow sees Charge of Darkness coming, preventing Spirit Breaker from using 
Nether Strike after the initial stun.
Dark Willow
* Bramble Maze greatly hinders Bloodseeker's ability to run around in teamfights and pick off dying allies.
* Shadow Realm prevents Bloodseeker from attacking dark Willow, allowing her to safely teleport away.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* Grimstroke's Soulbind will always reliably connect onto both of them if they are close together.
Dark Willow
* Casting Bramble Maze on top of Meepo guarantees a root, as it is nearly impossible to leave the thorns with all of Meepo's clones.
* Terrorize and Cursed Crown offer great disables against the grouped Meepos and can prevent them from using 
Poof to escape.
Grimstroke
* 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
Grimstroke
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: 
Chaos Knight, Broodmother, Naga Siren.
Dark Willow
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: 
Timbersaw, Dark Willow, Enigma, 
Invoker, 
Pugna, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Zeus, Oracle.
Grimstroke
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: Chaos Knight, Broodmother, Naga Siren.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Grimstroke
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: Lycan, Ursa, Troll Warlord.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Dark Willow
* 
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.
Grimstroke
* 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.
Dark Willow
* All of Puck's abilities are area-targeted, and will hit Dark Willow when she uses Shadow Realm.
Illusory Orb allows Puck to bypass Bramble Maze, close the gap and silence Dark Willow with 
Waning Rift.
Phase Shift helps Puck dodge attacks charged by Shadow Realm, and is easily timed against Terrorize's long cast time.
*
*
Grimstroke
*
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.