* Spectre's entire ability set is designed to get to and destroy heroes that stay in the backlines, both carries (like the aforementioned
Drow Ranger and
Sniper) and supports (like
Dazzle and
Shadow Shaman).
* As Ancient Apparition likes to stay far away from the fight to get full effectiveness from
Ice Blast, he is a very good target for a
Haunt gank.
* Ancient Apparition also has no hard disables and escape spells, making him an easy kill for Spectre.
* A well-timed
Global Silence prevents Dazzle from saving allies with Shallow Grave or Shadow Wave. Items that could dispel the silence are expensive, and difficult for Dazzle to farm from a support role.
*
Arcane Curse and
Last Word cause long damage over time, which may outlast Shallow Grave.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:
Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Although
Counterspell's passive component doesn't protect Anti-Mage from the physical damage nukes from Poison Touch and Shadow Wave, a well-timed use of it will reflect Poison Touch back to Dazzle, slowing him in the process.
* This can be even more dangerous if Dazzle has an
Aghanim's Shard, as
Counterspell will reflect the hex back to Dazzle.
*
Mana Break drains mana, which can be a problem for Dazzle, as all of his abilities have a high mana cost. This makes him especially vulnerable to
Mana Void.
* Anti-Mage easily Blinks out of
Cold Feet's freeze radius.
* Ancient Apparition lacks mobility, thus making him fall easily to Mana Void.
* Counterspell reduces all Ancient Apparition's spell damage.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can
Blink away from Cold Feet or build a
Manta Style to dispel it.
*
Counterspell minimizes the damage Anti-Mage takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
*
Mana Break and
Mana Void deal a lot of damage to Ancient Apparition due to his high mana pool.
* Heroes who rely on magical damage resistance may have a hard time laning against Dazzle as all of Dazzle's abilities deal physical damage instead of magical:
Anti-Mage,
Huskar,
Viper.
*
Juxtapose and
Doppelganger conjures too many illusions for Dazzle to deal with, given he has no inherent movement- or AoE-abilities.
* However, this can be partially solved with
Aghanim's Shard-upgraded Poison Touch, as the hex instantly destroys illusions in an area as well as revealing the real Phantom Lancer when he's hiding among his army of illusions.
*
Phantom Rush and
Spirit Lance allow Phantom Lancer to trivially catch Dazzle even in the back line of a fight.
* Phantom Lancer has high base armor which counters Dazzle's physical damage based spells in lane.
*
Diffusal Blade, a core item on Phantom Lancer, drains mana, which can be a problem for Dazzle, as all of his abilities have a high mana cost.
* Phantom Lancer can dispel or escape from Cold Feet with
Doppelganger and
Phantom Rush, respectively. Phantom Lancer also frequently builds a
Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition has trouble dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions due to a lack of Area of Effect damage other than Ice Blast.
* Phantom Lancer tends to build a
Diffusal Blade, which greatly amplifies his damage against Ancient Apparition due to Ancient Apparition's high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape/mobility mechanisms, making him an easy target for Phantom Lancer at any stage of the game.
*
Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
*
Doom's
Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
*
Bloodseeker's
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
*
Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
*
Grimstroke's
Soulbind is undispellable.
*
Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
*
Monkey King's
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
* Heroes with high burst damage through their physical attacks or spells can kill Dazzle or his allies before he has a chance to use Shallow Grave. (
Lina,
Lion, etc.)
*
Finger of Death can instantly shred many targets, especially fragile Heroes like
Keeper of the Light,
Ancient Apparition or
Bounty Hunter.
* Some heroes with extreme range, like
Zeus,
Invoker or
Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:
Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Ancient Apparition's only skill to stop Storm Spirit is
Cold Feet, which is bad in general when trying to stop a Storm Spirit without any other disable.
* As a fragile support with low Strength gain and no magic resistance, Ancient Apparition is vulnerable to Storm Spirit's combos.
*
Primal Split makes Brewmaster invulnerable for the duration, rendering effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast useless.
*
Dispel Magic can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
* Brewmaster can easily run Ancient Apparition down with the slow from
Thunder Clap and
Cinder Brew.
*
Cold Feet is extremely easy to nullify with Shukuchi.
*
Ice Vortex does not slow Weaver in Shukuchi.
* Time Lapse will still affect his health, even when hit by
Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition has no escapes or saves and is very squishy, making him an easy target for Weaver to get on top of.
Additional:
*
Time Lapse allows Weaver (or an ally if upgraded with
Aghanim's Scepter) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
*
Shukuchi completely ignores the slow from Ice Vortex and helps him escape the freeze range of Cold Feet.
*
Dissimilate and
Astral Step allow Void Spirit to quickly escape from Cold Feet.
* Void Spirit deals both magical and physical damage, which makes Ancient Apparition an easy target to ambush.
* If Void Spirit purchases
Aghanim's Scepter, the silence provided by
Resonant Pulse can disrupt Ancient Apparition during fights, as he is entirely reliant upon spells to contribute.
* Riki can get on top of Ancient Apparition very easily with
Blink Strike. This can also double as a way to dodge Ice Blast, along with
Tricks of the Trade.
* Ancient Apparition will frequently resort to casting Ice Blast right before dying.
Smoke Screen can be used to prevent this, stopping Ancient Apparition from having any impact.
* Pugna can turn out to be an effective hero against Dazzle due to the fact that he does not allow him to extend his
Poison Touch with his
Decrepify, which is why Dazzle cannot keep the enemy under prolonged deceleration.
* Pugna has a very strong ability against casters with a small health reserve -
Nether Ward, which is why heroes like Dazzle will not be able to constantly throw their
Poison Touch
Bad Juju and
Shadow Wave at enemies under the action of
Nether Ward or will be forced to take a lot of damage
Additional:
* Pugna can turn out to be an effective hero against Dazzle due to the fact that he does not allow him to extend his
Poison Touch with his
Decrepify, which is why Dazzle cannot keep the enemy under prolonged deceleration.
* Pugna has a very strong ability against casters with a small health reserve -
Nether Ward, which is why heroes like Dazzle will not be able to constantly throw their
Poison Touch
Bad Juju and
Shadow Wave at enemies under the action of
Nether Ward or will be forced to take a lot of damage
* Culling Blade ignores the protection from
Shallow Grave and will kill any target whose health is low enough. This makes Axe one of the hardest counters to Dazzle, and he neutralizes one of Dazzle's most important abilities.
Additional:
*
Culling Blade kills any target under the health threshold, even through Shallow Grave.
* Dazzle's lack of a true disable makes him a relatively vulnerable target for Phantom Assassin.
* Coup de Grace will often kill Dazzle's teammates before he has a chance to use
Shallow Grave.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like
Phantom Assassin or
Clinkz.
* 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
*
Astral Imprisonment is a versatile nuisance:
* If it is cast on a low-enough-health unit at least 1 second into Shallow Grave's duration, the Shallow Grave will end during the imprisonment, and the target will take lethal damage when released.
* It can be used remove Dazzle from the fight at a time he could have saved someone.
* It lets himself or an ally dodge all of Poison Touch's effects, for long enough to recover their
Blink Dagger.
*
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.
* Doom can completely shut down Dazzle through
Doom, as it prevents him from casting his abilities and, by extension, gaining Bad Juju stacks.
*
Leap allows Mirana to easily escape the freezing range of Cold Feet. Mirana also tends to build
Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* During
Moonlight Shadow, the invisibility makes it hard to catch Mirana's team with Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition's lack of mobility/escape capabilities makes him an easy target for Mirana at any stage of the game.
*
Shapeshift increases Lycan's movement speed and renders him unslowable, allowing him to easily avoid and escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Lycan has fast summons, both his wolves from
Summon Wolves can do heavy damage to Ancient Apparition due to his immobility and low armor.
* Some heroes with extreme range, like
Zeus,
Invoker or
Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
* 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.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:
Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:
Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:
Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* 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
* Squishy heroes, usually supports, like
Lion,
Ancient Apparition,
Keeper of the Light etc can die quickly to Tiny's magic burst.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
*
Icarus Dive helps Phoenix escape from Cold Feet.
* However, all of Pheonix's basic abilities do cost health, which can be harmful under the effects of Ice Blast.
*
Supernova can save Phoenix from Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Supernova with or without Aghanim's Scepter allows to save ally or himself through
Ice Blast.
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from
Cold Feet.
* Since all of Phoenix's abilities (except for
Supernova) have health costs, heroes like
Ancient Apparition or
Necrophos can turn Phoenix's abilities against it. However,
Supernova does completely protect Phoenix from
Ice Blast.
*
Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage Viper takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Ancient Apparition's slow movement speed, squishy nature, and lack of escape abilities can easily be taken advantage of through
Poison Attack and
Viper Strike.
* Heroes who rely on magical damage resistance may have a hard time laning against Dazzle as all of Dazzle's abilities deal physical damage instead of magical:
Anti-Mage,
Huskar,
Viper.
*
Poison Touch severely slows down Chen, deals damage over time and weakens his armor every time he gets attacked by Dazzle or any of his allies.
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch can hex Chen and prevent him from saving his allies with
Hand of God.
* Neither Chen nor his converted creeps have burst damage at all, so Dazzle will always have plenty of time to save his allies with
Shallow Grave.
* Dazzle can use
Shadow Wave can heal his allies, kill Chen's creeps and damage Chen himself.
*
Bad Juju can weaken Chen's armor, and the armor of his creeps every time Dazzle casts a spell while strengthening armor of Dazzle's allies.
*
Ice Blast can prevent healing from
Hand of God and kill Chen's creeps.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Chen on lane with
Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
*
Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex makes it impossible for Chen to escape from
Cold Feet.
Ice Vortex can also make Chen's creeps more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents
Divine Favor and
Hand of God from healing his allies or himself.
*
Poison Touch allows Dazzle to harass both, Io and it's tethered target on lane.
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch can also hex both, Io and it's tethered target, preventing them from escaping with Relocate, and also disarming them, silencing them, muting them and rendering them helpless against Dazzle and his allies.
* Io's damage output is one of the weakest, therefore Dazzle will have plenty of time to save an ally with
Shallow Grave from gank by Io and it's tethered target.
*
Shadow Wave will always hit both, Io and it's tethered target if they are near the ally Dazzle uses
Shadow Wave on, while healing Dazzle's allies near them.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Shadow Wave can bounce on both, Io and it's tethered target, causing them both to take damage and to be attacked by Dazzle. And unlike Io who doesn't get healed while using Tether, Shadow Wave will always heal Dazzle no matter on which of his allies he uses it on.
*
Bad Juju will cause both, Io and it's tethered target to lose armor every time Dazzle casts a spell while strengthening armor of Dazzle's allies.
Additional:
*
Poison Touch allows Dazzle to harass both, Io and it's
Tethered target on lane.
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch can also hex both, Io and it's
Tethered target, preventing them from escaping with Relocate, and also disarming them, silencing them, muting them and rendering them helpless against Dazzle and his allies.
* Io's damage output is one of the weakest, therefore Dazzle will have plenty of time to save an ally with
Shallow Grave from gank by Io and it's
Tethered target.
*
Shadow Wave will always hit both, Io and it's
Tethered target if they are near the ally Dazzle uses
Shadow Wave on, while healing Dazzle's allies near them.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Shadow Wave allows Dazzle
Shadow Wave directly on Io and it's
Tethered target which can also bounce on both, Io and it's tethered target, causing them both to take damage and to be attacked by Dazzle. And unlike Io who doesn't get healed while using Tether, Shadow Wave will always heal Dazzle no matter on which of his allies he uses it on.
*
Bad Juju will cause both, Io and it's tethered target to lose armor every time Dazzle casts a spell while strengthening armor of Dazzle's allies.
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing an ally with
Tether and prevents healing from
Overcharge
* Io is a common
Mekansm builder which is useless if he is affected by Ice Blast.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast prevents Io from healing the target.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Io on lane with
Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
*
Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex makes it nearly impossible for Io to escape from
Cold Feet.
Ice Vortex can also make Io and it's tethered target more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
* Dazzle's
Shadow Wave is a spammable healing ability that spreads around his entire team, slowing the death of his teammates as effectively as Necrophos spreads damage to them.
* If not immediately,
Shallow Grave delays his ally from gradually dying to Necrophos's abilities, especially Reaper's Scythe.
* However, bear in mind that Dazzle's
Poison Touch,
Shadow Wave and
Bad Juju all deal physical damage, and Dazzle has no abilities to help him deal magical damage at all, which can cause problems for Dazzle to kill Necrophos if he uses Ghost Shroud to protect himself.
Additional:
*
Reaper's Scythe is very predictable and gives Dazzle plenty of time to react with Shallow Grave: Dazzle just has to keep a close eye on his allies below 50% health.
* However, Dazzle must be sure to use Shadow Wave on that ally immediately after, or they will die from
Heartstopper Aura when the Shallow Grave ends!
*
Ice Blast completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, else he be faced with a quick death if focused on.
*
Shallow Grave prevents Legion Commander from killing her opponents in Duels.
*
Shadow Wave will heal an ally caught in a Duel, as well as dealing damage to Legion Commander.
* Heroes with global abilities can give Legion Commander's opponent an edge in Duels from anywhere on the map:
Nature's Prophet,
Ancient Apparition,
Zeus,
Invoker,
Treant Protector
* Heroes who rely on magical damage resistance may have a hard time laning against Dazzle as all of Dazzle's abilities deal physical damage instead of magical:
Anti-Mage,
Huskar,
Viper.
*
Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing, regeneration, health gained from activating an
Armlet of Mordiggian and will kill him when his health dips below a threshold. This makes it very dangerous for him to use his abilities.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing with
Berserker's Blood and negates any lifesteal, making him significantly weaker in battle.
*
Burning Spear and
Life Break cost Huskar his own health, killing him under the effects from Ice Blast.
* Huskar often builds
Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
* Heroes that can deny Slark early kills will prevent him from snowballing:
Dazzle,
Abaddon.
* Heroes like
Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
* Despite Ancient Apparition's fragileness, he can easily harass Luna on lane with
Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
*
Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex can make it difficult for Luna to escape from
Cold Feet
*
Ice Blast can nullify any healing Luna receives and any attempt for her to save herself with
Satanic, even through
Black King Bar.
* For the same reasons, Ancient Apparition makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
*
Ice Blast prevents Lifestealer from lifestealing and healing with Infest in fights.
* Venomancer's damage-over-time abilities are easier to heal through with numerous Shadow Waves than other types of damage, and it's simple to time a Shallow Grave until the last possible second to save a teammate from them.
*
Shadow Wave provides good sustain against Tinker's spammable abilities.
*
Shallow Grave can stop Tinker from bursting down a target.
*
Cold Embrace makes its target immovable, allowing Ancient Apparition to easily land Ice Blast, or a Cold Feet stun.
* Ice Blast also negates healing from
Cold Embrace.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast disables the healing component of Cold Embrace, making it essentially a 4 second stun on an ally and a perfect setup for Ice Blast.
* If
Cold Feet is cast on an Allied hero affected by Cold Embrace, it will almost guarantee the Ally comes out stunned.
* Snapfire is vulnerable while she is casting
Mortimer Kisses making her an easy target for the effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast,
Cold Feet, and
Ice Vortex are easier to land on Snapfire while she channels her
Mortimer Kisses.
* Ice Blast nullifies
Borrowed Time's and
Mist Coil's healing.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast's nullifies Abaddon healing from Borrowed Time and Mist Coil and it is not dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
* Ice Blast nullifies the health regeneration granted by
Chemical Rage, which Alchemist greatly relies on to stay alive in battle.
* Alchemist tends to build
Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
Additional:
*
Ice Blast cancels out Chemical Rage's rapid health regeneration. It can also take advantage of Alchemist's
Armlet of Mordiggian toggling, as it will make HP drain insanely fast, essentially killing the bearer in no time.
*
Ice Blast cancels Warlock's Golem's and Shadow Word's healing.
*
Cold Feet stuns Warlock if he stands in place, forcing him to stop channeling Upheaval immediately or be forced to stop channeling it by it's stun.
* Some heroes with extreme range, like
Zeus,
Invoker or
Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
* 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.
Additional:
*
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.
*
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.
* Cold feet can be used to ensure that the full channel of
Freezing Field doesn't go off.
*
Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from Spirit Siphon and Exorcism.
* However, there is a way for Death Prophet to counter Ice Blast: Since Death Prophet is not healed until the spirits are returned to her. She can attempt to outrun her spirits to delay their return until Ice Blast duration runs out.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from
Spirit Siphon and
Exorcism.
* Muerta doesn't have the speed to easily escape
Cold Feet, potentially controlling her during Pierce the Veil.
* Ancient Apparition outranges Muerta with
Chilling Touch, allowing him to poke her down safely.
*
Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering adional health, and using it will even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In lane,
Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
Additional:
* Ice Blast stops Morphling from gaining additional health with
Attribute Shift.
* Using
Attribute Shift would even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In the lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
*
Cold Feet and
Ice Vortex both hinder Dragon Knight's movement greatly during teamfights.
*
Ice Blast ignores Dragon Knight's armor, disables his health regeneration, and kills him prematurely.
*
Shallow Grave can prevent the death of an ally that is trapped inside the Chronosphere.
*
Shadow Wave lets Dazzle heal allies and damage enemies from outside Chronosphere.
* Heroes like
Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
* 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.
* Heroes with armor reducing abilities greatly hinder Visage's defense like
Slardar and
Dazzle.
* Heroes with large magical AoE damage will fare well against Omniknight:
Lich,
Ancient Apparition,
Jakiro,
Disruptor.
* Once he buys
Aghanim's Shard, Dazzle's
Poison Touch can hex enemies, and hex can instantly kill illusions, making Dazzle strong against heroes who rely on illusions. Bear in mind that
Chaos Knight is the exception because his
Phantasms are strong illusions that are immune to abilities that can instantly kill illusions.
* Hex abilities can cancel the channelling of Fiend's Grip :
Lion,
Shadow Shaman,
Dazzle from
Aghanim's Shard with upgraded
Poison Touch.
* Heroes that can save their allies can be a big problem for Mars:
Dazzle,
Omniknight.
* 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.
* 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.
* Support heroes with low mobility can be slowed further by Incapacitating Bite, and swarmed by Spiderlings for an easy kill:
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Dazzle,
Rubick,
Lich.
*
Ice Blast prevents
Insatiable Hunger lifesteal,
Spin Web regeneration and quickly kills spiderlings.
*
Bloodseeker's
Thirst,
Rupture, and huge AoE silence
Blood Rite can fare well against Dazzle.
*
Shallow Grave prevents Bloodseeker from replenishing his health by finishing off enemies.
* Lone Druid's early game is good against slow, squishy supports since his bear is very strong early game and an Entangling Claws proc almost always guarantees a kill:
Ancient Apparition,
Crystal Maiden,
Shadow Shaman, etc.
* Dazzle easily breaks the position of Lone Druid and his
Summon Spirit Bear with his
Poison Touch, As it always hits from afar and prolongs the slowdown on the
Summon Spirit Bear, which is why he cannot catch up with Dazzle and treat his master with
Spirit Link
* Dazzle helps his team survive the physical attacks of the
Summon Spirit Bear thanks to the treatment from
Shadow Wave and armor from
Bad Juju, which can enable his team to kill Lone Druid
* The Lone Druid
Summon Spirit Bear has a small amount of armor at the start of the game, because of Mid Dazzle, it can very much break through it and prevent Lone Druid from gaining an advantage at the very beginning of the game, giving his team the opportunity to overtake Lone Druid on items for killing him, by type:
Spirit Vessel
Additional:
* Dazzle easily breaks the position of Lone Druid and his
Summon Spirit Bear with his
Poison Touch, As it always hits from afar and prolongs the slowdown on the
Summon Spirit Bear, which is why he cannot catch up with Dazzle and treat his master with
Spirit Link
* Dazzle helps his team survive the physical attacks of the
Summon Spirit Bear thanks to the treatment from
Shadow Wave and armor from
Bad Juju, which can enable his team to kill Lone Druid
* The Lone Druid
Summon Spirit Bear has a small amount of armor at the start of the game, because of Mid Dazzle, it can very much break through it and prevent Lone Druid from gaining an advantage at the very beginning of the game, giving his team the opportunity to overtake Lone Druid on items for killing him, by type:
Spirit Vessel
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like
Phantom Assassin or
Clinkz.
* Heroes that excel at grouping up with their team very early will be able to take advantage of a Clinkz that tries to pick off heroes that are alone:
Brewmaster,
Dazzle,
Tidehunter.
*
Sunder allows Terrorblade (or an ally) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Terrorblade often buys
Manta Style which can dispel Cold Feet.
Additional:
* Sunder is not affected by
Ice Blast and will still swap health with any target as usual.
*
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch can be used to easily kill many of Terrorblade's illusions from both
Conjure Image and
Manta Style, it can also hex the real Terrorblade, silencing him, disarming him, slowing him, muting him and rendering him unable to do anything at all.
*
Shallow Grave can be used to save an ally whom Terrorblade has used
Sunder on under the condition Dazzle is quick enough to do it. And since Terrorblade has no "real" burst damage potential outside from
Sunder, Dazzle will usually have plenty of time to save an allied hero on which
Sunder was used.
*
Shadow Wave will always damage Terrorblade and his illusions whenever Terrorblade has no
Metamorphosis available to use, while healing Dazzle's allies.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Shadow Wave can also be used directly on Terrorblade, and bounce on both Terrorblade and his illusions alike, causing them to take damage and to be attacked by Dazzle.
Shadow Wave can also pierce throught debuff immunity by
Black King Bar, one of the items Terrorblade relies on to survive in teamfights.
*
Bad Juju can weaken Terrorblade's armor every time Dazzle casts a spell while strengthening armor of Dazzle's allies.
Additional:
*
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch can be used to easily kill many of Terrorblade's illusions from both
Conjure Image and
Manta Style, it can also hex the real Terrorblade, silencing him, disarming him, slowing him, muting him and rendering him unable to do anything at all.
*
Shallow Grave can be used to save an ally whom Terrorblade has used
Sunder on under the condition Dazzle is quick enough to do it. And since Terrorblade has no "real" burst damage potential outside from
Sunder, Dazzle will usually have plenty of time to save an allied hero on which
Sunder was used.
*
Shadow Wave will always damage Terrorblade and his illusions whenever Terrorblade has no
Metamorphosis available to use, while healing Dazzle's allies.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Shadow Wave can also be used directly on Terrorblade, and bounce on both Terrorblade and his illusions alike, causing them to take damage and to be attacked by Dazzle.
Shadow Wave can also pierce throught debuff immunity by
Black King Bar, one of the items Terrorblade relies on to survive in teamfights.
*
Bad Juju can weaken Terrorblade's armor every time Dazzle casts a spell while strengthening armor of Dazzle's allies.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* 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.
*
Mirror Image's illusions can easily walk straight at Dazzle and attack him, due to Dazzle's lack of reliable AoE nukes or disables.
*
Ensnare roots Dazzle or his allies, making it harder to stay in range of Dazzle's saving abilities.
*
Song of the Siren can be used to initiate a fight with superior positioning, potentially zoning Dazzle's high-impact spells out of the fight.
* Dazzle can instantly destroy all of Naga Siren's illusions from
Mirror Image with
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Poison Touch used on her or any of her illusions.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:
Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount:
Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
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.
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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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Dazzle
* Laguna Blade can kill Dazzle quickly before he casts
Shallow Grave.
Ancient Apparition
* Lina builds
Shadow Blade (and upgrades it into a
Silver Edge), which makes it hard for Ancient Apparition to land his abilities.
* Laguna Blade can kill Ancient Apparition easily due to his low health pool and lack of mobility.