Earthshaker
* 
Shrapnel can be used to disable Earthshaker's 
Blink Dagger from long range.
* 
Take Aim allows Sniper to harass Earthshaker in lane, and stay out of Echo Slam initiation radius.
Additional:
* Sniper is able to kite Earthshaker with his very long range.
* Sniper can dodge Earthshaker's stuns like 
Fissure and 
Enchant Totem with mobility items such as Blink Dagger, 
Force Staff/
Hurricane Pike and 
Shadow Blade/
Silver Edge.
* Sharpnel can be used to cancel Earthshaker's Blink Dagger and preventing effective use of his 
Echo Slam in a majority of situations.
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.
Earthshaker
* Her 
Psionic Traps will usually disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating.
* 
Refraction blocks all of Earthshaker's abilities.
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
Earthshaker
* 
Arcane Bolt allows Skywrath Mage to harass Earthshaker out of lane.
* 
Ancient Seal is an instant silence that can be pre-cast onto Earthshaker to disrupt his combo, before he uses Blink Dagger to initiate.
* 
Mystic Flare will nuke Earthshaker down while he stands in place during his long cast animations.
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
Earthshaker
* 
Thundergod's Wrath will often disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger before a fight starts.
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
Earthshaker
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: 
Clinkz, 
Slark, 
Storm Spirit
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
Earthshaker
* 
Rage prevents Earthshaker from damaging and stunning Lifestealer.
* 
Feast is very effective against Earthshaker, because of him being a strength hero, allowing Lifestealer to heavily harass and kill him.
* 
Open Wounds prevents Earthshaker from escaping after he initiated.
* 
Infest gives Lifestealer an easy way to escape should he get caught out by Earthshaker. And against carry Earthshaker, 
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest can be used to disarm Earthshaker and attack him from within, rendering him unable to attack with Enchant Totem.
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker's stuns will rarely save him once Huskar has initiated on him with Life Break.
* A full initiation combo will not kill Huskar, only lower his health and increase his attack speed.
Grimstroke
* 
Nether Swap breaks one ally out of Soulbind, and can be used to redistribute the shared damage to Vengeful Spirit herself.
Earthshaker
* 
Thunder Strike can be used to cancel Earthshaker's Blink Dagger.
* 
Glimpse brings Earthshaker back after he jumps on Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem.
* 
Static Storm if used on a fight can prevent Earthshaker from executing his combo after blinking in with Blink Dagger.
Earthshaker
* 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.
Earthshaker
* Supernova allows Phoenix to save himself (or an ally, with Aghanim's Scepter) through Echo Slam. Earthshaker will also have a difficult time destroying the supernova, due to his low base attack time and poor agility.
* Icarus Dive can pass through Earthshaker's Fissure.
* Most of Phoenix's abilities disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger for a good period of time due to the damage-over-time nature of its spells.
Earthshaker
* Outworld Destroyer's pure and magical damage is particularly effective against Earthshaker.
* 
Astral Imprisonment catches Earthshaker while he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo.
* Earthshaker has mana troubles, and Outworld Destroyer's abilities can press this by stealing intelligence comes from 
Arcane Orb, therefore depleting his mana pool and mana regeneration.
* 
Sanity's Eclipse deals high damage to Earthshaker, due to his low intelligence and mana pool.
Earthshaker
* 
Spectral Dagger can be used to traverse past Fissure.
* 
Haunt will usually disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating.
* On the other hand, Haunt will amplify damage done from Echo Slam. Use this to your advantage.
Additional:
* Spectre can use Haunt to intercept and disrupt Earthshaker's initiation attempts.
* Spectral Dagger can be used to traverse past Fissure.
* Earthshaker often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so 
Desolate can be very effective against him.
* Beware that the Haunt illusions amplify the damage done from Echo Slam, which can prove fatal for Spectre's own team.
Grimstroke
* 
Stampede can allow Soulbinded heroes to just ran away.
Earthshaker
* 
Geomagnetic Grip can be used to silence Earthshaker after he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo.
* 
Magnetize does damage over time and thus disables Earthshaker's Blink Dagger for a long time.
Earthshaker
* Death Prophet's 
Crypt Swarm and 
Spirit Siphon can repetively damage Earthshaker, preventing him from using Blink Dagger.
* 
Silence can be used to silence Earthshaker after he blinks in with Blink Dagger, preventing him from executing his combo.
* Spirits from 
Exorcism are completely invulnerable and cannot interact with anything at all, which will greatly weaken damage from Echo Slam. This can put Earthshaker in a serious disadvantage against Death Prophet.
Earthshaker
* Both 
Ice Path and 
Macropyre are the good setup against Earthshaker after he jumps in with Blink Dagger, and stay out of Echo Slam initiation radius.
* Jakiro's damage over time abilities can potentially disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger.
Earthshaker
* Ignite can prevent Earthshaker from escaping and/or initiating with Blink Dagger.
* Fireblast and Unrefined Fireblast may help prevent Earthshaker follow through with his combo after landing an Echo Slam.
Earthshaker
* Venomancer's slows and magical damage-over-time works well against Earthshaker's which completes lack of mobility.
* 
Plague Wards are useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown if Venomancer has vision over Earthshaker.
Additional:
* Earthshaker can be kited by Venomancer's slows, which is lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards is very useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
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.
Earthshaker
* 
Static Link drains the damage bonus from Enchant Totem, until he purchase Aghanim's Scepter or Force Staff to break it.
* 
Storm Surge with Razor's high mobility items can easily avoid all of Earthshaker abilities.
* 
Plasma Field & 
Eye of the Storm prevents Earthshaker escaping from Blink Dagger.
Additional:
* Static Link drains Earthshaker's bonus damage from Enchant Totem until he purchases an Aghanim's Scepter or Force Staff to break it.
* Eye of the Storm and Plasma Field can disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
Earthshaker
* 
Poison Attack and 
Viper Strike allowing to kite and slow Earthshaker significally, putting Blink Dagger on cooldown and preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* 
Nethertoxin breaks Aftershock. The silence from Level 25 talent also prevents Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
Additional:
* Being a melee hero, Earthshaker's movement is liable to suppression by Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
* Earthshaker's kit, with the exception of Enchant Totem, deals magic damage. 
Corrosive Skin effectively blunts his killing potential with a standard Blink combo among other things.
* Viper Strike can disable 
Aftershock, which removes the stun and bonus damage from Enchant Totem and Echo Slam.
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
Earthshaker
* Silencer's 
Global Silence and 
Doom's 
Doom makes Earthshaker temporarily useless.
Earthshaker
* 
Invoker's 
E.M.P. is extremely effective against Earthshaker due to his low natural mana.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz, Slark, Storm Spirit
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker must be careful not to use Blink Dagger or Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem to blink into 
Riki's 
Smoke Screen or 
Night Stalker's 
Crippling Fear, as these field effects will instantly silence Earthshaker and prevent him from initiating.
Additional:
* Fissure has a short stun and creates an impassable ridge. However, Night Stalker can fly over it during Dark Ascension.
* Night Stalker can find Earthshaker, disable his Blink Dagger with Void, and then take him out with Crippling Fear.
* Earthshaker may fail his blink combo against Night Stalker's team if he is not careful, as he can blink into the silence.
Earthshaker
* Warlock often stays back and counter-initiates by dropping his 
Chaotic Offering on Earthshaker and his allies.
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
Earthshaker
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: 
Dragon Knight, 
Jakiro, 
Pugna, 
Earthshaker.
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker must be careful not to use Blink Dagger or Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem to blink into Riki's Smoke Screen or Night Stalker's Crippling Fear, as these field effects will instantly silence Earthshaker and prevent him from initiating.
Earthshaker
* Techies is very good against roaming supports and gankers such as 
Bounty Hunter, Riki, 
Weaver, Earthshaker, 
Nyx Assassin, etc. that are constantly moving around the map.
Earthshaker
* Silencer's Global Silence and Doom's Doom makes Earthshaker temporarily useless.
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
Earthshaker
* Windrun can be used to dodge Earthshaker's abilities if Windranger has a quick reaction time.
* Focus Fire and Windrun allows Windranger to kite Earthshaker.
* A Windranger with fast fingers can prevent Earthshaker from using Fissure with Shackleshot.
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.
Earthshaker
* Luna's 
Lucent Beams and 
Eclipse will prevent Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse can be used to counter-initiate against Earthshaker after he uses Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem.
* Skilled Luna can buy either {I|Gleipnir
Additional:
* Luna's Lucent Beams and Eclipse will prevent Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse can be used to counter-initiate against Earthshaker after he uses Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem.
* Skilled Luna can buy either {I|Gleipnir
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
Earthshaker
* Phantom Lancer's many illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Additional:
* Echo Slam deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Earthshaker's AoE abilities can quickly kill Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Enchant Totem with Aghanim's Scepter gives Cleave to help destroy illusions.
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.
Earthshaker
* 
Mirror Image's illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's strong AoE abilities can clear Naga Siren's illusions, or at least make it easier to distinguish the real one by the damage they take.
* Echo Slam deals more damage against more enemies, which can be devestating against Naga Siren and her illusions.
Grimstroke
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: 
Chaos Knight, 
Broodmother, Naga Siren.
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker's Aftershock combos and Fissure can stun Muerta consecutively and minimize 
Pierce the Veil's effective 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.
Earthshaker
* Echo Slam will deal a colossal amount of damage to your Phantasms, as will Fissure at lower levels.
* The area stuns from Aftershock will always stun Chaos Knight's illusions, since they can't use Black King Bar.
* However, Earthshaker should not attempt to fight a farmed Chaos Knight, since he will be completely obliterated by Chaos Knight's colossal damage output, even if he managed to land an Echo Slam
Additional:
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases due to Chaos Knight's 
Phantasm illusions.
Grimstroke
* Heroes who are reliant on illusions or summons: Chaos Knight, Broodmother, Naga Siren.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Bane, Pugna, Pudge.
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.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with abilities that can lock down Terrorblade and prevent him from using Sunder: Bane, Batrider, Earthshaker, 
Elder Titan, Faceless Void, Invoker, 
Legion Commander, 
Mars, 
Primal Beast, Riki, 
Shadow Shaman, Silencer, 
Vengeful Spirit, 
Void Spirit.
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.
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his 
Shadow Dance and Weaver in his 
Shukuchi.
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.
Earthshaker
* A well landed Fissure can potentially take Lycan out of the fight for several seconds, who heavily relies on precious seconds from Black king bar and Shapeshift to fight.
* Aftershock reduces the effectiveness of his summons and can prove quite irritating for Lycan.
* Echo Slam is very powerful with the sheer amount of Lycan's units and will cause him to think twice when pushing towers.
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.
Earthshaker
* Fissure does a great job at interrupting Black Hole immediately, especially with Blink Dagger and 
Aether Lens.
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases due to the eidolons created by 
Demonic Conversion.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Earthshaker
* Aftershock in combination with Enchant Totem prevents Broodmother from continuing to attack Earthshaker without being repeatedly stunned.
* Echo Slam is greatly amplified by Spiderlings, often instantly killing Broodmother, her swarm, and anyone else unfortunate enough to be nearby.
* Earthshaker's vast amount of stuns makes it difficult for Broodmother to continue attacking enemies (to continue lifestealing with Insatiable Hunger) without Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases phenomenally due to Broodmother's hordes of spiderlings and spiderites.
* Long ranged Fissures can hit Broodmother if she runs into the treeline at the edges of the map.
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.
Earthshaker
* 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.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Bane, Pugna, Pudge.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Bane, Pugna, Pudge.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Bane, Pugna, Pudge.
Grimstroke
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Enigma.
Earthshaker
* Echo Slam will deal immense damage due to the amount of creeps Chen will have.
* Fissure and Enchant Totem deal large amounts of AOE damage, wearing down non-ancient creeps that Chen converts.
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.
Grimstroke
* Soulbind ignores spell immunity, forcing Pangolier to roll in place during his ultimate as well as anchoring the other victim to his vicinity.
Earthshaker
* Having many summons out will cause Echo Slam to deal extra damage.
Earthshaker
* Treants increase Echo Slam's damage.
* Earthshaker's AoE stuns can hit Nature's Prophet through 
Sprout, without having direct line of sight, in order to interrupt 
Teleportation.
Additional:
* Echo Slam can do a lot of damage to Nature's Prophet and his teammates if they stand close to his Treants.
Earthshaker
* Echo Slam is good against Snowball since it bunches everyone up. This can set up some prime opportunities for Blink Echo Slams.
Grimstroke
* Soulbind pierces spell immunity and prevents Faceless Void from escaping with Time Walk.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz, Slark, Storm Spirit
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his Shadow Dance and Weaver in his Shukuchi.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's many AoE stuns help lock down Slark and will often waste the duration of Shadow Dance.
* As a frequent Force Staff buyer, he can later on escape or save teammates from Pounce.
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.
Earthshaker
* Fissure interrupts Spirit Breaker during 
Charge of Darkness.
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.
Earthshaker
* Earthshaker's AoE stuns can save ally against 
Duel, forcing Legion Commander to spend Aghanim's Scepter or Black King Bar.
Earthshaker
* Zombies summoned from Tombstone will amplify the damage of Echo Slam due to them increasing the echo damage.
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.
Earthshaker
* All of his spells can stun Elder Titan and interrupt Echo Stomp's channeling thanks to Aftershock.
* Fissure is particularly good for that purpose thanks to its long range.
* Elder Titan relies heavily on his spells and a chain-stun combo will usually be followed by certain death.
Earthshaker
* Each of Meepo's clones count as real heroes, meaning that an Echo Slam hitting them will deal catastrophic damage to Meepo and his team.
* Eathshaker's AoE stuns can interrupt Meepo's 
Poof cast animation.
Additional:
* Echo Slam will deal catastrophic damage against a cluster of Meepos and anyone nearby.
* Aftershock allows Earthshaker's abilities to potentially stun any number of Meepos for a fairly long duration, often enough to finish one off.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with wide AoE abilities will reveal Monkey King through Mischief: 
Necrophos, 
Phoenix, Alchemist, Earthshaker, Razor, Tinker, 
Leshrac, Queen of Pain
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.
Earthshaker
* Melee carries who usually buy an early Black King Bar, and have gap closing abilities can be good against the Arc Warden, such as Slark, Riki, Earthshaker with Aghanim's Scepter, 
Sven with Aghanim's Scepter etc.
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.
Earthshaker
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Bane, Pugna, Pudge.
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.
Earthshaker
* Frequent healing from 
Death Pulse and 
Mekansm/
Guardian Greaves or 
Pipe of Insight makes it difficult for Earthshaker to execute his combo with Echo Slam.
* Necrophos usually buys 
Radiance to improve their burning aura damage from 
Heartstopper Aura will usually disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* 
Reaper's Scythe allows to kill Earthshaker while he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo (although Earthshaker is rarely a primary target).
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.
Earthshaker
*
Phase Shift allows Puck to dodge all of Earthshaker's abilites.
Waning Rift disables Earthshaker's stuns, leaving him and his team vulnerable.
Dream Coil takes a stun from Earthshaker if he tries to escape from 
Blink Dagger or Enchant Totem upgraded from 
Aghanim's Scepter.
*
*
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.