Invoker
* Time Walk can easily avoid Invoker's combo damage if doesn't have disables.
* Chronosphere will reveal Invoker during 
Ghost Walk.
* All of Invoker's hidden cooldowns are affected by Time Dilation, so Faceless Void can easily slow him down a lot.
Additional:
* 
Time Dilation prevents Invoker from further invoking for the entire duration of the debuff, as well as massively slowing Invoker based on the large amount of spells he has.
* 
Time Walk will completely negate Invoker's combo damage.
* If Invoker is caught in 
Chronosphere, he will most likely be the primary target due to the large teamfight contribution he can provide.
Bristleback
* Time Dilation prevents Bristleback from spamming his low-cooldown abilities, greatly reducing his damage and effectiveness.
* Chronosphere allows allies to reposition and hit Bristleback from the front, bypassing his defensive bonus from behind.
* Bristleback has no way to prevent Void from using Time Walk.
Additional:
* Time Dilation while 
Quill Spray and 
Viscous Nasal Goo are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, rendering Bristleback nearly useless.
* Bristleback cannot turn inside the Chronosphere, which makes it easy to attack him from the front, completely bypassing his passive damage reduction.
Invoker
* Anti-Mage's mobility and magic resistance make him nearly impossible to kill alone.
* Invoker's spells cost a lot of mana, and Invoker himself has a lot of mana. This means Invoker and his team are vulnerable to 
Mana Void's heavy damage.
* 
Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from Invoker's combo if he doesn't have disables.
Bristleback
* Mana Break quickly eats away at Bristleback's small mana pool, preventing him from spamming Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Sprays.
* Bristleback has no innate mobility. Bristleback is easily kited by Blink, ignoring the protection from 
Bristleback.
Additional:
* 
Mana Break removes both a percentage and flat amount of your mana, preventing Bristleback from using abilities in the lane.
* Blink Anti-Mage has very high mobility with this skill, and can easily escape from Bristleback since he has no way to prevent his blink. He can also use this offensively to get in front of Bristleback during fights.
Invoker
* 
Doom completely takes Invoker out of a team fight, a hero who relies heavily on using abilities and items to contribute in team fights.
Additional:
* Doom is a good way to shut down Invoker, preventing from casting spells and using items for a lengthy time, thus forcing him to invest on 
Linken's Sphere.
Bristleback
* 
Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high health targets such as Bristleback.
* Doom disables Bristleback's low cooldown abilities, preventing him from triggering Warpath. With his upgraded level 25 talent, it also breaks Bristleback's passive, rendering him more vulnerable.
Additional:
* Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high HP targets such as Bristleback.
* Doom prevents Bristleback from casting his two low cooldown abilities, which then prevents him from utilizing 
Warpath.
* If Doom chooses the Level 25 talent {ValueColor:1|Doom applies Break|25tal} {Symbol:Talent}, he can disable Bristleback and Warpath, taking away much of his durability and damage potential in team fights.
Invoker
* 
Bounty Hunter and 
Slardar both have ultimates (
Corrosive Haze and 
Track) that reveal Invoker through Ghost Walk.
Bristleback
* 
Guardian Sprint allows Slardar to outrun Bristleback, even when slowed by Viscous Nasal Goo.
* Corrosive Haze's armor reduction makes Bristleback much less tanky.
Invoker
* 
Astral Imprisonment allows Outworld Destroyer to save himself or ally from Invoker's combo, or remove Invoker from a fight temporarily.
* 
Arcane Orb's pure damage will deal a lot of damage against Invoker's mediocre strength gain.
* E.M.P. is useless against Outworld Destroyer by activating 
Equilibrium.
* However, be aware that 
Sanity's Eclipse will most likely not deal any damage at all, due to Invoker's high intelligence gain compared to Outworld Destroyer's.
Bristleback
* Outworld Destroyer's high burst damage is not negated by Bristleback's passive. So, even if Bristleback turns his back on Outworld, he can decimate Bristleback quickly.
* If Bristleback attempts to flee, or tries to close the gap, Outworld can banish him with Astral Imprisonment, both reducing Bristlebacks much needed mana and allowing Outworld to move in front of him, forcing him to take the full damage from his spells. This will also allow Outworld to land a devasting Sanity's Eclipse, without it being reduced by Bristleback's passive.
Invoker
* Any heroes with high intelligence, such as 
Invoker and 
Pugna.
Invoker
* 
Crippling Fear is a good way to shut down and gank Invoker in the early game..
* 
Void deals good damage to Invoker and makes escaping harder.
* With 
Hunter in the Night and Void, Invoker can't get away from Night Stalker and won't be able to catch him with Sun Strike during the night.
Invoker
* 
Tidebringer pressures Invoker easily in lane due to Invoker's low health and armor in the early game.
Invoker
* Earth Spirit is a dangerous foe to encounter for Invoker in the early stages of the game. Since Invoker needs to gain levels as fast as possible and is not very strong in the early game, Earth Spirit can use his incredible early game power to gank Invoker and ruin his game plan.
* Earth Spirit combines stuns and silences with his spells and can apply them from a great distance. This is bad for Invoker as he is dependent on a smart usage of his spells with 
Invoke and Earth Spirit can disrupt his combos easily.
Invoker
* 
Corrosive Skin makes Viper receive less damage from Invoker's spells
* Viper can harass Invoker with his 
Poison Attack in the early game.
* 
Viper Strike and Poison Attack can kill Invoker easily if Ghost Walk is on cooldown.
Bristleback
* 
Nethertoxin disables Bristleback's passive.
* Viper Strike and Poison Attack slow down Bristleback's movement speed, making him unable to get out from Nethertoxin.
Additional:
* Viper Strike can disable Bristleback and prevents Warpath from building stacks. Besides losing his defensive passive, Bristleback also loses his ability to build up damage over lengthy battles.
* Viper can perpetually kite Bristleback with Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
Invoker
* 
Ice Wall and Ghost Walk can be used to kite and escape from Viper.
* 
Chaos Meteor and 
Sun Strike deal heavy damage and can quickly bring Viper down.
* 
Cold Snap, 
Tornado, and 
Deafening Blast are powerful disables that reduce Viper's effectiveness.
* 
E.M.P. burns Viper's limited mana pool, reducing his potential poison damage.
* 
Forge Spirits can melt Viper's armor and reduce his durability.
Invoker
* A good choice against Invoker, as it has some advantage with the help of abilities.
* With the 
Dissimilate, Voidspirit can evade Invoker's skills, going to another world where he does not receive damage. The same ability to run away or attack quickly.
* 
Astral Step moves quickly from point to point, which also reduces the Invoker's probability that he will hit him with skills and cause at least some damage.
Additional:
* A good choice against Invoker, as it has some advantage with the help of abilities.
* With the Dissimilate, Voidspirit can evade Invoker's skills, like Chaos Meteor or E.M.P., going to another world where he does not receive damage. The same ability to run away or attack quickly.
* Astral Step moves quickly from point to point, which also reduces the Invoker's probability that he will hit him with skills and cause at least some damage.
Invoker
* Quas-Exort Invoker is also a good matchup due to the fact he has no 
Wex to run faster due to the movement impairment on his stealth. The Forge Spirit and Cold Snap combo doesn't harm her as well since you can drain Invoker's HP with Spirit Siphon which forces him to retreat.
* Silence also prevents Invoker from using Invoke or casting his main spells temporarily. There is no way Invoker can block it unless he has 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity to cyclone himself or has help from allies.
Bristleback
* 
Shukuchi gets Weaver in front of Bristleback, negating the protection from Bristleback.
* Weaver's mana break talent depletes Bristleback's mana pool, preventing him from spamming abilities.
Invoker
* 
Blade Fury, similar to Rage, grants immunity to Invoker's spells and can dispel some debuffs as well.
* 
Omnislash renders Juggernaut invulnerable to Invoker's spells and can easily take Invoker down.
Additional:
* Juggernaut's instant spell immunity from Blade Fury. helps him dodge Invoker's combos. He can dispel the disables from Cold Snap and Deafening Blast and dodge the damage from Chaos Meteor, as well as walk through Ice Wall.
* Juggernaut's high DPS allows him to kill split pushing Forge Spirit(s) effortlessly, and his high armor prevents them from being a threat to him.
* However, Invoker can hit Juggernaut with Sun Strike through Blade Fury, making the Tornado and Sun Strike combo a threat if he does not dodge Tornado.
Invoker
* Nyx Assassin can simply activate 
Spiked Carapace while under many Invoker's abilities to stun him.
* Nyx Assassin takes advantage of Invoker's massive intelligence gain to do tons of damage using 
Mind Flare, as the spell does more damage based on the target's intelligence.
* 
Vendetta burns a large amount of Invoker's essential mana pool.
Bristleback
* 
Eye of the Storm melts Bristleback's armor, and makes him much less tanky.
* 
Static Link can completely drain Bristleback's bonus damage from Warpath.
* 
Storm Surge allows Razor to outdistance Bristleback, even with a few stacks of Viscous Nasal Goo on him. Also, if Razor has his Shard, it will deal full damage to Bristleback every time he uses Viscous Nasal Goo (as Bristleback will face him to cast it).
Additional:
* Eye of the Storm melts Bristleback's armor, and makes him much less tanky.
* Static Link can completely drain Bristleback's bonus damage from Warpath.
Bristleback
* 
Essence Shift allows Slark to hit Bristleback freely whether on the front or back, stealing attributes and make Bristleback much less tanky.
* 
Pounce can be used to disengage and recover lost HP with his ultimate passive, and can return to fight in a short period while Bristleback is already injured and got some of his attributes stolen.
* 
Dark Pact makes it near impossible to keep the Viscous Nasal Goo debuff on Slark.
* Although Dark Pact cannot dispel Quill Spray, meaning that Slark will still receive quill stack damage even if he used 
Shadow Dance before.
* Slark builds 
Silver Edge in almost every game, an item that greatly counters Bristleback.
Invoker
* Queen of Pain usually outlanes Invoker, giving her team a significant early game advantage while Invoker is still farming.
* 
Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from Invoker's combo if he doesn't have disables.
Invoker
* 
Nether Ward on its own can greatly hinder Invoker from casting many of his abilities, at least until he gets a significant amount of HP or is under the protection of spell immunity from 
Black King Bar
* 
Life Drain provides True sight, revealing Invoker through Ghost Walk, and forcing him or his allies to use an ability or item to interrupt its channeling
* Outside of Nether Ward's range, Invoker shall have the advantage, as Invoker has Tornado to purge Pugna's 
Decrepify when it is used defensively, Tornado or Cold Snap to prevent Pugna from channeling Life Drain
* A poorly used Decrepify on Pugna's allies means Invoker's abilities can be used to deal more damage to them.
Additional:
* Because Invoker relies on casting a large amount of spells to contribute to fights, Nether Ward can force him to not cast anything at all or take a large amount of damage to cast spells.
Invoker
* Zeus greatly hinders Invoker on the line with his long-range abilities. QW- and QE-Invoker have a very long recharge on abilities, and Zeus' 
Arc Lightning ability recharges too quickly, which is why he quickly kills a pack of creeps and drives Invoker under his tower, punching and not letting finish off creeps
* 
Lightning Bolt and 
Thundergod's Wrath abilities reveal invisibility of enemies, for example Invoker invisibility from Ghost Walk ability
Additional:
* Zeus greatly hinders Invoker on the line with his long-range abilities. QW- and QE-Invoker have a very long recharge on abilities, and Zeus' Arc Lightning ability recharges too quickly, which is why he quickly kills a pack of creeps and drives Invoker under his tower, punching and not letting finish off creeps
* Lightning Bolt and Thundergod's Wrath abilities reveal invisibility of enemies, for example Invoker invisibility from Ghost Walk ability
Bristleback
* 
Sharpshooter deals massive damage to Bristleback and applies a high duration disable on his passive.
* 
Bushwhack and 
Scurry can be used to easily kite Bristleback.
Additional:
* Bristleback and Warpath can be disabled by Hoodwink's Sharpshooter ability for a long period of time, reducing his both offense and defense.
* Scurry and Bushwhack can be used to kite bristleback.
Bristleback
* 
Phantom's Embrace silences Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray.
* 
Ink Swell stuns Bristleback and gets allies in position faster with increased movement speed to attack his front, countering his passive ability.
Invoker
* Templar Assassin can easily counter Invoker's last hitting process in the early game with 
Refraction. Refraction also negates the stun from Cold Snap, since it will need to deal damage in order to apply its stun.
* Additionally, Refraction completely blocks damage from Sun Strike should Invoker try to finish her off, provided she activate Refraction beforehand.
Invoker
* Heroes with long lockdowns: 
Shadow Shaman, 
Legion Commander.
Invoker
* Heroes with long lockdowns: Shadow Shaman, Legion Commander.
Bristleback
* 
Duel makes Bristleback fight Legion Commander face to face, forcing him to take full damage.
* 
Press the Attack dispels the slow from stacks of Viscous Nasal Goo.
Additional:
* When dueled, Bristleback will have to face Legion head on, not allowing his passive Bristleback to come into effect.
Invoker
* Invoker's spells will disable and destroy Legion Commander while she's locked in a Duel.
Invoker
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: 
Disruptor, 
Death Prophet, 
Enigma, 
Faceless Void, Invoker, 
Lich, 
Magnus, 
Mars, 
Medusa, 
Outworld Destroyer, 
Phoenix, 
Puck, 
Queen of Pain, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Treant Protector, 
Underlord, 
Winter Wyvern, 
Witch Doctor, 
Zeus.
Bristleback
* 
Shadow Demon's 
Demonic Purge with 
Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
Bristleback
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray: 
Axe, 
Pudge, 
Bristleback, Mars.
Invoker
* Heroes with silence: Death Prophet, 
Riki, 
Drow Ranger.
Bristleback
* 
Lion's 
Mana Drain is a headache for Bristleback to deal with during the laning stage, as it denies him the ability to get last hits with Quill Spray.
Invoker
* Heroes with abilities which have a built-in spell immunity: 
Lifestealer, 
Juggernaut, 
Pangolier.
Invoker
* 
Rage grants immunity from Invoker's spells and can dispel most of the disables such as the armor loss from Forge Spirit and the constant stuns of Cold Snap.
Additional:
* Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Invoker's spells (except for Sun Strike).
Bristleback
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback, 
Clinkz, 
Luna,Shadow Fiend, Slardar, 
Terrorblade
Bristleback
* Undying's Decay is a dangerous ability against Bristleback, as it makes him more vulnerable and reduces his tankiness.
* Undying's Tombstone together with Flesh Golem can slow Bristleback down significantly.
Invoker
* Invoker's multiple spells can lock down Undying and disable him from doing much.
Invoker
* In the early to mid game, Invoker is defenseless against Storm Spirit's ganking with 
Ball Lightning and 
Orchid Malevolence.
Invoker
* Heroes with mana burn: 
Nyx Assassin, Invoker, Outworld Destroyer, Pugna, Lion
Invoker
* Puck Outlanes Invoker with his abilities: 
Illusory Orb, 
Waning Rift finishing off all creeps on the line and getting a higher level than him
* Puck dodges Invoker's magic attacks with his abilities: Illusory Orb, 
Phase Shift in a fight, preventing Invoker from doing damage
Additional:
* Puck Outlanes Invoker with his abilities: Illusory Orb, Waning Rift finishing off all creeps on the line and getting a higher level than him
* Puck dodges Invoker's magic attacks with his abilities: Illusory Orb, Phase Shift in a fight, preventing Invoker from doing damage
Bristleback
* Axe, Bristleback, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Spirit Breaker, Pudge, 
Huskar, 
Wraith King, 
Doom: These heroes are too tanky for Puck to burst down. Also, all of them have spells which can deal with and shut Puck down reliably.
Invoker
* Invoker is a big problem for Tiny the whole game because of its multiple disables. For example, the Cold Snap ability can catch an attack from Tiny's hand by surprise, because it becomes slower with the pumping of 
Grow. has a giant deceleration, creating a condition for the kite, which Tiny is very afraid of. In addition, Invoker has a Deafening Blast that disables Tiny's main weapon - strong blows from the hand
Additional:
* Invoker is a big problem for Tiny the whole game because of its multiple disables. For example, such as Tornado + E.M.P. create unrealistic conditions for Tiny with mana, which is very necessary for Tiny at least for some attacks in a fight. The Cold Snap ability can catch an attack from Tiny's hand by surprise, because it becomes slower with the pumping of Grow. has a giant deceleration, creating a condition for the kite, which Tiny is very afraid of. In addition, Invoker has a Deafening Blast that disables Tiny's main weapon - strong blows from the hand
Bristleback
* Tiny's nonexistent armor in the early game makes him very vulnerable to Quill Spray's large amounts of physical damage.
* Bristleback decreases Tiny's high burst damage against Bristleback.
* Viscous Nasal Goo can slow Tiny to a crawl and allows Bristleback to easily kite him with his high movement speed and Quill Spray's long range, as Tiny has no ability to escape.
Invoker
* Quas Exort Invoker has high physical damage in the form of Cold Snap and Forged Spirits that allows him to trade hits with Huskar.
* Although Huskar can dispel Cold Snap with Life Break.
* Sun Strike deals pure damage and pierces spell immunity, and Huskar tends to drain his HP, making him a susceptible target.
Bristleback
* The damage from 
Burning Spear can be reduced by turning away from Huskar.
* Bristleback can bait Huskar into using 
Life Break on him, then turn around and receive very little damage.
Additional:
* Bristleback's tankiness and Bristleback allow him to outlast Burning Spears' damage-over-time at almost any point in the game. In addition, if Huskar chooses to cast Life Break on Bristleback, Bristleback can simply turn around before it hits and receive little damage.
* Viscous Nasal Goo will reduce Huskar's low armor even further, and Quill Spray and Warpath will tear him down extremely quickly.
Invoker
* Invoker's Forge Spirit can negate 
Flux.
* Provided he does a right combo with Chaos Meteor, Invoker can easily burst down Arc Warden (plus his clone if he spawns it.)
* An early Orchid Malevolence can shut down Arc Warden pretty hard, especially when Invoker has a good lane against him if he kills him early on.
* Deafening Blast and Ice Wall limit's Arc Wardens mobility and damage, crippling him greatly.
Bristleback
* Arc Warden has relatively lower armor and mobility, which makes him an easy target to apply Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo stacks.
* Arc Warden also does not like to build a Silver Edge as it takes a long time to build up and may slow down the timings for other important items needed in the game like 
Gleipnir.
* However, do note that in a game where Arc Warden's team has many jumping capabilities or good passives, like a 
Tidehunter or 
Spectre, a Silver Edge becomes incredibly valuable on Arc Warden as not only can he run away from the jumps, he effectively gets 2 breaks, and Bristleback may not be the best pick.
Invoker
* Heroes whose abilities can affect multiple enemies at once: 
Dawnbreaker, 
Ember Spirit, 
Lina, Luna, 
Jakiro, 
Leshrac, Invoker, 
Muerta, 
Dazzle.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray is very effective against Io, as it has very low armor and has to stay close to the fight to not break its Tether.
Invoker
* Heroes with powerful area-of-effect disables can initiate on Meepo and his clones and shut him down, such as Enigma, Invoker, Magnus, Puck, and 
Sand King.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray usually hits Meepo's clones, although Bristleback cannot turn his back when rooted with 
Earthbind.
Invoker
* Heroes who can clear the waves of Enigma's Eidolons: Lina, Luna, Dawnbreaker, Jakiro, Shadow Shaman, Death Prophet, 
Keeper of the Light, Invoker, Leshrac, Puck.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's constant harass from Quill Spray will greatly hurt Enigma's laning and kill his Eidolons.
* However, Bristleback has no way of canceling 
Black Hole at all. And Bristleback is not a hero that goes for disabling items to counter that problem.
Invoker
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Medusa's mana to weaken 
Mana Shield.
* Medusa's lack of mobility makes her easy to kite with Invoker's spells.
Additional:
* E.M.P. is a large mana burn nuke which can hit Medusa's Mana shield with enough damage to lose even more mana.
* Deafening Blast disarms Medusa's ability to deal pseudo-AOE damage during teamfights.
* Cold Snap allows the opposing team to repeatedly stun Medusa in short succession, preventing her from successfully casting her ultimate due to its long cast time.
Bristleback
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter, Bristleback, Slardar.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's tankiness and damage reduction from the rear makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to chase and finish off, due to his lack of burst damage.
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bristleback's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with 
Diffusal Blade.
Additional:
* Bristleback's tankiness and damage reduction from the rear makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to chase and finish off, due to his lack of burst damage.
* Quill Spray destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bristleback's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with Diffusal Blade.
Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.
Invoker
* Invoker's arsenal of magical spells are troublesome for Sniper who has low HP and high armor, which does not benefit him much against Invoker.
* Besides magical damage, he can be disarmed and repeatedly mini-stunned with Cold Snap, preventing him from reacting.
* Leveling 
Quas can allow Invoker to lane effectively against Sniper despite right-click harassment.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Chaos Knight's 
Phantasms.
Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo can hinder Crystal Maiden's already abysmal mobility, which allows Bristleback (or his teammates) to run her down and kill her.
* Bristleback frequently builds 
Blade Mail, which can quickly kill Crystal Maiden if her ultimate is used while he is under its effect.
* The passive part of Bristleback will trigger many, many times under the damage from Freezing Field, and as the stacks increase, the damage output from each successive cast (or proc) will eat away at Crystal Maiden's small HP pool.
Bristleback
* Lycan's wolves deal little damage to Bristleback, and are easily killed by Quill Spray, even when they're invisible.
* Lycan's lack of burst damage makes it very hard for him to kill Bristleback, especially when his back is turned.
Additional:
* Quill Spray can be used to kill Lycan's summons.
* Bristleback allows him to stay alive against Lycan while dishing out counter attacks
* He can overpower Lycan with his Warpath instead.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's abilities are nearly useless for Rubick to 
Spell Steal, as he does not gain the bonuses from Warpath.
Additional:
* Rubick deals little damage on his own, and Bristleback can simply shrug off all his spells and chase Rubick down with his Quill Spray and the damage bonus from Warpath.
* Rubick does not tend to charge forward in teamfights, stay in the front lines under most circumstances, yet effective casts of Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo requires the opposite as they require multiple casts and close range to add up stacks.
* Rubick does not benefit from Warpath through casting the stolen spell.
Invoker
* Invoker's numerous area-of-effect abilities can interrupt Primal Beast, especially while he is in the middle of a team fight, where Primal Beast thrives. (Tornado, Cold Snap, and Ice Wall all help to disable Primal Beast and control him from a distance.
* E.M.P. disintegrates Primal Beast's low mana pool.
* However, Invoker is quite a slow-paced hero and not particularly known for being survivable against a rampaging Primal Beast with Black King Bar.
Bristleback
* Bristleback is one of the hardest heroes to gank with a 
Meat Hook and 
Dismember combo, and attempts to do so sometimes backfire on Pudge.
Additional:
* Pudge is particularly susceptible to Bristleback's Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray due to his naturally low armor and poor agility gain.
* Bristleback, in combination with his strength gain, high health, common itemization for magic resistance and damage reduction from Bristleback makes him a poor target for Pudge.
Bristleback
* Spirit Breaker's 
Nether Strike with 
Aghanim's Shard disables Bristleback's passives.
Invoker
* Ice Wall can slow down 
Charge of Darkness in its tracks at max level, allowing counterplays such as Cold Snap to end the charge, bursting down with Tornado, Meteor, and right clicks, or even teleporting back to spawn to drag Spirit Breaker into the fountain.
* Cold Snap (if timed right) and Invoker's other disables like Tornado can interrupt Charge of Darkness, especially since Charge is telegraphed by the symbol appearing over head.
Additional:
* Cold Snap allows Invoker to interrupt Charge of Darkness and Nether Strike.
* Tornado's long range can be used to cancel Charge of Darkness.
* Deafening Blast prevents Spirit Breaker from right clicking and thus proccing his Greater Bash.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna, 
Razor, Axe, Bristleback, Leshrac, Death Prophet, Jakiro.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray's constant AoE damage will hit Dark Willow even in Shadow Realm. Its automatic damage will hurt her if she tries to get close and use Bedlam.
Bristleback
* Combo Quill Spray and items Blade Mail can easily trigger from Focus Fire damage.
Additional:
* Using Focus Fire on Bristleback tends to fare badly for Windranger, as he can trigger passive Quill Sprays many times, especially when she attacks him from behind. In addition, Windrun does not protect her from both Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray, rendering her helpless.
* Bristleback's natural tankiness makes it hard for Windranger to effectively burst her down throughout the game.
* Bristleback tends to continuously spam Viscous Nasal Goo to slow down Windranger when she uses Windrun to escape, potentially allowing him to outrun her with his Warpath stacks.
* Bristleback can build 
Lotus Orb to reflect Shackleshot and Focus Fire back at Windranger.
Invoker
* Quas-
Exort Invoker can win the mid lane easily against Alchemist because Quas regeneration will nullify Acid Spray's damage over time and Exort damage bonus will allow Invoker to out last hit Alchemist.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray will hit Sand King inside 
Sand Storm, damaging him and putting Sand King's 
Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from escaping.
* 
Epicenter's numerous damage ticks will trigger Bristleback's passive repeatedly during teamfights.
Invoker
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Wraith King's mana to prevent 
Reincarnation from triggering (only until Wraith King gets his Aghanim's Shard).
* Ice Wall and Cold Snap are particularly crippling for Wraith King as they allow to kite him very effectively, preventing him from dealing melee attack damage.
Additional:
* Invoker can drain Wraith King's mana with E.M.P., preventing him from reincarnating unless Wraith King has his Aghanim's Shard.
* Even if Wraith King survives and reincarnates, Invoker still has an arsenal of spells to lockdown Wraith King, including an easily setup Ice Wall.
* Tornado applies an area dispel to clear skeletons.
Invoker
* Ember Spirit has a small mana pool, which is why QW-Invoker can burn it out very effectively with his own E.M.P., do not give Ember Spirit the opportunity to play with his abilities and cause damage with them in a fight.
* QW-Invoker Destroys Ember Spirit's 
Flame Guard with his own Tornado, which is why Ember Spirit cannot defend against Invoker's strong magic damage.
Additional:
* Ember Spirit has a small mana pool, which is why QW-Invoker can burn it out very effectively with his own E.M.P., do not give Ember Spirit the opportunity to play with his abilities and cause damage with them in a fight.
* QW-Invoker Destroys Ember Spirit's Flame Guard with his own Tornado, which is why Ember Spirit cannot defend against Invoker's strong magic damage.
Invoker
* Cold Embrace is the perfect setup for all his nukes - Chaos Meteor, E.M.P. and especially global Sun Strike.
Bristleback
* Fortune's End cannot dispel Warpath stacks on Bristleback or Quill Spray stacks on allies.
* Bristleback can heavily reduce Oracle's damage output. With it, Oracle may accidentally heal Bristleback with Purifying Flames, especially if Bristleback has bonus magic resistance.
Invoker
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: 
Earthshaker, 
Monkey King, Shadow Fiend Lina
Bristleback
* Heroes with damage-over-time abilities easily allow Bristleback to turn his back in order to proc Bristleback continuously and to massively reduce to damage dealt to him: 
Arc Warden, 
Venomancer, Luna.
Invoker
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: 
Timbersaw, 
Dark Willow, Enigma, Invoker, Pugna, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, Zeus, 
Oracle.
Invoker
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: 
Sven, 
Omniknight, Enigma, Luna, 
Naga Siren, Mars, Jakiro, Venomancer, 
Elder Titan, Faceless Void, 
Rubick, Keeper of the Light, Pugna, Invoker, Spectre, 
Alchemist, Treant Protector, Lina, Oracle, Zeus, Shadow Shaman, Phoenix, Razor, Huskar, 
Batrider, 
Kunkka, Tidehunter, Wraith King, Sand King, Medusa, Dawnbreaker.
Bristleback
* Heroes that have AoE damage: Lina, Keeper of the Light, Timbersaw, Leshrac, Bristleback, Axe.
Invoker
* Some heroes with extreme range, like Zeus, Invoker or 
Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
Bristleback
* 
Reaper's Scythe and 
Heartstopper Aura deal percentage-based damage, ignoring Bristleback's high health.
* Heartstopper Aura's HP removal does not trigger Bristleback's passive.
Additional:
* Heartstopper Aura deals percentage-based damage flagged as HP removal, so it is not reduced by Bristleback, nor does it trigger passive Quill Sprays.
* Reaper's Scythe is very effective against Bristleback not only due to its percentage-based damage, but rather because it first stuns and then deals its damage, allowing Necrophos to position in front of Bristleback in time.
Invoker
* Tornado allows Invoker to purge Necrophos's 
Ghost Shroud, nullifying any benefits he could get out of it
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Necrophos's mana, preventing him from using his abilities constantly
Bristleback
* Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include Bristleback (although only from behind), Spectre, 
Ursa, and 
Dragon Knight.
Bristleback
* Heroes with damage-over-time abilities easily allow Bristleback to turn his back in order to proc Bristleback continuously and to massively reduce to damage dealt to him: Arc Warden, Venomancer, Luna.
Additional:
* Quill Spray and Bristleback harass Luna more efficiently than she does with Lucent Beam.
* Bristleback helps return a lot of damage to Luna’s team if she uses her nukes on him and he has his back to her.
* Viscous Nasal Goo and Warpath are enough to outrun a speedy Luna.
* Bristleback tends to be a frequent carrier of 
Crimson Guard and 
Eternal Shroud, which are good protection from 
Moon Glaives and 
Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Bristleback makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Invoker
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: Earthshaker, Monkey King, Shadow Fiend Lina
Invoker
* Invoker's E.M.P. is extremely effective against Earthshaker due to his low natural mana.
Invoker
* Heroes that can keep Marci for a long time in one place so she can't pursue her targets, like 
Bane, Lion, Shadow Shaman, Invoker, Disruptor and Kunkka.
Invoker
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: Earthshaker, Monkey King, Shadow Fiend Lina
Invoker
* Heroes with naturally low mana can be easily shut down by E.M.P.: Sven, 
Tiny, Wraith King, Omniknight
Invoker
* Heroes with naturally low mana can be easily shut down by E.M.P.: Sven, Tiny, Wraith King, Omniknight
Additional:
* Tornado dispels Heavenly Grace and Guardian Angel from multiple targets.
* Guardian Angel is generally useless against Invoker as he primarily relies on magical damage.
* E.M.P. depletes Omniknight's already small mana pool.
* Invoker's many disables keep Omniknight's team occupied until Guardian Angel times out.
Bristleback
* Batrider's turn rate slow from 
Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Invoker
* QW-Invoker perfectly resists Batrider in his attacks, since Batrider has a small mana reserve and depends very much on him - E.M.P. perfectly allows Invoker to deprive her, and he also has the abilities of Tornado and Cold Snap, which can help him fend off his attack, and possibly even kill along with his team
Additional:
* QW-Invoker perfectly resists Batrider in his attacks, since Batrider has a small mana reserve and depends very much on him - E.M.P. perfectly allows Invoker to deprive her, and he also has the abilities of Tornado and Cold Snap, which can help him fend off his attack, and possibly even kill along with his team
Invoker
* Heroes with silence: Death Prophet, Riki, Drow Ranger.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray will hit Riki even when he is invisible.
* 
Cloak and Dagger's bonus backstab damage is rendered irrelevant against Bristleback.
* 
Smoke Screen does not stop Bristleback's passive from activating.
* Due to Bristleback's natural tankiness, he is an ideal 
Gem of True Sight carrier, directly countering Riki's invisibility.
Additional:
* The bonus Backstab damage from Cloak and Dagger is rendered irrelevant with Bristleback and hurts Riki more than him because of the passive Quill Spray.
* Riki can still get damaged by Bristleback's Quill Spray while invisible, and it can be hard to deal with in lane.
* Bristleback is not too bothered by Smoke Screen. Though he cannot use Quill Spray manually inside it, it still procs passively when he takes damage from the back. The movement speed from Warpath allows him to get out of the area easily.
* Due to Bristleback's natural tankiness, he is an ideal Gem of True Sight carrier.
* Riki rarely buys Silver Edge to break Bristleback's passive because the invisibility aspect of it is redundant.
Invoker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: 
Crystal Maiden, 
Enchantress, 
Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, 
Techies, Terrorblade, 
Necrophos, Invoker.
Invoker
* Tinker is relatively helpless against Invoker, as his 
Rearm and 
Boots of Travel can be easily interrupted by Invoker's long range disables, even if he blinks away.
Bristleback
* Terrorblade's 
Sunder is not affected by the Bristleback damage reduction.
Invoker
* 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.
Bristleback
* 
Whirling Death deals damage while also reducing {Show:A|Timbersaw|Whirling Death|value4} of Bristleback's strength, making him less tanky.
* 
Reactive Armor can sustain through multiple Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray stacks.
* 
Timber Chain makes it hard for Bristleback to slow down Timbersaw even with Viscous Nasal Goo.
Invoker
* Cold Snap can prevent Timbersaw from using both Timber Chain and Chakram due to the frequent stuns interrupting the lengthy cast animations, as well as stopping him mid-chain. This can negate Timbersaw's attempts to escape or dole out extra ability damage.
* Later in the game, Invoker's heavy magical and pure damage can be difficult to avoid, meaning Timbersaw's armor is less useful.
Bristleback
* While Jakiro's damage is going to be little more then average against him due to his Bristleback. His large quantity of stuns can prevent Bristleback from getting his much needed Warpath stacks, while also giving his allies a chance to counter his high defense.
* Dual Breath and Liquid Frost both reduce Movement Speed, removing one of Bristlebacks greatest strengths.
* Liquid Fire reduces Bristlebacks Attack Speed, making it harder for him to burst down a hero with Warpath.
* However Bristleback can generally catch and kill a lone Jakiro. And Jakiro is only effective in a group.
Bristleback
* 
Macropyre's frequent damage ticks causes Bristleback to activate repeatedly, resulting in free damage as long as Bristleback faces away from Jakiro.
Bristleback
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw, Bristleback, Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
Invoker
* 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.
Invoker
* Bounty Hunter and Slardar both have ultimates (Corrosive Haze and Track) that reveal Invoker through Ghost Walk.
Bristleback
* Bristleback's Viscous Nasal Goo can catch and slow Bounty Hunter. Warpath and Quill Spray can defeat him quickly due to his small HP pool when compared to Bristleback's.
Invoker
* Broodmother can kill Invoker easily in the early game with her 
Spawn Spiderlings and her spiderlings.
* Broodmother is both an Orchid Malevolence and a 
Nullifier carrier. As she can farm it early, she can kill Invoker easily.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray destroys spiderlings, and hits Broodmother even when she's regenerating in her webs. This makes Bristleback one of her hardest counters in lane.
Additional:
* Bristleback reduces most of Broodmother's and her spiderlings' damage.
* Quill Spray will hit any spiders in its proximity, hindering Broodmother's fighting and farming capabilities.
Invoker
* Lone Druid has a very large reserve of health against Invoker abilities, this allows him to survive a large number of attacks from Invoker and kill him, also 
Entangling Claws reveal invisibility from Ghost Walk, which allows the Lone Druid team to catch the popular QW-Invoker
Additional:
* Lone Druid has a very large reserve of health against Invoker abilities, this allows him to survive a large number of attacks from Invoker and kill him, also Entangling Claws reveal invisibility from Ghost Walk, which allows the Lone Druid team to catch the popular QW-Invoker
Bristleback
* Lone Druid and The Spirit Bear cannot burst down Bristleback due to Bristleback
* Bristleback can easily run to Lone Druid without any hesitation, with Viscous Nasal Goo to reduce armor and slow the Spirit Bear or Lone Druid and Quill Spray can deal damage to both Lone Druid and the Spirit Bear at the same time
Bristleback
* Axe forces Bristleback to turn around with 
Berserker's Call, allowing allies to attack him without fear of his passive.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Invoker
* Invoker is heavily dependent on his spells, making him useless during
Global Silence, as well as interrupting Invoker during his combo.
Arcane Curse is particularly deadly, because Invoker will continuously lose health if he keeps invoking and casting new spells.
Last Word will silence Invoker when he casts Invoke, interrupting his combo.
*
*
Bristleback
*
Arcane Curse stacks every time Bristleback uses an ability, forcing him to stop spamming his abilities, or take heavy health degeneration.
Glaives of Wisdom steals intelligence both permanently and temporarily, causing mana issues for Bristleback.
Last Word and 
Global Silence stops Bristleback from using his abilities altogether.
Viscous Nasal Goo or 
Quill Spray while silenced, effectively blocking a major part of the hero's damage and preventing 
Warpath charges from stacking.
*
*
Additional:
* Bristleback will not be able to cast
* Arcane Curse slows Bristleback down and lasts longer the more abilities he uses. On the other hand, if he doesn't use any abilities, he will begin to lose Warpath charges.