* Clinkz's high damage output and insane attack speed late-game can take Kunkka out of the fight before it begins.
* Burning Barrage and Searing Arrows together can kill allies easily even under Ghostship's buff.
* Skeleton Walk can allow Clinkz to make a quick escape after Kunkka's combo, or even avoid it all together.

* Burning Barrage and Searing Arrows allow Clinkz to quickly kill Io due to its low armor.
* Clinkz iz a hero that very often goes for Orchid Malevolence, and its upgrade Bloodthorn. Alternatively, Clinkz also loves to buy Gleipnir. And if Clinkz has both of them, he will be able to root and silence Io and prevent him from escaping with either Tether or Relocate.

* Treant Protector's Living Armor will also negate Tidebringer's damage.

* Living Armor can be used to save a hero from a Relocate gank.

* Ursa's massive physical damage can destroy Kunkka quickly.
* Enrage can be activated before being hit by Ghostship to prevent most of the damage.
* Earthshock slows Kunkka's movement speed. With no escape abilities, Kunkka is easy prey.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* With his Take Aim, Sniper can simply sit out of your ability range and deal massive damage if not killed first.
* Assassinate can target allies who are still alive with low health because of Ghostship's buff.
* Headshot makes it harder for Kunkka to position/escape and makes it hard for Kunkka to hit with Tidebringer.

* Take Aim and Assassinate allow Sniper to reach Io even if it stays in the backline.

* Since Tidebringer has a 4 second cooldown, Kunkka has little availability to manfight Huskar.

* Astral Imprisonment can allow Outworld Destroyer to save himself or allies from Kunkka's full kit.
* Sanity's Eclipse deal a large amount of damage, as Kunkka's mana pool is much smaller than Outworld Destroyer's.
* Arcane Orb deals pure damage, shredding through Kunkka and his team even with Ghostship's buff.

* Phantom Strike allows Phantom Assassin jump directly to Io.
* Coup de Grace can make a short work of Io's low health and armor.

* Ensnare and Song of the Siren can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate and to close the distance on Io.
* Rip Tide combined with illusions from Mirror Image often finish off Io before he can save himself.
* Spirit's weak area-of-effect makes it a bad tool to deal with Naga Siren's illusions from Mirror Image.
* Once Naga Siren buys Aghanim's Scepter, she can gain access to Reel In, which not only allows her to cancel both, Tether and Relocate, but also to pull Io to herself and her team while he is affected with Ensnare, similarly to Batrider's Flaming Lasso.
* Aghanim's Shard upgraded Song of the Siren can also heal the hero Io and his tethered targed try to gank.
Additional:
* Ensnare and Song of the Siren can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate and to close the distance on Io.
* Rip Tide combined with illusions from Mirror Image often finish off Io before he can save himself.
* Spirits's weak area-of-effect makes it a bad tool to deal with Naga Siren's illusions from Mirror Image.
* Once Naga Siren buys Aghanim's Scepter, she can gain access to Reel In, which not only allows her to cancel both, Tether and Relocate, but also to pull Io to herself and her team while he is affected with Ensnare, similarly to Batrider's Flaming Lasso.
* Aghanim's Shard upgraded Song of the Siren can also heal the hero Io and his tethered targed try to gank.

* Guardian Angel makes allies immune to all physical damage, effectively causing Tidebringer to do no damage.
* Purification is a powerful, pure damaging heal that can save Omniknight's allies after Kunkka's large damage.

* Jakiro's area-of-effect ability arsenal allows him to affect multiple heroes at once, giving Io difficulties in saving them as he can only heal one hero at a time with Tether.
* Ice Path can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate.
* Jakiro commonly buys Rod of Atos that can be used to cancel Relocate, prevent Io in escaping with Tether and make Io easy target for Ice Path and Macropyre.
Additional:
* Jakiro's area-of-effect ability arsenal allows him to affect multiple heroes at once, giving Io difficulties in saving them as he can only heal one hero at a time with Tether.
* Ice Path can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate.
* Jakiro commonly buys Rod of Atos that can be used to cancel Relocate, prevent Io in escaping with Tether and make Io easy target for Ice Path and Macropyre.

* 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.

* Kunkka relies on his powerful AOE spells to turn the tides of teamfights. He cannot use them while silenced.
* Last Word can mess up Kunkka's ability synergy, silencing him in the middle of his strong combo.
* Global Silence can disable Kunkka's spell casting from anywhere on the map, even if Kunkka is spell immune at the time.

* Lich's Chain Frost forces Io to either give up providing buff to his ally with Tether or suffer devastating damage with his tethered ally.
* Lich can easily use Sinister Gaze to disable Io from getting away with Tether or Relocate.

* Thirst allows Bloodseeker to see where Io relocated to, should either Io or the tethered hero have low health.
* Rupture forces Io to stay in place, preventing it from using the Tether bonus movement speed to escape.

* Grimstroke can catch Io and his ally easily with Soulbind as Io has a tendency to tether himself with an ally frequently.
* Io is highly vulnerable to disables. Hence, Grimstroke's Phantom's Embrace is a great ability to hinder Io's potential.
Additional:
* 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.

* Charge of Darkness can be used to escape or counter-initiate against a Relocate gank.
* Greater Bash and Nether Strike is devastating due to Io's low armor, and can even knock it away from tethered target.

* Fireblast is a good tool to interrupt Io during its escapes through Tether.
* Ignite can be one of the few spells with enough total damage to out-trade the sustained healing Io provides for its fellow laner.
* However, picking other supports that focus less on the laning phase is generally a better choice against Io.

* Rage negates Kunkka's X Marks the Spot.
* As a strength hero with high strength gain and very little armor, as well as low agility gain, Kunkka is vulnerable to Lifestealer's Feast and Open Wounds.

* Cold Embrace can render the extra attack speed from Overcharge meaningless.
* Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse are very affective against Io, as it has to stay close to its tethered hero.

* 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.

* Lightning Storm will usually hit both Io and his Tethered target since both will be close enough for the lightning to jump. It can then be followed up by Split Earth.
* Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova hit all units near Leshrac, meaning he can do colossal damage to Io and his Tethered target.
Additional:
* Io is a hero who needs to be close to it's tethered target to make it effective, and that's where Leshrac gets the advantage thanks to many of his area-of-effect abilities.
* Lightning Storm will usually hit both Io and its tethered target since both will be close enough for the lightning to jump.
* Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova hit all units near Leshrac, meaning he can do colossal damage to both, Io and its tethered target.

* Leap allows Mirana to easily escape Torrent and Ghostship.

* Lucent Beam and 0.25s Eclipse Lucent Ministun talent for Eclipse can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate.
* Luna's Moon Glaives and Eclipse abilities can make short work of Io and its tethered ally, particularly when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter.
Additional:
* Lucent Beam can be used to cancel both, Tether and Relocate.
* Like with Leshrac's Diabolic Edict, Lightning Storm and Pulse Nova abilities. Luna's Moon Glaives and Eclipse abilities can make short work of Io and its tethered ally, particularly when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter.

* Terrorblade can easily take advantage of Io's weak durability with Reflection and Metamorphosis.
* As Io relies on boosting his and his Tethered target's attack speed with Overcharge, Terrorblade can take advantage of this with Reflection, which can damage and slow both, Io and his Tethered target.
* Spirits's weak area-of-effect makes it a bad tool to deal with Terrorblade's illusions from Conjure Image and Manta Style.
* Io's damage output is one of the weakest, therefore Terrorblade will have plenty of time to save himself with Sunder.
* However, Terrorblade has no way of stopping Io to escape with Tether or to stop both, Io and it's Tethered target to escape with Relocate besides Terror Wave from Aghanim's Scepter.
Additional:
* Terrorblade can easily take advantage of Io's weak durability with Reflection and Metamorphosis.
* As Io relies on boosting his and his Tethered target's attack speed with Overcharge, Terrorblade can take advantage of this with Reflection, which can damage and slow both, Io and his Tethered target.
* Spirits's weak area-of-effect makes it a bad tool to deal with Terrorblade's illusions from Conjure Image and Manta Style.
* Io's damage output is one of the weakest, therefore Terrorblade will have plenty of time to save himself with Sunder.
* However, Terrorblade has no way of stopping Io to escape with Tether or to stop both, Io and it's Tethered target to escape with Relocate besides Terror Wave from Aghanim's Scepter.

* Rubick can steal abilities from Kunkka (except Tidebringer) with Spell Steal. Since build Aghanim's Scepter, Rubick's make two steal abilities from Kunkka when the spot is right.
Additional:
* Kunkka is a strong teamfighter with his powerful control spells, which Rubick could exploit to his advantage.
* Torrent provides another source of damage and crowd control.
* Ghostship is a powerful teamfight spell, providing huge magical damage to enemies and buffing allies with damage negation.
* Both skills works the best when comboed with other source of control from allies, such as Duel or Beserker's Call.
* Telekinesis can reposition an enemy onto a Torrent or Ghostship.
* Torrent Storm works as a disruptive spell for Rubick to create chaos around him.
* Tidal Wave offers another source of control and repositioning.
* As long as Kunkka gains these spells with Aghanim's Shard and Aghanim's Scepter, Rubick does not need extra items to steal these spells.
* X Marks the Spot serves as a utility spell for escaping, chasing and other useful functions.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.

* Heroes whose abilities can affect multiple enemies at once: Dawnbreaker, Ember Spirit, Lina, Luna, Jakiro, Leshrac, Invoker.

* Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector, Kunkka, Alchemist, Troll Warlord, Wraith King, Tiny, Sven.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Fragile heroes: Bounty Hunter has decent nuking capabilities with Shiruken Toss and Jinada thus making fragile heroes easy picks for ganking. Few examples of such heroes are:Crystal Maiden, Pugna, Skywrath Mage, Io, Witch Doctor, etc.

* Heroes that are hard to gank: Axe, Death Prophet, Phantom Lancer

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes that are hard to gank: Axe, Death Prophet, Phantom Lancer

* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.

* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his Astral Imprisonment, and Shadow Demon and his Disruption.
* Heroes with hide abilities can often dodge a Ghostship just before it hits.
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his Astral Imprisonment, and Shadow Demon and his Disruption.
* A Eul's Scepter of Divinity can also do the trick, but, unlike the previously mentioned abilities, you can only use it on yourself and not your allies.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Blade Fury negates Kunkka's X Marks the Spot.
* Kunkka has no way to dodge Omnislash.
* Kunkka has no way to hit Healing Ward directly in battle, and it mitigates Ghostship and Tidebringer's damage.

* Disruptor can always Glimpse back Io or his target after he Relocated nearby.
* Even better, thanks to the indicator on the ground, you can even preemptively drop Static Storm and Kinetic Field on the spot they will relocate to.
* Thunder Strike and Glimpse are also good tools to bring back an Io that Tethered away in the fog of war.
Additional:
* Glimpse directly negates Relocate.
* Kinetic Field prevents Io from escaping with Tether.
* Static Storm can silence and damage both, Io and it's tethered target. And it can also mute both, Io and it's tethered target when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes with low armor and little mobility, like Huskar, Io, etc. will also have an unfortunate fate.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.

* Heroes whose abilities can affect multiple enemies at once: Dawnbreaker, Ember Spirit, Lina, Luna, Jakiro, Leshrac, Invoker.

* Batrider's Flaming Lasso can be used to cancel Io's attempts to escape with Relocate and drag him away from his Tethered target. And since Io doesn't like buying Linken's Sphere, he will be always vulnerable to Batrider's initiations.
* Io's tendency to stick close to it's Tethered target can make Io and it's target vulnerable to Batrider's harrasing.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Flaming Lasso allows Batrider to catch and drag two heroes at once, not just one. Which can potentially turn Io's Tether against him.
Additional:
* Batrider's Flaming Lasso can be used to cancel Io's attempts to escape with Relocate and drag him away from his Tethered target. And since Io doesn't like buying Linken's Sphere, he will be always vulnerable to Batrider's initiations.
* Io's tendency to stick close to it's Tethered target can make Io and it's target vulnerable to Batrider's harrasing.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Flaming Lasso allows Batrider to catch and drag two heroes at once, not just one. Which can potentially turn Io's Tether against him.

* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.

* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.

* Supernova negates Kunkka's combo entirely, as it can't be affected by spells while using Supernova.
* Icarus Dive also allows Phoenix to dodge Ghostship and Torrent.

* Duel is very effective against Io due to its low health and armor.

* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.

* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.