* Nethertoxin prevents buildup of Fiery Soul stacks.
* Corrosive Skin provides magic resistance against Lina's spells.
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike can burn away Lina's small health pool.
* Most of Magnus' abilities except Empower will trigger damage through
Corrosive Skin.
* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike can slow Magnus during
Skewer, as well as putting his
Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Dragon Slave is easy to steal, and provides Rubick with a useful nuke.
* Light Strike Array serves as a cheap nuke as well as a crowd control ability.
* Rubick uses the fixed 0.15 second cast time when casting Light Strike Array, much faster than
Lina herself.
* Rubick can gurantee a stun by throwing the victim into the area with Telekinesis, extending the overall lockdown duration.
* Laguna Blade is an awesome ultimate that gives huge burst damage.
* Arcane Supremacy (combined with Level 25 talent +40% Spell Amp For Stolen Spells, as of 7.31c) increases its damage before reduction to a whopping 660/882/1134(830/1162/1494) (and even more so with
Aghanim's Scepter), without considering spell amplification from items.
* Laguna Blade is an intelligence hero with no regen ability, and casting
Laguna Blade back to Lina can result in her unexpected sudden death, or severly hinder her presence in the rest of teamfight. Nevertheless, the skill can also be cast on other squishy heroes or help bursting down enemy carries.
* Light Strike Array and
Laguna Blade has a short cast range, and Rubick can extend its range thanks to
Arcane Supremacy.
* Reverse Polarity, if stolen, can counter-initiate
Magnus's team and put them at a huge disadvantage.
* Magnus himself is positioned at the center of teamfight after casting Reverse Polarity, and will be stunned by Rubick's stolen one most of the times.
* Bear in mind that Magnus will usually cass Skewer or
Shockwave after he casts the ultimate, so the time windows left for steal can be short.
* Shockwave allows Rubick to farm fast, and also deals decent AoE damage in teamfights.
* Empower can be casted on the carry (especially affective if melee) on Rubick's team to accelerate their farm or amplify their damage in fights.
* Skewer could be used to displace enemy or escape from danger.
* Telekinesis can relocate the enemy in front of Rubick for
Skewer.
* With Quick Cast enabled, Rubick can stop the enemy Magnus with careful prediction using Telekinesis to interrupt
Horn Toss -
Skewer combo.
Additional:
* All of Magnus's spells are perfect for Rubick to steal, especially Reverse Polarity for a counter-initiation.
* Telekinesis is one of the best instant-disables in the game, completely ruining Magnus's initiation.
* Blink allows Anti-Mage to get on top of Lina and deal damage with his
Mana Break.
* Counterspell makes Anti-Mage tanky against Lina's heavy magic damage.
* A well-timed Counterspell can block and reflect Laguna Blade.
* Mana Void is very strong against Lina, who has a high mana pool and quickly depletes it during fights.
* Heroes who build mana boosting items but have low mana regeneration are especially vulnerable against Mana Break and Mana Void: Timbersaw,
Slark,
Shadow Fiend,
Clinkz,
Bristleback
Nyx Assassin,
Magnus
Additional:
* Anti-Mage can survive against Magnus's Reverse Polarity thanks to the high magic resistance from
Counterspell.
* Should Anti-Mage survive Magnus's Reverse Polarity and
Skewer, Magnus will have exhausted most of his skills and items, preventing him from defending himself against any counter initiation or a follow-up from a blink escape.
* Mana Break can deplete Magnus's much needed mana.
* Anti-Mage's Blink will make him a very hard target or Magnus to use
Reverse Polarity on, having to solo ult him later on in the game or leave him out of the
Reverse Polarity.
* Overall, any attempt for Magnus to gank Anti-Mage will hurt him more than it will hurt Anti-Mage.
* Heroes with low mobility that rely on spells: Zeus,
Lina,
Crystal Maiden.
* Dark Ascension reduces vision for the enemy team, which makes it more difficult for Magnus to initiate with Blink Dagger and Reverse Polarity. It is also more likely that Night Stalker will scout out Magnus with
Aghanim's Scepter and a
Gem of True Sight, after which he can silence Magnus with
Crippling Fear.
* Time Walk will easily backtrack Lina's burst damage (especially Laguna Blade) if not timed correctly.
* During Chronosphere, squishy heroes like Lina will be main target of Faceless Void in his ultimate.
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
* Nether Ward will be problematic for heavy nukers and spammers like Skywrath Mage,
Lina,
Lion and
Invoker, but Pugna must not use Decrepify defensively against them as he will be helping them out more than anything.
* 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.
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: Earthshaker,
Monkey King,
Shadow Fiend
Lina
* 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.
* Heroes with a lot of burst damage, especially those who rely on casting spells: Lina,
Zeus.
* 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.
* Heroes with abilities that can pull Lina out of position can easily bring her to their team mates, like Batrider with
Flaming Lasso,
Pudge with
Meat Hook and
Vengeful Spirit with
Nether Swap.
* 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.
* Even if Wraith King dies after Magnus disables him, Magnus' entire team will be slowed and vulnerable for counter-initiation.
* Zeus can easily find Magnus who is often hiding in the trees with Thundergod's Wrath and
Lightning Bolt, which allows him to warn allies and disrupt his initiation attempts.
* Jakiro's abilities deal damage over time, which can disrupt Magnus's attempts to initiate with Blink Dagger and Reverse Polarity.
* Macropyre not only disables Blink Dagger for a considerable duration, but can also destroy Trees, revealing Magnus's cover and position.
* Tinker can break Magnus's Blink Dagger using March of the Machines and
Heat-Seeking Missile, therefore delaying any initiation or making Magnus use Skewer or
Force Staff to initiate. His {Ability ID:Defense Matrix|Tinker} will decrease the duration of Reverse Polarity and can also be cast on all of his teammates with {Ability ID:Rearm|Tinker}. Tinker usually gets his own Blink Dagger as well, which makes him harder to lock down unless Magnus commits Reverse Polarity only for Tinker.
* Arcane Curse discourages Lina from using her abilities, preventing her from building up Fiery Soul stacks.
* Last Word and
Global Silence are great against Lina for the same reason, as well as interrupting her combos and preventing her from casting spells.
* Magnus is not tanky and struggles against burst damage, something Primal Beast excels at in the early-to-mid game. Primal Beast is also able to out-damage Magnus's Empower and can even contribute to his Uproar stacks.
* Using Skewer to drag Primal Beast while he is trampling will count as movement and will trigger a rapid number of slams, which could prove lethal to Magnus.
* Rupture deals extra damage to Magnus during Skewer or
Force Staff, preventing him from escaping or counter-initiating, forcing him to invest on a
Linken's Sphere.
* Light Strike Array has a long delay, making her vulnerable for Ursa's burst.
* Enrage can protect Ursa against Lina's high magical burst.
* Magnus has very mediocre damage against Alchemist, because he can survive the stun duration of Reverse Polarity with Chemical Rage.
* Dark Pact can be cast during the cast animation of Light Strike Array and dispel its stun.
* Pounce allows Slark to close the gap to Lina.
* Shadow Dance prevents Lina from killing Slark with her Laguna Blade when his HP gets low.
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage,
Earth Spirit,
Faceless Void,
Magnus,
Mirana,
Monkey King,
Morphling,
Pangolier,
Phantom Assassin,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Riki,
Sand King,
Spirit Breaker,
Timbersaw,
Tusk.
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina,
Lion,
Zeus
* Outlanes Lina on the center line thanks to her own Psi Blades, which is why the advantage of Lina's long-range attacks become turned against her
* Closes from Lina's magic attacks with her own Refraction, which is why Lina can't make her combination:
Light Strike Array,
Dragon Slave,
Laguna Blade and kill Templar Assassin quickly
Additional:
* Outlanes Lina on the center line thanks to her own Psi Blades, which is why the advantage of Lina's long-range attacks become turned against her
* Closes from Lina's magic attacks with her own Refraction, which is why Lina can't make her combination:
Light Strike Array,
Dragon Slave,
Laguna Blade and kill Templar Assassin quickly
* Disruptor can disable Magnus's Blink Dagger using Thunder Strike during a considerable duration, disrupting his initiation attempts.
* Glimpse brings Magnus back after he escapes with Skewer and/or Force Staff.
* Static Storm if used on a fight can prevent Magnus from using Reverse Polarity after he jumps in.
* Puck dodges the abilities of Lina Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array with his
Phase Shift skill, which helps him avoid combining these abilities with
Laguna Blade and avoid burst damage from Lina
* Puck forbids Lina to use her abilities with the Waning Rift ability, which will help her teammates survive and even give them the opportunity to kill her
Additional:
* Puck dodges the abilities of Lina Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array with his
Phase Shift skill, which helps him avoid combining these abilities with
Laguna Blade and avoid burst damage from Lina
* Puck forbids Lina to use her abilities with the Waning Rift ability, which will help her teammates survive and even give them the opportunity to kill her
* Plasma Field can slow Magnus during Skewer, and when combined with
Eye of the Storm, will potentially disable his Blink Dagger, preventing him from initiating.
* Static Link drains the bonus damage from Empower. However, it can be broken by Skewer and/or Force Staff.
* Storm Surge gives Razor and his allies high mobility needed to avoid Shockwave & Reverse Polarity.
* Ember Spirit absorbs quite a large amount of magical damage with its Flame Guard, and in addition dodges the abilities of
Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array with its
Sleight of Fist
Additional:
* Ember Spirit absorbs quite a large amount of magical damage with its Flame Guard, and in addition dodges the abilities of
Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array with its
Sleight of Fist
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
* 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.
* Marci can be effective against vulnerable squishy heroes that cannot deal with heroes that jump onto them - Sniper,
Drow Ranger,
Lina,
Rubick, etc.
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
* Heroes who take a long time to become strong are in for a rough mid game, such as Outworld Destroyer,
Magnus,
Medusa, and
Anti-Mage.
* Heroes with spell immunity until Lina takes Laguna Blade damage is pure and pierces spell immunity talent, like Lifestealer with
Rage and
Juggernaut with
Blade Fury.
* 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.
* Squishy heroes (Io,
Crystal Maiden,
Lina...), as Earth Spirit can deal tons of damage with Magnetize.
* 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.
* 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.
* Heroes who cannot prevent Sven from killing supports will always be at a disadvantage in fights such as Lina,
Slark and
Zeus.
Additional:
* Sven has a high health pool and is a natural Black King Bar holder and is very hard to kill for Lina.
* Sven also has high physical damage, making it easy for him to burst her down.
* 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.
* Sven is very vulnerable to chain stun such as Lion,
Shadow Shaman or
Magnus.
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
* Mind Flare does tons of damage against Lina because of her high intelligence.
* The mana burn from Vendetta also prevents Lina from casting her full combo.
* Spiked Carapace can easily be used to counter Lina's abilities because of their long cast animation, and could probably kill Lina outright if Laguna Blade is reflected.
* Heroes who build Black King Bar as either core or situational item will be able to fight back against Nyx Assassin and freely attack him as Spiked Carapace cannot pierce spell immunity at all:
Axe,
Broodmother,
Dawnbreaker,
Enigma,
Huskar,
Jakiro,
Legion Commander,
Lina,
Luna,
Lycan,
Slardar,
Slark,
Troll Warlord,
Witch Doctor.
* Phoenix will usually be on the sidelines or further back ready to use Sun Ray. Even after Magnus successfully uses Reverse Polarity and skewer Phoenix's teammates, Phoenix can usually counter-initiate using all of its abilities.
* Any hero with high attack speed will be a threat to Phoenix when it initiates, as they can easily tear down a Supernova, perhaps even while debuffed by Fire Spirits:
Juggernaut,
Clinkz,
Troll Warlord,
Beastmaster,
Lina.
* Both Lion's
Finger of Death and
Lina's
Laguna Blade have a 0.25 second delay before the damage is dealt.
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: Huskar,
Faceless Void,
Weaver,
Abaddon,
Troll Warlord,
Alchemist,
Dragon Knight,
Night Stalker,
Viper.
* Lina is a common Eul's Scepter of Divinity carrier which can waste some duration of Borrowed Time and following up with
Laguna Blade if timed correctly.
* Outlanes Shadow Fiend on the central line, due to the fact that Lina's attack range exceeds the range of Shadow Fiend, which makes it difficult for him to fend off her attacks and approach creeps, thus Lina has more level and gold
* Defeats Shadow Fiend` from Burst with a combination of skills: Light Strike Array,
Dragon Slave,
Laguna Blade, Shadow Fiend does not have a large pool of health before buying an item:
Satanic , which is why Lina's strong magic damage is enough to kill him quickly
Additional:
* Outlanes Shadow Fiend on the central line, due to the fact that Lina's attack range exceeds the range of Shadow Fiend, which makes it difficult for him to fend off her attacks and approach creeps, thus Lina has more level and gold
* Defeats Shadow Fiend` from Burst with a combination of skills: Light Strike Array,
Dragon Slave,
Laguna Blade, Shadow Fiend does not have a large pool of health before buying an item:
Satanic , which is why Lina's strong magic damage is enough to kill him quickly
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend,
Sniper, etc)
* Lina's high damage burst from Dragon Slave,
Light Strike Array and
Laguna Blade can easily kill Chen's allies or Chen himself before he can use
Hand of God.
Additional:
* Lina's high damage burst from Dragon Slave,
Light Strike Array and
Laguna Blade can easily kill Chen's allies or Chen himself before he can use
Hand of God.
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damage can make quick work of Chen's converted creeps and at same time gain farm: Magnus,
Jakiro,
Shadow Fiend,
Kunkka,
Luna,
Dragon Knight,
Medusa,
Alchemist.
* Light Strike Array catches Meepo and his clones if he tried to gank Lina with Earthbind &
Poof.
* Laguna Blade can quickly kill Meepo and his clones before they escape with Poof.
* 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.
Additional:
* Meepo is vulnerable to area damage and disables from Magnus himself as well as his team through Empower.
* Heroes that commonly attack ethereal units will not have any problems against Muerta's Pierce The Veil: Tinker,
Jakiro,
Lina,
Luna,
Pugna or
Ogre Magi.
* Heroes that have abilities to pierce spell immunity can give Muerta a hard time: Bane,
Beastmaster,
Magnus,
Enigma,
Pudge,
Jakiro with
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Macropyre.
* Heroes with summons can find their summons eliminated easily by Lina, like Broodmother,
Nature's Prophet, and
Chen.
Additional:
* Lina can easily prevent Nature's Prophet's Teleportation escape attempts with Light Strike Array, and can clear Sprout's trees instantly.
* Lina's Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array can kill Nature's Prophet's Treants.
* Heroes with cleave damage: Sven,
Magnus,
Kunkka.
* Laguna Blade is one of the best tools to kill Terrorblade before he can use
Sunder due to its high magical (pure with
Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity talent) burst damage.
* Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array allows Lina to clear Terrorblade's illusions from both, Conjure Image and
Manta Style.
Additional:
* Laguna Blade is one of the best tools to kill Terrorblade before he can use
Sunder due to its high magical (pure with
Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity talent) burst damage.
* Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array allows Lina to clear Terrorblade's illusions from both, Conjure Image and
Manta Style.
* Skewer and
Reverse Polarity will often push Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
* Being a hero with low health and abysmal mobility, Lina can nuke her down easily.
* Since Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field is a channeled ability, Lina can use her Light Strike Array to cancel it easily.
* Dragon Slave will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Light Strike Array for the enemy.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Lina out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Lina.
* Eul's Scepter of Divinity is an item Lina commonly buys, which in combination with and
Light Strike Array can disable Mirana if she tries to Leap away.
* Laguna Blade's magical (pure with Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity talent) burst damage takes advantage of Mirana's below average health.
Additional:
* Moonlight Shadow does little good against Dragon Slave and Light Strike Array.
* Lina's damage burst can quickly kill Mirana's teammates before she saves them with Moonlight Shadow.
* Lina has a very long range of attack, which completely overlaps the range of Queen of Pain's abilities and attacks, which is why even a single Shadow Strike roll can become deplorable, since Lina will shoot Queen of Pain from a long distance before and after the
Shadow Strike roll. And with the help of the abilities of
Light Strike Array and
Laguna Blade, Lina can even kill Queen of Pain because of her small health reserve if she is exposed to a blow
Additional:
* Lina has a very long range of attack, which completely overlaps the range of Queen of Pain's abilities and attacks, which is why even a single Shadow Strike roll can become deplorable, since Lina will shoot Queen of Pain from a long distance before and after the
Shadow Strike roll. And with the help of the abilities of
Light Strike Array and
Laguna Blade, Lina can even kill Queen of Pain because of her small health reserve if she is exposed to a blow
* Laguna Blade ends Gyrocopter very quickly in the early to mid game.
* Laguna Blade can kill Dazzle quickly before he casts Shallow Grave.
* Lina builds Shadow Blade (and upgrades it into a
Silver Edge), which makes it hard for Ancient Apparition to land his abilities.
* Laguna Blade can kill Ancient Apparition easily due to his low health pool and lack of mobility.
* Lina's damage burst can quickly kill Clinkz before he saves them with Skeleton Walk.
* Fiery Soul attack speed bonus removes Burning Army easily in all stages of the game.
* Using Reality Rift sets up a Reverse Polarity on Chaos Knight and his illusions.
* Shockwave and
Skewer kill Phantasm's illusions quickly, as can
Empower cast on a melee carry.
Additional:
* All Magnus abilities are very good against Chaos Knight's Phantasm illusions.
* Heroes with other kind of disables that pierce spell immunity can hold Pangolier in place during Rolling Thunder: Axe,
Beastmaster,
Enigma,
Magnus,
Pudge,
Batrider,
Bane,
Winter Wyvern
* Heroes with forced movement abilities or non-interrupting forced movement, such as Lion,
Drow Ranger,
Magnus,
Mars, as they can cancel blast-off mid air, removing his ability to initiate or escape.
* Heroes with AoE abilities are a bane to Beastmaster's summons: Storm Spirit,
Magnus,
Pangolier.
* Heroes with high damage output who can burst down Morphling before he has time to use Attribute Shift (Strength Gain), like Lina and
Lion.
Additional:
* Light Strike Array catches Morphling while he jumps in from Waveform and also prevents Morphling from using his abilities.
* Laguna Blade can kill Morphling quickly before he shifts into Attribute Shift (Strength Gain).
* 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.
* 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.
* Long ranged disables, especially those that pierce spell immunity, cancel Black Hole: Beastmaster's
Primal Roar,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Faceless Void's
Chronosphere,
Magnus's
Reverse Polarity,
Axe's
Berserker's Call,
Pudge's
Meat Hook.
* Since Windranger is bad against magical damage, heroes with continuous magical damage or magical nukes can blast her: Zeus,
Tinker,
Leshrac,
Viper,
Skywrath Mage,
Lion,
Lina,
Venomancer.
* Shrapnel can sometimes scout out Magnus and also place his Blink Dagger on cooldown. Aside from that, Sniper likes to stay far back behind enemy lines, so it's difficult to catch him with Reverse Polarity unless you already have vision on him and can Skewer him to the rest of his team.
* Lina defeats Sniper on the mid, because she has the same attack range as him, and her Dragon Slave ability deals much more damage to creeps, as well as to Sniper himself, than
Shrapnel, which creates uncomfortable conditions for Sniper to farm on the line, which is why Lina either punches Sniper harder than he either pushes a pack of creeps up to the tower and finishes off his creeps under it, preventing Sniper from earning gold and a level.
Additional:
* Lina defeats Sniper on the mid, because she has the same attack range as him, and her Dragon Slave ability deals much more damage to creeps, as well as to Sniper himself, than
Shrapnel, which creates uncomfortable conditions for Sniper to farm on the line, which is why Lina either punches Sniper harder than he either pushes a pack of creeps up to the tower and finishes off his creeps under it, preventing Sniper from earning gold and a level.
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend,
Sniper, etc)
* Heroes that can kill Death Prophet with nukes can prevent her from using Exorcism to its full duration or using it at all: Lina,
Lion,
Puck,
Morphling.
* Abilities that can destroy trees can give Hoodwink a disadvantage: Timbersaw,
Windranger,
Lina.
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus,
Skywrath Mage,
Tinker,
Lina
* Heavy nukers will do well against Cold Embrace (Lina,
Zeus etc).
* Ensnare prevents using any kind of movement abiilties, Making Naga Siren good against heroes who rely on gap-closing abilities to escape:
Phantom Assassin,
Magnus,
Slark,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Storm Spirit.
* Since Naga Siren is a hero who barely goes for Black King Bar, she is vulnerable to nukers with strong magical damage and big area-of-effect spells in every game more than any other carry heroes:
Sand King,
Jakiro,
Leshrac,
Lina,
Earthshaker,
Zeus.
* Heroes whose attacks can affect multiple enemies at once will clear Naga Siren's illusions. Such heroes include Sven,
Magnus,
Dragon Knight,
Luna,
Medusa,
Templar Assassin,
Gyrocopter,
Muerta.
* Heroes with summons can find their summons eliminated easily by Lina, like Broodmother,
Nature's Prophet, and
Chen.
Additional:
* Light Strike Array in combination with
Dragon Slave can easily clear Broodmother's spiders.
* Laguna Blade offers extensive damage that can kill Broodmother early on or before she is able to use Insatiable Hunger in attempts to salvage a fight.
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with
Death Ward and
Bane's
Fiend's Grip.
Additional:
* Light Strike Array cancels out Death Ward from a long distance.
* 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 cleave or multi-target attacks can quickly take on Familiars and reduce Visage's firepower like Gyrocopter,
Kunkka,
Magnus and
Medusa.
* Heroes that have an escape that doesn't disjoint projectiles: Mirana,
Faceless Void,
Magnus
* Enchantress has pitiful health, and cannot tank Lina's heavy magic damage.
* Untouchable is decently countered by Fiery Soul, exposing Enchantress' weakness to physical damage due to her low armor.
* Lina is decent at clearing creeps and can kill Enchantress' creeps quickly.
Additional:
* Enchantress has a very small health pool and cannot tank Lina's heavy magic burst.
* Untouchable is decently countered by Fiery Soul, exposing Enchantress's weakness to physical damage due to her low armor.
* Lina is decent at clearing creeps and can kill Enchantress's creeps quickly.
* 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.
* Dragon Slave deals reliable magic damage during the laning phase against Mars.
* Lina's Eul's Scepter of Divinity and
Light Strike Array combo can interrupt Mars from being disruptive for a decent amount of time and leave him vulnerable for follow up stuns.
* Laguna Blade deals massive magical damage, and pure damage with
Aghanim's Scepter.
* Fragile support heroes are all ideal targets for the Phantom Assassin. Heroes such as Lina and
Witch Doctor are all prime targets that may not be able to react quickly and fight back due to Phantom Assassin's sudden appearance.
* Laguna Blade is one of the best tools to kill Phantom Assassin before she can do anything in early-to-mid game due to its high magical (pure with
Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity talent) burst damage.
* Blur offers no protection against Lina's abilities. Likewise, Lina can counter
Blur's evasion by buying either
Silver Edge or
Monkey King Bar.
* Lina just has to be careful about Fan of Knives from
Aghanim's Shard and
Coup De Grace, as
Fan of Knives can deal pure damage to Lina and disable
Fiery Soul awhile
Coup De Grace can deal serious damage to her even if she is spell immune, which may force Lina to buy
Ethereal Blade to deal with Phantom Assassin.
Additional:
* Laguna Blade is one of the best tools to kill Phantom Assassin before she can do anything in early-to-mid game due to its high magical (pure with
Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity talent) burst damage.
* Blur offers no protection against Lina's abilities. Likewise, Lina can counter
Blur's evasion by buying either
Silver Edge or
Monkey King Bar.
* Lina just has to be careful about Fan of Knives from
Aghanim's Shard and
Coup De Grace, as
Fan of Knives can deal pure damage to Lina and disable
Fiery Soul awhile
Coup De Grace can deal serious damage to her even if she is spell immune, which may force Lina to buy
Ethereal Blade to deal with Phantom Assassin.
* Heroes with abilities that can pull Lina out of position can easily bring her to their team mates, like Batrider with
Flaming Lasso,
Pudge with
Meat Hook and
Vengeful Spirit with
Nether Swap.
* Pudge has low armor and mobility, making him suspectible to her physical attacks (if Lina is the carry).
* Because Dismember is a channeled ability, it can be canceled through Light Strike Array within a distance.
* 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.
* Guardian Angel is generally useless against Lina as she primarily relies on magical damage. Lina can also dispel it with
Eul's Scepter of Divinity as she is a hero who often goes for it.
Eul's Scepter of Divinity can later be upgraded into
Wind Waker, which will allow Lina to escape from Omniknight.
* Laguna Blade can often finish off Omniknight's allies before he can save them with
Purification and
Heavenly Grace. This can become even worse once Lina picks
Laguna Blade damage is pure and pierces spell immunity talent, which will allow it to ignore both, any form of spell immunity and
Guardian Angel.
* Heroes with abilities that can pull Lina out of position can easily bring her to their team mates, like Batrider with
Flaming Lasso,
Pudge with
Meat Hook and
Vengeful Spirit with
Nether Swap.
* Lina can burst Vengeful Spirit down, provided she can land Light Strike Array before Vengeful Spirit lands her Magic Missile.
* Laguna Blade deals massive damage, often being enough to kill a squishy Vengeful Spirit.
* Heroes that have high health but little to no magic resistance are easy prey for Necrophos, as no matter how high they build their health up, Reaper's Scythe will kill them outright as long as they fall under a certain threshold, and Heartstopper Aura will deal the same amount of damage regardless, decaying their health the longer they stay within range. As such, Strength heroes like Chaos Knight,
Centaur Warrunner or
Magnus are good targets for his ultimate.
* Laguna Blade deals amplified magical damage (pure from Aghanim's Scepter) to Necrophos when he is under the effects of
Ghost Shroud.
Additional:
* Laguna Blade's damage as well as damage from all of Lina's abilities will be greatly amplified during Ghost Shroud.
* Heroes that can close the gap can easily chase her down, such as Timbersaw with
Timber Chain and
Anti-Mage with
Blink.
* Timbersaw has a difficult time against magical and pure damage: Lina,
Leshrac,
Enchantress,
Queen of Pain
* Storm Spirit can quickly close the distance with Lina using Ball Lightning. In addition,
Ball Lightning can be used as a way to dodge the abilities of
Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array
Additional:
* Storm Spirit can quickly close the distance with Lina using Ball Lightning. In addition,
Ball Lightning can be used as a way to dodge the abilities of
Dragon Slave and
Light Strike Array
* Lina can win on a line against Storm Spirit because of the range of her abilities and attacks, and Storm Spirit will be forced to survive on such a line, not farm
Additional:
* Lina can win on a line against Storm Spirit because of the range of her abilities and attacks, and Storm Spirit will be forced to survive on such a line, not farm
* If Luna can use Eclipse in anticipation, Magnus will be killed before he can even manages to cast
Reverse Polarity.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse is a very good counter-initiation tool against Magnus when he casts
Reverse Polarity, granted as long as Luna can cast it from safe distance.
* Lina has very high magic burst damage to use against the low-health-pool Luna. Laguna Blade can also be upgraded with Laguna Blade damage is Pure and pierces Spell Immunity to bypass
Black King Bar, making Lina even more of a threat. Luna however, can easily counter this problem with
Linken's Sphere, which is a common item for her.
* For the same reasons, Lina makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
* Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Lina's abilities (except an upgraded Laguna Blade).
* Open Wounds is great to keep Lina in place because she has no abilities to help her escape.
* Reverse Polarity pierces through Rage, wasting part of it's duration.
* Magnus is tanky and mobile, making it hard for Lifestealer to focus and kill him in all stages of a game.
* 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.
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with
Death Ward and
Bane's
Fiend's Grip.
* Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and putting Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Wards, which makes Magnus real problems to blink and initiate.
Additional:
* Similar to Night Stalker, Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and put Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Ward, which gives Magnus problems when trying to blink in and initiate.
* Venomancer has low health, which makes him vulnerable to Lina's heavy magic damage.
* Fiery Soul attack speed bonus removes Plague Wards easily in all stages of the game.
* Doppelganger can be used to easily dodge Light Strike Array if timed correctly.
* Phantom Lancer can quickly deplete Lina's mana pool with his illusions and deal massive damage from it simultaneously since Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier.
* Empower helps Magnus' allies clear out illusions.
* Reverse Polarity and
Skewer will pull Phantom Lancer along with his illusions, and reposition them together for easy nuking.
* Shockwave deals significant area damage in the early game,destroys phantoms and may even indicate the real Phantom Lancer.
* Magnus cannot manfight Huskar even with Empower, Berserker's Blood's high attack speed and health regeneration, combined with Huskar's high health and
Burning Spear stacks will allow Huskar to kill Magnus before he can kill him.
* From a safe distance, Huskar can surprise and counter Magnus's initiation with Life Break and
Burning Spear.
* Burning Spear also deals damage over time, disabling Blink Dagger and preventing him from initiating or escaping.
* Lina interrupts Huskar on the center line because of her attack range, she can constantly be at a long distance, punching Huskar with her hand, while Huskar needs a very close distance to use Burning Spear
Additional:
* Lina interrupts Huskar on the center line because of her attack range, she can constantly be at a long distance, punching Huskar with her hand, while Huskar needs a very close distance to use Burning Spear
* Treant Protector can usually scout out Magnus in the trees with Eyes in the Forest and disrupt his initiation attempts. He can also counter Magnus' initiation with
Overgrowth.
* Light Strike Array and Dragon Slave allows Lina to destroy trees, countering Nature's Guise and
Eyes in the Forest.
* Lina has many tools to remove Living Armor's protection.
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
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You will get the list of recommended hero counters with a list of tips written by Dota 2 wiki contributors explaining why it's good against the particular hero. In comparison to other similar websites, which show only rating based on average hero win rate from dotabuff or similar service.
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Lina
*
Spectral Dagger and
Haunt allow Spectre to get close to Lina.
Desolate is very strong against Lina, who's usually a bit isolated in fights because of her high attack and cast range.
Dispersion can mitigate a good portion of Lina's burst damage, allowing Spectre to turn on her afterwards.
Haunt and
Spectral Dagger, and due to Lina's abysmal mobility without a
Blink Dagger and terrible health pool and armor, Lina easily gets slaughtered due
Desolate.
Dispersion can mitigate a good portion of Lina's burst damage, allowing Spectre to turn against her afterwards.
*
*
Additional:
* Spectre can very easily close the distance on Lina with
*
Magnus
* Spectre can use
Haunt to intercept and disrupt Magnus's initiation attempts.
Spectral Dagger can severely slow down Magnus after he uses
Skewer.
Desolate can be very effective against him.
Reverse Polarity initiation thanks to
Dispersion.
*
* Magnus often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so
* In late game, Spectre can survive
Additional:
* Spectre disables Magnus' Blink Dagger using her ultimate, and later into the game can usually outlive Reverse Polarity's duration.