Lycan
* Heroes who rely on summons will see them destroyed easily by Overwhelming Odds: 
Lycan, 
Arc Warden, 
Warlock, 
Chen
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.
Lycan
* Lycan cannot escape from a Pounce even if he uses 
Shapeshift, and has no disabling abilities to stop Slark.
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.
Lycan
* 
Faceless Void can lock Lycan down with his 
Chronosphere pinning him down as long as his ultimate is up.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes who rely heavily on melee attacks and lack early spell immunity are easily blocked and interrupted by Ink Swell: Lycan, 
Ursa, 
Troll Warlord.
Additional:
* 
Stroke of Fate deals more damage when it hits more targets which makes it very effective in dealing with Lycan and his units.
* 
Soulbind prevents Lycan from running away and makes him very easy to deal with.
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.
Lycan
* 
Guardian Angel completely negates all of Lycan's damage since Lycan mainly deals physical damage.
* 
Purification can also be a problem for Lycan, as Purification deals damage around the target, which poses a problem for him and his summons.
Lycan
* 
Arctic Burn allows Winter Wyvern to escape Lycan, even when he uses his ultimate.
* 
Splinter Blast is very effective in dealing with Lycan's summons.
* 
Cold Embrace saves allies from Lycan's raw physical damage and can buy allies enough time to turn the tide of battle.
* 
Winter's Curse stops Lycan in his tracks and is very effective because of his summons.
Additional:
* All of Lycan's damage is physical which is totally negated by Cold Embrace.
* Lycan often moves around with large amount of creeps, wolves created by 
Summon Wolves and neutral creep dominated by 
Helm of the Dominator which can be easily cleared by Splinter Blast or used as a great source of damage by Winter's Curse. If you catch Lycan with creeps nearby and affected by Shapeshift using Winter's Curse on him will most certainly end up with his death.
Lycan
* 
Great Cleave will kill Lycan's summons very rapidly.
* 
Warcry will allow Sven and his allies to tank Lycan's damage, which is mainly physical.
* 
Storm Hammer will damage and stun Lycan's as well as his summons.
Lycan
* Rupture completely negates Lycan's high mobility.
* All of Lycan's summons are good sources of healing with Bloodrage.
Additional:
* 
Rupture completely negates Lycan's high mobility.
* All of Lycan's summons are good sources of healing with 
Bloodrage.
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.
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.
Lycan
* A well landed 
Fissure can potentially take Lycan out of the fight for several seconds, who heavily relies on precious seconds from Black king bar and Shapeshift to fight.
* 
Aftershock reduces the effectiveness of his summons and can prove quite irritating for Lycan.
* 
Echo Slam is very powerful with the sheer amount of Lycan's units and will cause him to think twice when pushing towers.
Lycan
* Tidebringer's cleave will cripple any of his summons.
* Could potentially build Heaven's Halberd to cripple Lycan even more.
Additional:
* 
Tidebringer can be used to kill Lycan's summons.
* Can also build into 
Heaven's Halberd which will disable Lycan's auto attacks, crippling him even more.
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.
Lycan
* Brewmaster can waste a large portion of Lycan's ultimate by putting him in Cyclone.
* Lycan has no way to stop Brewmaster from using Primal Split by himself.
* Lycan's team often tries to push towers as a group, and Brewmaster excels at winning teamfights while trying to defend a tower.
Lycan
* Paralyzing cask bounces between him and his wolves, keeping him stunned for long amounts of time.
Lycan
* 
Kraken Shell grants him massive physical attack protection
* 
Anchor Smash will wipe the area, clearing Lycan's wolves.
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
* 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.
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.
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.
Lycan
* Lycan is a hero focused entirely on single target physical damage and lacks disables or AoE damage. Due to this, he will have difficulties dealing with illusions or Naga Siren's Ensnare.
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.
Lycan
* 
Primal Roar allows Beastmaster to keep Lycan in place after he used his Shapeshift.
Lycan
* 
Treant Protector grants protection against his attacks with 
Living Armor and his ultimate, 
Overgrowth is a massive AoE disarm and root that pierces spell immunity, causing trouble to Lycan. You will find yourself in need of an ally's dispel or forced to pop 
Black King Bar for its dispel.
Additional:
* Lycan has no kind of teleport, being only able to walk, and heavily relies on his attacks. As Overgrowth roots and disarms the targets, Lycan can't do much in an overgrowth field.
Lycan
* Melee heroes who rely on summons, illusions, or clones will trigger Counter Helix more often, thus taking more damage: 
Meepo, Lycan, 
Phantom Lancer
Additional:
* 
Berserker's Call can keep Lycan in place during his Shapeshift even through Black King Bar.
* 
Counter Helix is very effective against Lycan because of his summons.
* 
Culling Blade will prevent Lycan from running away with Shapeshift when he drops low.
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
Lycan
* Heroes that heavily depend on illusions or summons, (
Naga Siren, 
Terrorblade, Phantom Lancer, Lycan,...) are vulnerable to Sleight of Fist and even more so if Ember Spirit has 
Battle Fury.
Lycan
* Heroes with summons and illusions can find themselves easily bested by Lina, like 
Broodmother, 
Nature's Prophet, Chen, Terrorblade, Naga Siren, 
Visage, 
Wraith King, Lycan, Phantom Lancer, 
Shadow Shaman.
Lycan
* Heroes that can summon units will have their summons destroyed very quickly if badly micro-managed, like Chen, Lycan, and Phantom Lancer.
Lycan
* Heroes who summon multiple units that are not spell immune. Nature's Prophet,Lycan,
Beastmaster
Bristleback
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray: Axe, 
Pudge, Bristleback, 
Mars.
Lycan
* Jakiro's area-of-effect abilities make him strong against heroes who rely on illusions and summons: Terrorblade, Naga Siren 
Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Broodmother, Nature's Prophet, Lycan, Wraith King, Visage.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes with summoned units don't fare well against Dawnbreaker. (Phantom Lancer ,Beastmaster ,Lycan).
Lycan
* 
Pugna's 
Decrepify prevents the target from taking physical damage or doing damage, which poses a huge problem for Lycan, as he mainly deals physical damage.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes who have summons, which can be quickly cleared by his powerful area of effect skill: Nature's Prophet, 
Enigma, Lycan
Bristleback
* Batrider's turn rate slow from 
Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Lycan
* Her 
Mana Shield is too tough for Lycan to break.
* 
Mystic Snake can hit for a massive damage once it spread between his summons.
Additional:
* Can be easily petrified despite his speed.
* Summoned wolves will be targeted by Split Shot or Mystic Snake
Bristleback
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: 
Tidehunter, Bristleback, 
Slardar.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: 
Clinkz, Pugna, Nature's Prophet, 
Dark Seer, Lycan, 
Tusk
Lycan
* Phantom Assassin's 
Blur is a real problem for Lycan, as he relies entirely on direct attacks to deal damage.
Lycan
* Heroes with single-target abilities will be overwhelmed by Lycan and his summons: Wraith King, 
Bane, 
Phantom Assassin.
Lycan
* 
Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to catch up to Lycan after he uses Shapeshift.
Additional:
* Vision from Charge of Darkness will easier to catch Lycan Shapeshift and Charge of Darkness out of reach Lycan Summon Wolves and Lycan's other creeps. Until upgrade 
Aghanim's Scepter faster catching Lycan Shapeshift.
Bristleback
* 
Spirit Breaker's 
Nether Strike with 
Aghanim's Shard disables Bristleback's passives.
Lycan
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Naga Siren, Broodmother, Warlock, Visage, Nature's Prophet, Shadow Shaman, Lycan, Wraith King.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: 
Luna, 
Razor, Axe, Bristleback, 
Leshrac, 
Death Prophet, 
Jakiro.
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.
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.
Lycan
* Lycan relies heavily on right clicks making Untouchable very effective against him.
* If he tries to run away Impetus will do huge amounts of damage.
Additional:
* She can 
Enchant one of the wolves to her side.
* Lycan will struggle greatly to harm Enchantress through her 
Untouchable which can seriously slow down Lycan's attack speed even if Lycan is spell immune.
Lycan
* Heroes with haste can negate Enchant's slow: 
Weaver, Dark Seer, Lycan, 
Centaur Warrunner.
Lycan
* 
Magnetic Field is useless against melee heroes, so Lycan can attack Arc Warden without missing.
* 
Flux doesn't affect Lycan that much, because Shapeshift grants immunity to slows and because he is never alone.
* If their 
Tempest Double has been called, Lycan can still kill Arc Warden before the double expires.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes with low armor and little mobility, like 
Huskar, 
Io, etc. will also have an unfortunate fate.
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.
Lycan
* 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.
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.
Lycan
* Windranger tends to fare badly against high mobility heroes that can easily dodge Powershot, close the gap on her when she uses Windrun or escape from Focus Fire's reach. Examples of such heroes include Spirit Breaker, Lycan, 
Storm Spirit, 
Earth Spirit, 
Void Spirit, 
Slark and others.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes with summons: Lycan, Broodmother, Visage, Nature's Prophet, Warlock.
Bristleback
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback, Clinkz, Luna,
Shadow Fiend, Slardar, Terrorblade
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.
Lycan
* Lycan can clear waves of Chen's creeps with his wolves from Summon Wolves, especially once Lycan takes +2 Wolves summoned talent. And even though Chen can convert one of his wolves with 
Holy Persuasion, Lycan can counter this by buying 
Helm of the Overlord to regain control of it. Uncontrollable wolves summoned from Aghanim's Shard upgrade Summon Wolves cannot be converted with Holy Persuasion.
* Shapeshift allows him to chase down Chen and kill him easily.
* 
Howl can reduce attack damage of both, Chen and his creeps.
Lycan
* He can send wolves to defuse 
Proximity Mines, and he can catch up Techies and kill him before they can deny themselves. Even if the suicide is successful, Lycan can still survive because of his tankiness.
Lycan
* Mirana's Leap is ineffective if Lycan uses Shapeshift. It also allows him to dodge Sacred Arrow.
Lycan
* Any Hero with high mobility will be neutralized by dream coil: 
Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, 
Ember Spirit, Lycan, 
Bloodseeker, 
Anti-Mage, 
Timbersaw.
Lycan
* A Lycan with Shapeshift can always run down Puck for a very quick kill due to its low armor. It is important to abuse as many cliffs and trees as possible to escape from a Lycan.
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.
Lycan
* The movement speed granted from Shapeshift means that Spectre has no way to punish Lycan if he wants to splitpush or pick off supports. Furthermore, he will kite 
Haunt and cannot be slowed by 
Spectral Dagger.
* Lycan is often part of an early game push strategy which is often the best counter to Spectre because she needs a lot of time and space to come online as a late game carry.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Chaos Knight's 
Phantasms.
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.
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
* 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.
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.
Lycan
* Shapeshift allows Lycan to get close and disable Marksmanship.
* Shapeshift also makes him immune to slows like Drow Ranger's Frost Arrows.
Additional:
* The Wolves's speed causes the knockback from 
Gust to be ineffective.
* Drow Ranger lacks escapes and loses her 
Marksmanship when someone is near her. Lycan can take advantage of these weaknesses of 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.
Lycan
* Lycan's high health allows him to easily shrug off Nyx Assassin's burst damage and fend him off.
* As Lycan commonly buys Black King Bar, he can use it to freely attack Nyx Assassin and chase after him with Shapeshift.
* Lycan can also use his wolves from Summon Wolves to attack Nyx Assassin while he has 
Spiked Carapace active without getting stunned himself.
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.
Lycan
* Shapeshift allows Lycan to chase down Earth Spirit.
Lycan
* Shapeshift allows Lycan to escape from Upheaval with maximum movement speed.
* Warlock doesn't have a good solution to deal with Lycan's wolves from Summon Wolves.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray usually hits Meepo's clones, although Bristleback cannot turn his back when rooted with 
Earthbind.
Lycan
* Howl reduces a good chunk of Marci's attack damage that she relies heavily on, and the armor reduction works better on her because of her low armor.
* Shapeshift renders Lycan immune to slow from Rebound and Unleash.
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.
Lycan
* Lycan doesn't care much about Lich's slows thanks to Shapeshift.
* Chain Frost can bounce to the wolves that Lycan summons.
Additional:
* 
Lich possesses a lot of slows, which Lycan doesn't care about when he Shapeshifts.
* Lich has no in-built escape, which makes him a good target for Lycan.
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.
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
Lycan
* Void's slow is useless against Lycan by activating Shapeshift.
* Night Stalker's single target abilities (with the exception of Void upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter) is not very effective against Lycan's Summon Wolves during the early and mid game.
Lycan
* Lycan's ultimate makes him immune to slows from Ursa's 
Earthshock as well as allowing him to outmaneuver Ursa during 
Enrage. Lycan can also easily chase down Ursa while shapeshifted, should Ursa try to flee.
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.
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.
Lycan
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo, 
Witch Doctor, Lycan, Enigma, Shadow Shaman
* Heroes that can quickly deal damage to her, regardless of how weak they are, can easily break through her Refraction:
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo, Witch Doctor, Lycan, Enigma, Shadow Shaman
* Multiple attackers thanks to illusions: Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren (bonus for her 
Ensnare). Also despite the visual effects, Templar Assassin does not spill damage against illusions or buildings, so she is not a really good hero to clean up illusions.
* Weak damage but high tick rate or persist in a long time: Slark, 
Gyrocopter, Queen of Pain, Shadow Shaman (
Shackles), Jakiro, Pugna, Doom
Bristleback
* Heroes that have AoE damage: 
Lina, 
Keeper of the Light, Timbersaw, Leshrac, Bristleback, Axe.
Lycan
* You can easily kill a squishy 
Sniper, due to your high movement speed and his lack of escape.
Lycan
* Once you get a Black King Bar, squishy spellcasters like 
Zeus, 
Skywrath Mage and others will be probably easy to deal with.
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.
Lycan
* Once you get a Black King Bar, squishy spellcasters like Zeus, Skywrath Mage and others will be probably easy to deal with.
Lycan
* Heroes with single-target abilities will be overwhelmed by Lycan and his summons: Wraith King, Bane, Phantom Assassin.
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.
Lycan
* Heroes with single-target abilities will be overwhelmed by Lycan and his summons: Wraith King, Bane, Phantom Assassin.
Lycan
* Dragon Knight's insanely high armor and splash damage can cause Lycan to struggle taking him down.
Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.
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.
Lycan
* Shapeshift increases Lycan's movement speed and renders him unslowable, allowing him to easily avoid and escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Lycan has fast summons, both his wolves from Summon Wolves can do heavy damage to Ancient Apparition due to his immobility and low armor.
Bristleback
* Terrorblade's 
Sunder is not affected by the Bristleback damage reduction.
Lycan
* 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.
Lycan
* Heroes who rely on physical damage output to be effective will fare badly against Muerta's 
Pierce the Veil: Phantom Assassin, Terrorblade, 
Drow Ranger, 
Lifestealer, Anti-Mage, 
Alchemist, Lycan, Clinkz, Sniper.
Lycan
* Heroes with abilities that can close the gap can easily kill Muerta: Storm Spirit, Earth Spirit, Ember Spirit, Void Spirit, Lycan, Chaos Knight, Tusk.
Lycan
* Keeper of the Light has a blind, which causes Lycan to miss his attacks.
Lycan
* Heroes with hastes: Dark Seer, Lycan
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.
Additional:
* Bristleback will not be able to cast Viscous Nasal Goo or Quill Spray while silenced, effectively blocking a major part of the hero's damage and preventing Warpath charges from stacking.
* 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.
Lycan
* Shapeshift is useful for killing or escaping Silencer.
* Summon Wolves, can be used to hunt and harass silencer - even when Lycan himself can't fight.
Bristleback
* Shadow Demon's 
Demonic Purge with Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
Lycan
* Lycan and Weaver has abilities that allow them to move at maximum movement speed, and those abilities can't be dispelled, potentially wasting the slow from Demonic Purge.
Lycan
* Can cast 
Demonic Conversion on one of Lycan's Wolves, making this a numbers fight.
* 
Malefice will greatly reduce his ability to engage
* 
Midnight Pulse can steep an area making it harder for Lycan to engage in.
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.
Lycan
* All of Timbersaw's spells deal AoE damage, killing Lycan's summons very quickly.
Reactive Armor will gain stacks quickly because of Lycan's summons.
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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.
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