Mirana
* Heroes with spells that negate invisibility such as 
Bounty Hunter, 
Zeus and 
Slardar prevent her from saving her allies with Moonlight Shadow.
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.
Mirana
* Heroes with silences and hard stuns such as 
Doom, 
Silencer, and 
Lion can keep Mirana from Leaping away.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 
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.
Mirana
* Heroes who rely on invisibility, such as Bounty Hunter, 
Clinkz, 
Mirana, 
Nyx Assassin and 
Riki, as they will be revealed if caught by Chronosphere.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 
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.
Mirana
* Heroes with silences and hard stuns such as Doom, Silencer, and Lion can keep Mirana from Leaping away.
Additional:
* All abilities from Mirana can shut down with 
Doom and Mirana can not escape with Leap since Doom activated.
* Doom also catch Mirana disabled used combo items Doom from ugrade 
Aghanim's Scepter and 
Blink Dagger or 
Overwhelming Blink make Mirana can not move escaping notably 
Leap and 
Moonlight Shadow.
Bristleback
* 
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 gets an Aghanim's Scepter, he can disable 
Bristleback and Warpath, taking away much of his durability and damage potential in team fights.
Additional:
* 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.
Mirana
* Heroes that can protect or dispel stunned allies such as 
Legion Commander, 
Outworld Destroyer, 
Shadow Demon and 
Oracle can reduce the effectiveness of Sacred Arrow.
Bristleback
* Tanky melee heroes that can easily be kited, which allows Outworld Destroyer to deal heavy damage with Arcane Orb from a distance: 
Sven, 
Underlord, 
Bristleback.
Additional:
* 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.
Mirana
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, 
Phantom Lancer, 
Nature's Prophet.
Bristleback
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, 
Spectre, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Enchantress, 
Dragon Knight.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, 
Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
Mirana
* Abaddon can remove Sacred Arrow's stun from his teammates with 
Aphotic Shield, or remove it from himself with 
Borrowed Time.
* Borrowed Time makes Abaddon almost impossible to burst down with Mirana's Aghanim's Scepter combo.
Additional:
* 
Sacred Arrow can be instantly dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
Mirana
* The long silence of 
Crippling Fear at night prevents Mirana from escaping with Moonlight Shadow and Leap. She also has really low base health, so Night Stalker can usually kill her during one cast of Crippling Fear at night.
* With 
Dark Ascension and 
Gem of True Sight, Night Stalker can find and kill Mirana, and he is a tanky hero capable of fighting Mirana any stage of the game.
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.
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.
Bristleback
* 
Nethertoxin disables 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.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin disables Bristleback's passive.
* Viper Strike and Poison Attack slow down Bristleback's movement speed, making him unable to get out from Nethertoxin.
Mirana
* Thirst detects Mirana or her ally at low health during Moonlight Shadow.
* Rupture deals high damage when Mirana uses Leap.
Additional:
* 
Rupture can quickly kill Mirana if she tries to Leap away.
* 
Thirst detects Mirana and her allies during Moonlight Shadow.
Mirana
* 
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.
Mirana
* Heroes that can protect or dispel stunned allies such as Legion Commander, Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon and Oracle can reduce the effectiveness of Sacred Arrow.
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.
Mirana
* Heroes that cannot move in fights such as a Dueling Legion Commander or anyone channeling a spell like 
Bane, 
Pudge, or 
Enigma are easy Sacred Arrow targets.
Bristleback
* 
Sharpshooter deals massive damage to Bristleback and applies a high duration disable on his passive.
* 
Bushwhack and 
Scurry can be used to easily kite Bristleback.
Additional:
* Bristleback and Warpath can be disabled by Hoodwink's Sharpshooter ability for a long period of time, reducing his both offense and defense.
* Scurry and Bushwhack can be used to kite bristleback.
Bristleback
* 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.
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.
* 
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).
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.
Mirana
* Overgrowth has a great duration, which prevents the units caught from attacking, moving and Blinking. Heroes like 
Storm Spirit, Mirana, 
Anti-Mage and others won't be able to do much if they're caught.
Mirana
* Heroes with spells that negate invisibility such as Bounty Hunter, Zeus and Slardar prevent her from saving her allies with Moonlight Shadow.
Mirana
* Heroes that have superior mobility that can easily catch up with Mirana even after she used Leap to escape: Anti-Mage, 
Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Riki.
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.
Mirana
* Counterspell does not protect Anti-Mage from Sacred Arrow.
* Moonlight Shadow can help her allies avoid Mana Break and Mana Void.
* Blink's cooldown isn't short enough to escape from Leap, especially when she has the extra charge from 
Aghanim's Shard.
Additional:
* Combo items for Mirana 
Rod of Atos can upgrade to 
Gleipnir and Sacred Arrow before and during Anti-Mage build item 
Manta Style cooldown can easy penetrates Counterspell broken.
* Charge for Leap can Mirana easily faster escaping.
* Moonlight Shadow it can disappear anytime and Anti-Mage can not fight.
Bristleback
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray: 
Axe, Pudge, Bristleback, 
Mars.
Mirana
* Heroes that rely on invisibility can be tracked with Charge of Darkness opening them to team attacks: Bounty Hunter, Mirana, Riki
Bristleback
* 
Spirit Breaker's 
Nether Strike with Aghanim's Shard disables Bristleback's passives.
Bristleback
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: 
Luna, 
Razor, Axe, Bristleback, 
Leshrac, 
Death Prophet.
Mirana
* Heroes that have superior mobility that can easily catch up with Mirana even after she used Leap to escape: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Riki.
Mirana
* Heroes with silences and hard stuns such as Doom, Silencer, and Lion can keep Mirana from Leaping away.
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.
Mirana
* Lion lacks mobility or escape mechanisms, making him an easy target for abilities like Mirana's Sacred Arrow or Leshrac's 
Split Earth, or combos like 
Kunkka's 
X Marks the Spot into 
Torrent.
Mirana
* Heroes that have superior mobility that can easily catch up with Mirana even after she used Leap to escape: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Riki.
Bristleback
* 
Terrorblade's 
Sunder is not affected by the Bristleback damage reduction.
Bristleback
* 
Batrider's turn rate slow from 
Sticky Napalm makes it harder for Bristleback to keep his back towards the enemy.
Mirana
* 
Flux will slow and damage Mirana even after she Leaps, since she will likely not be near allies.
* Arc Warden can place 
Magnetic Field on an ally who has been hit by Sacred Arrow to protect them.
Additional:
* Arc Warden can use his summons to prevent Sacred Arrow from hitting himself or his allies.
* Mirana doesn't build items that give armor often, so she usually can't fight against a late game Arc Warden.
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:
* 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.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 
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.
Bristleback
* Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include Bristleback (although only from behind), Spectre, 
Ursa, and Dragon Knight.
Bristleback
* 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.
Mirana
* Mirana can destroy Tombstone, and evade zombies using Leap and Moonlight Shadow's invisibility.
Mirana
* 
Track detects Mirana and her allies during Moonlight Shadow.
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.
Mirana
* Puck can initiate on Mirana with 
Waning Rift to prevent her from going invisible or Leaping.
* A Mirana caught in 
Dream Coil will stun herself if she tries to Leap away.
* Puck's Burst damage takes advantage of Mirana's below average health.
* Puck can easily dodge Sacred Arrow and Starstorm with 
Phase Shift.
Additional:
* Mirana's spells are laid out to assassinate enemies. Puck can easily avoid the slow moving Sacred Arrow, and also can avoid 
Starstorm with Phase Shift, since the meteors have a delay.
* If Puck casts either Waning Rift or Dream Coil in the area, Mirana cannot Leap away.
Bristleback
* Axe, Bristleback, 
Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Pudge, 
Huskar, 
Wraith King: 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.
Mirana
* Sacred Arrow can be used to interrupt Freezing Field from a safe distance, forcing her to cancel it to dodge or get hit.
* Crystal Maiden has very slow movement speed, making her an easy Sacred Arrow target.
* Crystal Maiden has low health and can easily be killed with an Aghanim's Scepter combo or just when hit with an arrow.
* If 
Frostbite has already been used, Mirana can Leap away even when slowed by 
Crystal Nova or 
Freezing Field.
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.
Mirana
* Heroes that cannot move in fights such as a Dueling Legion Commander or anyone channeling a spell like Bane, Pudge, or Enigma are easy Sacred Arrow targets.
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.
Mirana
* Heroes that cannot move in fights such as a Dueling Legion Commander or anyone channeling a spell like Bane, Pudge, or Enigma are easy Sacred Arrow targets.
Additional:
* If Meat Hook is used before Leap, Mirana may be able to escape Pudge's grasp by leaping to safety.
* The invisibility from Moonlight Shadow gives a degree of mobility, which can make Mirana or her teammates difficult targets to hook.
* Sacred Arrow can be used to cancel Dismember from long distances.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Mirana
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, 
Chen, Clinkz, 
Drow Ranger, 
Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, 
Pugna and 
Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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.
Bristleback
* Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.
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
* 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.
Additional:
* Bristleback's abilities are nearly useless for Rubick to 
Spell Steal, as he does not gain the bonuses from Warpath.
Mirana
* Techies spends lots of time standing still planting stacks of 
Land Mines away from creep waves.
* Sacred Arrow can be used to scout hidden Land Mines among trees and at uphill places. It can also be used to catch Techies while he's planting them.
* If Techies is hit with a Sacred Arrow, he can be killed before he has a chance to use 
Blast Off!.
* Mirana has a high attack range to destroy his traps from a safe distance.
Mirana
* Sacred Arrow's long stun duration can prevent Morphling from casting his Waveform or Morph Replicate, making him unable to escape and easier to gank.
* Moonlight Shadow also allows Mirana's team to surprise Morphling while he tries to push towers.
* Mirana usually buys 
Linken's Sphere to protect herself from single-target abilities, making Morphling's Adaptive Strike and 
Ethereal Blade harder to use on her.
* However, Mirana also provides a chance to become a good Morph target, allowing Morph to use Leap to run away, if necessary.
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.
Mirana
* Mirana can use Leap to jump right next to Drow Ranger or can approach her while under cover of the invisibility granted by Moonlight Shadow, which cancels the bonus granted to Drow Ranger by 
Marksmanship.
* Her low health makes her easy to burst down with Mirana's spells, especially with Aghanim's Scepter.
* Mirana can dodge 
Gust with good reaction time, or Leap away if Drow tries to slow her without Gust.
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.
Mirana
* Mirana can disturb Shadow Shaman's channeling even if he is under the effect of invisibility thanks to Sacred Arrow.
* Mirana armed with an Aghanim's Scepter is known to be able to quickly burst down heroes - especially supports. Together with Ethereal Blade the bullying towards Shadow Shaman can continue for the whole match.
Mirana
* Sacred Arrow can be used to interrupt Death Ward from a safe distance, forcing him to cancel it to dodge or get hit.
* 
Paralyzing Cask is a slow-moving stun, and Mirana can Leap away from her allies to keep it from bouncing.
* Witch Doctor has low health and can easily be killed with an Aghanim's Scepter combo or just when hit with an arrow.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Chaos Knight's 
Phantasms.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
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.
Mirana
* Leap allows Mirana to easily escape Torrent and Ghostship.
Bristleback
* Lone Druid and The Spirit Bear cannot burst down Bristleback due to Bristleback
* Bristleback can easily run to Lone Druid without any hesitation, with Viscous Nasal Goo to reduce armor and slow the Spirit Bear or Lone Druid and Quill Spray can deal damage to both Lone Druid and the Spirit Bear at the same time
Bristleback
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter, Bristleback, Slardar.
Bristleback
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback, Clinkz, Luna,
Shadow Fiend, Slardar, Terrorblade
Mirana
* Even though Luna is the kind of hero that Mirana can handle due to Moonlight Shadow rendering her safe from 
Eclipse with Moonlight Shadow, smart Luna can buy 
Dust of Appearance, allowing her to provide vision on her to her team, and possibly, kill Mirana.
* Luna's high movement speed allows her to evade Sacred Arrow, giving Mirana difficulties in hitting her with it.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with Dust of Appearance allows Luna to cast it on a hero that is struck by Sacred Arrow and/or after Mirana jumps in with Leap.
Additional:
* Even though Luna is the kind of hero that Mirana can handle due to Moonlight Shadow rendering her safe from Eclipse with Moonlight Shadow, smart Luna can buy Dust of Appearance, allowing her to provide vision on her to her team, and possibly, kill Mirana.
* Luna's high movement speed allows her to evade Sacred Arrow, giving Mirana difficulties in hitting her with it.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with Dust of Appearance allows Luna to cast it on a hero that is struck by Sacred Arrow and/or after Mirana jumps in with Leap.
Mirana
* A couple of long-range heroes with excellent laning like Mirana, Lina, 
Necrophos, Death Prophet. The key to success is sticking together and attacking Luna whenever she enters the range, without even giving Luna a chance to retaliate. Multiple long-range heroes is a reason to pick another hero.
Bristleback
* 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.
Mirana
* Mirana can instantly kill creeps with Sacred Arrow, making her decent at crippling the armies of Chen or Enchantress.
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.
Mirana
* Leap allows Mirana to easily escape the freezing range of Cold Feet. Mirana also tends to build Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* During Moonlight Shadow, the invisibility makes it hard to catch Mirana's team with Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition's lack of mobility/escape capabilities makes him an easy target for Mirana at any stage of the game.
Mirana
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
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 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 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.
Mirana
* Heroes that have superior mobility that can easily catch up with Mirana even after she used Leap to escape: Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Riki.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Mirana
* Heroes that can protect or dispel stunned allies such as Legion Commander, Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon and Oracle can reduce the effectiveness of Sacred Arrow.
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.
Mirana
* Heroes that have an escape that doesn't disjoint projectiles: Mirana, 
Faceless Void, 
Magnus
Mirana
* Mirana can instantly kill creeps with Sacred Arrow, making her decent at crippling the armies of Chen or Enchantress.
Mirana
* 
Windrun quickly dodge Mirana's Sacred Arrow and misses her attacks.
* 
Shackleshot through tree with 
Focus Fire via Aghanim's Scepter combo can kill Mirana quickly, before using Leap or Moonlight Shadow.
Bristleback
* Focus Fire potentially trigger with Quill Spray very harassing and passive abilities from Bristleback Bristleback and Warpath stacked damage. Additionally,Combination Quill Spray and Blade Mail is very possible kill her's since Windranger's activated Focus Fire. At the same time,Windrun does not protect from Quill Spray.
* Bristleback's tanky in late game build 
Heart of Tarrasque and 
Vanguard until upgrade Crimson Guard or 
Abyssal Blade is very difficult for Windranger's kill Bristleback and her can need more damage.
* Spamming Viscous Nasal Goo is very harder Windranger's Windrun movement speed. Bristleback combinating build 
Assault Cuirass also render Windranger's loss armor.
* Bristleback must build 
Lotus Orb cause make reflects Windranger's target hard Shackleshot and Focus Fire.
Additional:
* Combo Quill Spray and items Blade Mail can easily trigger from Focus Fire damage.
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
Mirana
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
Bristleback
* Heroes that have AoE damage: Lina, 
Keeper of the Light, Timbersaw, Leshrac, Bristleback, Axe.
Mirana
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, 
Gyrocopter, 
Juggernaut, 
Meepo, Mirana, 
Monkey King, 
Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, 
Troll Warlord, 
Weaver.
Mirana
* Heroes that cannot move in fights such as a Dueling Legion Commander or anyone channeling a spell like Bane, Pudge, or Enigma are easy Sacred Arrow targets.
Mirana
* Mirana's Leap is ineffective if Lycan uses 
Shapeshift. It also allows him to dodge Sacred Arrow.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray can be used to kill Lycan's summons.
* Bristleback allows him to stay alive against Lycan while dishing out counter attacks
* He can overpower Lycan with his Warpath instead.
Additional:
* Lycan's wolves deal little damage to Bristleback, and are easily killed by Quill Spray, even when they're invisible.
* Lycan's lack of burst damage makes it very hard for him to kill Bristleback, especially when his back is turned.
Mirana
* Though Mirana can clear waves of Broodmother's spiderlings with Starstorm, Broodmother will often stick with her spiderlings from 
Spawn Spiderlings, which in combination with the huge speed provided by 
Spin Web can make it hard for Mirana to hit her with Sacred Arrow.
* Broodmother commonly buys 
Orchid Malevolence and it's upgrade 
Bloodthorn, which allows her to prevent Mirana from escaping with both, Leap and Moonlight Shadow and from fighting back with Starstorm.
Additional:
* Though Mirana can clear waves of Broodmother's spiderlings with Starstorm, Broodmother will often stick with her spiderlings from Spawn Spiderlings, which in combination with the huge speed provided by Spin Web can make it hard for Mirana to hit her with Sacred Arrow.
* Broodmother commonly buys Orchid Malevolence and it's upgrade Bloodthorn, which allows her to prevent Mirana from escaping with both, Leap and Moonlight Shadow and from fighting back with Starstorm.
Bristleback
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
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.
Mirana
* 
Earthbind prevents Mirana from Leaping or going invisible with Moonlight Shadow. She can be easily killed by 
Poof and 
Ransack while disabled.
* Landing a Sacred Arrow on Meepo does not render him helpless, as all of the other Meepos can still fight back.
Bristleback
* Quill Spray usually hits Meepo's clones, although Bristleback cannot turn his back when rooted with Earthbind.
Mirana
* If Slark sees the Sacred Arrow before it hits him, he can use
Dark Pact to remove it a moment later.
Pounce prevents Mirana from escaping with Leap.
Aghanim's Scepter combo with 
Shadow Dance.
*
* Slark can survive Mirana's
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. 
Dark Pact cannot dispel 
Quill Spray, meaning that Slark will still receive quill stack damage even if he used 
Shadow Dance before. 
Silver Edge in almost every game, an item that greatly counters Bristleback.
*
*
* Although
* Slark builds