Night Stalker
* 
Whirling Axes (Melee) provides a 60% miss chance, which can make the attack speed bonus from Hunter in the Night largely ineffective.
* 
Berserker's Rage together with 
Battle Trance and 
Fervor stacks gives him a high chance of rooting Night Stalker, which allows Troll Warlord to man-fight Night Stalker in any stage of the game, regardless of whether or not it's night.
* Night Stalker is not a common 
Monkey King Bar carrier to counteract this problem.
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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: 
Batrider, 
Juggernaut, 
Ursa, 
Monkey King, 
Razor.
Magnus
* 
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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with illusions and summons can manfight Night Stalker: 
Terrorblade, 
Beastmaster, 
Broodmother.
Magnus
* With 
Aghanim's Scepter, Broodmother will gain access to 
Spinner's Snare, which will allow her to create invisible lines on her webs from 
Spin Web that will root, deal damage over time, and reveal enemy heroes if they unwittingly step on them. This allows Broodmother to keep her allies alerted on heroes who rely on invisibility-themed and movement-themed abilities and items to surprise enemy heroes and disrupt ganking attempts of enemy heroes: 
Phantom Assassin, 
Nyx Assassin, 
Mirana, 
Bounty Hunter, 
Templar Assassin, 
Riki, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Anti-Mage, 
Tusk, Ursa, 
Nature's Prophet, 
Enigma, 
Void Spirit, 
Magnus etc.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: 
Leshrac, 
Shadow Demon, 
Pugna, 
Death Prophet.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Dragon Knight, Mars, 
Centaur Warrunner.
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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that rely on slows to get kills: 
Lifestealer, Night Stalker, Ursa, Phantom Assassin, Terrorblade.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Dragon Knight, Mars, Centaur Warrunner.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: Batrider, Juggernaut, Ursa, Monkey King, Razor.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* Even if Wraith King dies after Magnus disables him, Magnus' entire team will be slowed and vulnerable for counter-initiation.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* 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.
Magnus
* Magnus has very mediocre damage against Alchemist, because he can survive the stun duration of Reverse Polarity with 
Chemical Rage.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* 
Warcry makes it difficult to burst Sven down with both the passive (with 
Aghanim's Shard) and active component.
* Sven under the effect of 
God's Strength and his massive physical damage make Sven very dangerous to engage in the mid game.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* Sven is very vulnerable to chain stun such as 
Lion, Shadow Shaman or Magnus.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Mirror Image can be effective since Night Stalker cannot withstand fighting illusions. If he's unable to tell which Naga Siren is real, he will have a hard time landing his 
Void. However, if Night Stalker obtains an Aghanim's Scepter, the upgraded Void will hit and may even locate the real Naga Siren in fights.
Additional:
* 
Ensnare and 
Song of the Siren prevents Night Stalker from escaping and ganking during daytime or even nighttime.
* 
Rip Tide reduces Night Stalker's armor, making him easier to focus down.
* 
Mirror Image can be effective against Night Stalker, due to his single target abilities.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: Batrider, Juggernaut, Ursa, Monkey King, Razor.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Phoenix turns night to day, overriding Dark Ascension during 
Supernova.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Void can interrupt 
Icarus Dive.
* His 
Crippling Fear's silence will shutdown a spell caster Phoenix.
* However, Phoenix punishes Night Stalker with Supernova because it will turn night into day, and it has a higher priority than 
Dark Ascension, effectively canceling the passive bonuses Night Stalker gets from 
Hunter in the Night.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Pugna, Death Prophet.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Night Stalker is all about right-clicks. His nuke, Void is also not that threatning once you have 
Hood of Defiance, your core item.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Pugna, Death Prophet.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with illusions and summons can manfight Night Stalker: Terrorblade, Beastmaster, Broodmother.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Pugna, Death Prophet.
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.
Additional:
* Most of Magnus's 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.
Magnus
* Heroes that have an escape that doesn't disjoint projectiles: Mirana, Faceless Void, Magnus
Magnus
* Spectre disables Magnus' Blink Dagger using her ultimate, and later into the game can usually outlive Reverse Polarity's duration.
Additional:
* Spectre can use 
Haunt to intercept and disrupt Magnus's initiation attempts.
* 
Spectral Dagger can severely slow down Magnus after he uses Skewer.
* Magnus often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so 
Desolate can be very effective against him.
* In late game, Spectre can survive Reverse Polarity initiation thanks to 
Dispersion.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, 
Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, 
Pudge.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with low mobility that rely on spells: Zeus, Lina, 
Crystal Maiden.
Magnus
* 
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.
Magnus
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend, 
Sniper, etc)
Night Stalker
* Dark Ascension also allows Night Stalker to fly over Proximity Mines without triggering them.
* Crippling Fear is effective in stopping Techies from using Blast Off and Void is effective in stopping them from running to the safety of their mines.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Void can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls.
* Crippling Fear prevents Shadow Fiend from using Shadowraze or Requiem of Souls.
* With Dark Ascension and 
Gem of True Sight, Night Stalker can find and kill Shadow Fiend easily. He is also a tanky hero that can fight Shadow Fiend at any stage of the game.
Magnus
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend, Sniper, etc)
Night Stalker
* Storm Spirit is absolutely helpless if caught within Night Stalker's silence range.
* Common items a Storm Spirit will build will not remove the AoE silence.
Additional:
* Crippling Fear is a silence that can last up to 8 seconds during night, rendering Storm Spirit tied limited to his items in a fight.
* Dark Ascension allows Night Stalker to initiate on Storm Spirit across the impassable terrain around the middle lane, rendering Storm vulnerable in the early game and prevent him from snowballing.
Night Stalker
* Night Stalker has a huge, almost instant silence through Crippling Fear. The main problem is that he can get it off while Queen of Pain barely has any vision of him if he creeps up to her during Dark Ascension. She'll have to play very carefully before she gets a 
Black King Bar or a 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity.
Night Stalker
* With Dark Ascension and Gem of True Sight, Night Stalker can easily find and kill Riki. Riki will also find it harder to kill the tanky Night Stalker than he would many other heroes.
Night Stalker
* The long silence at night prevents Clinkz from escaping with invisibility if Night Stalker can sneak up on him. He also has really low base health, so Night Stalker can usually kill him alone during one cast of Crippling Fear at night.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear makes it so Axe might use Blink Dagger right into an AoE silence in the middle of everyone.
* Void cripples Axe's already bad movement speed and attack speed.
* Hunter in the Night makes it impossible for Axe to catch up to fleeing or escape from Night Stalker during the night.
* Lastly, Dark Ascension gives full vision over Axe before he initiates, making the opponents all recognize his location immediately and allowing Night Stalker to prevent it or vocally tell his team if needed.
* Night Stalker has very high strength gain, even in the lane, so a successful Culling Blade is very unlikely.
* Axe's 
Blade Mail will likely do nothing to Night Stalker because of his high health and certain requirements for him to do the most damage to be true.
Night Stalker
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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
Magnus
* Any long duration disables that can pierce through both, Pierce The Veil and Black King Bar are devastating against Muerta: Enigma's 
Black Hole, Dawnbreaker's 
Solar Guardian, Axe's 
Berserker's Call, Naga Siren's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Ensnare and 
Reel In from Aghanim's Scepter, Jakiro's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Macropyre, Bane's 
Fiend's Grip, Pudge's 
Dismember, Batrider's 
Flaming Lasso, Beastmaster's 
Primal Roar, 
Grimstroke's 
Soulbind, Medusa's 
Stone Gaze, Magnus's Reverse Polarity.
Magnus
* Heroes who rely on illusions and spawns (Chaos Knight, Beastmaster, Nature's Prophet, Enigma etc.).
Night Stalker
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: Axe, Dragon Knight, Night Stalker, Centaur Warrunner, Wraith King and more.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with silence such as Riki, 
Silencer, or Night Stalker prevents Skywrath Mage from using his spells.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with low mobility that rely on spells: Zeus, Lina, Crystal Maiden.
Magnus
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damaging and/or disabling abilities will be able to intercept Underlord and his team when they exit from Fiend's Gate: Luna's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse, Dawnbreaker's Solar Guardian, Axe's Berserker's Call, Mars's 
Arena of Blood, Jakiro's Macropyre, 
Dual Breath and 
Ice Path, Naga Siren's Song of the Siren, Razor's Eye of the Storm and Plasma Field, Lina's 
Light Strike Array, Broodmother's Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, Elder Titan's 
Earth Splitter and 
Echo Stomp, Alchemist's 
Unstable Concoction and 
Acid Spray, Queen of Pain's 
Sonic Wave, 
Dark Seer's 
Wall of Replica and 
Vacuum, Venomancer's 
Noxious Plague and 
Poison Nova from Aghanim's Scepter, Oracle's 
Fortune's End and 
Rain of Destiny from Aghanim's Shard, 
Bloodseeker's 
Blood Rite, Enigma's Black Hole and 
Midnight Pulse, Shadow Fiend's 
Requiem of Souls, Batrider's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Flaming Lasso, 
Firefly, 
Flamebreak and 
Sticky Napalm, 
Ancient Apparition's 
Ice Blast, Sand King's 
Epicenter, 
Sand Storm and 
Burrowstrike, Gyrocopter's 
Call Down, 
Ember Spirit's 
Sleight of Fist, Death Prophet's 
Exorcism and 
Silence, Monkey King's 
Wukong's Command, Crystal Maiden's 
Freezing Field, Muerta's 
The Calling, Medusa's Stone Gaze, Zeus's 
Nimbus from Aghanim's Scepter. 
Dark Willow's 
Bramble Maze, 
Pangolier's 
Swashbuckle, Grimstroke's Soulbind, 
Ink Swell and 
Stroke of Fate, 
Earthshaker's 
Echo Slam and 
Fissure, Puck's 
Dream Coil and 
Waning Rift, Winter Wyvern's 
Winter's Curse, Magnus's Reverse Polarity.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
Additional:
* Void's mini-stun and silence from Crippling Fear will stop Pudge from using Dismember or turning off his Rot.
* Night Stalker has naturally high health, strength gain and common itemization for survivability through magic resistance, making Night Stalker a poor target for Pudge.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with weaker mobility will struggle to keep up with Night Stalker: Gyrocopter, Ursa, Drow Ranger
Night Stalker
* Heroes with low health: Lich, Crystal Maiden, Lion.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with low health: Lich, Crystal Maiden, Lion.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with weaker mobility will struggle to keep up with Night Stalker: Gyrocopter, Ursa, Drow Ranger
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
Night Stalker
* Night Stalker's Crippling Fear at night prevents Shadow Walk for an extended period of time and his Void will make Phase Boots useless. If Night Stalker has True Sight, he can shutdown Bounty Hunter's sneak kill.
Night Stalker
* Earthshaker must be careful not to use Blink Dagger or Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Enchant Totem to blink into Riki's 
Smoke Screen or Night Stalker's Crippling Fear, as these field effects will instantly silence Earthshaker and prevent him from initiating.
Additional:
* Fissure has a short stun and creates an impassable ridge. However, Night Stalker can fly over it during Dark Ascension.
* Night Stalker can find Earthshaker, disable his Blink Dagger with Void, and then take him out with Crippling Fear.
* Earthshaker may fail his blink combo against Night Stalker's team if he is not careful, as he can blink into the silence.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
Night Stalker
* Any heroes with silences can negate the majority of Outworld Destroyer's damage output: Death Prophet, Night Stalker, Drow Ranger, 
Doom .
Night Stalker
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki, Queen of Pain, Phantom Assassin, 
Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Spirit Breaker, Night Stalker, 
Storm Spirit, Juggernaut, etc.
Magnus
* Heroes with cleave or multi-target attacks can quickly take on Familiars and reduce Visage's firepower like Gyrocopter, Kunkka, Magnus and Medusa.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: Batrider, Juggernaut, Ursa, Monkey King, Razor.
Magnus
* Skewer and Reverse Polarity will often push Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
Night Stalker
* Phantasm gives Chaos Knight a significant advantage against single-target damage dealers: Lifestealer, Wraith King, Night Stalker, Troll Warlord.
Additional:
* 
Chaos Bolt can stun Night Stalker outside of Crippling Fears relatively small radius.
* 
Reality Rift is a great way to force Night Stalker to fight Chaos Knight, a hero with massive health and damage output. It also forces Night Stalker's Crippling Fear off his primary target.
* Night Stalker doesn't have a lot of ways to deal with multiple targets, which makes him vulnerable to 
Phantasm illusions unless Night Stalker buys Aghanim's Scepter.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear prevents Keeper of the Light from using his spells to keep his team alive during team-fights.
* Dark Ascension is very strong against Keeper of the Light, as it allows Night Stalker to jump the backline and quickly kill the squishy Ezalor, especially when combined with the slow from Void.
Additional:
* Keeper of the Light's Aghanim's Scepter upgrade loses much of its power, due to Night Stalker being able to reduce the duration of daytime by a lot.
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.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear can silence Faceless Void for a long time, preventing him from using his Time Walk and Chronosphere.
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.
Night Stalker
* The long silence of Crippling Fear at night prevents Weaver from using his Shukuchi or Time Lapse.
* With Dark Ascension and Gem of True Sight, Night Stalker can easily find and probably kill Weaver.
* Hunter In the Night's attack speed bonus removes The Swarm's beetles very quickly.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* With Dark Ascension he can keep vision on Slark, disabling his 
Shadow Dance regeneration.
* Night Stalker is very fast so without the Pounce in lane, he can simply out distance him during the night.
* Slark is matched in night vision by only a few heroes, Night Stalker happens to be one of them.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear makes Night Stalker one of the best early game gankers to shut down Anti-Mage.
* Night Stalker's low mana pool causes him to take little damage from Mana Void.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear is a good way to shut down and gank Invoker in the early game..
* Void deals good damage to Invoker and makes escaping harder.
* With Hunter in the Night and Void, Invoker can't get away from Night Stalker and won't be able to catch him with Sun Strike during the night.
Night Stalker
* Night Stalker's most skills are single targeted which allows other Meepos to Poof, Earthbind and kill him.
Magnus
* Meepo is vulnerable to area damage and disables from Magnus himself as well as his team through Empower.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with low mobility that rely on spells: Zeus, Lina, Crystal Maiden.
Night Stalker
* Void's slow is dispelled by 
Doppelganger or counteracted by 
Phantom Rush.
* 
Spirit Lance's and 
Diffusal Blade's slow reduces Night Stalker's mobility and helps him or his ally escape if they're inflicted by Void or Crippling Fear.
* Night Stalker has no AoE abilites to take out Phantom Lancer's illusions. Even if Night Stalker gets an Aghanim's Scepter, there will be way too many illusions for Night Stalker to handle.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with illusions and summons can manfight Night Stalker: Terrorblade, Beastmaster, Broodmother.
Magnus
* Heroes with AoE abilities are a bane to Beastmaster's summons: Storm Spirit, Magnus, Pangolier.
Magnus
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Crippling Fear silences nearby heroes and cannot be dispelled, which hinders Rubick's way to retaliate when being jumped on.
* With Hunter in the Night and Dark Ascension, Night Stalker can find Rubick easily in teamfights. The two spells grants more than enough damage to hunt Rubick down without defensive items.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre, Nyx Assassin, Clockwerk, Spirit Breaker, Omniknight, Pudge.
Magnus
* 
Illusory Orb serves as a good scouting tool whenever Magnus is hiding in the trees, allowing Puck to warn its allies and disrupt his initiation attempts.
* 
Phase Shift allows Puck to dodge Shockwave when timed correctly.
* Even after Magnus successfully uses Reverse Polarity and Skewer Puck's teammates, Puck can usually counter-initiate using both Waning Rift and Dream Coil.
* Magnus cannot use Skewer when he is affected by Dream Coil, making him vulnerable to follow-up disables.
* Puck usually gets its own Blink Dagger as well, which makes it harder to lock down unless Magnus commits Reverse Polarity only for Puck.
Night Stalker
* Puck cannot use any of its normal means to survive should Night Stalker catch it within Crippling Fear, and goes down quickly.
Additional:
* Void is a potent nuke that is devastating to Puck's low health pool.
* Crippling Fear silence can prevent Puck from casting spells, leaving it vulnerable.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with stronger lane presence that can threaten to kill him: Batrider, Juggernaut, Ursa, Monkey King, Razor.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with weaker mobility will struggle to keep up with Night Stalker: Gyrocopter, Ursa, Drow Ranger
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* May effortlessly get to and take down Disruptor.
* Void deals heavy single target damage and slow. Lacking innate escape mechanisms justs puts Disruptor in trouble
* Crippling Fear silences, and Disruptor is extremely dependant on abilities to work and to fend for himself.
* Hunter in the Night provides Night Stalker movement speed, attack speed and strengthens his abilities during night time, allowing him to easily catch up and obliterate Disruptor
* With Black King Bar, it's mostly assured to target down Disruptor.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Night Stalker is one of the best heroes to find (and silence) Tinker in the trees during Dark Ascension.
Additional:
* Night Stalker can easily find Tinker in the trees during Dark Ascension.
* Void's mini-stun will stop Rearm and 
Keen Conveyance
* Crippling Fear's silence will prevent Tinker from fighting back, as Tinker relies on his spells.
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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes that have long silences, such as Night Stalker and Silencer, will prevent Abaddon from saving his allies effectively and disable the active component of Borrowed Time.
Magnus
* 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.
Night Stalker
* Heroes with long disables, like Lion, Night Stalker, or 
Legion Commander, can prevent Oracle from using spells or items.
Night Stalker
*
Bloodseeker's 
Rupture turns Night Stalker mobility against him and 
Thirst grants movement speed bonus and vision prevents Night Stalker from initiating and re-initiating.
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.