Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Weaver
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Pudge
* Shukuchi grants Weaver invisibility and a high degree of mobility for a short time, which can make him a difficult target to hook.
* The Swarm beetles are difficult for Pudge to remove, due to his low base attack time and poor agility. Additionally, it can be used to can scout out Pudge's location.
* Should an ally get snagged by Meat Hook, Weaver can use Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Time Lapse on them to send them back to where they were before hooked, even if Pudge has already started to Dismember them.
Additional:
* While Weaver is in Shukuchi, Rot doesn't slow him and
Meat Hook is easy to avoid.
* Even when hooked, Weaver can use Time Lapse, negating both the damage and displacement.
* Pudge has low armor and low attack speed, making him susceptible to The Swarm and physical attacks.
* Dismember is easy to block with Linken's Sphere and it's the only way to break Weaver's Linken Sphere.
* However, the long duration stun of Dismember can be dangerous for Weaver.
Shadow Demon
* You can potentially kill a fragile Weaver by using disruption during
Shukuchi with a well-placed
Sentry Ward, wasting the Shukuchi. But odds are he'll wait to get low health,
Time Lapse the damage away and Shukuchi away once more.
Ember Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook: Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption is not reliable enough to catch an Ember Spirit with a backup Fire Remnant.
* Sleight of Fist will also make quick work of the spawned illusions.
* Ember Spirit usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* The best you can do against an Ember Spirit is to dispel his Flame Guard with your Demonic Purge.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Pudge
* Phantasm's illusions make it difficult to land Meat Hook and
Dismember.
* Chaos Bolt is a comparatively low cooldown tool to interrupt Dismember.
* Chaos Strike's lifesteal offsets Rot's damage.
Additional:
* Unlike any other illusion heroes, Chaos Knight is the worst target for Pudge to hook as it will definitely backfire him.
* Phantasm are significantly tankier than most illusion and deal full damage, which will quickly kill Pudge due to his low armor.
* it becomes worse if pudge is affected with Reality Rift, which reduces his already abysmal base armor even lower.
* Low movement speed and low mobility means Pudge will struggle to escape or outrun Chaos Knight in most cases.
Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Lina
[wiki] rating: 1.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Pudge
* Pudge has low armor and mobility, making him suspectible to her physical attacks (if Lina is the carry).
* Because Dismember is a channeled ability, it can be canceled through Light Strike Array within a distance.
Shadow Demon
* Dragon Slave will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Light Strike Array for the enemy.
* Lina usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Lina out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Lina.
Pudge
* Heroes with abilities that can pull Lina out of position can easily bring her to their team mates, like Batrider with
Flaming Lasso,
Pudge with
Meat Hook and
Vengeful Spirit with
Nether Swap.
Visage
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Pudge has a very hard time killing Familiars due to his melee range and low attack speed.
* Stone Form can quickly interrupt Dismember.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 15%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's main source of damage is his low cooldown, high damage spells - meaning Last Word and Global Silence will pretty much take him out of the game for the duration.
* Shadow Demon likes to spam his abilities, which makes him vulnerable to Arcane Curse.
* If Shadow Demon dies near Silencer, he will lose intelligence, reducing his mana pool, mana regen, and attack damage. Furthermore, if the game is long and Shadow Demon dies often, the intelligence losses will also reduce his spell damage.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)Pudge
* Legion Commander can use Press the Attack on an ally to dispel Dismember. The bonus health regeneration also partially counters the damage of Rot
* Duel can be used on Pudge whilst Rot is active, disabling toggling which may result in a lethal health drain that leaves Legion Commander with a successful duel.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can hide the Dueled target (Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Tusk,
Phoenix with
Aghanim's Scepter etc).
Additional:
* Disruption can save allies and mess up an initiation from an enemy Legion Commander. Using Disruption on your ally that is affected by Duel will leave her totally exposed without the benefit of the life steal from
Moment of Courage. A precise decision to Disrupt Legion Commander or her victim is crucial to waste Duel's potential.
* Demonic Purge cannot be dispelled by a hard dispel from Press the Attack, which in turn can be dispelled by your ultimate.
Io
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* Tether and Overcharge makes it much harder for Pudge to kill a target with Meat Hook, and Relocate can save the Io's ally while
Dismember is being channeled.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Pudge
* Dark Pact dispels Dismember if timed correctly.
* Pounce allows Slark to escape Pudge's Rot once Dismember is over, and allows him to dodge hooks.
* Shadow Dance hides Slark and grants him a high degree of mobility, which can make him a difficult target to hook and also protects him from Pudge's Dismember (including allies with an
Aghanim's Shard).
Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin,
Sven,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer.
* 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.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Pudge
* Bounty Hunter can easily keep vision on Pudge with Track, making it difficult for Pudge to hook Bounty Hunter or his team mates.
* It's difficult for Pudge to keep up with Bounty Hunter to apply Rot on him due to Shadow Walk.
* Shuriken Toss cancels out Dismember from a good range if Bounty Hunter is not the target.
Additional:
* Track can easily keep vision on Pudge, making it very hard for him to hook Bounty Hunter or his teammates from the fog of war.
* Shuriken Toss cancels Dismember from great range.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* Corrosive Haze reveals Pudge's location, making it hard for him to use Meat Hook from the fog of war on Slardar's teammates or Slardar himself.
* Slithereen Crush interrupts Pudge while he is using Dismember.
* Guardian Sprint allows Slardar to avoid Meat Hook.
Additional:
* While Slardar has Guardian Sprint activated, Rot cannot slow him and
Meat Hook is easier to avoid.
* Slithereen Crush allows Slardar to interrupt Dismember at close range (when Slardar is not a target).
* Corrosive Haze reveals Pudge's location, making it very difficult for him to land hooks from the fog.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* Mana Burn drains Pudge's little mana which may render Meat Hook and Dismember unusable.
* Impale and
Spiked Carapace can be used to cancel Dismember easily, and can even do so when Pudge uses it on Nyx Assassin, if timed correctly.
Clockwerk
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Pudge
* Meat Hooking a Clockwerk can backfire for Pudge, as Battery Assault and
Blade Mail will hurt Pudge more than he hurts Clockwerk.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova will tear apart any illusions spawned from Disruption
* Split Earth can punish improper usage of Disruption.
* Leshrac does not have any buffs that can be removed by Demonic Purge.
Additional:
* Pulse Nova makes quick work of any illusions with amplified damage, and deals damage even if Leshrac is in Disruption.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Split Earth for the enemy.
* Disruption does not stop Diabolic Edict and
Pulse Nova once they start pulsing, and even worse it provides a safe shelter for Leshrac to keep pumping up his powerful AoE damage onto the battlefield.
* Leshrac usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
* Shadow Demon doesn't have the burst damage to take Leshrac out of the fight quickly, although Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Leshrac.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 15%)Pudge
* Tag Team easily overwhelms pudge,as he has low armor.Combined with heavy physical hitters and Pudge's slow speed, it becomes for Pudge difficult to escape.
* Snowball hides a Dismembered ally and stops his ultimate.
* Walrus PUNCH! removes a big chunk of his health and stuns him.
* Pudge usually can't stand toe to toe against Tusk and his allies in the early game.
Earth Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Pudge
* Earth Spirit can easily disrupt Dismember because he can disable from a long distance with a Stone Remnant and Rolling Boulder. With talent he can even pull his teammates out of Dismember and also silence Pudge with Geomagnetic Grip.
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon will have a hard time catching Storm Spirit, as he can get away with Ball Lightning.
* Static Remnant will make quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* With very high mobility and usually being paired with Orchid Malevolence, he can catch Shadow Demon with ease both in ganks and in teamfights if Shadow Demon has no survivability items.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Pudge
* Kraken Shell can dispel Dismember after reaching a certain threshold of damage.
* Tidehunter's naturally high health, strength gain, and common itemization for survivability through magic resistance makes Tidehunter a poor target.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge with Aghanim's Scepter cannot break
Reincarnation, which could put him in a disadvantage against Wraith King if his whole team is with him.
* In addition Shadow Demon doesn't build Diffusal Blade to burn Wraith King's mana, which is the only item that can help him against Wraith King.
* Vampiric Spirit can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, Wraith King is a single-target hero, so he cannot deal with Disruption illusions.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)Pudge
* His low armor deters him from a trade,while Jingu Mastery allows Monkey King to retaliate.
* Buffed Boundless Strike heals Monkey King and can potentially execute Pudge.
* Monkey King can scout Pudge's positioning from the trees, making it easier for him and his allies to dodge Meat Hook.
* With a better-than-average strength gain, he usually survives Pudge's combo.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)Pudge
* Infernal Blade deals high damage to Pudge due to his high strength grow with
Flesh Heap.
* Using Doom with timing against Pudge who had just activated
Rot would usually kill him.
Additional:
* Doom disables the toggling of Rot and, if cast at the right time, may leave Pudge with a potentially lethal health drain.
* Doom's naturally high health, strength gain and damage output makes him a poor target for Pudge.
* The damage of Doom's Infernal Blade scales with the target's maximum health, which is particularly effective against Pudge due to his naturally high health and further health granted by stacks of Flesh Heap.
Queen of Pain
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 6%)Pudge
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook: Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
Shadow Demon
* All of Queen of Pain's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* However, Demonic Purge can help his allies kill a squishy Queen of Pain.
* Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from Shadow Demon's abilities if he doesn't have disables.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Sonic Wave for the enemy.
* Queen of Pain usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere or Spell Block talent to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
Pudge
* Heroes who recklessly jump on Pudge with their gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Pudge's Meat Hook and Dismember Combo: Phantom Assassin,
Faceless Void,
Queen of Pain etc.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 5%)Pudge
* The percentage-based primary-attribute reduction effect of Whirling Death can be devastating for Pudge due to his high strength gain through Flesh Heap.
* Reactive Armor's health regeneration and common itemization for magic resistance and durability makes Timbersaw a poor target for Pudge.
* Timber Chain's high mobility makes it difficult for Pudge to hook or deal much Rot damage to Timbersaw.
Lion
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)Shadow Demon
* All of Lion's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Hex and
Mana Drain can make quick work of whatever illusions you're creating, especially when he acquires his Talents at level 20 and 25.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Earth Spike or
Finger of Death with
Aghanim's Scepter for the enemy.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* 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.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Riki
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 13%)Pudge
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook: Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
Undying
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)Pudge
* Anti-Tank heroes like: Razor,
Necrophos,
Undying.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Pudge
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook: Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
Razor
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Pudge
* Anti-Tank heroes like: Razor,
Necrophos,
Undying.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Pudge
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 12%)Pudge
* Heroes with channeling spells are very easy targets for Jakiro's abilities: Crystal Maiden,
Dawnbreaker,
Enigma,
Pudge,
Shadow Fiend,
Shadow Shaman,
Warlock.
Phantom Lancer
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Any heroes that naturally buy Diffusal Blade like
Phantom Lancer or have a mana break talent is a big issue for Pudge because of his low mana pool.
Shadow Demon
* Although Phantom Lancer will generate strong illusions, and you can also break his
Juxtapose with an Aghanim's Demonic Purge, you have a small chance of guessing which is the real Phantom Lancer after he uses
Doppelganger.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
* Doom's
Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's
Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer's strength is the sheer amount of illusions he can conjure, Dissimulate can be cast on an ally that he is focusing to quickly thin out his ranks
* Landing a upgraded Demonic Purge on the real Phantom Lancer prevents him from making very many illusions (His only source being Doppelganger), You can reapply as needed if you have the Shard
* Disrupting Phantom Lancer allows you to create multiple extra illusions with Juxtapose, As he is a common carrier of
Diffusal Blade, you can also drain the mana of any nearby heros
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 12%)Pudge
* Heroes with many summons or illusions are much harder to catch with Meat Hook: Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer,
Chen.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 1%)Shadow Demon
* Poof will destroy Shadow Demon's illusions created by Disruption and quickly escapes from
Shadow Poison &
Demonic Purge.
Pudge
* Because only one clone needs to be killed in order to kill Meepo, heroes that excel at singling out enemies can also be a detriment to him, such as Batrider,
Beastmaster,
Pudge and
Clockwerk.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 15%)Pudge
* Low armor and lack of escape makes Pudge vulnerable to Ursa, specially when he gets his Blink Dagger.
* If Pudge lands a Meat Hook on Ursa, Ursa can simply face Pudge head on provided he can burst him down before any follow up disables.
* Enrage's Aghanim's Scepter upgrade allows Ursa to dispel Pudge's Dismember.
Shadow Demon
* Melee carries such as Sven,
Ursa or
Lifestealer can be slowed and easily kited with Demonic Purge.
Additional:
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge renders Ursa useless even through
Black King Bar as it slows him, continually purges his Overpower charges and can not be dispelled by Ursa's Enrage.
* Disruption is a good way to save teammates against Ursa. Disrupting Ursa is also a good way to kite him, as it can not be dispelled by Enrage.
Chen
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 0%)Pudge
* Rot is not very effective against Chen's creeps.
* Chen can use his creeps to cover him or his allies from any attempts of Meat Hook.
* {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} under Chen's control can interrupt Dismember.
Pudge
* Heroes with channeling spells, for Chen has no disables on his own, hates buying disabling items and his creeps are often not fast enough to cancel them: Enigma's
Black Hole,
Witch Doctor's
Death Ward,
Shadow Shaman's
Shackles,
Lion's
Mana Drain,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Pugna's
Life Drain,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian, and
Naga Siren's
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Pudge
* The lifesteal of Feast scales accordingly to the max health of its target, which is effective against Pudge due to his high health and further health granted by stacks of Flesh Heap.
* Lifestealer can activate Rage to be spell immune, making Rot deal no damage.
* Pudge's plentiful health makes him an ideal target for Lifestealer's Aghanim's Shard ability,
Open Wounds.
Shadow Demon
* Melee carries such as Sven,
Ursa or
Lifestealer can be slowed and easily kited with Demonic Purge.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* All of Puck's abilities are active making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Shadow Demon will find a hard time catching a Puck, as he can get away with Illusory Orb or even
Waning Rift;
* Puck can dodge Shadow Poison waves and potentially avoid the damage from Demonic Purge with Phase Shift. Furthermore, after Disruption ended, Puck can use Phase Shift to avoid any further danger and can blink away with
Blink Dagger.
* Waning Rift can be used to initiate Shadow Demon, prevent him from using any spells.
* Puck usually builds Eul's Scepter of Divinity to dispel Shadow Poison and Soul Catcher and
Linken's Sphere to block Disruption and Demonic Purge.
Pudge
* Bristleback,
Centaur Warrunner,
Spirit Breaker,
Pudge,
Huskar: 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.
Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Shadow Demon
* Death Ward with
Aghanim's Scepter makes quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Witch Doctor buys Linken's Sphere or
Black King Bar.
* All of Witch Doctor's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Voodoo Restoration can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Maledict or
Paralyzing Cask for the enemy.
Pudge
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook: Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
Additional:
* Meat Hook interrupts Death Ward from a decent range, even through
Black King Bar &
Glimmer Cape.
* Pudge can survive the damage from Maledict because of his Flesh Heap stacks.
* However the damage-over-time from Rot is counteracted by Voodoo Restoration.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* All of Pugna's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Nether Ward punishes Shadow Demon's constant mana usage from spamming spells, especially Shadow Poison.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Nether Blast for the enemy.
* Life Drain can be used to heal Pugna or an ally to save them from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption unless Pugna buys defensive items.
Pudge
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember: Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 43% pickrate: 1%)Pudge
* 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.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge with
Aghanim's Scepter disables Bristleback's passives.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: 0.2 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Pudge
* Abaddon's constant heals and protection can save himself and his allies from burst-focused heroes, such as Legion Commander,
Faceless Void, and
Pudge.
Additional:
* Abaddon can activate Borrowed Time to dispel Dismember; breaking the disable and potentially allowing Abaddon to escape.
* Aphotic Shield can be cast on an ally to dispel the stun of Dismember, which can make kills difficult to secure, given that Dismember is Pudge's only reliable disable.
* Pudge lacks a mobility without a Blink Dagger, causing him to be easily chased with
Curse of Avernus. The silence also prevents him from toggling off his Rot.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon with an Aghanim's Scepter will use
Demonic Purge to disable Curse of Avernus and the passive component of Borrowed Time. If this is combined with a silence, Borrowed Time will not trigger at all.
* Even without Aghanim's Scepter, he can still waste Borrowed Time with
Disruption. Curse of Avernus fully works on illusions, turning the passive ability against him.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Pudge
* Meat Hook can pull an ally out of Chronosphere.
* Rot will keep damaging Void if he toggled it before Chronosphere, but you can lower your hp for Faceless Void.
* Flesh Heap will help Pudge survive through the Chronosphere with enough stacks, and follow with
Dismember.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption can banish Faceless Void or an ally in Chronosphere, making it a less effective ability.
* Faceless Void's illusions created by Disruption will not get stunned by Chronosphere, allowing Shadow Demon to attack Faceless Void in his Chronosphere.
* Casting Disruption after releasing
Shadow Poison charges will make Time Walk unable to backtrack the damage.
* Shadow Poison is a good way to deal damage as the initial damage and the release damage can't both be Time Walked at the same time.
* Demonic Purge is a great slow, useful to force out a Time Walk early and can break Time Lock with
Aghanim's Scepter.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* Pudge's Dismember stops Spectre from escaping with Haunt.
* He can easily tank the damage reflected by Dispersion due to his high strength and the healing from Dismember.
* Should Spectre try to get away through the trees or over a cliff with Spectral Dagger, Pudge can hook her back.
* Spectre takes a long time to become powerful, and Pudge can ruin her early game with ganks.
Shadow Demon
* Her illusions with Desolate are very valuable, especially when they are usually paired with
Radiance. Unlike blink or force movement,
Spectral Dagger's escaping mechanic requires manual movement, and therefore Demonic Purge can hold her back really hard and allow your allies to finish her off.
* If she tries to kill you or any key ally with Haunt at any point of the game, remember to not panic and always use Disruption on the illusion, whether it is fake or the real Spectre herself. When the situation calls, Demonic Purge can save a second victim from a haunting Spectre.
* When upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can remove Spectre from a fight by disabling Desolate and
Dispersion, negating her damage and tankiness respectively.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* Sniper has a low health pool and strength gain, making him vulnerable to Pudge's magical and pure damage.
* Sniper usually likes to deal damage away from the fight, and Meat Hook is capable of bringing him to the front lines.
* Assassinate won't do much damage against Pudge because of his high strength gain and the strength bonuses from Flesh Heap.
* Shrapnel will be mostly blocked by Flesh Heap's active.
Additional:
* Pudge's Meat Hook allows him to bring Sniper in the middle of any fight, and the pure damage does well against his high armor and low health.
* Dismember can lock Sniper down, which makes him highly vulnerable and gives enough time for Pudge to kill him alone.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Bane
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Even with Black King Bar, Pudge's
Meat Hook can still catch Bane while channeling Fiend's Grip, breaking the channel as a result,
Meat Hook can also be used to save targets affected by Bane's abilities.
* Dismember can disable Bane while channeling Fiend's Grip if Pudge is not targeted.
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Dismember can also be used to save an allied hero that is targeted by Fiend's Grip.
* Pudge's high health and health regeneration allows him to survive through most of Bane's abilities.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer,
Shadow Demon,
Tusk,
Phoenix with
Aghanim's Scepter.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* Meat Hook can hit and displace Juggernaut during his
Blade Fury.
* Dismember pierces Juggernaut's spell immunity from
Blade Fury.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with abilities that can save teammates are also effective such as Shadow Demon,
Dazzle,
Oracle,
Bane,
Pugna,
Tusk,
Winter Wyvern,
Io,
Underlord,
Treant Protector and
Keeper of the Light.
Additional:
* Be ready to save an ally from Omnislash with your Disruption.
* Spawning Juggernaut's illusions is a great deal, as his base attack time is low and he has a critical strike. Illusions will benefit from both.
* Demonic Purge will prevent Juggernaut's desperate attempt to flee using Blade Fury. However, it cannot stop him if he is using
Town Portal Scroll.
Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 18%)Pudge
* Meat Hook brings Drow Ranger to Pudge, disabling Marksmanship and dealing a huge amount of damage when combined with
Rot and
Dismember.
* Rot keeps Pudge close to Drow Ranger, continuously disabling Marksmanship.
Additional:
* Meat Hook can pull Drow Ranger to Pudge, disabling her Marksmanship.
* Following up with Dismember will prevent Drow Ranger from using Gust or
Shadow Blade.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Abilities that deal low damage with high amounts of instances are irrelevant against Pudge during Flesh Heap's active: Gyrocopter's
Rocket Barrage and
Dark Seer's
Ion Shell are just a couple examples.
Shadow Demon
* The constant dispel from Demonic Purge will make any attempt to save the victim or himself by Surge become futile. For what it's worth, Demonic Purge will also dispel
Ion Shell.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* Meat Hook can be used to pull Tinker to Pudge while he is hiding in the trees, and a follow up with Dismember and Rot can lead to a valuable kill, as Tinker doesn't buy many survivability items.
* Flesh Heap makes it hard for Tinker to deal serious damage.
Additional:
* Pudge can Meat Hook a Tinker hiding in the trees and follow it up with
Dismember and
Rot for an easy solo kill, as Tinker doesn't tend to buy survivability items.
* Many stacks of Flesh Heap combined with items that give Pudge high strength and health will make it hard for Tinker to deal serious damage to Pudge.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: Invoker,
Shadow Demon,
Batrider.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 18%)Pudge
* Heroes with channeling spells because Shadow Fiend has nothing to cancel channeling outside of Requiem of Souls: Bane,
Enigma,
Pudge,
Shadow Shaman,
Dawnbreaker,
Warlock,
Crystal Maiden.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Muerta
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 13%)Pudge
* Pudge's high health and magic resistance from Flesh Heap makes him difficult for Muerta to burst.
* Pudges abilities such as Rot and
Dismember can hit Muerta while she has activated
Pierce the Veil
* Muerta has no escape abilities and is slow making her an easy target for Pudge's Meat Hook
* Pudge can prevent an ally from being attacked by Gunslinger if he has
Aghanim's Shard
Alchemist
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Alchemist is a well-known Radiance carrier among other auras your illusions will benefit from. They also get the extra move speed and reduced base attack time from his
Chemical Rage, and it's even better if you can catch him as his own rage is about to expire.
* Disruption will buy enough time for all allies to retreat when Alchemist starts to activate Unstable Concoction.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* His Rot can force Templar Assassin out of her Meld and destroy all of her Refraction charges quickly, and her small health pool and meager defense make her very vulnerable to his
Meat Hook without Refraction.
Snapfire
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Pudge
* Meat Hook can be used immediately after
Mortimer Kisses since Snapfire is forced to stay in place.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's spammable illusions can be used to scout Techies' Proximity Mines. The illusion of your carries can be even used to trick Techies into detonating his precious
Remote Mines.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)Pudge
* Even with Black King Bar or
Linken's Sphere, Pudge's
Meat Hook can still cancel Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field as she is a very easy target while channeling it.
* Pudge's Rot can make Crystal Maiden's already bad movement speed even worse.
* Many stacks of Flesh Heap will make it nearly impossible for Crystal Maiden to kill Pudge.
* Pudge's Dismember can also be used to cancel Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field, and alternatively, Pudge can also use it to save allies from getting killed by Crystal Maiden and heal them when upgraded with
Aghanim's Shard.
* Crystal Maiden is prone to ganks in the lane or in the off-lane without proper vision. Pudge can take advantage of Crystal Maiden's lack of mobility, and gank her often.
Additional:
* Meat Hook can cancel Freezing Field, even if Crystal Maiden has
Glimmer Cape.
* She is also slow and fragile, making her a good target for ganking.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)Pudge
* Zeus likes to stay far back in fights, dealing his damage uninterrupted, but once he gets hooked into the fight, he usually dies very quickly.
* Pudge's high strength from Flesh Heap makes it very hard for Zeus to burst him down.
* Zeus' low health pool makes him very vulnerable to the damage from Meat Hook, Rot and Dismember.
Additional:
* Meat Hook's high range allows Pudge's team to drag Zeus in the middle of the fight and abuse his frailty.
* Flesh Heap's health and magic resistance bonus makes Pudge exceptionally resistant to Zeus' nukes. In later stages of the game, Zeus is usually unable to seriously damage Pudge at all. Even Static Field, which deals damage based on a percentage of the enemy's health, won't be doing much.
* Even if Zeus buys a Black King Bar,
Meat Hook and
Dismember still disable him for a long time, usually causing Zeus' quick death.
* Zeus is vulnerable to early ganks, which Pudge excels at.
Axe
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Disruption will save Shadow Demon's teammates from being killed by Counter Helix or Culling Blade.
* Demonic Purge slows Axe to a crawl, making him nearly useless after initiating. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter, it will also break Counter Helix.
* Demonic Cleanse clears Battle Hunger and Aghanim's Shard Counter Helix Damage Reduction, both allowing targets to escape, and reducing your own survivability.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Axe alone, Disruption can be used to save your allies from Axe's initiate Berserker's Call, or, if timed correctly, from his
Culling Blade.
* Illusions spawned from Axe has the Counter Helix passive, which with deal some nasty damage if an enemy focuses them
* Your upgraded Demonic Purge breaks Axe's primary damage output: Counter Helix, This can be used on him during Berserker's Call to seriously hinder him.
* Demonic Cleanse will clear Battle Hunger, which is Axe's method of catching heroes, and Shard upgraded Counter Helix's Damage Reduction, which is one of Axe's primary survivability abilities.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Pudge
* Even with Black King Bar, Pudge's
Meat Hook and
Dismember can still disable Engima while he is channeling
Black Hole as Enigma is a very easy target while channeling
Black Hole.
* Pudge's Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Dismember and
Meat Hook are great ways to save allies from
Black Hole.
* Enigma is prone to ganks in the jungle or in the off-lane without proper vision. Pudge can take advantage of Enigma's lack of mobility, and gank him often.
Venomancer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* In the laning stage, making illusions of Venomancer will turn his Poison Sting back at him, making for an easy gank at level one, and for later when your mid comes for ganks.
Dark Willow
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* Rot and
Meat Hook hits Dark Willow even when she uses Shadow Realm.
* Flesh Heap reduces Dark Willow's magic burst damage.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's Shadow Poison can quickly stack to the point where Huskars generally low health is easily finished off.
* Shadow Demon's Disruption can turn Huskar's high attack speed and regeneration against him, It also makes him an easy target for Shadow Poison,
* Shadow Demon commonly builds a Meteor Hammer, allowing him to land a heavy stun on Huskar
* Shadow Demon's upgraded Demonic Purge breaks Huskar, It also pierces Spell Immunity, Without his passive for 7 seconds Huskar quickly falls in battle
* However note that Shadow Demon is a squishy target and you can often overwhelm him if he is alone, But he can still Disrupt you to escape
Additional:
* Shadow Poison can quickly stack up on Huskar, And with his naturally low health you don't need as many stacks to be effective.
* Disruption turns Huskars high attack speed against him, They also have the highest survivability as illusions due to his passive Berserker's Blood, It also allows you to put Shadow Poison stacks on him,
* Dissimulate turns Huskar's burning damage against his team, You can cast it on an ally who is taking a bunch of Burning Spear stacks and cause Huskar to take high amounts of damage as well
* Scepter upgraded Demonic Purge is your most effective weapon against him, It's 7 second Break causes him to quickly die in battle
Luna
[wiki] rating: -0.8 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Luna can easily cancel channeling spells with Lucent Beam and 0.25s Eclipse Lucent Ministun talent for
Eclipse, she can also buy
Abyssal Blade in case they decide to buy
Black King Bar:
Enigma's
Black Hole,
Witch Doctor's
Death Ward,
Shadow Shaman's
Shackles,
Lion's
Mana Drain,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Pugna's
Life Drain,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian, and
Naga Siren's
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter.
Shadow Demon
* Illusions and summons are double-edge sword type of matchup for Luna. On one hand, they can tank damage from Eclipse, but on the other hand, she can easily clear them before Eclipse with Moon Glaives. Examples include Spectre,
Shadow Demon,
Phantom Lancer,
Naga Siren,
Chaos Knight,
Terrorblade) or bring other units into the fight (such as
Nature's Prophet,
Lone Druid,
Chen,
Enchantress,
Meepo and
Arc Warden).
Pudge
* Even with Black King Bar, Pudge's
Meat Hook and
Dismember can still disable Luna for a fairly long time.
* Many stacks of Flesh Heap will make it difficult for Luna to burst down Pudge with Eclipse.
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Dismember can also allow Pudge to save an allied hero from being killed by Eclipse.
* Bear in mind, however, that Luna can cancel Dismember if some of her allies are targets. And since Pudge rarely buys
Black King Bar, this could be a problem for him.
* For the same reasons, Pudge makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Shadow Demon
* Demonic Purge takes off Luna's superior mobility, removing the need for chasing her and allowing your team to reposition in team fights or escape when at low HP. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Sceptre it will also take away glaive bounces and extra damage from Luna's passive.
* Luna's illusions created by Disruption are very valuable with their Moon Glaives. These will effectively counter her pushing attempts and are painfully effective in team fights.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Shadow Demon makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Additional:
* Demonic Purge takes off Luna's superior mobility, removing the need for chasing her and allowing your team to reposition in team fights or escape when at low HP. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Sceptre it will also take away glaive bounces and extra damage from Luna's passive.
* Luna's illusions created by Disruption are very valuable with their Moon Glaives. These will effectively counter her pushing attempts and are painfully effective in team fights.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Shadow Demon is a very good ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* 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.
Mars
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with break abilities: Shadow Demon (with
Aghanim's Scepter),
Viper.
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 2%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with break can disable Untouchable for a while: Doom and
Shadow Demon (via
Aghanim's Scepter),
Viper,
Shadow Shaman with Hex Breaks talent.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)Pudge
* Generally heroes who don't rely on magical damage, such as Sven,
Phantom Assassin, and
Outworld Destroyer, as they can practically ignore Flesh Heap's damage block.
Pudge
* Heroes with disables that ignore spell immunity will render Phantom Assassin quite useless in teamfights throughout the game: Axe,
Enigma,
Vengeful Spirit,
Doom,
Bane,
Beastmaster,
Pudge,
Medusa.
Additional:
* If Phantom Assassin jumps on Pudge first with Phantom Strike, she will be a very easy target for Pudge's
Meat Hook and
Dismember combo.
* Even though it can deal damage based on Pudge's max health, Fan of Knives from
Aghanim's Shard cannot disable Pudge's
Flesh Heap as
Flesh Heap is one of the few passive abilities that cannot be disabled by break.
* Both Meat Hook and
Dismember ignore spell immunity which allows Pudge to disable Phantom Assassin even while she has
Black King Bar active.
* Pudge occassionally buys armor items like Blade Mail, which in combination with many stacks from
Flesh Heap can make Phantom Assassin have little effect against Pudge.
Shadow Demon
* Doom,
Disruptor with
Aghanim's Scepter, and hex abilities all prevent item usage, which is a severe problem for Phantom Assassin as it prevents her from using
Black King Bar, the one item that helps protect her against the aforementioned dangers.
Doom and
Shadow Demon with
Aghanim's Scepter also disables Phantom Assassin's Evasion and Critical Strike, removing much of her damage and survivabaility.
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his
Astral Imprisonment, and
Shadow Demon and his
Disruption.
* Heroes with hide abilities can often dodge a Ghostship just before it hits.
* Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Destroyer and his
Astral Imprisonment, and
Shadow Demon and his
Disruption.
* A Eul's Scepter of Divinity can also do the trick, but, unlike the previously mentioned abilities, you can only use it on yourself and not your allies.
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Pudge
* 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
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with ways to protect themselves or allies from Spirit Breaker's initiation: Shadow Demon
Shadow Shaman
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Pudge
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook: Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
Primal Beast
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Shadow Demon
* Primal Beast really suffers against supports he cannot bully in the lane; this includes Dazzle,
Shadow Demon and
Dark Willow since they can use their respective abilities to stop Primal Beast from dealing burst damage, or make it hard for him to stay in range.
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes with high physical damage output but lack of reliable escape mechanisms are always a good target for a solo gank: Sniper,
Shadow Fiend,
Troll Warlord,
Drow Ranger. Those heroes, however, are dangerous if they manage to close the gap, so take caution.
Gyrocopter
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Pudge
* Abilities that deal low damage with high amounts of instances are irrelevant against Pudge during Flesh Heap's active: Gyrocopter's
Rocket Barrage and
Dark Seer's
Ion Shell are just a couple examples.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption instantly removes Phantom Embrace, and can potentially save allies affected by Soulbind.
* Demonic Purge dispels Ink Swell.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Shadow Demon
* Heroes who can dispel will be able to remove remove Soul Catcher's debuff to instantly bring the health of affected heroes back to a considerable amount: Abaddon,
Slark,
Legion Commander,
Oracle.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption can protect Shadow Demon's allies from Fortune's End, preserving healing or buffs. It can also catch Oracle's allies, allowing
Shadow Poison to be used without being dispelled.
* Demonic Purge prevents over-time healing during False Promise, such as Purifying Flames and
Urn of Shadows. If he has
Aghanim's Scepter, this issue can persist for longer or on multiple allies.
* It will not, however, prevent healing from instant abilities, items, or auras, making Mekansm a good choice against him.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: -0.2 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Pudge has low armor and low mobility, making him a prime target for Terrorblade's right-clicks.
* Meat Hook is a lot harder to land on the real Terrorblade if he has illusions around him.
* Because Dismember targets only one hero, Terrorblade's illusions can potentially save the real Terrorblade if he's caught in it.
Pudge
* Heroes who have channeling abilities because Terrorblade has no disables to cancel them at all and does not like buying disabling items at all: Enigma's
Black Hole,
Witch Doctor's
Death Ward,
Shadow Shaman's
Shackles,
Lion's
Mana Drain,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Pugna's
Life Drain,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian, and
Naga Siren's
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter.
Shadow Demon
* 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.
Sven
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Pudge
* Generally heroes who don't rely on magical damage, such as Sven,
Phantom Assassin, and
Outworld Destroyer, as they can practically ignore Flesh Heap's damage block.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin,
Sven,
Slark,
Phantom Lancer.
* 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.
Batrider
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* For the same reason, he has to be slightly more cunning when playing against heroes that can scout the treeline, such as Ancient Apparition and his
Ice Vortex and
Shadow Demon and his
Shadow Poison.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon,
Outworld Destroyer and
Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Windranger
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 10%)Pudge
* Pudge relies on his hook to initiate his combo. As long as she's able to avoid the hook with Windrun and shackle him, Windranger can take him down easily. Pudge's low armor means that he won't be able to endure Focus Fire for long.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon can waste precious seconds of Windrun with Disruption.
* Alternatively, Demonic Purge can be used to dispel it altogether, leaving her completely defenseless for 7 seconds.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally if they get stunned by Shackleshot.
Additional:
* Shadow Demon can waste precious seconds of Windrun with Disruption.
* Alternatively, Demonic Purge. can be used to dispel it altogether, leaving her completely defenseless.
* Disruption can be used to save an ally if they get stunned by Shackleshot.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Pudge
* No matter how high Pudge builds up strength with his Flesh Heap, all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to Reaper's Scythe. Considering his constant self-damage with
Rot, being around Heartstopper Aura will prove risky for an overconfident Pudge.
Additional:
* Heartstopper Aura is effective against high health heroes, and Pudge is no exception. Coupled with his self-damage from Rot, being around Heartstopper Aura could prove risky for Pudge.
* Regardless of how much health Pudge gains through Flesh Heap, Reaper's Scythe will often kill Pudge should his health fall below 40%, making Necrophos an ideal counter versus Pudge.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption can save an ally from a fatal Reaper's Scythe.
* Demonic Purge can remove Ghost Shroud, making Necrophos vulnerable to physical damage and preventing him from regenerating health.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Pudge
* Slow heroes that have a hard time escaping the Echo Stomp radius: Crystal Maiden,
Pudge,
Techies.
Pudge
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember: Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Pudge
* Sanity's Eclipse deals more damage the less max mana the heroes hit by it have, making Pudge an ideal target.
* Outworld Destroyer can save allies or himself caught by Dismember or Meat Hook with Astral Imprisonment.
Shadow Demon
* Shadow Demon's Disruption will allow his allies to maneuver around you. It can also be used to protect an ally from your abilities, or Astral Imprisonment -
Meteor Hammer combo.
* Disseminate turns your high damage Arcane Orb and Sanitiy's Eclipse against you and your teammates.
* Scepter upgraded Demonic Purge will break your Essence Flux passive for 7 seconds, preventing you from regaining mana, and severely hindering your damage output.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 4%)Pudge
* 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.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can punish aggressive heroes, such as: Leshrac,
Shadow Demon,
Pugna,
Death Prophet.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Shadow Demon
* Chaos Knight,
Lone Druid,
Meepo and
Arc Warden can be hard targets since Shadow Demon's spells are ill-suited to fight many enemies at once.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with summons or illusions can counter Flux, such as Beastmaster ,
Chen, or
Shadow Demon.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 11%)Pudge
* If Meat Hook is used before Blink, Anti-Mage may be able to escape Pudge's grasp by blinking to safety.
* Counterspell grants Anti-Mage a large degree of magic resistance, a damage type Pudge is highly reliant on to secure kills. This makes Anti-Mage a bad target for Pudge. The active can also block Dismember if timed correctly.
* Mana Break can quickly drain Pudge's low supply of mana, which may render Meat Hook and Dismember unusable.
Shadow Demon
* Disruption sets up Anti-Mage for a chain disable. The illusions will deal extra damage due to Mana Break.
* Shadow Poison hits Anti-Mage even after he's Blinked away.
* If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter,
Demonic Purge can break Mana Break and Counterspell, weakening both his offense and defense.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Anti-Mage alone, Disruption's considerable cast range can become a perfect setup for any hard-disable to follow up. If he is pinned down, Anti-Mage will quickly face his demise when the illusions deplete his already low mana pool. Manta Style will easily allow him to escape, however.
* The illusions can be controlled to quickly sap mana from any other target, making Anti-Mage one of the most valuable targets to disrupt.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 15%)Pudge
* 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.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon,
Phantom Lancer,
Nature's Prophet.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)Shadow Demon
* Omniknight: An undispellable
Heavenly Grace can easily save a victim of Shadow Demon.
Shadow Demon
* Heroes that can purge buffs can dispel Guardian Angel: Invoker,
Shadow Demon,
Oracle.
Additional:
* Demonic Purge can dispel Guardian Angel on the key target during combat, allow your allies to finish them.
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
About
This website was made to help you in pick stage of online game Dota 2. It calculates rating for each possible counterpicks based on tips from web-based database made up entirely of user contributions Dota 2 wiki.
You will get the list of recommended hero counters with a list of tips written by Dota 2 wiki contributors explaining why it's good against the particular hero. In comparison to other similar websites, which show only rating based on average hero win rate from dotabuff or similar service.
How to interpret this data
Take it with a bit of grain of salt, especially if the recommendation has a low rating (<= 1), some heroes
may win a lane in an early game but would lose in late game (and vice versa). That's why sometimes
you could hero names appearing as a counter and as being countered, as on image:
You can also add your own tips, update old data and fix mistakes by editing page on Dota 2 Wiki (it works like Wikipedia - anyone can contribute, you don't even need to register) these edits will appear on this website automatically (data is updated several times per week).
Right now there is no app/overlay that will detect picks automatically (like overwolf dota plus or become the gamer), instead, you can open web version in a steam in-game browser or use mobile version on your smartphone.
Want to know more? Check FAQ
List of new features that have been added
- Results now also sorted both by rating and average hero win rate for the chosen rank (data from dotabuff)
- You can share counterpick suggestions just by copying URL. Try it: Pudge and Phantom Assassin counters
- Results from the left and right column are partially merged now: the green color shows counterpicks and red color heroes who are countered by an enemy pick.
- Added link next to each hero pointing to wiki hero page
- Counterpick suggestions will appear as you type
- Added statistics: Total entries in the database: 557, last updated: about 1 month ago
- Filtering by role: carry/durable/support - data taken directly from the game (basically the filters which you see on pick stage in dota)
- Filtering by lane: off lane/safe lane/mid lane (lane data is parsed from hero guides dotabuff)
- Tips now include icons next to the heroes/spells/item names (just like on Dota 2 wiki)
- Added item suggestions
- Heroes now can be searched by their abbreviations: CM - Crystal Maiden, Kotl - Keeper Of The Light, AM - Anti Mage etc.
- Mobile website version
- Improved UX on small screens - when selecting heroes page automatically scrolls so hero select input is displayed at the very top of screen, leaving more space for results.
- importing picks from dotabuff/opendota URL or matchid
- sorting by personal win rate after logging via steam
- dota overlay(like Overwolf Dota Plus) that will automatically detect picks and bans this will also bring synergy and ban suggestion based on opponent recent games and most played/highest win rate heroes (but don't expect it soon).
Sharing link to this site is always appreciated.
Dota 2 is a registered trademark of Valve Corporation. This site is not affiliated with Valve Corporation. All game images and names are property of Valve Corporation.
Most popular searches list
Slark, PudgeDazzle, Pudge
Techies, Spectre
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Anti-Mage, Abaddon, Axe, Bane, Batrider
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Riki, Legion Commander, Tiny, Invoker, Spectre
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Pudge, Zeus, Lich, Juggernaut, Centaur Warrunner
Clockwerk, Pudge, Invoker, Shadow Shaman, Sniper
Silencer, Zeus, Faceless Void, Sniper, Sand King
Huskar, Pudge, Alchemist, Luna, Phantom Assassin
Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Tusk, Axe, Tiny
Drow Ranger, Sniper, Earthshaker, Bristleback, Riki
Tinker, Pudge, Earthshaker, Elder Titan, Gyrocopter
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Riki, Invoker, Chaos Knight
Dazzle, Ogre Magi, Invoker, Rubick, Phantom Assassin
Spirit Breaker, Outworld Devourer, Axe, Warlock, Ursa
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Leshrac, Shadow Shaman, Sniper, Necrophos, Terrorblade
Abaddon, Bane, Storm Spirit, Grimstroke, Phantom Lancer
Abaddon, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition, Axe
Windranger, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Riki, Alchemist
Brewmaster, Pudge, Storm Spirit, Phantom Lancer, Oracle
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Axe, Arc Warden
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Axe, Alchemist
Luna, Vengeful Spirit, Storm Spirit, Undying, Beastmaster
Juggernaut, Zeus, Sven, Ancient Apparition, Spirit Breaker
Axe, Ancient Apparition, Bloodseeker, Clinkz, Chaos Knight
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Axe, Drow Ranger, Vengeful Spirit, Windranger, Winter Wyvern
Juggernaut, Shadow Shaman, Windranger, Meepo, Spirit Breaker
Abaddon, Alchemist, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition
Abaddon, Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden
Juggernaut, Ember Spirit, Shadow Shaman, Ogre Magi, Brewmaster
Shadow Shaman, Spirit Breaker, Sniper, Wraith King, Earthshaker
Invoker, Grimstroke, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Phantom Assassin
Treant Protector, Puck, Vengeful Spirit, Shadow Fiend, Anti-Mage
Phantom Assassin, Wraith King, Skywrath Mage, Silencer, Shadow Fiend
Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Invoker, Phantom Lancer, Vengeful Spirit
Pudge
* Heroes with high health especially Strength heroes will take more damage on Sun Ray:
Axe,
Pudge,
Bristleback,
Mars.
Shadow Demon
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from Shadow Demon abilities, especially
Demonic Purge.
Disruption.
* Phoenix AoE abilities remove Shadow Demon's illusions created by