Shadow Fiend
* Decrepify prevents Shadow Fiend from attacking for its duration, potentially preventing him from getting a kill.
* Nether Ward can do heavy damage to Shadow Fiend if he tries to cast his 
Requiem of Souls and his 
Shadowraze.
Additional:
* 
Decrepify prevents Shadow Fiend from attacking for its duration, potentially preventing him from getting a kill.
* 
Nether Ward can do heavy damage to Shadow Fiend if he tries to cast his Requiem of Souls or spam Shadowraze.
Invoker
* Nether Ward on its own can greatly hinder Invoker from casting many of his abilities, at least until he gets a significant amount of HP or is under the protection of spell immunity from 
Black King Bar
* 
Life Drain provides True sight, revealing Invoker through Ghost Walk, and forcing him or his allies to use an ability or item to interrupt its channeling
* Outside of Nether Ward's range, Invoker shall have the advantage, as Invoker has Tornado to purge Pugna's Decrepify when it is used defensively, Tornado or Cold Snap to prevent Pugna from channeling Life Drain
* A poorly used Decrepify on Pugna's allies means Invoker's abilities can be used to deal more damage to them.
Additional:
* Because Invoker relies on casting a large amount of spells to contribute to fights, Nether Ward can force him to not cast anything at all or take a large amount of damage to cast spells.
Shadow Fiend
* 
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.
Invoker
* 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.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Arc Lightning allows Zeus to get farm in lane against Shadow Fiend without coming into the range of his Shadowrazes.
* 
Lightning Bolt can be used to heavily harass Shadow Fiend when he tries to get a last hit.
* 
Thundergod's Wrath and Lightning Bolt can be used to detect Shadow Fiend if he tries to escape with 
Shadow Blade.
Invoker
* Zeus greatly hinders Invoker on the line with his long-range abilities. QW- and QE-Invoker have a very long recharge on abilities, and Zeus' Arc Lightning ability recharges too quickly, which is why he quickly kills a pack of creeps and drives Invoker under his tower, punching and not letting finish off creeps
* Lightning Bolt and Thundergod's Wrath abilities reveal invisibility of enemies, for example Invoker invisibility from 
Ghost Walk ability
Additional:
* Zeus greatly hinders Invoker on the line with his long-range abilities. QW- and QE-Invoker have a very long recharge on abilities, and Zeus' Arc Lightning ability recharges too quickly, which is why he quickly kills a pack of creeps and drives Invoker under his tower, punching and not letting finish off creeps
* Lightning Bolt and Thundergod's Wrath abilities reveal invisibility of enemies, for example Invoker invisibility from Ghost Walk ability
Shadow Fiend
* Doom has several disable abilities to choose from jungle creeps (e.g. 
War Stomp, 
Ensnare) to deal with Shadow Fiend who lacks escape abilities.
* When Doom combines creep abilities with 
Scorched Earth, 
Infernal Blade, and 
Doom, Shadow Fiend most likely will die as he cannot use Shadowraze and Requiem of Souls to protect himself, and also cannot even flee by using Shadow Blade or 
Blink Dagger.
* Although Shadow Fiend has a high physical damage output, Doom has a large health pool to survive it, meaning Doom's combo with high magical damage output will shutdown Shadow Fiend first.
* Doom usually buys 
Radiance to improve his damage, making his nuke combo more deadly to Shadow Fiend. The blind also prevents Shadow Fiend from landing his attacks often.
Invoker
* Doom completely takes Invoker out of a team fight, a hero who relies heavily on using abilities and items to contribute in team fights.
Additional:
* Doom is a good way to shut down Invoker, preventing from casting spells and using items for a lengthy time, thus forcing him to invest on 
Linken's Sphere.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Enfeeble can be used to decrease Shadow Fiend's already abysmal level one damage even further, preventing him from getting farm and 
Necromastery stacks.
* 
Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Shadow Fiend, even through debuff immunity from Black King Bar.
* 
Nightmare allows Bane to set up some early ganks onto Shadow Fiend.
* 
Fiend's Grip enables Bane to completely take Shadow Fiend out of a fight and potentially even kill him, even through Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Enfeeble can be used to decrease Shadow Fiend's already abysmal level one damage even further, preventing him from getting farm and Necromastery stacks.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Shadow Fiend.
* Nightmare allows Bane to set up some early ganks onto Shadow Fiend.
* Fiend's Grip enables Bane to completely take Shadow Fiend out of a fight and potentially even kill him, even through Black King Bar.
Invoker
* 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.
Shadow Fiend
* Large area-of-effect with delay or require channeling: Enigma, 
Crystal Maiden, Invoker, Shadow Fiend, 
Pugna, 
Keeper of the Light, 
Dawnbreaker.
Invoker
* Nyx Assassin can simply activate 
Spiked Carapace while under many Invoker's abilities to stun him.
* Nyx Assassin takes advantage of Invoker's massive intelligence gain to do tons of damage using 
Mind Flare, as the spell does more damage based on the target's intelligence.
* 
Vendetta burns a large amount of Invoker's essential mana pool.
Shadow Fiend
* Bounty Hunter can absolutely destroy a Shadow Fiend's game by ganking his midlane with Shadow Walk, Jinada and Shuriken Toss.
* If his lane goes bad, a Shadow Fiend usually goes to the jungle. Follow him with Shadow Walk and take half of his experience.
* Due to its ministun, Shuriken Toss is a good way to interrupt Shadow Fiend's long cast animation on Requiem of Souls.
Additional:
* 
Shuriken Toss can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls.
* 
Shadow Walk and 
Jinada allow Bounty Hunter to gank Shadow Fiend early on
* 
Track prevents Shadow Fiend from escaping with Shadow Blade.
Invoker
* 
Bounty Hunter and 
Slardar both have ultimates (
Corrosive Haze and Track) that reveal Invoker through Ghost Walk.
Shadow Fiend
* 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
Invoker
* Anti-Mage's mobility and magic resistance make him nearly impossible to kill alone.
* Invoker's spells cost a lot of mana, and Invoker himself has a lot of mana. This means Invoker and his team are vulnerable to 
Mana Void's heavy damage.
* 
Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from Invoker's combo if he doesn't have disables.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes that are hard to kill without lockdown: Puck, 
Weaver.
Invoker
* Puck Outlanes Invoker with his abilities: 
Illusory Orb, 
Waning Rift finishing off all creeps on the line and getting a higher level than him
* Puck dodges Invoker's magic attacks with his abilities: Illusory Orb, 
Phase Shift in a fight, preventing Invoker from doing damage
Additional:
* Puck Outlanes Invoker with his abilities: Illusory Orb, Waning Rift finishing off all creeps on the line and getting a higher level than him
* Puck dodges Invoker's magic attacks with his abilities: Illusory Orb, Phase Shift in a fight, preventing Invoker from doing damage
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend, a normal Shadow Blade builder often relies on its invisibility to escape fights. Corrosive Haze reveals Shadow Fiend and also weakens his already low armor.
Invoker
* Bounty Hunter and Slardar both have ultimates (Corrosive Haze and Track) that reveal Invoker through Ghost Walk.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes that can gank Shadow Fiend in the early game: 
Earth Spirit, Nyx Assassin, 
Riki, 
Spirit Breaker.
Invoker
* Earth Spirit is a dangerous foe to encounter for Invoker in the early stages of the game. Since Invoker needs to gain levels as fast as possible and is not very strong in the early game, Earth Spirit can use his incredible early game power to gank Invoker and ruin his game plan.
* Earth Spirit combines stuns and silences with his spells and can apply them from a great distance. This is bad for Invoker as he is dependent on a smart usage of his spells with 
Invoke and Earth Spirit can disrupt his combos easily.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes with high burst damage: 
Lina, 
Lion, 
Luna, Nyx Assassin, Queen of Pain.
Invoker
* Queen of Pain usually outlanes Invoker, giving her team a significant early game advantage while Invoker is still farming.
* 
Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from Invoker's combo if he doesn't have disables.
Shadow Fiend
* 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.
Invoker
* Heroes with long lockdowns: Shadow Shaman, 
Legion Commander.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes that can gank Shadow Fiend in the early game: Earth Spirit, Nyx Assassin, Riki, Spirit Breaker.
Invoker
* Heroes with silence: Death Prophet, Riki, 
Drow Ranger.
Invoker
* 
Blade Fury, similar to Rage, grants immunity to Invoker's spells and can dispel some debuffs as well.
* 
Omnislash renders Juggernaut invulnerable to Invoker's spells and can easily take Invoker down.
Additional:
* Juggernaut's instant spell immunity from Blade Fury. helps him dodge Invoker's combos. He can dispel the disables from 
Cold Snap and 
Deafening Blast and dodge the damage from 
Chaos Meteor, as well as walk through 
Ice Wall.
* Juggernaut's high DPS allows him to kill split pushing 
Forge Spirit(s) effortlessly, and his high armor prevents them from being a threat to him.
* However, Invoker can hit Juggernaut with 
Sun Strike through Blade Fury, making the 
Tornado and Sun Strike combo a threat if he does not dodge Tornado.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Glimpse and 
Kinetic Field allows Disruptor to set up some early kills onto Shadow Fiend.
* 
Static Storm can be used to cancel the cast of Requiem of Souls.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Kraken Shell dispels both Shadowraze's damage amplification stacks and Requiem of Soul's damage reduction (provided Tidehunter has taken enough damage).
* 
Ravage cancels Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend isn't protected by Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Kraken Shell dispels the damage amplification stacks of Shadowraze as well as the damage reduction from Requiem of Souls (provided he has taken enough damage).
* Anchor Smash reduces Shadow Fiend's large attack damage, Kraken Shell makes Tidehunter the last target Shadow Fiend wants to attack.
* Ravage can easily cancel Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend isn't protected by Black King Bar.
Invoker
* Lone Druid has a very large reserve of health against Invoker abilities, this allows him to survive a large number of attacks from Invoker and kill him, also 
Entangling Claws reveal invisibility from Ghost Walk, which allows the Lone Druid team to catch the popular QW-Invoker
Additional:
* Lone Druid has a very large reserve of health against Invoker abilities, this allows him to survive a large number of attacks from Invoker and kill him, also Entangling Claws reveal invisibility from Ghost Walk, which allows the Lone Druid team to catch the popular QW-Invoker
Shadow Fiend
* 
Earthshock prevents Shadow Fiend from escaping after Ursa used his Blink Dagger to get on top of him.
* 
Overpower and 
Fury Swipes allow Ursa to quickly kill Shadow Fiend.
* 
Enrage keeps Ursa alive in a manfight with Shadow Fiend and allows him to stay close, even if Shadow Fiend uses Requiem of Souls.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Berserker's Call and 
Counter Helix allow Axe to kill Shadow Fiend if he stands too close to a creep wave.
* 
Battle Hunger is can be strong against Shadow Fiend in the early game because Shadow Fiend's low attack damage makes it hard for him to get last hits if he has no mana. However, Shadowraze also makes it very easy for him to get last hits, so use with caution.
* 
Axe's naturally high strength and health regeneration will be enough to tank a lot of Shadow Fiend's damage in the early game.
Shadow Fiend
* Despite Jakiro's fragileness, he can easily harass Shadow Fiend with 
Dual Breath and 
Liquid Fire than Shadow Fiend can harass Jakiro with Shadowraze.
* Jakiro can easily cancel Requiem of Souls with 
Ice Path as Shadow Fiend is a very easy target while channeling it.
* 
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Macropyre can deal pure damage-over-time and pierce spell immunity, which can discourage Shadow Fiend from even trying to initiate with Requiem of Souls.
Additional:
* Despite Jakiro's fragileness, he can easily harass Shadow Fiend with Dual Breath and Liquid Fire than Shadow Fiend can harass Jakiro with Shadowraze.
* Jakiro can easily cancel Requiem of Souls with Ice Path as Shadow Fiend is a very easy target while channeling it.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Macropyre can deal pure damage-over-time and pierce spell immunity, which can discourage Shadow Fiend from even trying to initiate with Requiem of Souls.
Invoker
* 
Tidebringer pressures Invoker easily in lane due to Invoker's low health and armor in the early game.
Invoker
* Time Walk can easily avoid Invoker's combo damage if doesn't have disables.
* Chronosphere will reveal Invoker during Ghost Walk.
* All of Invoker's hidden cooldowns are affected by Time Dilation, so Faceless Void can easily slow him down a lot.
Additional:
* 
Time Dilation prevents Invoker from further invoking for the entire duration of the debuff, as well as massively slowing Invoker based on the large amount of spells he has.
* 
Time Walk will completely negate Invoker's combo damage.
* If Invoker is caught in 
Chronosphere, he will most likely be the primary target due to the large teamfight contribution he can provide.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls allows Rubick to output enormous crowd damage and control to the enemy team.
* Requiem of Souls has an effective range of 1000. 
Rubick can steal the spell out of the fear range with any level of 
Arcane Supremacy learned.
* Requiem of Souls has a significant cast animation which allows Rubick to predict the steal timing, since Shadow Fiend usually positions at the center of battlefield.
* 
Telekinesis can lift a unit right on top of Rubick with no collision size, forcing the victim to absorb all damaging lines of Requiem of Souls from Rubick, possibly resulting in a one-shot kill.
* Note that Requiem of Souls from Rubick still uses the original 1.67 second channeling time.
* It is advised to build Blink Dagger to jump in and cast Requiem of Souls given the opportunity.
* The three 
Shadowraze (Far) abilities are decent for farming and extra damage output.
* Note that 
Shadowraze (Near), 
Shadowraze (Medium) and Shadowraze (Far) are considered three separated abilities, only one is stolen per spell steal cast.
* It could be troublesome to cast Shadowraze (Far) immediately for damage output immediately after stolen since it is hard to react and recognize which of the three is stolen.
* Shadow Fiend's right click damage together with his ability damage may hurt Rubick bad. Consider items like 
Ghost Scepter and 
Glimmer Cape, together with wards to avoid being picked up.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend's lack of mobility and low base health make him an easy target for early ganks.
Shadow Fiend
* Squishy heroes or heroes without hard disables or silences: 
Shadow Demon, Shadow Fiend, 
Venomancer, 
Ancient Apparition etc.
Invoker
* In the early to mid game, Invoker is defenseless against Storm Spirit's ganking with 
Ball Lightning and 
Orchid Malevolence.
Invoker
* Heroes with mana burn: Nyx Assassin, Invoker, Outworld Destroyer, Pugna, Lion
Shadow Fiend
* 
Static Link can steal Shadow Fiend's high physical damage output from Necromastery, lowering his damage output, and Static Link cannot be prevented by Black King Bar.
* 
Plasma Field and 
Eye of the Storm can melt down Shadow Fiend easily, due to his low health.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Nethertoxin both Necromastery and Presence of the Dark Lord, reducing his damage massively.
* 
Corrosive Skin gives Viper bonus Magic Resistance against Shadowraze and Requiem of Souls.
* Viper can easily take advantage of Shadow Fiend's lack of escape and mobility spells with 
Viper Strike breaks and 
Poison Attack. Poison Attack also serves as a great way to harass Shadow Fiend.
Invoker
* Corrosive Skin makes Viper receive less damage from Invoker's spells
* Viper can harass Invoker with his Poison Attack in the early game.
* Viper Strike and Poison Attack can kill Invoker easily if Ghost Walk is on cooldown.
Invoker
* Ice Wall and Ghost Walk can be used to kite and escape from Viper.
* Chaos Meteor and Sun Strike deal heavy damage and can quickly bring Viper down.
* Cold Snap, Tornado, and Deafening Blast are powerful disables that reduce Viper's effectiveness.
* 
E.M.P. burns Viper's limited mana pool, reducing his potential poison damage.
* Forge Spirits can melt Viper's armor and reduce his durability.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Lucent Beam and 
Eclipse with ministun talent can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend does not have Black King Bar. Likewise, since Shadow Fiend is prone to buying Blink Dagger, an ill-timed Blink Dagger can give Luna a free chance to counter-initiate with Eclipse.
* 
Moon Glaives and 
Lunar Blessing allow Luna to outfarm Shadow Fiend in lane and the high physical damage output they provide her can also help her deal with Shadow Fiend even when he buys Black King Bar in late game.
* A well timed Eclipse will burst and kill Shadow Fiend before he even either initiates or gets a chance to retaliate, especially when equipped with Aghanim's Scepter and 
Ethereal Blade, this could become even worse for Shadow Fiend if he does not have Black King Bar. But bear in mind however, that smart and skilled Shadow Fiend can buy 
Wind Waker to counter this issue.
* Even though Shadow Fiend can evade all of Luna's abilities with Shadow Blade, smart Luna will always buy 
Dust of Appearance to provide vision on Shadow Fiend to her and her team.
Additional:
* Lucent Beam and Eclipse with ministun talent can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend does not have Black King Bar. Likewise, since Shadow Fiend is prone to buying Blink Dagger, an ill-timed Blink Dagger can give Luna a free chance to counter-initiate with Eclipse.
* Moon Glaives and Lunar Blessing allow Luna to outfarm Shadow Fiend in lane and the high physical damage output they provide her can also help her deal with Shadow Fiend even when he buys Black King Bar in late game.
* A well timed Eclipse will burst and kill Shadow Fiend before he even either initiates or gets a chance to retaliate, especially when equipped with Aghanim's Scepter and Ethereal Blade, this could become even worse for Shadow Fiend if he does not have Black King Bar. But bear in mind however, that smart and skilled Shadow Fiend can buy Wind Waker to counter this issue.
* Even though Shadow Fiend can evade all of Luna's abilities with Shadow Blade, a smart Luna will always buy Dust of Appearance to provide vision on Shadow Fiend to her and her team.
Shadow Fiend
* The blind from 
Laser prevents Shadow Fiend from attacking for its duration, potentially preventing him from getting a kill.
* 
Scythe of Vyse can be used to prevent Shadow Fiend from casting Requiem of Souls.
* A combination of Tinker's abilities and his items (like the 
Dagon 5 and Ethereal Blade combo) can kill Shadow Fiend quickly.
Additional:
* During the laning stage Laser will reduce Shadow Fiend's last hits, preventing him from getting Necromastery souls.
* Shadow Fiend has low health and is vulnerable to Tinker's high magic burst.
Invoker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, 
Enchantress, 
Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, 
Techies, 
Terrorblade, 
Necrophos, Invoker.
Invoker
* Tinker is relatively helpless against Invoker, as his 
Rearm and 
Boots of Travel can be easily interrupted by Invoker's long range disables, even if he blinks away.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes who depend on attacks (such as Shadow Fiend or Drow Ranger) can be nullified by Fire Spirits' attack speed slow.
Invoker
* Heroes with silence: Death Prophet, Riki, Drow Ranger.
Shadow Fiend
* 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 Fiend
* 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.
Additional:
* Because Shadow Fiend lacks escaping mechanisms, and is dependent on fair positioning for channeling Requiem of Souls, it's easier for Warlock with his long range crowd control abilities to lock Shadow Fiend down for his team.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes with high burst damage: Lina, Lion, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Queen of Pain.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes that are hard to kill without lockdown: Puck, Weaver.
Shadow Fiend
* 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 Fiend
* 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.
Invoker
* Heroes with abilities which have a built-in spell immunity: 
Lifestealer, 
Juggernaut, 
Pangolier.
Invoker
* 
Rage grants immunity from Invoker's spells and can dispel most of the disables such as the armor loss from Forge Spirit and the constant stuns of Cold Snap.
Additional:
* Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Invoker's spells (except for Sun Strike).
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes with high physical damage can damage Lifestealer more than he can heal: Bristleback, Clinkz, Luna,Shadow Fiend, Slardar, Terrorblade
Invoker
* 
Astral Imprisonment allows Outworld Destroyer to save himself or ally from Invoker's combo, or remove Invoker from a fight temporarily.
* 
Arcane Orb's pure damage will deal a lot of damage against Invoker's mediocre strength gain.
* E.M.P. is useless against Outworld Destroyer by activating 
Equilibrium.
* However, be aware that 
Sanity's Eclipse will most likely not deal any damage at all, due to Invoker's high intelligence gain compared to Outworld Destroyer's.
Invoker
* Any heroes with high intelligence, such as Invoker and Pugna.
Shadow Fiend
* The Reflection of Shadow Fiend cause 
Presence of the Dark Lord to affect Shadow Fiend, reducing his armor and making it easier for Terrorblade to kill him. Shadow Fiend also doesn't have lots of survivability or control abilities in order to escape.
* If Shadow Fiend chooses to go for a physical damage item build, he'll have a hard time against Terrorblade's high armor.
Invoker
* 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.
Shadow Fiend
* Requiem of Souls is easily interrupted by Boundless Strike, due to its long cast time.
* Shadow Fiend's lack of mobility and escape makes him an easy target to ambush with Primal Spring, especially during laning stage.
* Being close means he cannot use all three razes on you before you get your Jingu Mastery stacks.
Invoker
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: 
Earthshaker, 
Monkey King, Shadow Fiend Lina
Shadow Fiend
* 
Dragon Tail can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls.
* 
Breathe Fire reduces Shadow Fiend's damage even further.
* 
Dragon Knight's high strength and 
Dragon Blood means that he'll be able to tank Shadow Fiend's right clicks.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend's Presence of the Dark Lord reduces Dragon Knight's armor considerably, and his strong base attacks are augmented by his Necromastery.
Shadow Fiend
* Lina can outlanes Shadow Fiend on the central line, due to the fact that Lina's attack range exceeds the attack range of Shadow Fiend, which makes it difficult for him to fend off her attacks and approach creeps, thus Lina has more level and gold.
* Lina can defeat Shadow Fiend with the combination of her abilities on lane and during teamfights: 
Light Strike Array, 
Dragon Slave, 
Laguna Blade, Shadow Fiend does not have a large pool of health before buying items for extra strength and health like 
Satanic, which is why Lina's strong magic damage is enough to kill him quickly.
Additional:
* Outlanes Shadow Fiend on the central line, due to the fact that Lina's attack range exceeds the range of Shadow Fiend, which makes it difficult for him to fend off her attacks and approach creeps, thus Lina has more level and gold
* Defeats Shadow Fiend` from Burst with a combination of skills: Light Strike Array, Dragon Slave, Laguna Blade, Shadow Fiend does not have a large pool of health before buying an item: Satanic , which is why Lina's strong magic damage is enough to kill him quickly
Invoker
* Heroes with long animations can be frequently interrupted with Cold Snap: Earthshaker, Monkey King, Shadow Fiend Lina
Shadow Fiend
* Shadowraze can easily remove the protection from Flame Guard and kill Ember Spirit due to his low health.
* Ember Spirit is very vulnerable to physical damage from Necromastery.
Invoker
* Ember Spirit has a small mana pool, which is why QW-Invoker can burn it out very effectively with his own E.M.P., do not give Ember Spirit the opportunity to play with his abilities and cause damage with them in a fight.
* QW-Invoker Destroys Ember Spirit's 
Flame Guard with his own Tornado, which is why Ember Spirit cannot defend against Invoker's strong magic damage.
Additional:
* Ember Spirit has a small mana pool, which is why QW-Invoker can burn it out very effectively with his own E.M.P., do not give Ember Spirit the opportunity to play with his abilities and cause damage with them in a fight.
* QW-Invoker Destroys Ember Spirit's Flame Guard with his own Tornado, which is why Ember Spirit cannot defend against Invoker's strong magic damage.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadowraze deals magic damage and ignores Bulwark.
* Requiem of Souls deals magic damage and can fear Mars away, forcing him to turn around and therefore become vulnerable.
Invoker
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: Timbersaw, 
Dark Willow, Enigma, Invoker, Pugna, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, Zeus, 
Oracle.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls not only slow all Meepos, but it can also kill the weakest Meepo instantly if the ultimate is released at the right position and time.
Additional:
* Shadow Fiend can easily focus down and kill one of the Meepos.
* The amount of damage from Shadow Fiend's AoE spells makes Meepo vulnerable in every aspect.
Invoker
* Heroes with powerful area-of-effect disables can initiate on Meepo and his clones and shut him down, such as Enigma, Invoker, Magnus, Puck, and 
Sand King.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadowraze can clear waves of Chen's creeps while giving Shadow Fiend gold and damage for Necromastery.
* Requiem of Souls's very high magical damage can often kill Chen and his creeps or his allies before he can save them with 
Hand of God.
Invoker
* QW-Invoker perfectly resists Batrider in his attacks, since Batrider has a small mana reserve and depends very much on him - E.M.P. perfectly allows Invoker to deprive her, and he also has the abilities of Tornado and Cold Snap, which can help him fend off his attack, and possibly even kill along with his team
Additional:
* QW-Invoker perfectly resists Batrider in his attacks, since Batrider has a small mana reserve and depends very much on him - E.M.P. perfectly allows Invoker to deprive her, and he also has the abilities of Tornado and Cold Snap, which can help him fend off his attack, and possibly even kill along with his team
Invoker
* Cold Snap can prevent Timbersaw from using both Timber Chain and Chakram due to the frequent stuns interrupting the lengthy cast animations, as well as stopping him mid-chain. This can negate Timbersaw's attempts to escape or dole out extra ability damage.
* Later in the game, Invoker's heavy magical and pure damage can be difficult to avoid, meaning Timbersaw's armor is less useful.
Invoker
* Invoker is a big problem for Tiny the whole game because of its multiple disables. For example, the Cold Snap ability can catch an attack from Tiny's hand by surprise, because it becomes slower with the pumping of 
Grow. has a giant deceleration, creating a condition for the kite, which Tiny is very afraid of. In addition, Invoker has a Deafening Blast that disables Tiny's main weapon - strong blows from the hand
Additional:
* Invoker is a big problem for Tiny the whole game because of its multiple disables. For example, such as Tornado + E.M.P. create unrealistic conditions for Tiny with mana, which is very necessary for Tiny at least for some attacks in a fight. The Cold Snap ability can catch an attack from Tiny's hand by surprise, because it becomes slower with the pumping of Grow. has a giant deceleration, creating a condition for the kite, which Tiny is very afraid of. In addition, Invoker has a Deafening Blast that disables Tiny's main weapon - strong blows from the hand
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend can still dish out heavy damage with Requiem of Souls and Shadowraze even while caught in 
Pit of Malice. Requiem of Souls is also great ability for intercepting Underlord and his team when they teleport using 
Fiend's Gate.
* Necromastery provides Shadow Fiend with bonus attack damage for each killed enemy unit, which combined with Presence of the Dark Lord's armor reduction allows him to 
Atrophy Aura's attack damage reduction in most stages of the game.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend can easily farm his treants and get easy Necromastery Stacks.
* If Shadow Fiend buys Boots of Travel and Shadow Blade, he can counteract Nature's Prophet's split-push.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Shadow Dance does not protect Slark from Shadow Fiend's AoE spells.
Invoker
* 
Quas-
Exort Invoker can win the mid lane easily against Alchemist because Quas regeneration will nullify Acid Spray's damage over time and Exort damage bonus will allow Invoker to out last hit Alchemist.
Invoker
* Invoker's Forge Spirit can negate 
Flux.
* Provided he does a right combo with Chaos Meteor, Invoker can easily burst down Arc Warden (plus his clone if he spawns it.)
* An early Orchid Malevolence can shut down Arc Warden pretty hard, especially when Invoker has a good lane against him if he kills him early on.
* Deafening Blast and Ice Wall limit's Arc Wardens mobility and damage, crippling him greatly.
Invoker
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Medusa's mana to weaken 
Mana Shield.
* Medusa's lack of mobility makes her easy to kite with Invoker's spells.
Additional:
* E.M.P. is a large mana burn nuke which can hit Medusa's Mana shield with enough damage to lose even more mana.
* Deafening Blast disarms Medusa's ability to deal pseudo-AOE damage during teamfights.
* Cold Snap allows the opposing team to repeatedly stun Medusa in short succession, preventing her from successfully casting her ultimate due to its long cast time.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend usually buys a 
Hurricane Pike allowing him to easily escape from 
Power Cogs.
* Shadow Fiend can farm Clockwerk's Power Cogs to gain Necromastery stacks.
Invoker
* Quas Exort Invoker has high physical damage in the form of Cold Snap and Forged Spirits that allows him to trade hits with Huskar.
* Although Huskar can dispel Cold Snap with Life Break.
* Sun Strike deals pure damage and pierces spell immunity, and Huskar tends to drain his HP, making him a susceptible target.
Invoker
* Cold Embrace is the perfect setup for all his nukes - Chaos Meteor, E.M.P. and especially global Sun Strike.
Invoker
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Wraith King's mana to prevent 
Reincarnation from triggering (only until Wraith King gets his Aghanim's Shard).
* Ice Wall and Cold Snap are particularly crippling for Wraith King as they allow to kite him very effectively, preventing him from dealing melee attack damage.
Additional:
* Invoker can drain Wraith King's mana with E.M.P., preventing him from reincarnating unless Wraith King has his Aghanim's Shard.
* Even if Wraith King survives and reincarnates, Invoker still has an arsenal of spells to lockdown Wraith King, including an easily setup Ice Wall.
* Tornado applies an area dispel to clear skeletons.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes with high physical and magical damage alike are a huge hazard for Muerta, as they can deal serious damage to her even if she has 
Pierce the Veil active: Luna, Lina, 
Tusk, Broodmother, Shadow Fiend, 
Ember Spirit, Gyrocopter, 
Vengeful Spirit, 
Arc Warden, Medusa, Shadow Shaman.
Invoker
* Heroes that can keep Marci for a long time in one place so she can't pursue her targets, like Bane, Lion, Shadow Shaman, Invoker, Disruptor and 
Kunkka.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes with a low health pool (Crystal Maiden, Skywrath Mage etc)
Invoker
* Some heroes with extreme range, like Zeus, Invoker or 
Clockwerk, can snipe your allies from anywhere after your Grave has expired.
Invoker
* Invoker's multiple spells can lock down Undying and disable him from doing much.
Invoker
* Invoker's E.M.P. is extremely effective against Earthshaker due to his low natural mana.
Invoker
* Heroes with naturally low mana can be easily shut down by E.M.P.: 
Sven, 
Tiny, 
Wraith King, 
Omniknight
Additional:
* Tornado dispels Heavenly Grace and Guardian Angel from multiple targets.
* Guardian Angel is generally useless against Invoker as he primarily relies on magical damage.
* E.M.P. depletes Omniknight's already small mana pool.
* Invoker's many disables keep Omniknight's team occupied until Guardian Angel times out.
Invoker
* Heroes whose abilities can affect multiple enemies at once: Dawnbreaker, Ember Spirit, Lina, Luna, 
Jakiro, 
Leshrac, Invoker, 
Muerta, 
Dazzle.
Invoker
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker, 
Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Shadow Shaman, Lion and etc.
Shadow Fiend
* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Warlock or Shadow Fiend.
Invoker
* Tornado allows Invoker to purge Necrophos's 
Ghost Shroud, nullifying any benefits he could get out of it
* E.M.P. allows Invoker to burn Necrophos's mana, preventing him from using his abilities constantly
Invoker
* Heroes with long lockdowns: Shadow Shaman, Legion Commander.
Invoker
* Invoker's spells will disable and destroy Legion Commander while she's locked in a 
Duel.
Shadow Fiend
* Late game heroes are Sven's favourite kind of opponent, such as 
Anti-Mage, 
Spectre and Shadow Fiend.
Invoker
* Heroes with naturally low mana can be easily shut down by E.M.P.: Sven, Tiny, Wraith King, Omniknight
Shadow Fiend
* Squishy core heroes (Shadow Fiend, Sniper, etc)
Invoker
* 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.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Shrapnel can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's Blink Dagger from a huge range.
* 
Take Aim and 
Headshot allow Sniper to harass Shadow Fiend in lane without getting into the range of his Shadowrazes.
Additional:
* Shrapnel can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's Blink Dagger from a huge range.
* Take Aim and Headshot allow Sniper to harass Shadow Fiend in lane without getting into the range of his Shadowraze.
* Assassinate when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls.
Invoker
* Invoker's arsenal of magical spells are troublesome for Sniper who has low HP and high armor, which does not benefit him much against Invoker.
* Besides magical damage, he can be disarmed and repeatedly mini-stunned with Cold Snap, preventing him from reacting.
* Leveling Quas can allow Invoker to lane effectively against Sniper despite right-click harassment.
Shadow Fiend
* 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 Fiend
* Heroes with a low health pool (Crystal Maiden, Skywrath Mage etc)
Invoker
* A good choice against Invoker, as it has some advantage with the help of abilities.
* With the 
Dissimilate, Voidspirit can evade Invoker's skills, going to another world where he does not receive damage. The same ability to run away or attack quickly.
* 
Astral Step moves quickly from point to point, which also reduces the Invoker's probability that he will hit him with skills and cause at least some damage.
Additional:
* A good choice against Invoker, as it has some advantage with the help of abilities.
* With the Dissimilate, Voidspirit can evade Invoker's skills, like Chaos Meteor or E.M.P., going to another world where he does not receive damage. The same ability to run away or attack quickly.
* Astral Step moves quickly from point to point, which also reduces the Invoker's probability that he will hit him with skills and cause at least some damage.
Shadow Fiend
* Wins on the central line, thanks to its strong nukes Shadowraze, because of which Void Spirit cannot approach the creeps to farm gold and overtake Shadow Fiend by level
Additional:
* Wins on the central line, thanks to its strong nukes Shadowraze, because of which Void Spirit cannot approach the creeps to farm gold and overtake Shadow Fiend by level
Invoker
* Quas-Exort Invoker is also a good matchup due to the fact he has no 
Wex to run faster due to the movement impairment on his stealth. The Forge Spirit and Cold Snap combo doesn't harm her as well since you can drain Invoker's HP with Spirit Siphon which forces him to retreat.
* Silence also prevents Invoker from using Invoke or casting his main spells temporarily. There is no way Invoker can block it unless he has 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity to cyclone himself or has help from allies.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadowraze (Near), Shadowraze (Medium), and Shadowraze (Far) can hit hard in the early stages of the game, and due to Shadow Fiend's high attack damage, most of Death Prophet's last hits will be denied in the laning phase. Additionally, Requiem of Souls can deal massive damage or kill Death Prophet at the start of team fights in combination with Eul's Scepter of Divinity or Shadow Blade.
Shadow Fiend
* 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.
Invoker
* Heroes who can clear the waves of Enigma's Eidolons: Lina, Luna, Dawnbreaker, Jakiro, Shadow Shaman, Death Prophet, Keeper of the Light, Invoker, Leshrac, Puck.
Shadow Fiend
* 
Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to gank Shadow Fiend in the early game, preventing him from getting Necromastery stacks.
* 
Nether Strike and Charge of Darkness can be used to prevent Shadow Fiend from casting Requiem of Souls.
Invoker
* Ice Wall can slow down Charge of Darkness in its tracks at max level, allowing counterplays such as Cold Snap to end the charge, bursting down with Tornado, Meteor, and right clicks, or even teleporting back to spawn to drag Spirit Breaker into the fountain.
* Cold Snap (if timed right) and Invoker's other disables like Tornado can interrupt Charge of Darkness, especially since Charge is telegraphed by the symbol appearing over head.
Additional:
* Cold Snap allows Invoker to interrupt Charge of Darkness and Nether Strike.
* Tornado's long range can be used to cancel Charge of Darkness.
* Deafening Blast prevents Spirit Breaker from right clicking and thus proccing his Greater Bash.
Invoker
* Broodmother can kill Invoker easily in the early game with her 
Spawn Spiderlings and her spiderlings.
* Broodmother is both an Orchid Malevolence and a 
Nullifier carrier. As she can farm it early, she can kill Invoker easily.
Shadow Fiend
* Spiderlings are a good source of farm for Necromastery and can be quickly killed with Shadowraze.
* Shadow Fiend is a natural Black King Bar carrier, protecting him from any of Broodmother's abilities.
* Requiem of Souls combined with Eul's Scepter of Divinity can potentially kill Broodmother before she gets a Black King Bar.
Invoker
* Invoker is heavily dependent on his spells, making him useless during 
Global Silence, as well as interrupting Invoker during his combo.
* 
Arcane Curse is particularly deadly, because Invoker will continuously lose health if he keeps invoking and casting new spells.
* 
Last Word will silence Invoker when he casts Invoke, interrupting his combo.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend is mostly played as right-click carry and natural Black King Bar carrier, making Silencer's spells very ineffective against him.
Shadow Fiend
* Shadow Fiend's fragility and lack of a natural escape mechanism makes him a great target for Templar Assassin's Meld.
Shadowraze and 
Requiem of Souls, is easily nullified by her Refraction.
* Shadow Fiend's burst damage, such as
Invoker
* Templar Assassin can easily counter Invoker's last hitting process in the early game with
Refraction. 
Refraction also negates the stun from Cold Snap, since it will need to deal damage in order to apply its stun.
* Additionally, Refraction completely blocks damage from Sun Strike should Invoker try to finish her off, provided she activate Refraction beforehand.