Shadow Shaman
* Riki is known for being a successful support killer, something Shadow Shaman is very vulnerable to.
* 
Smoke Screen is particularly devastating to Shadow Shaman. With neither his various disables nor a solid health pool Shadow Shaman is usually dead. This forces Shadow Shaman to buy a 
Force Staff if he finds himself in this scenario and buy 
Sentry Wards if you have the money.
Skywrath Mage
* Due to his low health and armor, Riki can easily kill Skywrath Mage.
* Smoke Screen prevents Skywrath from using all of his abilities, as he does not tend to buy 
Black King Bar.
* However, Skywrath Mage can easily kill Riki if he manages to root Riki with Rod of Atos or Gleipnir, followed by Dust of Appearance, Ancient Seal and Mystic Flare.
Shadow Shaman
* With all 5 Meepos available, all of Shaman's wards will be disposed of very quickly.
* All of Shaman's disables are based around single target control, and he can at most only disable two Meepos, allowing the rest to easily lay waste to him, be it during the channel duration of 
Shackles or by using 
Earthbind.
Skywrath Mage
* 
Skywrath Mage's abilities are single targeted and he can't use Mystic Flare to its fullest potential, since all Meepos spread the damage between them. He also has no disables to prevent Meepo from Poofing to another one (unless he can get 
Ancient Seal off first).
Shadow Shaman
* By simply using Aphotic Shield, Abaddon can easily save his allies from heroes that apply long disables, such as 
Lion or 
Shadow Shaman.
Skywrath Mage
* In general, heroes that deal burst in multiple instances will trigger Borrowed Time and heal Abaddon for a large amount, such as Skywrath Mage, 
Techies, 
Juggernaut, Shadow Shaman, or 
Ogre Magi.
Additional:
* 
Aphotic Shield removes silences, slows and stuns, possibly foiling a full-duration Mystic Flare.
* 
Borrowed Time makes it impossible to burst 
Abaddon down, even healing him up due to Mystic Flare's damage.
Shadow Shaman
* With 4 active abilities, Shadow Shaman is weak against silencing foes such as 
Silencer, 
Drow Ranger and 
Death Prophet.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with silence such as 
Riki, Silencer, or 
Night Stalker prevents Skywrath Mage from using his spells.
Shadow Shaman
* 
Nyx Assassin, 
Bounty Hunter and 
Slark can all sneak up and kill Shadow Shaman, Nyx being particularly deadly. Shadow Shaman must watch out for Slark carefully, as he can break either (but not both unless he makes a mistake) of Shadow Shaman's disables, with 
Dark Pact and leap out of a serpent ward ring. These heroes, however, rely heavily on escape and are themselves not very durable and none of them can survive a full lockdown with Mass Serpent Ward. Having Sentry Wards can turn Shadow Shaman from prey to predator.
Skywrath Mage
* Fragile heroes: Bounty Hunter has decent nuking capabilities with Shiruken Toss and Jinada thus making fragile heroes easy picks for ganking. Few examples of such heroes are:
Crystal Maiden, 
Pugna, Skywrath Mage, 
Io, 
Witch Doctor, etc.
Shadow Shaman
* Nyx Assassin, Bounty Hunter and Slark can all sneak up and kill Shadow Shaman, Nyx being particularly deadly. Shadow Shaman must watch out for Slark carefully, as he can break either (but not both unless he makes a mistake) of Shadow Shaman's disables, with Dark Pact and leap out of a serpent ward ring. These heroes, however, rely heavily on escape and are themselves not very durable and none of them can survive a full lockdown with Mass Serpent Ward. Having Sentry Wards can turn Shadow Shaman from prey to predator.
Skywrath Mage
* Slow-moving projectiles: Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, 
Necrophos
Additional:
* Skywrath Mage's low health makes him rather easy prey for Nyx Assassin and his lack of armor generally means he'll take the full brunt of a 
Vendetta strike.
* 
Mind Flare turns Skywrath Mage's high intelligence growth against him and deals heavy damage.
* 
Spiked Carapace gives Nyx some degree of protection against Skywrath's spells.
Shadow Shaman
* Single-target disablers will have difficulty locking down a Chaos Knight with Phantasm active: 
Bane, 
Beastmaster, 
Bloodseeker, 
Clockwerk, 
Doom, Shadow Shaman.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. His skills are mostly target-based and he has terrible strength and agility, he can easily be kited or harassed by illusion-based heroes like 
Chaos Knight and 
Phantom Lancer, or by Heroes that summon other units like 
Lone Druid, 
Lycan and Beastmaster.
Skywrath Mage
* Fate Edict can completely negate Skywrath Mage's heavy magic damage.
* Fortune End dispels Ancient Seal.
Shadow Shaman
* Due to their high attack speed, 
Summon Familiars will destroy Mass Serpent Wards quickly, granting Visage a massive amount of gold.
* Visage can use 
Stone Form of the Familiars to cancel Shackles. 
Aghanim's Shard upgraded Stone Form also allows Visage to use Stone Form himself to cancel Shackles while restoring his health.
* 
Grave Chill can make Shadow Shaman's bad movement speed and attack speed even worse.
* Visage is also a natural 
Bloodthorn wielder, which allows him to silence Shadow Shaman and make him more vulnerable to damage.
Additional:
* Due to their high attack speed, Visage's Summon Familiars will destroy 
Mass Serpent Ward quickly, granting Visage massive amount of gold.
Skywrath Mage
* Outworld Destroyer can steal more mana with 
Astral Imprisonment from Skywrath Mage with 
Shield of the Scion (granted by Aghanim's Shard). Shield of the Scion grants Skywrath Mage bonus intelligence every time he deals magic damage to an enemy hero with his abilities. The higher his intelligence, the larger his mana pool. Since Astral Imprisonment steals based on the target's max mana, Outworld Destroyer can steal much more mana from Skywrath Mage.
Shadow Shaman
* Mirana can disturb Shadow Shaman's channeling even if he is under the effect of invisibility thanks to 
Sacred Arrow.
* Mirana armed with an 
Aghanim's Scepter is known to be able to quickly burst down heroes - especially supports. Together with 
Ethereal Blade the bullying towards Shadow Shaman can continue for the whole match.
Shadow Shaman
* Dragon Knight can simply tank and destroy all Shadow Shaman's Serpent Wards.
Skywrath Mage
* Due to the high mana cost of his spells and the low cool down of them, Nether Ward can seriously damage Skywrath Mage if he isn't careful.
* Skywrath Mage's fragility makes him very susceptible to Pugna's high burst damage.
Additional:
* 
Nether Ward will make Skywrath Mage next to useless in fights, as his low hp pool will not allow him to sustain through the damage of the ward should he choose to cast spells. Be wary though that Skywrath's huge burst will make very quick work of Pugna's low hp should the ward be destroyed, and 
Decrepify won't help Pugna at all.
Shadow Shaman
* Stunt from 
Fireblast can combinated 
Multicast after Ogre Magi level 6 canceled from Shadow Shaman's channeling.
Shadow Shaman
* 
Ether Shock is a great farming ability as a handy short-cooldown nuke.
* 
Hex and Shackles gives Rubick extra lockdown potential in ganks and teamfights.
* Mass Serpent Ward, should Rubick steal, serves as a powerful source for teamfighting, pushing, and acquring Roshan.
* 
Arcane Supremacy allows Rubick to cast Hex and Shackles at a further distance, which keeps Rubick at a safer position compared to Shadow Shaman.
* Rubick can interrupt Shackles by casting 
Telekinesis.
Additional:
* All abilities from Shadow Shaman can very vulnearble steal from 
Spell Steal.
* Rubick can interrupt Shackles by casting Telekinesis.
Shadow Shaman
* Sniper can easily destroy Mass Serpent Wards from long range.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage's very low health allows Monkey King to ambush and finish him off quickly.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath's pitiful defences also make him easy meat to heroes with high burst like Juggernaut, Lion, or 
Phantom Assassin, the latter occasionally downing a support Skywrath in a single 
Stifling Dagger.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with silence such as Riki, Silencer, or Night Stalker prevents Skywrath Mage from using his spells.
Shadow Shaman
* Support heroes with low mobility can be slowed further by Incapacitating Bite, and swarmed by Spiderlings for an easy kill: Shadow Shaman, 
Visage, 
Dazzle, 
Rubick, 
Lich.
Shadow Shaman
* With 4 active abilities, Shadow Shaman is weak against silencing foes such as Silencer, Drow Ranger and Death Prophet.
Shadow Shaman
* 
Omniknight can dispel Hex or Shackles with 
Heavenly Grace. He can also heal teammates who you disabled. The same goes for Abaddon's Aphotic Shield.
Shadow Shaman
* Nyx Assassin, Bounty Hunter and Slark can all sneak up and kill Shadow Shaman, Nyx being particularly deadly. Shadow Shaman must watch out for Slark carefully, as he can break either (but not both unless he makes a mistake) of Shadow Shaman's disables, with Dark Pact and leap out of a serpent ward ring. These heroes, however, rely heavily on escape and are themselves not very durable and none of them can survive a full lockdown with Mass Serpent Ward. Having Sentry Wards can turn Shadow Shaman from prey to predator.
Shadow Shaman
* 
Pudge, 
Legion Commander and 
Axe will make the match a living hell for Shadow Shaman, since they are known for surprise attacks from the fog and quickly killing low HP heroes. They can also interrupt Shadow Shaman's channeling, Legion being especially problematic, as she can use 
Press the Attack on an ally who is hexed as well.
Shadow Shaman
* With 4 active abilities, Shadow Shaman is weak against silencing foes such as Silencer, Drow Ranger and Death Prophet.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath's pitiful defences also make him easy meat to heroes with high burst like Juggernaut, Lion, or Phantom Assassin, the latter occasionally downing a support Skywrath in a single Stifling Dagger.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. His skills are mostly target-based and he has terrible strength and agility, he can easily be kited or harassed by illusion-based heroes like Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer, or by Heroes that summon other units like Lone Druid, Lycan and Beastmaster.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook: Shadow Shaman, Witch Doctor, 
Enigma, Bane.
Shadow Shaman
* 
Arc Warden with his Magnetic Field will protect allies from Mass Serpent Ward.
Skywrath Mage
* Once you get a Black King Bar, squishy spellcasters like 
Zeus, Skywrath Mage and others will be probably easy to deal with.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with summons and illusions can find themselves easily bested by Lina, like 
Broodmother, 
Nature's Prophet, 
Chen, 
Terrorblade, 
Naga Siren, Visage, 
Wraith King, Lycan, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. His skills are mostly target-based and he has terrible strength and agility, he can easily be kited or harassed by illusion-based heroes like Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer, or by Heroes that summon other units like Lone Druid, Lycan and Beastmaster.
Shadow Shaman
* As a caster, 
Anti-Mage's 
Mana Break and 
Mana Void are highly effective against him.
Skywrath Mage
* Mana Break drains Skywrath Mage of his mana, slowing him and dealing bonus damage while rendering him unable to cast his spells.
* 
Blink makes it incredibly easy for Anti-Mage to close the gap between himself Skywrath Mage to right-click him down. He can also use Blink to get away and escape into fog of war.
* Anti-Mage passively reduces enemy spell damage with 
Counterspell, and can activate the ability to block and send back Skywrath's Ancient Seal or Arcane Bolt, causing him to silence himself or deal massive damage to himself.
* Skywrath Mage's large mana-costs makes him an easy target for Mana Void.
* Anti-Mage often builds Black King Bar and 
Manta Style which can dispel Ancient Seal and Concussive Shot.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Lion, Silencer, Shadow Shaman, 
Grimstroke, Witch Doctor, Riki, 
Faceless Void, Skywrath Mage, 
Puck.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Lion, Silencer, Shadow Shaman, Grimstroke, Witch Doctor, Riki, Faceless Void, Skywrath Mage, Puck.
Shadow Shaman
* Luna's high magical damage burst from 
Lucent Beam and 
Eclipse can take advantage of Shadow Shaman's low health and strength gain.
* Without Black King Bar, Luna's Lucent Beam and 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun talent for Eclipse can be used to disable Shadow Shaman while he is channeling Shackles.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun can repetively stun Shadow Shaman, and can even discourage him from even trying to use Shackles.
* Luna is a natural Black King Bar wielder, and almost none of Shadow Shaman's spells can bypass spell immunity, except for Mass Serpent Ward.
* Bear in mind, however, that if Shadow Shaman gets a jump on Luna first, he will be able to use Hex to disable Luna and burst her down before she can use Black King Bar, Lucent Beam or Eclipse. In addition, 
Moon Glaives cannot bounce on Mass Serpent Wards at all.
Additional:
* Luna's high magical damage burst from Lucent Beam and Eclipse can take advantage of Shadow Shaman's low health and strength gain.
* Without Black King Bar, Luna's Lucent Beam and 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun talent for Eclipse can be used to disable Shadow Shaman while he is channeling Shackles.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun can repetitively stun Shadow Shaman, and can even discourage him from even trying to use Shackles.
* Luna is a natural Black King Bar wielder, and almost none of Shadow Shaman's spells can bypass spell immunity, except for Mass Serpent Ward.
* Bear in mind, however, that if Shadow Shaman gets a jump on Luna first, he will be able to use Hex to disable Luna and burst her down before she can use Black King Bar, Lucent Beam or Eclipse. In addition, Moon Glaives cannot bounce on Mass Serpent Wards at all.
Shadow Shaman
* A couple of nukers and disablers on the same lane can finish a squishy Luna efficiently despite a teammate's assistance: 
Sven + Shadow Shaman.
Shadow Shaman
* Lone Druid's early game is good against slow, squishy supports since his bear is very strong early game and an Entangling Claws proc almost always guarantees a kill: 
Ancient Apparition, Crystal Maiden, Shadow Shaman, etc.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. His skills are mostly target-based and he has terrible strength and agility, he can easily be kited or harassed by illusion-based heroes like Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer, or by Heroes that summon other units like Lone Druid, Lycan and Beastmaster.
Skywrath Mage
* 
Mystic Flare can be used to effectively ignore the Spirit Bear entirely and burst Lone Druid during the early mid game.
* 
Concussive Shot and 
Arcane Bolt will provide vision of Lone Druid allowing for better chase in teamfights before the Spirit Bear can do too much damage.
* Ancient Seal denies the ability to transform into 
True Form and receive bonus HP from the skill.
Shadow Shaman
* Hex greatly reduces Timbersaw's mobility.
* The stun and damage over time from Shackles mitigates Reactive Armor's HP and armor regen.
Skywrath Mage
* Magical burst damage is Timbersaw's weakness, and Ancient Seal not only amplifies it but also prevents him from using 
Timber Chain to escape for up to 6 seconds.
* He generally doesn't build early items to deal with silences.
* 
Reactive Armor does not trigger on magic damage or spells, meaning that even a 
Pipe of Insight won't give him the massive sustain he normally gets from attacks.
Additional:
* Skywrath Mage's long range and low cooldown magic damage spells can easily harass Timbersaw out of lane.
* Ancient Seal is not only a long lasting silence, (one of Timbersaw's biggest weaknesses) but it also makes him even more vulnerable to magical burst damage.
Shadow Shaman
* Hex's instant cast time will force Brewmaster into the awkward situation of needing some form of spell immunity or block to prevent being immediately hex upon blinking in, or wait until Shaman has used all his crowd control before entering a fight.
* Brewmaster also has no defense against Shadow Shaman lockdowns.
Skywrath Mage
* Ancient Seal's instant cast time will often silence Brewmaster before he can do anything.
* Brewmaster also has no defense against Skywrath Mage's massive magical damage.
Shadow Shaman
* All of Shadow Shaman's abilities totally ruin Terrorblade: Ether Shock destroys his illusions, Hex prevents him from using 
Sunder or Manta Style in bad situations, Shackles not only that prevent him from using Sunder, but he has no way to cancel it and Mass Serpent Ward can help Shadow Shaman push faster than Terrorblade even in 
Metamorphosis.
Additional:
* Ether Shock, Mass Serpent Wards summoned from both, Mass Serpent Ward and Aghanim's Shard upgraded Shackles can do great damage to both, Terrorblade and his illusions.
* Hex prevents Terrorblade from using Sunder or Manta Style in bad situations. Hex can also destroy one of his illusions.
* Shackles can damage Terrorblade and prevent him from using his abilities and items, whether to fight, survive, or dispel it in any way while also healing Shadow Shaman in process. In addition, Terrorblade has no solutions to cancel it. Aghanim's Shard upgraded Shackles can also summon four more Mass Serpent Wards to attack Terrorblade while he is disabled.
Skywrath Mage
* Arcane Bolt can target Terrorblade's low health pool in the laning phase.
* Ancient Seal can prevent Terrorblade from casting Sunder.
* Mystic Flare can be used to great effect to burst Terrorblade down before he gets a Manta Style or a Black King Bar.
Shadow Shaman
* Shadow Shaman has many disables to lock down Queen of Pain, preventing her from Blinking away, even through 
Linken's Sphere or her spell block talent.
* Mass Serpent Ward can tear through Queen of Pain's low health pool once she's locked down by Hex & Shackles.
Skywrath Mage
* A good Skywrath Mage with quick fingers will punish Queen of Pain for blinking aggressively. Ancient Seal is a six second silence with no cast time, so he can interrupt either her Shadow Strike or Sonic Wave, and a good Mystic Flare on top of that will seal the deal for her.
* Ancient Seal also has pretty good range so he could get it off before she blinks away.
Shadow Shaman
* Shackles prevents Chen from acting, and damages him while healing Shadow Shaman, also allowing Shadow Shaman's allies to kill him faster. Aghanim's Shard upgraded Shackles can also summon four more Mass Serpent Wards to attack Chen while he is disabled. And to make things worse, Chen has no way to cancel Shackles on his own, and must rely on outside from {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} under his control.
* Ether Shock and Mass Serpent Ward can often not only kill Chen's allies before he can save them with 
Hand of God, but they can also be used to destroy Chen's creeps easily thanks to their high damage and area-of-effect.
* Hex will prevent Chen from any attempt to save himself or his allies with Hand of God.
Additional:
* Shackles prevents Chen from acting, and damages him while healing Shadow Shaman, also allowing Shadow Shaman's allies to kill him faster. Aghanim's Shard upgraded Shackles can also summon four more Mass Serpent Wards to attack Chen while he is disabled. And to make things worse, Chen has no way to cancel Shackles on his own, and must rely on {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} creeps under his control to be able to do so.
* Ether Shock and Mass Serpent Ward can often not only kill Chen's allies before he can save them with Hand of God, but they can also be used to destroy Chen's creeps easily thanks to their high damage and area-of-effect.
* Hex will prevent Chen from any attempt to save himself or his allies with Hand of God.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, 
Ember Spirit, 
Leshrac, 
Lina, 
Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, 
Ursa, 
Void Spirit.
Shadow Shaman
* In general, squishy heroes that rely on escape often struggle against the amount of disables Shadow Shaman can bring. 
Queen of Pain, Anti-Mage and 
Storm Spirit are among these.
Skywrath Mage
* Similar to 
Timbersaw, Storm Spirit builds items that don't help against silences.
* An 
Orchid Malevolence will most likely silence you first. However, if you grab a 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity, you might dispel his silence and turn the tides to your favor.
* Root and silence are Storm Spirit's ultimate counters. Skywrath Mage has a silence in his kit, and has 
Rod of Atos as his core item. If he dispels one, you cast the other, both leaving him vulnerable.
* If he builds Black King Bar, he spends 4050 gold that doesn't help him snowball effectively.
Shadow Shaman
* Shadow Shaman's many disables can lock down Weaver. Even with Linken's Sphere, Weaver might not be able to escape should Shadow Shaman uses Shackles quickly enough following Hex.
* Mass Serpent Wards can make short work of Weaver once he is locked down.
Skywrath Mage
* Even though Linken's Sphere will block your silence, you can cast Arcane Bolt to break it or wait until someone on your team breaks it. In addition, Linken's Sphere builders are usually squishy targets vulnerable to silences: 
Weaver, Queen of Pain, 
Morphling, 
Clinkz, etc. Don't forget that Ancient Seal also increases the magical damage these enemies take, along with silencing them.
Additional:
* Arcane Bolt has a long range and a low cooldown, and is a great spell to waste Linken's Sphere. It also serves as an effective spell to harass Weaver with.
* Ancient Seal prevents Weaver from using Shukuchi or Time Lapse.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with break can disable Untouchable for a while: Doom and 
Shadow Demon (via Aghanim's Scepter), 
Viper, Shadow Shaman with Hex Breaks talent.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with nukes: Bane, Lich, Lion, Skywrath Mage
Additional:
* 
Untouchable is useless versus constant Arcane Bolts, and it doesn't help that her strength gain is the lowest in the game.
* A jungle Enchantress can weaken lanes and make Skywrath Mage's job easier.
* The magic amplification from Ancient Seal makes her even squishier to Skywrath and his allies' magic nukes.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, 
Warlock, Wraith King.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Ursa, Void Spirit.
Shadow Shaman
* 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.
Skywrath Mage
* 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.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath's pitiful defences also make him easy meat to heroes with high burst like Juggernaut, Lion, or Phantom Assassin, the latter occasionally downing a support Skywrath in a single Stifling Dagger.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with illusions and summons can be hard for Phantom Assassin to deal with, as she lacks any AoE abilities to deal with them without items: Broodmother, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Shadow Shaman, Visage, Nature's Prophet, Terrorblade, Warlock, Wraith King.
Skywrath Mage
* While Phantom Assassin can kill Skywrath Mage in a few strikes, Skywrath Mage can also do the same to her if she is not careful.
* Arcane Bolt's long range and low cooldowns allows Skywrath Mage to severely harass Phantom Assassin in lane.
* Ancient Seal prevents Phantom Assassin from escaping or engaging with 
Phantom Strike.
* Mystic Flare's heavy magical damage nukes Phantom Assassin down quickly during the early to mid game.
Additional:
* While Phantom Assassin can kill Skywrath Mage in a few strikes, Skywrath Mage can also do the same to her if she is not careful.
* Arcane Bolt's long range and low cooldowns allows Skywrath Mage to severely harass Phantom Assassin in lane.
* Ancient Seal prevents Phantom Assassin from escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike.
* Mystic Flare's heavy magical damage nukes Phantom Assassin down quickly during the early to mid game.
Shadow Shaman
* Shackles and Hex can both be used on Muerta while in 
Pierce the Veil, potentially wasting it until she gets Black King Bar.
* Ether Shock and Shackles can deal high damage to Muerta while she is affected by Pierce the Veil.
* However, Mass Serpent Ward cannot hurt Muerta while Pierce the Veil is active.
Shadow Shaman
* Shadow Shaman's long disables are effective at kiting and wasting the duration of Battle Trance.
* Mass Serpent Ward are especially effective against Troll Warlord during Battle Trance, as trapping him inside them during the duration is effectively another hard disable, as Troll cannot attack the wards or use Phase Boots to escape.
Skywrath Mage
* Ancient Seal instantly shuts down Dark Willow's abilities, rendering her defenseless against his high burst damage spells, while she cannot cast spells of her own.
* Mystic Flare deals immense burst damage in an area, damaging Dark Willow through Shadow Realm.
Shadow Shaman
* Shadow Shaman's Mass Serpent Ward together with Ether Shock can easily kill lots of Treants if played defensively.
* Hex and Shackles can disrupt Nature's Prophet's escape attempts with Teleportation.
Additional:
* Mass Serpent Ward can kill lots of treants if played defensively.
* Mass Serpent Ward, Hex, and Shackles can catch and kill a Nature's Prophet trying to use Teleportation.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage can easily harass Alchemist in the laning phase with multiple Arcane Bolts. Additionally, if Alchemist is in the process of throwing an 
Unstable Concoction, and has no way to dispel Ancient Seal, the self stun becomes an easy set up for Mystic Flare.
* Caution, however, as a decently farmed Alchemist with {Item ID:Radiance} and {Item ID:Manta Style} can easily send illusions to harass and force Skywrath Mage out.
Skywrath Mage
* Arcane Bolt allows Skywrath Mage to harass Earthshaker out of lane.
* Ancient Seal is an instant silence that can be pre-cast onto Earthshaker to disrupt his combo, before he uses 
Blink Dagger to initiate.
* Mystic Flare will nuke Earthshaker down while he stands in place during his long cast animations.
Shadow Shaman
* Pudge, Legion Commander and Axe will make the match a living hell for Shadow Shaman, since they are known for surprise attacks from the fog and quickly killing low HP heroes. They can also interrupt Shadow Shaman's channeling, Legion being especially problematic, as she can use Press the Attack on an ally who is hexed as well.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with long or multiple disables will prevent Legion Commander from winning Duels: Shadow Shaman, Lion
Skywrath Mage
* Mystic Flare can easily burst down Legion Commander while she is Dueling.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage should have the upper hand against Vengeful Spirit with Ancient Seal.
* Vengeful is highly dependant on her abilities and has no natural means to deal against silences.
* Her low attack range allows Skywrath Mage to easily bully her out of the lane.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage stands perfectly on the center line against Tinker, thanks to his nuke and silence. Also, thanks to his abilities, he can quickly kill a victim, and Tinker is one of the most subtle heroes in the game
Additional:
* Skywrath Mage stands perfectly on the center line against Tinker, thanks to his nuke and silence. Also, thanks to his abilities, he can quickly kill a victim, and Tinker is one of the most subtle heroes in the game
Skywrath Mage
* 
Cold Embrace is a perfect setup for Mystic Flare.
* Winter Wyvern is a spellcaster, and the 6 second silence from Ancient Seal can prevent her from contributing much.
* Because Skywrath Mage tends to stay back in fights, Winter Wyvern will have to get close to a teamfight to cast 
Winter's Curse on him. And if she chooses to cast it on one of his allies, his low attack speed and damage means that he won't do much.
* However, bear in mind that Skywrath Mage has seriously awful armor, and that can make him an adequate target to being turned against his own team with Winter's Curse, which can result in his death quickly.
Additional:
* Cold Embrace is the perfect setup for Mystic Flare, and his 6-second silence is good against Winter Wyvern in general.
Skywrath Mage
* Since Windranger is bad against magical damage, heroes with continuous magical damage or magical nukes can blast her: Zeus, Tinker, Leshrac, Viper, Skywrath Mage, Lion, Lina, 
Venomancer.
Shadow Shaman
* 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.
Additional:
* Shadow Shaman can provide an excellent counter-initiation against her 
Rebound. His abilities can shut down any of her tower dive attempts in the laning phase.
* Shackles keeps Marci stunned for an extended time, wasting her ultimate. A combo with Mass Serpent Ward only makes things worse for her, as her armor is low.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: Timbersaw, 
Dark Willow, Enigma, Invoker, Pugna, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Zeus, 
Oracle.
Shadow Shaman
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane, Enigma, Shadow Shaman, Warlock
Shadow Shaman
* Sven is very vulnerable to chain stun such as Lion, Shadow Shaman or 
Magnus.
Skywrath Mage
* Even though Linken's Sphere will block your silence, you can cast Arcane Bolt to break it or wait until someone on your team breaks it. In addition, Linken's Sphere builders are usually squishy targets vulnerable to silences: Weaver, Queen of Pain, Morphling, Clinkz, etc. Don't forget that Ancient Seal also increases the magical damage these enemies take, along with silencing them.
Skywrath Mage
* Lich is heavily reliant on his abilities to contribute to team fights, so be wary of enemies that can Silence: Bloodseeker, Death Prophet, Silencer, Drow Ranger, Skywrath Mage.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Lina
Shadow Shaman
* 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.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes that can easily kill Faceless Void from outside his Cronosphere; 
Sniper, Skywrath Mage, etc.
Skywrath Mage
* Silence (and mana burns) will be a persistent problem for Phoenix, as it is heavily reliant on its abilities whether defensively or offensively, so heroes like Death Prophet, Skywrath Mage, and even Nyx Assassin must be closely observed to prevent being shut down by these heroes.
* Hexes are a greater threat to Phoenix as they also disable items, preventing Phoenix from dispelling the debuff on its own.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with long range abilities are also able to touch Zeus, such as Clockwerk, Kunkka, Puck, Skywrath Mage, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Tusk and others.
Shadow Shaman
* 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 Shaman
* Heroes with long lockdowns: Shadow Shaman, Legion Commander.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage's Mystic Flare can deal huge damage to Clockwerk inside his Power Cogs.
Shadow Shaman
* Hex abilities can cancel the channelling of Fiend's Grip : Lion, Shadow Shaman, Dazzle from Aghanim's Shard with upgraded 
Poison Touch.
Skywrath Mage
* Skywrath Mage's armor and agility gain is very low, so when Huskar's 
Burning Spears stack they can take him down very quickly at any point of the game.
* 
Berserker's Blood grants bonuses as Huskar uses Burning Spears to harass Skywrath Mage, granting him attack speed, magic resistance, and strength as health regen, making it possible that Huskar can harass Skywrath Mage out of lane and sustain through his magic burst through staying injured throughout lane, or even the game.
* 
Life Break allows Huskar to jump onto Skywrath Mage, closing the distance between them and busting him down so he cannot run. This can be combed with 
Inner Fire, adding a movement speed slow if Aghanim's Shard is applied so Skywrath Mage cannot escape.
Shadow Shaman
* Mass Serpent Ward rips apart Huskar quickly due to his poor armor.
* As soon as Huskar jumps in, he will be vulnerable to Shadow Shaman's disables if he does not have Black King Bar.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with high magical burst can easily kill Huskar when he is at low health: Lion, Lina, Skywrath Mage
Shadow Shaman
* Spectre's entire ability set is designed to get to and destroy heroes that stay in the backlines, both carries (like the aforementioned Drow Ranger and Sniper) and supports (like Dazzle and Shadow Shaman).
Shadow Shaman
* Hex can be used immediately to destroy Spectre's illusion when she 
Haunts.
* Shadow Shaman can use Shackles to lock down Spectre for his team.
* Shadow Shaman's Mass Serpent Ward and Ether Shock help him push lanes and end the game early before Spectre can come online and take over the late game.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes that are squishy by nature are an easy target for Spirit Breaker: Sniper, Drow Ranger, Shadow Shaman
Shadow Shaman
* Can easily interrupt and disable Spirit Breaker with hex if being charged.
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes with channeling spells are very easy targets for Jakiro's abilities: Crystal Maiden, Dawnbreaker, Enigma, Pudge, 
Shadow Fiend, Shadow Shaman, Warlock.
Skywrath Mage
* Ancient Seal can silence Jakiro and make him vulnerable to magical spells up to 6 seconds.
* Skywrath Mage can usually burst down Jakiro with his high damage magical spells.
Skywrath Mage
* Templar Assassin easily withstands all the damage from Skyrwrath Mage, thanks to its first ability 
Refraction. In addition, Templar Assassin can kill Skywrath Mage with a single hit from under the second ability 
Meld.
Additional:
* Templar Assassin easily withstands all the damage from Skyrwrath Mage, thanks to its first ability Refraction. In addition, Templar Assassin can kill Skywrath Mage with a single hit from under the second ability Meld.
Shadow Shaman
* Shackles and Mass Serpent Ward instantly destroy Refraction
Shadow Shaman
* 
Waveform allows Morphling to escape from Mass Serpent Ward
* Morphling can interrupt Shadow Shaman while he is shackling an ally with 
Adaptive Strike (Strength).
* With Ethereal Blade Morphling can quickly burst him down before he even has a chance to react.
Skywrath Mage
* Arcane Bolt's low cooldown allows him to deal consistent damage to Morphling, and is a viable way to disable Linken's Sphere.
* Ancient Seal prevents Morphling from using any of his skills, giving Skywrath Mage and his team ample time to burst Morphling down.
* Mystic Flare coupled with a stun/root can easily burst Morphling down, especially if he has more stats shifted to Agility.
* Alternatively, Morphling can use Morph to use Skywrath Mage's own silence and nukes against him.
Skywrath Mage
* Heroes with a low health pool (Crystal Maiden, Skywrath Mage etc)
Shadow Shaman
* 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 Shaman
*
Reincarnation allows Wraith King to survive Shadow Shaman's initial chain of disables and Serpent Ward attacks.
Wraithfire Blast is ideal for interrupting Shackles.
* Short cooldown of
Skywrath Mage
* In the early-mid game, Skywrath consistently needs to use his entire mana pool to kill a hero, but Wraith King's
Reincarnation allows him to finish off Skywrath after the first death, as Skywrath Mage will have likely expended all his mana.