Tinker
* Night Stalker is one of the best heroes to find (and silence) Tinker in the trees during Dark Ascension.
Additional:
* Night Stalker can easily find Tinker in the trees during 
Dark Ascension.
* 
Void's mini-stun will stop Rearm and 
Keen Conveyance
* 
Crippling Fear's silence will prevent Tinker from fighting back, as Tinker relies on his spells.
Slark
* With Dark Ascension he can keep vision on Slark, disabling his 
Shadow Dance regeneration.
* Night Stalker is very fast so without the Pounce in lane, he can simply out distance him during the night.
* Slark is matched in night vision by only a few heroes, Night Stalker happens to be one of them.
Tinker
* 
Shadow Wave provides good sustain against Tinker's spammable abilities.
* 
Shallow Grave can stop Tinker from bursting down a target.
Slark
* Heroes that can deny Slark early kills will prevent him from snowballing: 
Dazzle, 
Abaddon.
Tinker
* Tinker is heavily dependent on his abilities and 
Doom prevents him from using any of them.
* This becomes even worse if Doom chooses the level 25 talent {ValueColor:1|Doom applies Mute|25tal} {Symbol:Talent}, which will prevent Tinker from using items such as 
Blink Dagger.
Additional:
* Tinker is heavily reliant on casting his spells and Doom can disable all of his abilities and items. An 
Aghanim's Scepter only makes it harder for Tinker to survive.
Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: 
Silencer, 
Death Prophet, 
Puck, 
Doom.
Tinker
* 
Tinker who can't fight multiple heroes will suffer greatly against Ransack and Earthbind.
Slark
* 
Slark's Dark Pact and Pounce can deny only one Earthbind and Poof can penetrate Shadow Dance if he doesn't build Black King Bar.
Additional:
* 
Earthbind and 
Poof will still hit Slark in Shadow Dance.
* Dark Pact can only remove one Earthbind.
* 
Ransack will still affect Slark, even if he has a 
Black King Bar.
Tinker
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: 
Invoker, 
Shadow Demon, 
Batrider.
Slark
* 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.
Tinker
* Illusion heroes, such as 
Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, 
Chaos Knight, 
Terrorblade will become strong against Tinker in the late game. Without Aghanim's Scepter Tinker is forced to defensively disarm heroes with Laser, leaving illusions free to deal physical damage which Tinker's low armor makes highly effective. In addition, 
Mjollnir or 
Battle Fury, two common pickups against illusion heroes, don't work well on Tinker at all.
Slark
* 
Ensnare prevents using any kind of movement abiilties, Making Naga Siren good against heroes who rely on gap-closing abilities to escape: Phantom Assassin, 
Magnus, Slark, 
Riki, 
Faceless Void, 
Storm Spirit.
Slark
* Natural Order aura prevents Slark from gaining armor from the agility stolen with 
Essence Shift.
* Echo Stomp and Earth Splitter can hit Slark through his Shadow Dance ultimate.
* Slark's stats gain is relatively low compared to most agility carries making him quite squishy without his agility-based armor.
Slark
* Thunder Strike provides vision on him while Slark is invisible.
* Glimpse's range at lvl 3-4 is more than enough to pull him back to a favorable position for your team to group up and kill him.
* Even though he is capable of picking you off and deal enough damage to kill you, Slark will be literally sticking his neck out, since jumping on Disruptor means being on his battleground.
* AoE silence and the ability to mute Black King Bar is deadly to Slark at all stages of the game.
Additional:
* 
Static Storm and 
Kinetic Field locks down Slark, as he cannot use Dark Pact to dispel any disables, or Pounce out while silenced.
* 
Glimpse puts an end to any attempts at ganking Disruptor or his allies, and also negates Slark's mobility by bringing him back into the fight if he tries to escape with Pounce.
Slark
* Berseker's Call catches Slark in Shadow Dance, wasting its duration and preventing him from escaping to regenerate.
* Unlike most disables, 
Dark Pact cannot dispel Berserker's Call and the output damage would be returned by 
Blade Mail.
Additional:
* 
Berserker's Call forces Slark to attack him, even during Shadow Dance.
* 
Counter Helix will hit Slark in Shadow Dance. It will also trigger frequently against Slark's high attack speed provided by Essence Shift stacks.
* 
Culling Blade finishes off Slark before he gets a chance to slip away and regenerate his health, preventing him from playing his typical hit-and-run style.
Slark
* Slark's dependence on Pounce and close range makes him very easy to hit with 
Purification and 
Hammer of Purity.
* Slark's damage, even with a high count of Essence Shift stacks, is easily negated by Omniknight's heals and 
Guardian Angel.
Tinker
* Low health spellcasters: 
Lina, 
Witch Doctor, Tinker, 
Keeper of the Light, all rely heavily on their spells and are fragile heroes. They all also have avoidable spells, allowing Puck to get to them and quickly burst them down.
Slark
* 
Illusory Orb and 
Phase Shift allows Puck to avoid most ganking attempts.
* 
Waning Rift and 
Dream Coil makes it very hard for Slark to escape bad situations.
* Puck's abilities used together also deals significant magical nuke damage, none of which are targeted and thus cannot be avoided by Shadow Dance.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: 
Anti-Mage, 
Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, 
Mirana, 
Monkey King, 
Morphling, 
Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, 
Phoenix, Puck, 
Queen of Pain, Riki, 
Sand King, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Timbersaw, 
Tusk.
Tinker
* Tinker's 
Laser has very little effect on Jakiro.
* Tinker has to sit still for a short period of time due to 
Rearm, not only making it easy to catch him with Ice Path, but also by stunning him while he is Rearming, Jakiro generally spell Tinker's doom.
* With s high area-of-effect and strong damage-over-time capabilties, Jakiro can quickly burn through his 
Defense Matrix, and at the same time lock down his Blink Dagger. Both of which he relies heavily to survive on.
Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, 
Jakiro, 
Underlord, 
Leshrac, 
Dark Seer, 
Earthshaker, Timbersaw, 
Crystal Maiden.
Tinker
* Heroes with good counter-push abilities to clear creep waves can hinder Jakiro's early pushing ability: Death Prophet, 
Sniper, Tinker, 
Windranger.
Tinker
* 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
Tinker
* Zeus can easily reveal Tinker's location in the trees with 
Thundergod's wrath.
* When Zeus has an Aghanim's Scepter, he can use his 
Nimbus, together with 
Lightning Bolt to interrupt Tinker's Keen Conveyance channelling and cancel Tinker's Blink Dagger.
Additional:
* Due to Tinker's low health pool, Zeus can easily burst Tinker down, while also cancelling Rearm.
* Once Zeus gets Aghanim's Scepter, he will gain Nimbus, which allows him to scout out Tinker on the map, especially when he is pushing lanes while hiding in the trees.
Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, 
Lion, 
Zeus
Slark
* Zeus can deal a huge amount of damage, but he lacks defensive abilities, such as good mobility or resistance. Due to that, he doesn't like to be touched by any means. Heroes with higher damage output and good mobility will often get easily near Zeus and trade damage (eventually causing Zeus's downfall). Such Heroes include: 
Lycan, Slark, Storm Spirit, Spectre and others.
Slark
* Heroes like Slark, Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Additional:
* 
Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
Tinker
* Silencer can stop Rearm, preventing Tinker from spamming his abilities/items or escaping.
* Tinker heavily relies on his mana pool and has mana issues throughout the entire game and Silencer's intelligence steal does not help with that.
Additional:
* As Tinker relies heavily on his spells to be effective, 
Last Word and 
Global Silence will render him largely useless.
* 
Arcane Curse effectively prevents Tinker from casting spells during its duration, as he will otherwise suffer heavy damage.
* 
Glaives of Wisdom deal pure damage, which make quick work of fragile heroes like Tinker.
* Silencer's intelligence steal permanently weakens Tinker since he's a hero who requires lots of mana to be effective.
Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: Silencer, Death Prophet, Puck, Doom.
Slark
* Slark's Dark Pact allows him to dispel Silencer's debuffs.
* Against a carry Silencer, Essence Shift will lower damage from both Glaives of Wisdom and his basic attack.
Slark
* Heroes that can deny Slark early kills will prevent him from snowballing: Dazzle, Abaddon.
Slark
* 
Slardar's level 25 talent makes 
Corrosive Haze undispellable, thus providing his allies vision of Slark.
Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden.
Slark
* Heroes with silencing abilities can be particularly deadly when Slark is trying to escape: Silencer, Death Prophet, Puck, Doom.
Tinker
* Similarly, heroes with low cooldown teleports can be afraid to split push against X Marks the Spot, such as Tinker and 
Nature's Prophet.
* In general, highly mobile heroes like Earth Spirit or Storm Spirit are at a disadvantage against X Marks the Spot.
* Similarly, heroes with low cooldown teleports can be afraid to split push against X Marks the Spot, such as Tinker and Nature's Prophet.
Additional:
* 
X Marks the Spot can be used to prevent Tinker from escape with Blink Dagger or Keen Conveyance, discourage him from snapping farm and snapping gank. However, in later game, it'll be much more difficult because Tinker can buy Black King Bar or 
Linken's Sphere to prevent Kunkka from placing X on him, or 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity to prevent the recall.
Tinker
* Illusion heroes, such as Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade will become strong against Tinker in the late game. Without Aghanim's Scepter Tinker is forced to defensively disarm heroes with Laser, leaving illusions free to deal physical damage which Tinker's low armor makes highly effective. In addition, Mjollnir or Battle Fury, two common pickups against illusion heroes, don't work well on Tinker at all.
Slark
* Dark Pact is minimally effective against Phantasm illusions, and Slark lacks area damage otherwise.
* 
Pounce can be counteracted by Reality Rift.
* Slark is naturally frail and dies quickly to Chaos Knight's burst damage before he can build Essence Shift stacks.
* Be aware, however, that Shadow Dance can make Slark hard to kill as he can't be targeted during its duration.
Additional:
* 
Phantasms have enough health to survive Dark Pact, and Slark has no other source of AoE damage to deal with them.
Tinker
* With Aghanim's Scepter, Tinker's Laser completely stops Chaos Knight's damage, forcing him to buy either a Black King Bar for his own survivability while leaving his illusions still vulnerable, or a Monkey King Bar leaving him still vulnerable to Tinker's nukes, though improving his damage.
* Tinker rarely finds himself in the middle of a fight, which is where Chaos Knight typically thrives, and even in the rare cases of being so, at level 3 Tinker's constant rearm and blink away can kite and dodge Chaos Knight's spells reliably, so Chaos Knight has very little catch against Tinker's mobility. This gives Tinker impunity to create more chaos in a teamfight than Chaos Knight can control, laying down the field with March of the Machines and constantly being hit by rockets and lasers.
Tinker
* Storm Spirit destroys trees and ignores impassable terrains with 
Ball Lightning, rendering them dangerous places for Tinker to hide within.
* Ball Lightning disjoints projectile from 
Heat-Seeking Missile and damage from 
March of the Machines.
* 
Electric Vortex prevents Tinker from teleporting away, and 
Static Remnant and 
Overload can easily burst him down.
Additional:
* He can easily catch Tinker in the trees with Ball Lightning and kill him with 
Orchid Malevolence and his abilities, which deal both physical and magical damage, making them difficult for Tinker to itemize against.
Slark
* Heroes that rely on their high mobility such as Queen of Pain, Slark and 
Weaver can be constantly engaged against due to your excellent ability to chase over any terrain. Make sure you carry true sight items (such as 
Dust of Appearance or 
Gem of True Sight) for invisible heroes that could potentially escape your clutches.
Slark
* Pounce's leash prevents Storm Spirit from using Ball Lightning, making it hard for Storm Spirit to escape a gank from Slark.
* Dark Pact can dispel Orchid Malevolence's Soul Burn.
Slark
* Heroes who cannot prevent Sven from killing supports will always be at a disadvantage in fights such as Lina, Slark and Zeus.
Tinker
* Illusion heroes, such as Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade will become strong against Tinker in the late game. Without Aghanim's Scepter Tinker is forced to defensively disarm heroes with Laser, leaving illusions free to deal physical damage which Tinker's low armor makes highly effective. In addition, Mjollnir or Battle Fury, two common pickups against illusion heroes, don't work well on Tinker at all.
Slark
* Slark has no sustained AoE to fight off Phantom Lancer's illusions as they continually spawn.
* Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark by spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from Shadow Dance.
* 
Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark if he tries to escape with Pounce.
Additional:
* Slark has no sustained AoE damage to deal with a lot of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer dodge Dark Pact and Pounce and partially wastes the duration of Shadow Dance.
* 
Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark via spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from Shadow Dance.
* Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark when he jumps away with Pounce.
Tinker
* Laser prevents 
Juxtapose from triggering, as it only triggers on successful attacks
* Laser does high splash, and upgrading it with Aghanim's Scepter makes it deal twice as much damage due to the bounce. Combined with Rearm, Tinker can rapidly deplete Phantom Lancer's illusion army
* However, if Phantom Lancer ambushes Tinker, Tinker will not survive versus Phantom Lancer.
Tinker
* Even though Luna has a hard time laning against Tinker because of Heat-Seeking Missile and Laser, she can win against him in late game once she buys Black King Bar, as none of Tinker's spells can bypass spell immunity.
* 
Lucent Beam and 0.25 
Eclipse Lucent Mini-stun talent for Eclipse can be used to cancel Rearm and prevent Tinker's escape attempts with 
Boots of Travel. Luna can also use Lucent Beam and Eclipse if she is blinded with Laser.
* An ill-timed and ill-positioned Blink Dagger will make Tinker a very easy target for Luna's Eclipse that can quickly tear him to shreds. This can get even better if Luna buys Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with 0.25 Eclipse Lucent Mini-stun talent for Eclipse.
* However, Luna needs to approach Tinker carefully, as Tinker is a natural 
Scythe of Vyse wielder, and if he gets a jump on Luna first, he will be able to use it to disable and burst down Luna before she can use Black King Bar, Lucent Beam or Eclipse.
Additional:
* Even though Luna has a hard time laning against Tinker because of Heat-Seeking Missile and Laser, she can win against him in late game once she buys Black King Bar, as none of Tinker's spells can bypass spell immunity.
* Lucent Beam and 0.25 Eclipse Lucent Mini-stun talent for Eclipse can be used to cancel Rearm and prevent Tinker's escape attempts with Boots of Travel. Luna can also use Lucent Beam and Eclipse if she is blinded with Laser.
* An ill-timed and ill-positioned Blink Dagger will make Tinker a very easy target for Luna's Eclipse that can quickly tear him to shreds. This can get even better if Luna buys Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with 0.25 Eclipse Lucent Mini-stun talent for Eclipse.
* However, Luna needs to approach Tinker carefully, as Tinker is a natural Scythe of Vyse wielder, and if he gets a jump on Luna first, he will be able to use it to disable and burst down Luna before she can use Black King Bar, Lucent Beam or Eclipse.
Slark
* With Dust of Appearance, Luna will be able to use Eclipse on invisible heroes. Be mindful that Slark is exception because he'll be able to remove the debuff with Dark Pact.
Slark
* Shadow Dance prevents Luna from damaging Slark, and together with 
Silver Edge he can easily chase her or escape from her.
* Luna has no way to escape from Pounce's leash, which is especially bad as she is not used to buying 
Wind Waker, which is the only way to escape from Pounce outside of Black King Bar.
* For the same reasons, Slark makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Additional:
* Luna's lack of mobility and escape abilities makes her easily to gank for Slark.
* Shadow Dance helps avoid all the damage from Eclipse.
* For the same reasons, Slark makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
Tinker
* 
Wave of Terror can reveal a Tinker attempting to hide in the trees and then 
Nether Swap and 
Magic Missile will both serve to interrupt/lock him down, should he attempt to town portal or reload.
Slark
* Heroes who have a high mobility (Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Slark, etc.).
Tinker
* Rocket Flare can find Tinker if he blinks into the treeline, and Hookshot will prevent him from teleporting out.
* Battery Assault makes Tinker unable to Rearm by stunning him repeatedly.
Additional:
* Clockwerk can easily catch a split pushing Tinker with his 
Hookshot and prevent him from escaping with 
Power Cogs and 
Battery Assault. Clockwerk can also find a Tinker hiding in trees with his 
Rocket Flare.
* Clockwerk usually buys a Blade Mail, which does lots of damage to Tinker if he gets hit by his abilities (especially March of the Machines).
Slark
* Clockwerk lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Clockwerk finishes his initiation. Additionally, Clockwerk hates buying 
Dagon and 
Ethereal Blade, which are the only itmes that can help him deal with heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, 
Ursa, Weaver, 
Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, 
Wraith King, 
Lifestealer.
Tinker
* 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.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, 
Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, 
Techies, Terrorblade, 
Necrophos, Invoker.
Slark
* Outworld Destroyer can disrupt Slark's attacks with 
Astral Imprisonment either by banishing Slark or his target.
* Slark's low heathpool means he will die quickly to 
Arcane Orb if he is directly attacked by Outworld Destroyer
* Slark has low intelligence gain, making him easy to finish with 
Sanity's Eclipse if he tries to run with Shadow Dance
Additional:
* Arcane Orb deals pure damage, which ignores the armor granted from permanent agility stacks.
* Astral Imprisonment can disrupt any Pounce attempt by banishing the leashed ally.
* Slark's low mana pool makes him more susceptible to Sanity's Eclipse.
Tinker
* Tinker's Laser is useful against Outworld Destroyer, as the blind prevents him from landing Arcane Orbs.
Tinker
* Heat-Seeking Missile allow easy Spiked Carapace stuns.
* As a fragile hero that relies on mana and intelligence items, Tinker is vulnerable to Mana Burn.
* Nyx Assassin's stuns can interrupt Rearm and leave Tinker helpless.
Additional:
* Nyx Assassin's whole skillset is good against Tinker:
* 
Impale prevents Tinker from blinding Nyx Assassin or fighting back, while giving Nyx' allies time to catch up to Tinker's position.
* 
Mind Flare generally deals more damage to intelligence based heroes like Tinker.
* 
Spiked Carapace can stun Tinker at a moment of Nyx Assassin's choosing if March of the Machines has been cast. It is also quite easy to time Spiked Carapace against Heat Seeking Missiles.
* 
Vendetta allows Nyx to approach Tinker in the trees or wait for him in common hiding spots and deal heavy damage to his low armor.
Slark
* Heroes who build Black King Bar as either core or situational item will be able to fight back against Nyx Assassin and freely attack him as Spiked Carapace cannot pierce spell immunity at all: 
Axe, Broodmother, 
Dawnbreaker, 
Enigma, 
Huskar, Jakiro, 
Legion Commander, Lina, 
Luna, Lycan, Slardar, Slark, 
Troll Warlord, Witch Doctor.
Tinker
* 
Press the Attack can dispel Laser's blind while providing great attack speed and health regeneration.
* Once caught in a 
Duel, Tinker, who completely relies on his spells to be effective, has little chances of survival with his low health pool and armor.
Tinker
* Heroes with abilities that blind or cause Legion Commander to miss will prevent her from winning Duels: 
Arc Warden, Keeper of the Light, Riki, Tinker
Tinker
* Tinker relies on his high mobility from Keen Conveyance and Blink Dagger to survive. Those items don't help him if Spirit Breaker manages to cast Charge of Darkness on him.
* Spirit Breaker can easily cancel Rearm and Keen Conveyance.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* Both Scream of Pain and Sonic Wave should hit Slark during his Shadow Dance.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* 
Phantom's Embrace cannot be dispelled by Slark's Dark Pact, and will cause him to suffer damage if he doesn't kill Phantom fast enough.
* 
Soulbind also cannot be dispelled by Slark's Dark Pact, and will cause Slark to suffer from a single-targeted ability used on his ally that is also affected by it.
Tinker
* Heroes with powerful spammable abilities will prove problematic for Grimstroke as Ink Swell does not protect him from them: Zeus, 
Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Lina
Slark
* Though Slark's large damage output is most certainly a concern for the squishy Crystal Maiden, she does perform fairly well against him when coupled with aid from her team.
* Slark has no innate way to cancel Freezing Field, but the common purchase of 
Skull Basher does make Slark a substantially greater threat to Crystal Maiden as the game progresses.
* Freezing Field can still hit Slark while he is under the effect of Shadow Dance, and for the early and mid game, the damage output of Crystal Maiden's ultimate outscales Slark's passive regeneration, making a quick use of Freezing Field as soon as Slark uses Shadow Dance a great way to combat him.
* Crystal Maiden's Frostbite and Crystal Nova are helpful in disabling and slowing the slippery Slark so he can be killed by her teammates.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, Techies, Terrorblade, Necrophos, Invoker.
Slark
* Slark will have a hard time killing Sand King because of the survivability he gets from Burrowstrike and Sand Storm.
* Shadow Dance, which usually allows Slark to survive fights, is ineffective against Sand King's AoE damage.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* Bulwark blocks much of Slark's basic attack damage, even during Shadow Dance.
* Slark finds it very difficult to have a good early/mid game when pressured in the early game by Spear of Mars and God's Rebuke.
* Spear of Mars and God's Rebuke can hit Slark through Shadow Dance and 
Depth Shroud.
* Should Pounce be on cooldown, Slark is very vulnerable inside Arena of Blood.
Tinker
* Heroes with high magical or pure damage will bypass Bulwark: Timbersaw, 
Dark Willow, Enigma, Invoker, 
Pugna, Skywrath Mage, Tinker, Zeus, 
Oracle.
Slark
* Slark's low health and reliance on high built armor from Essence Shift makes him susceptible to Muerta's 
Pierce the Veil.
* Muerta cannot be attacked by Slark's physical attacks and Essence Shift during Pierce the Veil.
* Muerta's 
Dead Shot and 
The Calling can hit Slark even while hidden with Shadow Dance.
Tinker
* Heroes that commonly attack ethereal units will not have any problems against Muerta's Pierce The Veil: Tinker, Jakiro, Lina, Luna, Pugna or 
Ogre Magi, Enigma, Batrider, Techies, Broodmother, Dawnbreaker, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Bane, Tinker, 
Venomancer, Arc Warden.
Slark
* 
Toss and 
Avalanche deals heavy damage to Slark in the early game, making Tiny a very dangerous target to gank.
* Tiny has 0 agility, which means Slark's Essence Shift permanent agility steal does not do much against him.
Tinker
* Heroes with Evasion or abilities that cause Tiny to miss like Phantom Assassin and Tinker are very effective because of Tiny's low attack speed. Additionally, 
Monkey King Bar is not a good item for Tiny because of its reliance on high attack speed to proc for magical damage.
Tinker
* Beastmaster's Hawk can find Tinker easily while he is pushing or blinking into trees.
Slark
* Heroes with strong dispels can remove Primal Roar's stun: Abaddon, Slark, Oracle.
Tinker
* Anti-Mage's high mobility from Blink and tendency to build Battle Fury makes him strong against split-pushing heroes: Nature's Prophet, Tinker, and Arc Warden.
Additional:
* Tinker is fragile and vulnerable against carries like Anti-Mage.
* 
Mana Break burns away his mana pool and deals bonus physical damage.
* Tinker's massive mana pool makes 
Mana Void deal large amount of damage, and can be used to cancel a Keen Conveyance teleport.
* 
Blink gives Anti-Mage many options, like disjointing Heat Seeking Missiles. He can use Blink to wait out of sight for a split pushing Tinker or chase a blinking Tinker into trees.
* Tinker doesn't want any of his spells reflected back at him through 
Counterspell.
Slark
* 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
Slark
* Pounce prevents Anti-Mage from using Blink, and lets him disengage from Anti-Mage if needed.
* Essence Shift allows Slark to permanently steal agility from Anti-Mage.
* Shadow Dance stops Anti-Mage from being able to fight back in a slippery situation.
Tinker
* Tinker can use Laser to save an ally or himself from Phantom Assassin's initiate 
Phantom Strike due to the blind, forcing her to use a Black King Bar to effectively initiate, Tinker can also use Warp Flare one he buys 
Aghanim's Shard to reverse Phantom Strike's blinking with Phantom Strike.
* Tinker almost never uses his physical attack, relying on his spell-spamming to deal damage which ignores 
Blur's Evasion
* Defense Matrix prevents 
Coup de Grace from triggering.
Slark
* Slark's Pounce allows him to close the gap on Phantom Assassin and prevent her from escaping with Phantom Strike.
* As a hero who typically builds Silver Edge, Slark can use it to disable Phantom Assassin's Blur and Coup de Grace, thus taking down her attack evasion and drastically reducing her damage output.
* Because Phantom Assassin is always reliant on critical strikes, Slark will have plenty of time to escape with Pounce, Shadow Dance and Silver Edge (provided that he purchased it already).
* Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard will allow Slark to save both, himself and his allies from Phantom Assassin with Shadow Dance, and to freely fightback against her without removing invisibility upon attacking.
* Essence Shift is much more harmful for Phantom Assassin than for other heroes, as losing the agility means that her physical damage will be also reduced, which can also weaken Coup de Grace if Slark manages to steal lots of agility from her.
* Overall, any attempt for Phantom Assassin to take down Slark will hurt her more than Slark.
Additional:
* Slark's Pounce allows him to close the gap on Phantom Assassin and prevent her from escaping with Phantom Strike.
* As a hero who typically builds Silver Edge, Slark can use it to disable Phantom Assassin's Blur and Coup de Grace, thus taking down her attack evasion and drastically reducing her damage output.
* Because Phantom Assassin is always reliant on critical strikes, Slark will have plenty of time to escape with Pounce, Shadow Dance and Silver Edge (provided that he purchased it already).
* Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard will allow Slark to save both, himself and his allies from Phantom Assassin with Shadow Dance, and to freely fightback against her without removing invisibility upon attacking.
* Essence Shift is much more harmful for Phantom Assassin than for other heroes, as losing the agility means that her physical damage will be also reduced, which can also weaken Coup de Grace if Slark manages to steal lots of agility from her.
* Overall, any attempt for Phantom Assassin to take down Slark will hurt her more than Slark.
Tinker
* Tinker is one of the few heroes who is able to defeat a Sniper on the center line thanks to his long-ranged abilities.
* Laser allow Tinker to deal damage to Sniper and blind him, causing him to miss attacks more often.
* Heat-Seeking Missile can deal heavy damage to Sniper on lane.
* Defense Matrix allow Tinker to save himself or allies from 
Assassinate.
* 
Warp Flare from Aghanim's Shard allows Tinker to teleport Sniper away from himself, while also reducing both his attack range and cast range. If Sniper is teleported near Tinker's allies with Warp Flare, he will be bursted down in no time.
Additional:
* Tinker is one of the few characters in Dota 2 who is able to defeat a Sniper on the center line – Tinker. On the center line, he gains an advantage over his opponent, and later acquires additional control. It is these abilities that the enemy should have in the game against the Sniper.
Slark
* Sniper hugely lacks mobility and escape abilities so that he is an easy target for ganks from Slark.
Tinker
* Laser along with Heat-Seeking Missile allows Tinker to quickly burst down Drow Ranger due to her low health.
* Heat-Seeking Missile lets Tinker out-range Drow Ranger and hit her in the backline of a teamfight.
Slark
* A well-timed Dark Pact can dispel Frost Arrows and Gust, letting Slark engage and escape freely.
* Essence Shift is very detrimental for Drow Ranger as the loss of agility means that Marksmanship will also suffer from getting weakened.
* Shadow Dance lets Slark quickly close the gap and deal heavy damage without giving Drow Ranger a chance to retaliate.
* Pounce counteracts Frost Arrows's slow, and also allows Slark easily pin Drow Ranger down or flee from her.
* Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard will allow Slark to save both, himself and his allies and will also allow them to freely fight back against Drow Ranger without her noticing them.
Additional:
* Pounce and items like 
Shadow Blade makes it very difficult for Drow Ranger to keep her distance from Slark, thereby losing her 
Marksmanship bonus.
* 
Gust is rarely enough to keep Slark at bay, as Drow Ranger has no movement abilities and will simply be chased down afterwards.
* Drow Ranger's heavy dependence on agility also makes her significantly weaker after being drained by Essence Shift.
Tinker
* Laser can be cast on a initiating Ursa, normally causing him to waste multiple 
Overpower attacks, forcing him to either Black King's Bar, or 
Enrage to protect himself.
* Ursa will probably carry a Linken's Sphere to counter Tinker's Laser. Popping it with Scythe of Vyse is actually preferable, due to Laser's high Pure damage.
* While Ursa is a common Blink Dagger carrier, but he otherwise has no way to close the gap, Baiting him into using his Blink, then blinking away, allows Tinker to easily kite Ursa.
* Enrage is generally how Ursa disengages, Due to Tinker's high maneuverability, he can follow him until it runs out. then burst him down with high magic damage.
Slark
* Slark can detect early Roshan attempts due to Shadow Dance if he frequently checks the Pit.
* Enrage cannot restore attributes stolen by Essence Shift and will reduce his physical damage output.
* Even if Ursa initiates with Earthshock, Slark can Pounce away or use Dark Pact after Ursa's initiation to avoid Fury Swipes' damage until Earthshock's slow is gone.
Tinker
* All of Tinker's damage is magical and pure, which makes Cold Embrace a good setup for his nukes.
* Winter's Curse is very hard to cast on Tinker because he usually stays in the back-lines in team-fights. In turn, Tinker has mediocre attack damage and will contribute very little when he is cursed to attack an ally. He can also save his ally under Winter's Curse effect with Ethereal Blade and Defense Matrix.
Slark
* Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast's debuffs are can be dispelled with with Dark Pact. Arctic Burn also cannot be used to escape against Pounce.
* Even though Cold Embrace can protect it's owner from Slark's direct attacks, Slark can still gain Essence Shift stacks from attacking heroes affected by it.
* However, Essence Shift works against allies, and Slark's low health pool means that if he's the target for Winter's Curse, he will go down very quickly as Winter's Curse cannot be dispelled at all.
Tinker
* All of Tinker's damage is magic/pure and completely ignores Enchantress's 
Untouchable. And Tinker's nukes can quickly decimate her small HP pool, sometimes even preventing Enchantress from even responding.
* As Enchantress relies solely on her primary attacks to deal damage, and rarely builds something to dispel it, Laser's Blind is particularly effective.
* However, Enchantress will probably build a Linken's Sphere against Tinker's Laser, so getting an additional disable is highly recommended.
Slark
* Heroes that can jump on her: Slark, Queen of Pain, Anti-Mage
Tinker
* 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.
Slark
* Pounce helps put Windranger in place, even when she uses 
Windrun to escape.
* Shadow Dance avoids Windranger's attacks from 
Focus Fire altogether, and he can regenerate his health and fight back after Windranger uses up all her abilities.
* The stun from 
Shackleshot and the slow from
Powershot can be both dispelled by Dark Pact, provided Slark casts it at the right moment.
Tinker
* Tinker has great map presence because of Keen Conveyance and Rearm, which means he can always teleport and defend towers whenever Nature's Prophet tries to push.
* Laser prevents Nature's Prophet from attacking. Additionally, even with Monkey King Bar, Nature's Prophet cannot hit towers and buildings during the effect.
Slark
* Pounce also stops Nature's Prophet's 
Teleportation.
Tinker
* Heroes who rely on abilities to deal damage (e.g. Timbersaw, Tinker) can fight a Razor even after Static Link.
Slark
* Pounce can easily break Static Link, making it less powerful against him.
* Slark is one of the few heroes who can man fight a Razor, because of Essence Shift.
* Shadow Dance can prevent Razor from killing him and may provide an opportunity to kill Razor due to it preventing Razor from attacking Slark.
Tinker
* Tinker can break Magnus's Blink Dagger using March of the Machines and Heat-Seeking Missile, therefore delaying any initiation or making Magnus use Skewer or 
Force Staff to initiate. His {Ability ID:Defense Matrix|Tinker} will decrease the duration of Reverse Polarity and can also be cast on all of his teammates with {Ability ID:Rearm|Tinker}. Tinker usually gets his own Blink Dagger as well, which makes him harder to lock down unless Magnus commits Reverse Polarity only for Tinker.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Tinker
* Heroes who rely on basic attacks will suffer from Laser: Phantom Assassin, Wraith King, Huskar.
Slark
* Dark Pact, if timed correctly, can dispel Wraithfire Blast's stun and slow.
* Since Wraith King has a lot of health and multiple lives, Slark can keep gaining Essence Shift stacks, increasing armor, damage, and attack speed and can beat down Wraith King twice.
* Slark sometimes carries 
Diffusal Blade to burn mana as an attempt to shut down Reincarnation.
* Because Wraith King has no AoE abilities, Shadow Dance is particularly useful against Wraith King.
Tinker
* 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.
Slark
* Heroes that can easily bypass Chen's creeps to get to Chen: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, Techies, Terrorblade, Necrophos, Invoker.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Tinker
* Heroes with wide AoE abilities will reveal Monkey King through Mischief: Necrophos, Phoenix, 
Alchemist, Earthshaker, 
Razor, Tinker, Leshrac, Queen of Pain
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Tinker
* 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.
Slark
* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker, Lifestealer.
Slark
* Dark Pact easily purges away both slow and disarm effect from Lucky Shot.
* With Pounce now applying leash to the target, Pangolier is helpless against Slark since both his Swashbuckle and Rolling Thunder will be disabled. Pounce also help Slark to easily escape from Rolling Thunder.
Slark
* Slark's Pounce can be used to dodge Hoodwink's abilities or lock her down.
* Shadow Dance makes Slark unhittable from 
Acorn Shot.
* Dark Pact removes all slows from Hoodwink's abilities.
* Hoodwink's already low health output is a great target for Slark's Essence Shift.
Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark heightened regeneration when out of vision making DoTs effects less threatening.
Slark
* Dark Pact dispels Ignite's slow and Fireblast's stun.
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to regenerate HP, even when he is affected by Ignite and Fireblast.
Slark
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to not be targeted by Unstable Concoction, making Alchemist stun himself and making himself vulnerable to the enemy.
* Dark Pact also allows him to just purge off the stun if timed correctly.
* Essence Shift will steal stats over long durations at a time should Alchemist lack the damage to kill Slark.
Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, Lion, Zeus
Tinker
* Lion has an incredibly fragile health pool, making him weak against nukers like Tinker or Oracle.
Slark
* Lion's lack of escapes gives Slark easier time to catch him through Pounce.
* Shadow Dance gives Slark the advantage of being untargetable, nullifying single target abilities (such as non-upgraded 
Hex, 
Mana Drain and 
Finger of Death).
* Dark Pact applies multiple instances of strong dispel on Slark, which is strong against any of Lion's disables.
* Lion's low health pool and low armor make him extremely vulnerable to Slark's damage output.
Slark
* 
Upheaval does not interrupt Slark too much, as he can just Pounce out of the area.
* 
Fatal Bonds and 
Shadow Word can be dispelled by Dark Pact.
Slark
* If Slark sees the Sacred Arrow before it hits him, he can use Dark Pact to remove it a moment later.
* Pounce prevents Mirana from escaping with Leap.
* Slark can survive Mirana's Aghanim's Scepter​ combo with Shadow Dance.
Slark
* Essence Shift allows Slark to hit Bristleback freely whether on the front or back, stealing attributes and make Bristleback much less tanky.
* Pounce can be used to disengage and recover lost HP with his ultimate passive, and can return to fight in a short period while Bristleback is already injured and got some of his attributes stolen.
* Dark Pact makes it near impossible to keep the 
Viscous Nasal Goo debuff on Slark.
* Although Dark Pact cannot dispel 
Quill Spray, meaning that Slark will still receive quill stack damage even if he used Shadow Dance before.
* Slark builds Silver Edge in almost every game, an item that greatly counters Bristleback.
Slark
* Medusa is especially vulnerable to Essence Shift, as both strength and intelligence contribute to her effective HP, while agility contributes to her damage.
* Dark Pact when timed right can be used to dispel Stone Gaze right after it petrifies Slark, allowing him to keep attacking Medusa throughout the duration.
Additional:
* Medusa cannot chase Slark in any way and has no disable beyond her ultimate, making her unable to stop him getting away and regenerating before coming back to finish her off.
* Essence Shift particularly removes 1 intelligence point per hit, thus lowering Medusa's mana pool's cap and leaving her much more vulnerable in prolonged fights.
Slark
* Dark Pact rips through 
Refraction charges and still steals attributes during Refraction.
* Pounce and Dark Pact will still hit Templar Assassin while she is 
Melded. Since she cannot move, both abilities will be easy for Slark to land.
Tinker
* Laser blinds Lone Druid, making his attacks miss.
Slark
* Dark Pact dispels debuffs from Gush, Anchor Smash and even Ravage if timed correctly.
* Kraken Shell cannot restore attributes stolen by Essence Shift or dispel the leash if he gets Pounced.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, Techies, Terrorblade, Necrophos, Invoker.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* Time Dilation while Dark Pact and Pounce are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, reducing his escape potential. However, Time Dilation is dispellable with Dark Pact so it needs to be timed well.
* Chronosphere will not reveal Slark during Shadow Dance but covers the whole duration of Shadow Dance making him unable to use it to attack or escape. Slark still receives the regeneration benefit from Shadow Dance.
Tinker
* If Tinker can stay outside of 
Chronosphere, Laser can cause Faceless Void to miss all his attacks.
* Faceless Void has low health and strongly relies on 
Time Walk's healing factor to remain alive. Getting caught by Tinker with Scythe of Vyse will almost always spell a quick end for Void.
* Rearm ignores 
Time Dilation completely.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, Techies, Terrorblade, Necrophos, Invoker.
Tinker
* Any hero with a low HP pool is easy for Tinker to nuke down: Crystal Maiden, Enchantress, Gyrocopter, Lion, Riki, Techies, Terrorblade, Necrophos, Invoker.
Slark
* Lycan cannot escape from a Pounce even if he uses 
Shapeshift, and has no disabling abilities to stop Slark.
Slark
* Melee carries who usually buy an early Black King Bar, and have gap closing abilities can be good against the Arc Warden, such as Slark, Riki, Earthshaker with Aghanim's Scepter, Sven with Aghanim's Scepter etc.
Additional:
* 
Flux is dispelled by Dark Pact.
* Pounce allows Slark to avoid 
Spark Wraiths.
* 
Tempest Double allows Slark to build up Essence Shift stacks, especially when it is being used for split pushing.
Slark
* Enigma lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Enigma finishes his initiation: Faceless Void, Terrorblade, Ursa, Weaver, Broodmother, Slark, Abaddon, Wraith King, Lifestealer.
Slark
* Slark with Dark Pact
* Heroes that can remove the Track debuff with their skills:
* Abaddon with 
Aphotic Shield and 
Borrowed Time
* Huskar with 
Life Break
* 
Juggernaut with 
Blade Fury
* Legion Commander with Press the Attack
* Lifestealer with 
Rage and 
Infest
* Naga Siren with 
Mirror Image
* 
Omniknight with 
Heavenly Grace
* Oracle with 
Fortune's End and 
False Promise
* Phantom Lancer with Doppelganger
* Slark with Dark Pact
* Ursa with Enrage
* Weaver with 
Time Lapse
* 
Tidehunter with 
Kraken Shell when damage received reaches the threshold.
Tinker
* Heroes with high armor like Dragon Knight, or with abilities to cause attacks to miss like Phantom Assassin, Riki and Tinker will be hard to deal with, as Clinkz relies almost entirely on physical attacks.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* 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.
Tinker
* Heroes who rely on basic attacks will suffer from Laser: Phantom Assassin, Wraith King, Huskar.
Slark
* Heroes with escaping and disjointing abilities can be good against Juggernaut:Anti-Mage Riki, Queen of Pain, Puck, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Slark etc.
Additional:
* Blade Fury does not offer any protections against Essence Shift, as it can go through spell immunity and reduces attribute.
* Slark can pounce away from Juggernaut and he cannot prevent or chase slark.
* Shadow Dance prevent Juggernaut from using 
Omnislash altogether, while regen himself at a higher rate. Slark can freely hit juggernaut without any fears of retaliation.
Tinker
* Heroes that can gain vision over trees to catch Tinker: Invoker, Shadow Demon, Batrider.
Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Flaming Lasso if is used in anticipation, but a Blink initiation from fog can catch the Slark off guard.
* Slark can also take off any Sticky Napalm stacks with Dark Pact in lane.
Additional:
* Shadow Dance's passive can inform Slark when he's under enemy vision, meaning it'll be very hard to catch Slark off-guard with 
Flaming Lasso.
* Flaming Lasso is dispelled by Dark Pact. Its casting can be prevented with Shadow Dance or Depth Shroud (it requires Aghanim's Shard).
Slark
* Heroes with heavy magical nukes will take advantage of Slark's poor HP or force him to use Shadow Dance early: Lina, Lion, Zeus
Slark
* Dark Pact can be cast during the cast animation of Light Strike Array and dispel its stun.
* Pounce allows Slark to close the gap to Lina.
* Shadow Dance prevents Lina from killing Slark with her Laguna Blade when his HP gets low.
Tinker
* Timbersaw's ability to destroy trees can be a serious problem for some heroes that use them, as either a way of enhancing their spells like 
Treant Protector, or heroes that tend to hide inside of them like Tinker and Monkey King.
Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden.
Additional:
* Timbersaw can use 
Chakram as a scouting tool to find Slark if he tries to Pounce into the trees.
* None of Timbersaw's abilities require a target to be cast, allowing him to hit Slark inside Shadow Dance.
* 
Reactive Armor can be effective protection against a Slark who attacks quickly, since the strong armor and health regen cannot be stolen by Essence Shift.
* 
Timber Chain makes Timbersaw very mobile, meaning he is among the very few heroes who can actually give chase to a fleeing Slark.
Tinker
* All Tinker's damage is magic/pure and completely ignores Timbersaw's Reactive Armor.
* Timbersaw very rarely builds Black King Bar, making him very vulnerable if Tinker builds Scythe of Vyse.
Slark
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Slark
* Heroes with Break abilities will prevent Slark from regenerating and gaining Essence Shift stacks: Viper, Shadow Demon, etc.
Additional:
* 
Viper Strike can disable Essence Shift and the regeneration aspect of Shadow Dance.
* Dark Pact doesn't mean a lot against Viper's ubiquitous slows.
* Viper becomes a relevant presence in team fights before Slark can procure his standard items (e.g. Shadow Blade).
Tinker
* Viper is kind of a mixed package. Tinker is very good against him. but stands a better chance against him than most heroes.
* Viper has a high innate magic resistance, but relies on his primary attacks to really deal damage. making Laser an effective way to save allies from him, and deal damage. Keep in mind that his 
Corrosive Skin will prevent Tinker from blinking.
* Viper's Viper Strike and 
Poison Attack will also have a hard time damaging allies through Tinker's constant casting of Defense Matrix.
* Viper has no solutions to cancel Rearm nor any of Tinker's escape attempts with Boots of Travel
* However, if Viper gets a jump on Tinker first. Tinker will unlikely survive versus Viper.
Slark
* Rubick usually positions in the back of a team. Heroes who can sneak up and assault Rubick (e.g. Slark) or damage Rubick from great distance (e.g. Spectre, Sniper) should be treated cautiously, as otherwise the matchup usually ends up badly for Rubick.
Slark
* Pounce and Dark Pact together with some attacks can take Rubick down quickly.
* Rubick's spells are ineffective due to the strong dispel effect of Dark Pact.
* Even though Shadow Dance is a great spell to steal, Slark's untargetable nature and his low cooldown spells prevents Rubick from stealing. Also Slark can freely use other abilities for the duration of Shadow Dance.
Tinker
* Illusion heroes, such as Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade will become strong against Tinker in the late game. Without Aghanim's Scepter Tinker is forced to defensively disarm heroes with Laser, leaving illusions free to deal physical damage which Tinker's low armor makes highly effective. In addition, Mjollnir or Battle Fury, two common pickups against illusion heroes, don't work well on Tinker at all.
Tinker
* An Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Laser allows Tinker to blind Terrorblade and his illusions.
* Tinker deals incredible amounts of pure and magical damage with Laser and Heat-Seeking Missile combined with Rearm, which will ignore Terrorblade's armor and be devastating to his low health pool.
* Tinker is a hero who very often goes for Blink Dagger, and because Terrorblade has no disable to lock down Tinker, he will be unable to catch up with him nor to prevent him from escaping with Boots of Travel.
* Even if Terrorblade manages to catch up to Tinker, Tinker can simply teleport Terroblade away from him with Warp Flare provided by Aghanim's Shard, which can also weaken Terrorblade's attack range and cast range.
Additional:
* Tinker can single-handedly stop Terrorblade's early-push and quickly clear his illusions with Laser (especially with Aghanim's Scepter).
* Tinker has perfect tools to reveal Terrorblade from his illusions as well as to burst him down if he is low-health before he will be able 
Sunder.
Slark
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, 
Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, 
Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Slark
* Dark Pact can dispel Enfeeble, as well as Nightmare and Fiend's Grip when timed correctly.
* Shadow Dance can protect Slark from Bane's single-target abilities.
Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden.
Tinker
* Heroes with magical or pure damage output will not have any problems against Atrophy Aura at all: Luna, Lina, Jakiro, Pugna, Bane, 
Snapfire, 
Muerta, Nyx Assassin, Enigma, Tinker, Witch Doctor, Zeus, Crystal Maiden.
Slark
* Shadow Dance does not protect Slark from Shadow Fiend's AoE spells.
Tinker
* 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.
Tinker
* 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.
Slark
* 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).
Tinker
* Tinker is an easy target for Earth Spirit to initiate on. He likes to split push lanes once he acquires Boots of Travel and Earth Spirit can jump him with his Rolling Boulder and disable him to buy enough time for his teammates to come and assist Earth Spirit.
* The huge range of Stone Remnant and Rolling Boulder enables Earth Spirit to stop Tinker from teleporting to his fountain since Tinker tends to buy Blink Dagger most of the time to escape.
Slark
* Pounce's root prevents Earth Spirit from using Rolling Boulder to escape, making it easier for Slark to shut him down especially in the laning phase.
Slark
* Melee carries during the laning phase: Sven, Slark
Slark
* Heroes with dispels: Legion Commander, Oracle, Slark, Phantom Lancer
Tinker
* His global teleportation with Boots of Travel and Rearm is easily countered with 
Haunt, and Spectre can reach him anywhere on the map.
* He is squishy, and if alone 
Desolate will kill him very fast.
* 
Dispersion can reflect and reduce his burst damage.
Slark
* Essence Shift deals 20 extra damage by draining one strength per hit, which cannot be reduced or spread by Dispersion.
* Pounce prevents Spectre from escaping with 
Spectral Dagger.
* Haunt illusions usually don't deal a lot of damage to Slark as he tends to buy a Shadow Blade, preventing Desolate's and Diffusal Blade's damage and activating Shadow Dance's regeneration to make up for any damage caused by 
Radiance.
* Slark is a natural carrier of Silver Edge, which helps break both Desolate and Dispersion.
Slark
* Bloodseeker is one of the hardest counters to Slark.Thirst prevents Slark from healing in lane with Shadow Dance and may set him up for a kill while in the jungle,or retreating.
* Rupture will deal damage during Pounce.
* Dark Pact cannot dispel Rupture, preventing Slark from escaping ganks.
Additional:
* 
Thirst stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration if Slark's current health is below the Thirst's visibility threshold.
* 
Rupture effectively diminishes Slark's mobility in battle, leaving him susceptible to AoE stuns or forcing to teleport out of the fight.
Tinker
* Laser blinds Bloodseeker, preventing him from getting last hits and denies during the laning stage and preventing him from finishing off enemies.
* Tinker always buys Boots of Travel, helping him escape Bloodseeker's early ganks.
* Tinker's heavy magical damage will burst down Bloodseeker during the early to mid game, as he has little health.
Additional:
* Laser can be very effective against 
Bloodrage as the damage will be amplified while the blind prevents Bloodseeker from landing hits.
* Keen Conveyance guarantees him escape from Rupture.
Slark
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his Shadow Dance and Weaver in his 
Shukuchi.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's many AoE stuns help lock down Slark and will often waste the duration of Shadow Dance.
* As a frequent Force Staff buyer, he can later on escape or save teammates from Pounce.
Slark
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz, Slark, Storm Spirit
Slark
* Heroes with AoE abilities will hit Slark in Shadow Dance: Lina, Jakiro, Underlord, Leshrac, Dark Seer, Earthshaker, Timbersaw, Crystal Maiden.
Slark
* Dark Seer relies on Surge for most of his mobility, so he's not very vulnerable to slows, but much more to root effects and walls or pseudo-walls such as 
Disruptor's Kinetic Field or Slark's Pounce.
Tinker
* Lifestealer's Rage makes him immune to all of Tinker's damage and debuffs.
* Lifestealer can infest a mobile ally (teams usually pick one against Tinker), which may ensure that Tinker will die if he is caught.
Additional:
* Rage will dispel Laser's blind and turns him spell immune for the duration so Tinker cannot damage him.
* 
Feast will quickly bring down Tinker due to being so fragile.
Slark
* Shadow Dance allows Slark to attack Lifestealer for its duration without any way for Lifestealer to fight back, allowing him to steal his stats with Essence Shift, which also reduces Lifestealer's strength and, therefore, health pool.
* Slark can easily escape Lifestealer with Pounce, and can avoid Open Wounds with Dark Pact should Lifestealer be forced to itemize for it.
* Slark commonly buys a Silver Edge, which can break Lifestealer's Feast, severely diminishing his damage output and lifesteal.
* Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard allows Slark to save both, himself and his allies with Shadow Dance while also allowing them to fight back against Lifestealer.
Tinker
*
Nether Ward discourages Tinker from using abilities and items due to its high damage against heavy mana usage.
Slark
*
Nether Blast will still hit Slark even if he is hidden during Shadow Dance.
Decrepify, he can still use it defensively on an ally to prevent Slark from getting stacks.
Life Drain.
* Even though Pugna can rarely target Slark directly with
* Despite being somewhat easy to break with Pounce, Pugna can damage Slark and provide vision over him with