Who counters the most popular heroes, and who should you pair them with? Each guide picks a hero's hardest counter and best teammate from one patch's ranked match statistics, explains why the matchup works in the lane, in fights and in the late game, and lists other heroes that counter it or play well with it. Guides are grouped by patch, newest first.
Slardar's Corrosive Haze reveals and weakens Pudge and his stuns break Dismember, while Muerta's Calling turns every hook into a silenced kill zone.
Rubick steals Lion's Hex and Finger of Death and turns them back on his team, while Naga Siren's Song of the Siren gives Lion a held target for every disable.
Visage's familiars and Gravekeeper's Cloak blunt Rubick's burst and catch him, and Rubick has no strong partner: Enchantress is the best of a weak list.
Riki's Smoke Screen silences the hero who needs every spell and picks him off unseen, while Chaos Knight turns Invoker's control and Alacrity into a runaway midgame.
Lycan's Shapeshift can't be slowed and Howl cuts Sniper's damage, while Shadow Demon hides Sniper with Disruption and spreads his shots with Disseminate.
Omniknight's Guardian Angel blocks the physical damage Omnislash relies on, while Gyrocopter helps Juggernaut take over the midgame.
Centaur Warrunner's Hoof Stomp ignores Windrun's evasion and Retaliate punishes Focus Fire, while Lone Druid and Windranger take over the map and win long games.
Lifestealer heals from Axe's large health pool with every hit, while Dazzle's Shallow Grave keeps Axe alive through his own Berserker's Call.
Underlord's Pit of Malice stops Spirit Breaker where his Charge ends and Fiend's Gate brings help, while Enchantress slows and roots the target he charges.
Broodmother's spiderlings waste Paralyzing Cask's bounces and her pushes end games before Witch Doctor matters, while Voodoo Restoration heals every Meepo at once.
Chaos Knight's illusions and Reality Rift beat the hero who casts one target at a time, while Bloodlust and Fireblast make Muerta's attacks deadlier.
Axe's Berserker's Call stops Lina's spells and Culling Blade finishes her, while Broodmother's slows give Light Strike Array an easy target in Very High.
Shadow Shaman's single-target disables can only hold one Meepo at a time, while Lone Druid's Spirit Bear and Shaman's wards take towers and win long games.
Winter Wyvern's Cold Embrace saves the ally Legion Commander Duels and Winter's Curse turns her own team against her, while Io gives her speed and attack speed to win her Duels.
Night Stalker's Crippling Fear silences Earthshaker before Echo Slam and flies over Fissure, while Omniknight keeps Earthshaker alive after he jumps in.
Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast stops the healing Necrophos lives on, while Magnus drags enemies into Heartstopper Aura and Reaper's Scythe range.
Slardar's stuns and Corrosive Haze keep Lifestealer from hitting and healing, while Sand King's Epicenter holds enemies where Lifestealer can feast on them.
Enigma's Malefice and Black Hole interrupt Freezing Field and hold Crystal Maiden still, while Lycan's Wolf Bite gives her speed and lifesteal in an early-game pair.
Mars's Bulwark and Arena of Blood block the attacks Drow Ranger depends on, while Meepo lifts one of the patch's weakest heroes to his own win rate.
Meepo's Earthbind stops Anti-Mage's Blink and several Meepos out-fight him before he is farmed, while Lycan turns him into an early-game hero.
Grimstroke's Phantom's Embrace silences Slark before he can escape, while Alchemist's Acid Spray strips the armor Slark is hitting.
Viper wins the lane and Viper Strike turns off Dragon Blood, while Brewmaster's Cinder Brew sets enemies alight with Dragon Knight's fire.
Medusa's Split Shot clears zombies and Tombstone and she wins the long games Undying loses, while Mars's Arena of Blood traps enemies with the Tombstone.
Meepo's Earthbind and burst kill Zeus before his spells matter, mostly in High, while Thundergod's Wrath sets off Bloodseeker's Thirst across the map.
Alchemist's Corrosive Weaponry cuts the damage Wraith King lives on, while Tiny tosses him into fights and Avalanche holds his targets.
Templar Assassin's Refraction absorbs Techies' bombs one blast at a time, while Enchantress slows and roots enemies onto his mines and wins the midgame with him.
Nyx Assassin's Mind Flare and Mana Burn turn Outworld Devourer's huge mana pool against him, while Enigma's Black Hole holds a group for Sanity's Eclipse.
Meepo's Earthbind stops Mirana's Leap and her Sacred Arrow can stun only one Meepo, while Venomancer's slows make Sacred Arrow easy to land.
Phoenix cuts Phantom Assassin's attack speed and hits her with magic she can't evade, while Lycan's Wolf Bite gives her speed and shared lifesteal.
Tidehunter clears Phantom Lancer's illusions and blocks their weak hits, while Alchemist's Acid Spray makes every illusion hit harder in a long game.
Luna has no hard counter, but Bristleback shrugs off her bouncing glaives; Kez's silences and Lunar Blessing make a strong pair in higher brackets.
Lycan's Shapeshift can't be slowed and his wolves catch the hero with no escape, while Meepo's Earthbind roots targets for Ancient Seal and Mystic Flare.
Timbersaw cuts down the trees Hoodwink fights from, while Meepo's Earthbind holds targets for Bushwhack and Sharpshooter, mostly in High.
Lich has no hard counter, but Bristleback's spell damage slips past Frost Shield; Lich's Frost Shield and lane control lift Huskar, one of the weaker heroes of the patch.
Magnus has no hard counter, but Mars's Arena of Blood blocks his Skewer in Normal games; Omniknight keeps Magnus alive after Reverse Polarity.
Templar Assassin's Refraction absorbs Sven's huge single hits one at a time, while Warcry and Storm Hammer give Kez the armor and stun to fight with him in higher brackets.
Snapfire has no hard counter, but Clinkz picks her off unseen; Firesnap Cookie and Lil' Shredder help Alchemist win long games.
Shadow Fiend is the weakest hero of the patch, and Visage beats him in almost two thirds of games; Chaos Knight is the partner that helps him most.
Silences don't stop Phantom Lancer's passive illusions and Silencer's single-target spells waste themselves on copies, while Global Silence locks enemies inside Sand King's Epicenter.
Broodmother's spiderlings waste Vengeful Spirit's single-target spells and her pushes end games early, while Nether Swap drags enemies into Warlock's Fatal Bonds and Upheaval.
Silencer's Global Silence and Last Word stop Dawnbreaker's spells and her Solar Guardian landing, while Solar Guardian saves a pushing Broodmother in Very High.
Undying's zombies keep Spectre's targets from ever being alone and he wins the early game she needs to survive, while Riki's Smoke Screen and Haunt pick off heroes together.
Puck's Waning Rift silences Queen of Pain's Blink and Phase Shift dodges Shadow Strike, while Abaddon's Aphotic Shield lets her blink in and survive.
Nature's Prophet is the second-weakest hero of the patch and Terrorblade beats him outside Normal; Puck is the partner that helps him most, though even that pair loses more than it wins.
Bloodseeker's Rupture and Blood Rite punish Disruptor in the fights he sets up, while Kinetic Field and Static Storm trap enemies for Pugna's Nether Blast and Life Drain.
Broodmother's spiderlings and pushes give Night Stalker no lone hero to hunt, while Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse holds a group for him to dive.
Every other hero has its counters, teammates, tips and peak times on its own page: see all Dota 2 heroes. To counter a full enemy draft, use the Counter & Synergy Picker.
