Skywrath Mage is more popular in lower brackets: 10.5% of Very High matches, 11.8% of High and 13.4% of Normal. He wins 49.7% / 50.4% / 50.5%. Arcane Bolt deals damage based on his intelligence, Concussive Shot damages and slows the nearest hero, Ancient Seal silences a target and amplifies spell damage on it, and Mystic Flare deals heavy damage split among the heroes in a small area. His team gains more XP in 55.3% of games before minute 15 and only 47.9% after minute 35, and he wins 53.8% of games under 25 minutes, 50.5% at 25–50 and 49.1% past 50.
Countered by LycanSkywrath Mage wins the lane: Lycan's team gains more XP in only 39.7% of games before minute 15. Lycan farms with his wolves and waits.
Skywrath Mage has a lot of damage and no way out. Shapeshift gives Lycan speed and makes him impossible to slow, so Concussive Shot does nothing to his chase. Summon Wolves turn invisible at level 3 and catch Skywrath away from his team, and Howl lowers the armor and attack damage of every enemy within 2000 range. Lycan's team gains more XP in 56.9% of games between minutes 15 and 35.
Lycan's edge is early. He wins 80% of the 90 games under 25 minutes and 51.4% at 25–50 (1,431 games), but only 44.2% past 50 (249 games), and his XP-gain share falls to 45.6% after minute 35. The counter works in Very High (+10.11) and High (+10.25), much less in Normal (+2.79). Lycan wins 57% / 54.1% / 47.4% (Very High / High / Normal) against Skywrath Mage, against his usual 51.6% / 49.4% / 46.5%. Lycan is a rare pick, so this comes from 1,770 games.
Best teammate: MeepoThe pair starts slightly ahead: their team gains more XP in 52.6% of games before minute 15.
Mystic Flare hits a small area, and Earthbind roots the target so it can't walk out. Ancient Seal silences the target and amplifies the spell damage it takes, so the Meepos' Poof hits harder too. Ransack steals health with each strike while Arcane Bolt adds damage. Their team gains more XP in 56.8% of games between minutes 15 and 35.
The pair wins 67.7% of the 62 games under 25 minutes, 57.2% at 25–50 (1,585 games) and 51% past 50 (204 games), with an XP-gain share of 50.2% after minute 35. The advantage is +6.38 in Very High, +10.38 in High and +5.11 in Normal. The pair wins 57.1% / 58.9% / 56% (Very High / High / Normal), with Meepo normally at 54.2% / 53.3% / 52.9%. Meepo is a rare pick, so this comes from 1,851 games.
Based on 2,111,000 public ranked matches of patch 7.41, played 30 September – 14 October 2026. Advantage is the win-rate difference from what the two heroes' own win rates predict, times two (+6 is about 3 win-rate points), weighted over the skill brackets. The live numbers on the Skywrath Mage page update every few hours. More guides: Dota 2 counter guides.
