Hero counters — Dota Captain

Counter lists are still growing. A hero missing here usually drafts normally. No listing does not mean they are weak. Join our Discord to suggest more matchups.

In short

We only list matchups where one pick clearly answers another. AM into Medusa, Earthshaker into illusions, Ice Blast into Huskar.
Hard and soft tiers show how much draft help and the sim favor the answer. Still a small edge in fights, bigger in ganks than full 5v5s.
Roles and your game plan come first. See Captain's playbook for draft order; use this page when you know the named answer.
Study here before you draft. In-game, turn on Draft coaching for live counter hints when a listed threat is on the board.
Need timing, tags, or spike windows on a hero? Use the Hero draft guide.

Search by threat, counter pick, or reason. Each card lists answers under the hero you are worried about.

Most heroes are neutral and draft on merit. We call out only the matchups where one ability or playstyle clearly shuts another down.

Counters are one layer of drafting, not the whole job. Plan, grouping, and lineup matter just as much in the Captain's playbook.

31 heroes with answers · 92 matchups

Showing 31 of 31 listed threats

Anti-Mage

8 listed answers

1
Doom
Hard counter
Doom silences Blink and Mana Break
2
Outworld Destroyer
Hard counter
Pure damage ignores Counterspell
3
Legion Commander
Hard counter
Duel traps AM without Blink
4
Night Stalker
Hard counter
Crippling Fear shuts down early AM
5
Meepo
Hard counter
Earthbind stops Blink escapes
6
Bane
Hard counter
Fiend's Grip pierces spell immunity
7
Disruptor
Hard counter
Glimpse and Static Storm catch Blink
8
Templar Assassin
Hard counter
Refraction blocks Mana Break

Arc Warden

1 listed answer

1
Spirit Breaker
Hard counter
Charges down Arc clone split

Bristleback

1 listed answer

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana Break stops Quill Spray spam

Broodmother

3 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam clears spiderlings
2
Leshrac
Hard counter
Split Earth and pulse vs spiders
3
Jakiro
Hard counter
Dual Breath and Macropyre vs spiders

Chaos Knight

3 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam vs Phantasm units
2
Sven
Hard counter
Cleave vs Chaos phantasms
3
Kunkka
Hard counter
Ghostship and cleave vs CK

Ember Spirit

2 listed answers

1
Doom
Hard counter
Doom silences Remnant combos
2
Silencer
Hard counter
Silence stops Sleight chains

Huskar

4 listed answers

1
Ancient Apparition
Hard counter
Ice Blast blocks Huskar heals
2
Oracle
Hard counter
Purification and dispels vs magic
3
Shadow Demon
Hard counter
Demonic Purge removes BKB
4
Dazzle
Hard counter
Saves survive Life Break

Invoker

1 listed answer

1
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Mana Burn and Carapace vs Invoker

Juggernaut

2 listed answers

1
Ancient Apparition
Hard counter
Ice Blast stops Healing Ward
2
Outworld Destroyer
Hard counter
Pure damage through Blade Dance

Lifestealer

4 listed answers

1
Phantom Lancer
Hard counter
Illusions and Diffusal burn Rage mana
2
Chaos Knight
Hard counter
Phantasm overwhelms single-target Rage
3
Naga Siren
Hard counter
Images exhaust Open Wounds target
4
Venomancer
Hard counter
Wards and slows kite Rage

Medusa

5 listed answers

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana Break destroys Mana Shield
2
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Mana Burn breaks Mana Shield
3
Invoker
Hard counter
EMP drains Medusa mana pool
4
Phantom Lancer
Hard counter
Diffusal burns through Mana Shield
5
Razor
Hard counter
Static Link drains her damage

Meepo

5 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam deletes Meepo clones
2
Elder Titan
Hard counter
Natural Order strips Meepo stats
3
Winter Wyvern
Hard counter
Winter's Curse on clustered Meepos
4
Ember Spirit
Hard counter
AoE sleight hits all Meepos
5
Lion
Hard counter
Hex and burst on low-HP clones

Monkey King

2 listed answers

1
Timbersaw
Hard counter
Destroys trees; limits MK
2
Batrider
Hard counter
Lasso catches Tree-dancing MK

Naga Siren

3 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam punishes Naga images
2
Ember Spirit
Hard counter
Chains and cleave vs images
3
Leshrac
Hard counter
AoE magic vs Naga illusions

Nature's Prophet

3 listed answers

1
Spirit Breaker
Hard counter
Global charge punishes NP split
2
Clockwerk
Hard counter
Hookshot catches Prophet
3
Batrider
Hard counter
Lasso stops teleport escapes

Ogre Magi

1 listed answer

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Counterspell shrugs magic; burns Ogre mana

Phantom Assassin

7 listed answers

1
Axe
Hard counter
Berserker's Call pierces BKB
2
Razor
Hard counter
Eye of the Storm ignores Blur
3
Doom
Hard counter
Doom disables crit engine
4
Slardar
Hard counter
Corrosive Haze gives true strike
5
Lion
Hard counter
Hex stops Phantom Strike commits
6
Bane
Hard counter
Nightmare and Grip pierce BKB
7
Skywrath Mage
Hard counter
Ancient Seal and burst magic

Phantom Lancer

8 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam wipes illusions
2
Ember Spirit
Hard counter
Sleight of Fist cleaves illusions
3
Leshrac
Hard counter
Pulse Nova clears illusions
4
Timbersaw
Hard counter
Whirling Death vs illusion army
5
Sven
Hard counter
Great Cleave shreds illusions
6
Kunkka
Hard counter
Tidebringer cleave vs PL
7
Meepo
Hard counter
Poof burst clears illusions
8
Outworld Destroyer
Hard counter
Sanity's Eclipse on illusion damage

Pudge

3 listed answers

1
Lifestealer
Hard counter
Rage ignores Dismember
2
Ursa
Hard counter
Spell immunity shrugs Hook combo
3
Timbersaw
Hard counter
Spell immunity ignores Hook combo

Pugna

1 listed answer

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana burn ruins Decrepify uptime

Rubick

2 listed answers

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Low mana pool; can't steal spells
2
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Bursts low-HP Rubick

Shadow Fiend

1 listed answer

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana Break limits Shadowraze

Slark

2 listed answers

1
Axe
Hard counter
Call stops Pounce escapes
2
Legion Commander
Hard counter
Duel locks Slark in place

Spectre

2 listed answers

1
Viper
Hard counter
Break disables Dispersion
2
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Blink escapes Spectre; Manta blocks Desolate

Storm Spirit

5 listed answers

1
Silencer
Hard counter
Global Silence stops Ball Lightning
2
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana burn shuts down Ball Lightning
3
Doom
Hard counter
Doom shuts down Storm mobility
4
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Spiked Carapace punishes spell spam
5
Skywrath Mage
Hard counter
Burst and silence before Orchid

Terrorblade

2 listed answers

1
Earthshaker
Hard counter
Echo Slam hits Reflection illusions
2
Sven
Hard counter
Cleave vs Terrorblade images

Tinker

3 listed answers

1
Spirit Breaker
Hard counter
Charge catches split-push Tinker
2
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Vendetta burst on squishy Tinker
3
Clockwerk
Hard counter
Cogs trap blink-reliant Tinker

Troll Warlord

2 listed answers

1
Razor
Hard counter
Blind and true strike vs Troll
2
Wraith King
Hard counter
Manfight through Battle Trance

Ursa

3 listed answers

1
Oracle
Hard counter
False Promise saves Swipe stacks
2
Wraith King
Hard counter
Tanky manfight vs Fury Swipes
3
Dazzle
Hard counter
Shallow Grave outlasts burst

Wraith King

1 listed answer

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana Break drains Reincarnation mana

Zeus

2 listed answers

1
Anti-Mage
Hard counter
Mana Void punishes huge mana pool
2
Nyx Assassin
Hard counter
Mana Burn on int-heavy Zeus

These heroes have no special counter edge in draft help or the sim. Win with roles, timing, and your game plan. Look up individual picks in the Hero draft guide when you need more detail.