Puck is great if in the hands of an expert player. Most heroes with a higher damage than him, and that can avoid or survive to Shadowraze, will have the upper hand in the lane phase. Heroes like Viper, Tinker, Windranger, or Huskar are all great choices because - thanks to their skill-set - they can play aggressively, survive, and win the lane. As a ranged hero, you can’t be hit by a triple-Raze easily, so Shadow Fiend won’t be able to inflict fatal damage and score a kill. Overall, any ranged hero with a good attack damage can deal with him.
Ranged heroes with a solid damage are SF’s nightmare TA works also in the late game because her huge physical attack damage can’t be mitigated by SF’s Black King Bar. If completely zoned out, Shadow Fiend can still get extra farm by stacking jungle camps and cleaning them with Shadowraze, but Templar Assassin can do the same thanks to Psi Blades.Īt level six, you can just kill Shadow Fiend on your own by slowing and damaging him with Psionic Trap, and using Refraction for bonus damage.
A newbie Templar Assassin won’t win the lane against an experienced Shadow Fiend only because she is a natural counter.Īlso, be sure to skill it at level one: even without the bonus damage from Refraction, TA still has the advantage thanks to her higher base damage. Psi Blades isn’t an easy skill to utilize, and a lot of practice is necessary to master it.
An excessive aggressiveness may push the creep wave under the enemy tower, but do not be afraid as without souls Shadow Friend can’t really last-hit there. The extra attack range and pure damage provided by Psi Blades are excellent to harass any opponent in the mid lane. Even a single level into the skill is enough to survive against a fatal triple-Raze. The ability has two uses: it increases your damage, which helps last-hitting and harassing (thus limiting SF’s souls count) and is a lifesaver against Shadowraze. Templar Assassin is a great counter in all stages of the matchĭefinitely, Templar Assassin is the hero you want to learn to deal with the excessive amount of Shadow Fiends in the game. You need heroes that can play aggressively from level one, can out-damage him (which is rather easy considering his poor starting damage), or with an innate mobility to avoid his Razes But, winning the mid lane is easy even when alone, if using the appropriate strategy and heroes. Now you have an idea about Shadow Fiend’s vulnerabilities and how you can defeat him with the help of the team. Nightmare is a perfect tool to prevent last-hits or even set up a gank. Bane can out-harass him and heal himself. SF has only 500 health at level one, so the pure damage of Brain Sap is a big issue. After losing the first 5 minutes of the match, he will turn into a weak threat in the mid game.īane is one of your best companions for this job.Įnfeeble reduces even more the already low attack damage of Shadow Fiend, making last-hitting a real pain. Your support can zone out SF, so he will remain behind in experience and won’t be able to get souls. The hero is quite weak against gankers, and I even recommend to opt for a dual mid during the first minutes of the game. No disables to stun or slow the assaulters when ganked.