▶️
Many hands make light work.
This article is badly written or needs more information. Please help the community by updating it. Read this formatting guide first.
Bad against...
- Ice Blast completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, else he be faced with a quick death if focused on.
- Anti-Mage lives up to his name, with each attack eating away at Necrophos' much needed mana, possibly rendering him unable to cast his Reaper's Scythe, and as Necrophos is an Intelligence hero, his mana pool will be great enough to deal high damage to Necrophos if Mana Void is cast on him.
- Should he cast Ghost Shroud to protect himself from his auto attacks, Anti-Mage can just wait it out and catch up to him should he attempt to run with Force Staff or Blink Dagger. Ghost Shroud also makes Necrophos more vulnerable to Mana Void's magic damage, making it a bad spell to cast as a last means of defense.
- Spell Shield makes it very hard for Necrophos to kill Anti-Mage with Reaper's Scythe (on his own), and an Aghanim's Scepter will also completely shield Anti-Mage from his ultimate, even casting it back to Necrophos.
- Omniknight's entire kit revolves around protecting his allies, and his Purification and Repel both have great efficiency in protecting an ally from being killed by his ultimate.
- Omniknight also tends to buy items that help sustain his team, those coupled with his natural healing will make it difficult for Necrophos to whittle enemy health down for the right moment.
- Similar to Omniknight, Dazzle has a spammable healing ability that this time spreads around his entire team, further countering Necrophos' dependence on gradual, lingering damage. His Shallow Grave also prevents an ally from dying to Reaper's Scythe.
- Necrophos is reliant on his spells to be effective. Duel silences Necrophos and forces him to attack Legion Commander for an extended time, disabling him even through Ghost Shroud's ethereal state. Her Press the Attack might not be able to purge Reaper's Scythe's stun, but it will give quite high regeneration, possibly saving an ally from being killed by it.
- Necrophos struggles at clearing away durable illusions or summons. Meepo can overwhelm Necrophos with his many duplicates, especially in the later stages of the game, and his Earthbind will prevent Necrophos from getting away, even if he casts Ghost Shroud.
- Meepo's high burst damage can make it difficult for to Necrophos to stay alive, and as Necrophos excels in extended fights, he will not be able to do as much damage as he intends to.
- Oracle possesses strong healing abilities to nullify any damage that Heartstopper Aura might inflict during the laning stage.
- Oracle's Fate's Edict and False Promise all completely protect an ally from Reaper's Scythe.
- Diffusal Blade is a core item on Phantom Lancer, removing Ghost Shroud from Necrophos and slowing him down further. This combined with his numerous illusions allows him to rapidly deplete Necrophos' mana, and soon enough, his health.
- It can be difficult to single out the true Phantom Lancer among his army, giving Necrophos a hard time aiming his ultimate.
- Smoke Screen is a large AoE silence that keeps Necrophos from retaliating against Riki's high damage.
- His Blink Strike also allows Necrophos to catch up to him, even should he escape Riki's initial attack.
- If Rubick gets Aghanim's Scepter and steals Reaper's Scythe, he can turn the powerful ultimate back against Necrophos' team. Even his other spells are useful under Rubick's hands, giving him a sustain or a weak initiation/protection tool.
- Abaddon's Borrowed Time can be cast while stunned (but not while silenced), easily allowing Abaddon to take the Reaper's Scythe and even heal him back to full health due to it.
- His Aphotic Shield can also protect allies from Necrophos' attacks, completely blocking Death Pulse's damage or help dampen Reaper's Scythe's.
- At first it might seem as if Huskar is an easy target for Necrophos due to his risk-reward mechanic, and he might be at early parts of the game, but he gains higher magic resistance the lower his health gets and will get better items as the game progresses, making Reaper's Scythe actually ineffective against him, other than briefly disabling him through spell immunity.
- As Necrophos is usually a magic damage nuker, not physical, he can do little if initiated on by Life Break, with his health instantly cut (becoming stronger when under Ghost Shroud), and when it expires, Necrophos will be faced against his increasing attack speed, resistance, and stacking Burning Spears.
Others
- Heroes who possess abilities that can save targets from being killed by Reaper's Scythe include (but are not limited to) Shadow Demon, Outworld Devourer, and Bane.
- Any disable, silence or mana burn is a good way to nullify Necrophos, as he is slow and has little offensive presence or self defense without his spells.
- Illusions make it difficult for Necrophos to target his Reaper's Scythe correctly, thus giving Chaos Knight or Naga Siren an edge against Necrophos.
- Morphling deserves a special mention as his illusion takes the same damage as a real hero, possibly making Necrophos mistake it for an actual target and waste his ultimate.
- Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include Bristleback (although only from behind), Spectre, Ursa, and Dragon Knight.
Items
- Bloodstone is the only item to counter the additional respawn time when killed by Reaper's Scythe, and users of the item can deny themselves before Necrophos can finish them off, even denying him of the regeneration given from Death Pulse.
- The magic resistance given by Glimmer Cape can easily foil a Reaper's Scythe, and the 1.5 second delay makes it easy for an alert player to cast Glimmer Cape on an ally that is about to be Scythed.
- Lotus Orb reflects Reaper's Scythe back to Necrophos. Most of the time his ultimate will not kill him back as he'd be casting it mostly at full health, but it does mean Necrophos will be stunned through spell immunity for 1.5 seconds, preventing him from possibly following up his ultimate with more of his own damage.
- Black King Bar ignores damage from most of Necrophos' abilities, especially that of his ultimate.
- Unless Necrophos purchases other single-target items like Rod of Atos or Dagon, Linken's Sphere makes it impossible to cast Reaper's Scythe on his own or even alert them that Necrophos is about to initiate on them, letting them escape.
- Orchid Malevolence and Bloodthorn prevents Necrophos from spamming his Death Pulse, preventing him from healing back and/or retaliate, or even use his Ghost Shroud to defend himself with.
- Scythe of Vyse is a stronger counter than the above mentioned items, preventing not only his abilities from being cast, but also his items that could either heal him further, dispel the debuffs, or help him escape.
- Silver Edge disables Death Pulse's passive and Heartstopper Aura. Already existing stacks of Death Pulse still provide bonus health and mana regeneration.
Good against...
- No matter how high Pudge builds up Strength with his Flesh Heap, all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to his ultimate. Considering his constant self-damage with Rot, being around Necrophos will prove risky for an overconfident Pudge.
- However, it should be noted that Pudge players will tend to buy magic resistance items to help negate Rot's self damage, so later in the game, Pudge may be able to tank Necrophos' damage output easily, but are still vulnerable to his Heartstopper Aura's degeneration.
- Frequent healing from Death Pulse makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with Culling Blade.
- Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's tankiness, and can kill him quickly after initiation.
- Phoenix constantly depletes its own health due to the health costs of its abilities. Unlike heroes that have a similar mechanic, Phoenix does not benefit from low health, nor does it really have a countermeasure for it. As such, Phoenix is a very vulnerable target for Necrophos to prey on, especially when caught off guard before it can cast Supernova.
- His Heartstopper Aura deals the same gradual damage over time no matter how high Sven builds his Strength or health pool up, and should he fall down to a certain percentage, his high health will no longer matter if Necrophos manages to land his Reaper's Scythe, killing him instantly. But it is best if Necrophos can either catch him off guard before he can possibly use his Black King Bar (which is an item Sven players commonly purchase), or bait him out of it.
- Ghost Shroud prevents Sven from hitting Necrophos, and if he doesn't have his Storm Hammer available, it could make him completely immune to Sven and allow Necrophos to easily kite him around.
Others
- Carries are a prime target for his ultimate, as if timed properly, they will be killed before they can even have a noticeable effect in a teamfight, and be forced to stay out of the game longer due to the extended respawn time. Such heroes must be careful when engaging a team with Necrophos, as if they are too careless or lack proper protection, their reckless plays can be quickly and severely punished.
- Heroes that commonly purchase Armlet of Mordiggian will be unable to use it effectively under the effects of a maxed out Heartstopper Aura.
- Heroes that have high health but little to no magic resistance build-up are easy prey for Necrophos, as no matter how high they build their health up, Reaper's Scythe will kill them outright as long as they fall under a certain threshold, and Heartstopper Aura will deal the same amount of damage regardless, decaying their health the longer they stay within range. As such, Strength heroes like Chaos Knight, Centaur Warrunner or Magnus are good targets for his ultimate.
- Heroes that have escape abilities (such as Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit or Timbersaw) can be either nullified by Reaper's Scythe or a complimentary item for Necrophos (like Rod of Atos or Scythe of Vyse). If Necrophos is quick enough and enters range, they can quickly, if not instantly, die if they are not quick enough.
- Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilites, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Warlock or Shadow Fiend.
Works well with...
- The sustain and strong dispel from Abaddon helps keep Necrophos alive longer in fights, allowing a huge damage swing from healing, damage, and massive health removal from Heartstopper Aura.
- Axe's initiation allows him to both catch and severely damage multiple enemies at once. Counter Helix's pure damage quickly removes a chunk of health from nearby enemies, making Necrophos' presence more potent.
- Both of their ultimates are instant kills when fallen below a certain threshold of health. If the enemy team is not careful, they could be very easily wiped from the field without retaliation.
- A Duel will be very swiftly ended by Necrophos' nukes. If it ends during Reaper's Scythe, the Dueled enemy will also face an extended respawn time, making these two a formidable pair in a teamfight.
- Decrepify increases the damage Reaper's Scythe does, allowing Necrophos to kill enemies even quicker.
- His great teamfight abilities like Nether Blast and Nether Ward help damage multiple units all at once, making Necrophos' presence even deadlier.
Others
- Any hero with great nuking power will work well with Necrophos. Such heroes include Lina, Lion, Shadow Fiend, and Zeus.
- Heroes with high damage in a large area of effect will help make Necrophos a deadly foe for the enemy team, as they would all be more vulnerable to his Heartstopper Aura or be possible targets for his ultimate. Heroes like Phoenix, Enigma, Jakiro, even Radiance wielders like Spectre or Alchemist will aid him greatly in a teamfight.
