Bad against...
- Clinkz's high damage output and insane attack speed late-game can take Kunkka out of the fight before it begins.
- Strafe and Searing Arrows together can kill allies easily even under Ghostship's buff.
- Skeleton Walk can allow Clinkz to make a quick escape after Kunkka's combo, or even avoid it all together.
- Ursa's massive physical damage can destroy Kunkka quickly.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Enrage". can be activated before being hit by Ghostship to prevent most of the damage.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Earthshock". slows Kunkka's movement speed. With no escape abilities, Kunkka is easy prey.
- Kunkka relies on his powerful AOE spells to turn the tides of teamfights. He cannot use them while silenced.
- Last Word can mess up Kunkka's ability synergy, silencing him in the middle of his strong combo.
- Global Silence can disable Kunkka's spell casting from anywhere on the map, even if Kunkka is spell immune at the time.
- Leap allows Mirana to easily escape Torrent and Ghostship.
- Supernova negates Kunkka's combo entirely, as it can't be affected by spells while using Supernova.
- Icarus Dive also allows Phoenix to dodge Ghostship and Torrent.
- Guardian Angel makes allies immune to all physical damage, effectively causing Tidebringer to do no damage.
- Purification is a powerful, pure damaging heal that can save Omniknight's allies after Kunkka's large damage.
- Since Tidebringer has a 4 second cooldown, Kunkka has little availability to manfight Huskar.
- Blade Fury negates Kunkka's X Marks the Spot.
- Kunkka has no way to dodge Omnislash.
- Kunkka has no way to hit Healing Ward directly in battle, and it mitigates Ghostship and Tidebringer's damage.
- Rage negates Kunkka's X Marks the Spot.
- As a strength hero with high strength gain and very little armor, as well as low agility gain, Kunkka is vulnerable to Lifestealer's Feast and Open Wounds.
- With his Take Aim, Sniper can simply sit out of your ability range and deal massive damage if not killed first.
- Assassinate can target allies who are still alive with low health because of Ghostship's buff.
- Headshot makes it harder for Kunkka to position/escape and makes it hard for Kunkka to hit with Tidebringer.
- Outworld Devourer's Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Arcane Orb". will take away precious intelligence points, reducing Kunkka's already small mana pool.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Astral Imprisonment". can allow Outworld Devourer to save himself or allies from Kunkka's full kit.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Sanity's Eclipse". will take away Kunkka's mana and deal a large amount of damage, as Kunkka's intelligence gain is much smaller than Outworld Devourer's.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Arcane Orb". deals pure damage, shredding through Kunkka and his team even with Ghostship's buff.
Others
- Silences especially affect Kunkka's teamfighting ability, so be wary of enemies with silences.
- Treant Protector's Living Armor will also negate Tidebringer's damage.
- Heroes with hide abilities can often dodge a Ghostship just before it hits.
- Similarly, they can negate your X Marks The Spot & Torrent combo by protecting your target when you use Return. Good candidates to negate your combo include Outworld Devourer and his Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Astral Imprisonment"., and Shadow Demon and his Disruption.
- A Eul's Scepter of Divinity can also do the trick, but, unlike the previously mentioned abilities, you can only use it on yourself and not your allies.
- Because of his powerful teamfight spells, Kunkka could very likely be the target for control spells like Doom or Primal Roar. Mind your position before battle.
- Heroes with instant teleport or forced movement(e.g. Blink Dagger or Activate Fire Remnant) can dodge the X-mark & Torrent combo by shift-queuing. When being Returned, the last order is channeled but the order after it is not. So if those heroes is marked, order a move command then cast those instant abilities by shift-order for a stable dodge.
Items
- Crimson Guard will protect against much of Kunkka's damage early on.
- Black King Bar negates all of Kunkka's spell damage, and negates X Marks the Spot.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity negates X Marks the Spot, if timed correctly.
Good against...
- Tidebringer, Torrent and Ghostship destroys Chaos Knight's Phantasm army all through the game.
- Kunkka's entire kit is great for taking out multiple units at once.
- Tidebringer's cleave will split through a wave of spiderlings.
- X Marks the Spot is great for dragging Broodmother back out of her web for Kunkka's team to set up on her.
- Torrent and Ghostship will demolish any spiderlings within the radius.
- Tidebringer's cleave will cripple any of his summons.
- Could potentially build Heaven's Halberd to cripple Lycan even more.
- X Marks the Spot is good to prevent a single meepo from escaping from a deadly situation.
- Tidebringer, Torrent and Ghostship destroys Meepo's clones.
- Tidebringer, Torrent and Ghostship destroys Phantom Lancer's illusion army.
- Phantom Lancer can't escape with Doppelganger under your X Marks the Spot, but can use it to dodge it.
- Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Sonic Wave and Scream of Pain.
- Queen of Pain can't escape easily from X Marks the Spot - Torrent combo.
- Spectre can't escape with Spectral Dagger under X Marks the Spot.
- Kunkka can dominate Spectre's lane using Tidebringer and gain an advantage.
- Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Haunt.
- Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Epicenter, especially if he initiates during the battle.
- Sand King can't dodge X Marks the Spot - Torrent combo by his abilities. Torrent drags him out of his Sand Storm
- Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Chaotic Offering and hit summons hard.
- Tidebringer clears summons later in the game.
- Most of your spells can interrupt Upheaval.
Others
- X Marks the Spot is a counter to Disruptor's Glimpse, but you need quick reactions to pull it off.
- Heroes with long channeling abilities like Witch Doctor are easy targets for Kunkka to interrupt in team fights.
- In general, highly mobile heroes like Earth Spirit or Storm Spirit are at a disadvantage against X Marks the Spot.
- Similarly, heroes with low cooldown teleports can be afraid to split push against X Marks the Spot, such as Tinker and Nature's Prophet.
Works well with...
- Vacuum - Wall of Replica combo can set Kunkka up for a perfect Torrent + Ghostship combo and a potential teamwipe. Vacuum could be placed right after Kunkka cast Torrent since Torrent has a delay.
- Chronosphere lets Kunkka land an easy Ghost Ship.
- Ghostship allows Huskar to soak up even more magical damage and fight at low HP without dying. Berserker's Blood helps regenerate the Rum damage.
- X Marks the Spot helps Huskar to chase high mobility heroes.
- Ghostship allows Lifestealer to stay in front as a fearsome melee fighter. Lifestealer could use Feast to regenerate the Rum damage.
- Ghostship and Tidebringer clears illusions which Lifestealer cannot deal with easily.
- X Marks the Spot helps Lifestealer to catch high mobility heroes.
- Ghostship allows Slark to stay in front and steal more attributes. Slark could easily regenerate the Rum damage thanks to Shadow Dance.
- X Marks the Spot helps Slark to catch heroes that can easily break Pounce leash.
Others
- Lengthy disables such as Echo Stomp, Sacred Arrow, or Primal Roar makes a perfect setup for Kunkka's spells.
