Bad against...
- Reaper's Scythe and Heartstopper Aura deal percentage-based damage, ignoring Underlord's high health.
- Ghost Shroud protects Necrophos from Underlord's damage from Atrophy Aura, and also amplifies all the healing Necrophos receives.
- Static Link greatly reduces Underlord's attack damage, while benefits Razor himself, even when in Atrophy Aura's range.
- Underlord is a slow and low mobility hero, and cannot outrun Razor's high movement speed, easily for Razor to absorb his damage with Static Link to the maximum and burst him down from the bonus damages, combine with the armor reduction from Eye of the Storm.
- However, Razor has no way of preventing enemies to escape with Fiend's Gate. And his only way to counter this is by buying disabling items.
- Lunar Blessing gives allies bonus damage required to endure against Atrophy Aura in most stages of the game.
- Eclipse can be devastating for Underlord's team when they're grouped up for Fiend's Gate. It can also be used to intercept arrivals with Fiend's Gate. And Pit of Malice does not prevent Luna from using it.
- To make things even worse, Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse can finish off Underlord or any of his teammates escape attempts with Fiend's Gate if timed correctly.
- Glimpse will return Underlord or any of his teammates attempting to escape with Fiend's Gate if timed correctly.
- Underlord is a slow and low mobility hero, easy to set up Static Storm and Kinetic Field, preventing him from using his abilities as well as preventing him using Fiend's Gate to escape. They are also perfect abilities to intercept Underlord and his team if Underlord chooses to travel to the designated point of the map with Fiend's Gate.
- X Marks the Spot will return Underlord or his teammate if they escape with Fiend's Gate.
- Torrent, Ghostship, Torrent Storm from Aghanim's Scepter and Tidal Wave from Aghanim's Shard are all excellent abilities for intercepting Underlord and his team if Underlord chooses to travel to the designated point of the map with Fiend's Gate.
- Infernal Blade does damage based on percentage health, and is useful against high health pool hero like Underlord.
- Doom can prevent Underlord from spamming his abilities and most important is to prevent him from using Fiend's Gate to escape.
- Enigma's Midnight Pulse damage can make Underlord suffer heavy damage due to his high health.
- Enigma can catch Underlord and his team off guard with Midnight Pulse and Black Hole when they teleport using Fiend's Gate. And Atrophy Aura offers no defense against them.
- However, Enigma needs to approach Underlord carefully as Underlord can interrupt channeling of the Black Hole with Pit of Malice and can also use Firestorm to scout Enigma's location which can also put Enigma's Blink Dagger on cooldown if Enigma has no Black King Bar available to use.
- Sniper's very long range allows him to stay out of Firestorm, Pit of Malice as well as Atrophy Aura's range.
- Escapes with Fiend's Gate can be canceled with Assassinate that can mini-stun the target.
- However, Fiend's Gate can be used to quickly close the gap on Sniper, and kill him if Underlord brings his allies with him through Fiend's Gate. And Sniper has nothing to intercept arrivals with Fiend's Gate outside of Shrapnel and Concussive Grenade from Aghanim's Shard.
- Arcane Orb's pure damage can do great damage to Underlord.
- Sanity's Eclipse can tear down Underlord's health by a large amount, since his mana pool is very low compare to Outworld Destroyer's high mana pool.
- Winter's Curse and Splinter Blast can devastate Underlord's team when they are grouped up for the teleportation with Fiend's Gate.
- Cold Embrace can be used to heal Winter Wyvern's allies, and protect them from the attack damage from Atrophy Aura. Bear in mind, however, that the heroes affected by Cold Embrace are easy targets for Firestorm and Pit of Malice.
- All of Underlord's abilities are useful for Rubick to Spell Steal.
- Shadow Fiend can still dish out heavy damage with Requiem of Souls and Shadowraze even while caught in Pit of Malice. Requiem of Souls is also great ability for intercepting Underlord and his team when they teleport using Fiend's Gate.
- Necromastery provides Shadow Fiend with bonus attack damage for each killed enemy unit, which combined with Presence of the Dark Lord's armor reduction allows him to Atrophy Aura's attack damage reduction in most stages of the game.
- Fury Swipes damage is not reduced by Atrophy Aura, essentially bypassing Underlord's only natural defense.
- Enrage can easily dispel the root of Pit of Malice.
- However, Ursa has nothing to intercept Underlord and his team when they are grouped up for the teleportation with Fiend's Gate outside of Earthshock.
Others
- Heroes that provide vision will see Fiend's Gate coming: Techies, Templar Assassin, Treant Protector.
- Heroes with spell immunity abilities won't be caught inside by Pit of Malice: Juggernaut, Lifestealer.
- Heroes with magical or pure damage output will not have any problems against Atrophy Aura at all: Luna, Lina, Jakiro, Pugna, Bane, Snapfire, Muerta, Nyx Assassin, Enigma, Tinker, Witch Doctor, Zeus, Crystal Maiden.
- Heroes with health-based damage abilities can deal serious damage to Underlord's high health: Elder Titan's Earth Splitter, Enigma's Midnight Pulse, Zeus's Arc Lightning, Jakiro's Liquid Frost from Aghanim's Shard etc.
- Heroes with strong area-of-effect damaging and/or disabling abilities will be able to intercept Underlord and his team when they exit from Fiend's Gate: Luna's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse, Dawnbreaker's Solar Guardian, Axe's Berserker's Call, Mars's Arena Of Blood, Jakiro's Macropyre, Dual Breath and Ice Path, Naga Siren's Song of the Siren, Razor's Eye of the Storm and Plasma Field, Lina's Light Strike Array, Broodmother's Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, Elder Titan's Earth Splitter and Echo Stomp, Alchemist's Unstable Concoction and Acid Spray, Queen of Pain's Sonic Wave, Dark Seer's Wall of Replica and Vacuum, Venomancer's Noxious Plague and Poison Nova from Aghanim's Scepter, Oracle's Fortune's End and Rain of Destiny from Aghanim's Shard, Bloodseeker's Blood Rite, Enigma's Black Hole and Midnight Pulse, Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls, Batrider's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Flaming Lasso, Firefly, Flamebreak and Sticky Napalm, Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast, Sand King's Epicenter, Sand Storm and Burrowstrike, Gyrocopter's Call Down, Ember Spirit's Sleight of Fist, Death Prophet's Exorcism and Silence, Monkey King's Wukong's Command, Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field, Muerta's The Calling, Medusa's Stone Gaze, Zeus's Nimbus from Aghanim's Scepter. Dark Willow's Bramble Maze, Pangolier's Swashbuckle, Grimstroke's Soulbind, Ink Swell and Stroke of Fate, Earthshaker's Echo Slam and Fissure, Puck's Dream Coil and Waning Rift, Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse, Magnus's Reverse Polarity.
Items
- Force Staff will push enemies out of Firestorm, Pit of Malice, and Atrophy Aura's range. It can even push Underlord's teammates away from him before Fiend's Gate's teleport goes off. Later it can be upgraded into Hurricane Pike which will allow ranged heroes who rely on direct attacks to damage Underlord without getting in range of Atrophy Aura.
- Diffusal Blade and it's upgrade Disperser punish Underlord for his low mana, and its active reduces his mobility further.
- Shiva's Guard can be used to catch Underlord's team off guard when they gather for Fiend's Gate, and can be used to deal damage if caught in his Pit of Malice while also amplifying damage Underlord will take from spells and reducing his attack speed and any heals he receives.
- Dagon's high magical damage burst will not be weakened by Atrophy Aura at all.
- Gleipnir can be used to root Underlord and his team when they gather for Fiend's Gate.
- Pipe of Insight, Glimmer Cape, Mage Slayer and Eternal Shroud will negate pretty much all of Underlord's magical damage.
- Boots of Travel 2 can be used to defend or counter push after Underlord uses Fiend's Gate.
- Ghost Scepter can be a useful defense tool against Underlord if he has lots of stacks from Atrophy Aura and if he is played as Carry. Later it can be upgraded into Ethereal Blade that can be used to disarm Underlord and make him more vulnerable to magic damage while also increasing cast range, allowing it's owners to fight against Underlord without getting in range of Atrophy Aura. But bear in mind that entering ethereal state will amplify Underlord's magical damage.
- Black King Bar will make Underlord think twice before engaging the hero affected by it as Underlord has nothing to counter debuff immunity.
- Silver Edge can disable Underlord's Atrophy Aura, weakening both, his offense and defense. However, Silver Edge cannot be used to escape from Pit of Malice whose root can reveal invisible heroes.
- Manta Style can be used to dispel root from Pit of Malice. However, Manta Style's illusions can still be easily cleared with Firestorm.
Good against...
- Firestorm will easily clear Chen's creeps.
- Pit of Malice will trap Chen and render him helpless.
- Atrophy Aura gives bonus damage to Underlord for each killed creep and weakens Chen's damage output.
- Fiend's Gate can counter Chen's pushing attempts, and he has nothing to intercept it.
- Atrophy Aura reduces Drow Ranger's damage significantly, as she relies completely on agility to be effective.
- Atrophy Aura makes it hard for Legion Commander to win Duels.
- Fiend's Gate can be used to save Underlord and his allies from a Duel or to intercept Legion Commander, because outside from Overwhelming Odds, Legion Commander has no other area-of-effect abilities.
- Atrophy Aura makes it hard or Naga Siren to farm on lane and damage Underlord with Rip Tide in teamfights. And her only way to counter this is by playing Nuker role.
- Firestorm is very useful for clearing Naga Siren's illusions from Mirror Image and Manta Style.
- However, Naga Siren can catch Underlord and his team unprepared with Song of the Siren if he chooses to use Fiend's Gate to get to a designated point of the map. Naga Siren can also prevent escaping with Fiend's Gate with Ensnare and Reel In from Aghanim's Scepter.
- Firestorm is very useful for clearing multiple Phantom Lancer's illusions swiftly.
- Pit of Malice will continuously disrupt many of Phantom Lancer's illusions, drastically reducing their damage and potency.
- Atrophy Aura reduces damage of both Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
- Phantom Lancer has nothing to stop Underlord and his team to escape with Fiend's Gate, nor to intercept them if Undelord chooses to use Fiend's Gate to get to the designated points of the map.
- Firestorm can be used to deal serious damage to Phantom Assassin during laning that ignores evasion from Blur.
- Pit of Malice prevents Phantom Assassin from either escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike.
- Phantom Assassin's damage output is entirely physical, therefore Atrophy Aura is very hazardous for her in most of the stages, particularly since it also affects Coup de Grace, hindering Phantom Assassin's main source of damage.
- Without proper items and any area-of-effect ability/item, Phantom Assassin cannot stop Underlord and his team to escape with Fiend's Gate, nor she can intercept them if Underlord chooses to teleport on any area of the map.
- Pit of Malice can be cast in the path of Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness to cancel it.
- Spirit Breaker's damage output is entirely physical, therefore Atrophy Aura is very hazardous for him in most of the stages, particularly since it also affects Greater Bash, hindering Spirit Breaker's main source of damage.
- Fiend's Gate provides a way to escape from a gank for Underlord and his teammates. Likewise, Fiend's Gate can be used to ambush Spirit Breaker who has little to no ways of intercepting Underlord and his teammates when they use it to move around the map.
- Atrophy Aura reduces Terrorblade's damage significantly, even during Metamorphosis.
- Firestorm deals significant damage to Terrorblade and his illusions from a safe distance.
- Pit of Malice can keep Terrorblade and his illusions under control.
- Fiend's Gate can either bail out Underlord's team away from a bad engagement against a Terrorblade under Metamorphosis or caught Terrorblade off guard if he is not careful, and besides Reflection, Terrorblade has no other abilities to intercept Underlord nor his team when they use it to start a teamfight. Likewise, Fiend's Gate can be used to quickly move Underlord's team to the frontlines, to strike Terrorblade and his allies during Metamorphosis's 150 seconds of cooldown.
- Firestorm will destroy Refraction charges very quickly.
- Firestorm will hit Templar Assassin while under the effects of Meld Meld.
- Templar Assassin has a hard time maneuvering around Pit of Malice.
- Atrophy Aura weakens Templar Assassin's damage output, as she relies on direct attacks to be effective.
- However, Templar Assassin's Psionic Traps can be used to intercept Underlord and his team, and to keep her team alerted on Underlord if he chooses to use Fiend's Gate to get to a designated point of the map.
Others
- Heroes without blink mechanisms or spell immunity will have a hard time positioning against Pit of Malice: Sven, Tiny, Wraith King, Dragon Knight, Meepo, Doom, Bounty Hunter, Dark Seer, Undying, Alchemist, Legion Commander.
- Heroes with long cooldowns on their abilities or ultimate will struggle against the relentless pressure provided by Fiend's Gate: Terrorblade, Dragon Knight, Omniknight.
- Heroes who are entirely reliant on dealing physical damage and/or have very little to no area-of-effect abilities will make Underlord tickle and will have no effect against him thanks to his Atrophy Aura, and will also be unable to ambush Underlord and his team if Underlord chooses to use Fiend's Gate to get to a designated point of the map: Phantom Assassin, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Drow Ranger, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Sven, Wraith King, Bounty Hunter, Alchemist, Templar Assassin, Nyx Assassin, Bane.
Items
- Falcon Blade's bad damage output will become completely insignificant against Underlord's Atrophy Aura.
- Manta Style's illusions can be easily cleared with Firestorm. However, Manta Style can still be used to dispel root from Pit of Malice.
Works well with...
- Static Storm and Kinetic Field, combined with Firestorm and Pit of Malice will lock down or zone out large areas of the map during a teamfight.
- Breathe Fire with Atrophy Aura reduces enemy damage significantly.
- The splash attacks from Elder Dragon Form will hit multiple enemies stuck in Pit of Malice.
- Natural Order combined with Atrophy Aura renders enemies quite helpless.
- Pit of Malice holds enemies in place for Leshrac to deal heavy damage with Pulse Nova and Split Earth.
- Moonlight Shadow gives an extra layer of stealth after using Dark Rift.
- Pit of Malice locks down enemies for Riki to attack with Tricks of the Trade.
- Fade Bolt combined with Atrophy Aura will reduce enemy damage even further.
- Pit of Malice's long duration allows Rubick to pick up enemies and drop them inside with Telekinesis.
- Pit of Malice helps lock down enemies for Timbersaw to attack them with any ability.
- Vengeance Aura and Wave of Terror combined with Atrophy Aura makes enemies weak in both defense and offense.
- Vengeful Spirit can Nether Swap enemies into Pit of Malice.
Others
- In general, heroes that provide vision through a summoned unit helps Underlord target Dark Rift: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Lone Druid, Lycan, Visage.
- In general, heroes with area nukes work well with Underlord's Pit of Malice: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Fiend, Crystal Maiden, Sand King.
- In general, heroes with long stuns or roots will set Underlord up for a Pit of Malice into Firestorm combo: Faceless Void, Earthshaker, Treant Protector, Magnus, Enigma, Tidehunter, Sven, Sand King.
