Pugna/Counters

Bad against...

 * Due to Pugna's incredible int growth and terrible strength growth, Nyx should always be able to take you out with his combo, with or without an added . will deal a lethal 670 damage to you if you're level 25 with no items and no points in attribute, of your 1120 hp under the same conditions.
 * is also a great tool versus Pugna. A good player will wait for you in until you farm a creepwave with  and reflect it back at you as their initiation and setup for.


 * Clockwerk loves to low-hp, immobile targets like you. Your  will be immediately cancelled by  if you're trapped inside . And it will be cancelled over and over again if you farmed an, you will need huge amounts of mana to keep it going.
 * Clockwerk also loves to build, which will harm you more than it harms him if you try to him.
 * Finally, both hookshot and can allow him to finish you off out of range of your.


 * Sniper's huge range makes it difficult to channel Life drain against him as he can just take a couple of steps back to cancel your drain.
 * Sniper's is a great tool to get vision on your Nether ward, and he can take it out with ease if it's not far behind enough.
 * Sniper has plenty of magical damage to hurt you and your allies while anyone is under.


 * Though Life drain instantly takes out illusions, PL creates way too many for you to handle.
 * A good PL will also dodge as needed your with.
 * PL is the most natural carrier to counter Decrepify, and Pugna also has the largest pool of mana to burn away.


 * It is fairly common for Anti-Mage to get rack multiple kills at once by targeting his against you.
 * The good news is you should die well before you're out of mana, so his ultimate won't deal as much damage as it could


 * Luna won't be needing too much to worry about since she has cheap nukes
 * Luna can dominate Pugna both in teamfight (Low mana costs) and 1 vs 1.
 * Luna's can cancel Pugna's   even if he has  as long as he doesn't buy
 * totally nullifes Pugna's damage output and trying to save him self from Luna with is suicide because she will be able to finish you with, and Eclipse can be seriously devastating if amplified.

Others

 * Any hero that can blink on top of him makes a good threat to Pugna.
 * Special mention goes to as she could kill herself with  if your  is up.
 * Similarly, any hero that will sneak up on you could kill you before you have time to react, and also loves to build.

Items

 * allows for someone to quickly escape a for a very small mana cost. With quick fingers, you can also dodge.
 * and both reduces Pugna's damage output considerably. Glimmer cape's active can also can your Life drain.
 * Pugna's only tool against is a defensive.
 * To a lower extent, is great versus Pugna as he hates being jumped on because of his extremely fragile nature.
 * Linken's Sphere making Pugna can't use his Life Drain and Decrepify
 * Lotus Orb making Life Drain meaningless also reflects Dagon or Decrepify.
 * can remove Decrepify defensively cast on pugna's team but not on the enemy.

Good against...

 * Amazingly, Enchantress has even lower hp than Pugna. Though she does pack quite a punch through, she can't use it if she's d.
 * Pugna's Magical DPS is way greater than the heal from, which will also harm her quite a bit if she's next to.


 * Decrepify is the perfect tool against until he gets a ; and even then he will probably waste a couple of slashes before he uses it.
 * Without an extra disable, Pugna's high movement speed makes it impossible to chase him with
 * Unlike some other carries like or, Juggernaut's spells cost a hefty amount of mana and he will seriously get hurt by . Don't forget the damage from the ward is inflicted before the magic immunity is provided by blade fury.


 * For the better part of the game, he will take more damage from your ward than he deals to you with.
 * It will take a huge difference in farm or itemization between you for him to deal any damage to you with, provided he doesn't die first from casting it next to your ward.


 * He needs to be rather close to you to pose a threat, and he should die very quickly from his own spells thanks to your ward.


 * His army will die in a heartbeat once you've farmed up an  since Life Drain instantly deals with illusions.
 * You can also protect whoever he choose to with a timely Decrepify.

Others

 * Up to a certain extent, can make life miserable for a ton of right-click carries. With an  you will have 78% uptime on it (minus cast times). A smart opponent however will eventually get a.
 * Special mention goes to who simply loves to  on top of you. If you're not already dead, just decrepify her and suck the life out of her.
 * will be problematic for heavy nukers and spammers like, and , but don't use Decrepify defensively against them as you'll be helping them out more than anything.
 * Since Life drain takes out illusions instantly, Pugna with a scepter is decent versus plenty of illusion heroes, most notably and  and the aforementioned .  is an exception.

Works well with...

 * is the perfect distraction to get your ward up and a Life Drain going. If things go awry, you can always decrepify her or yourself and try to heal Tresdin until the end of the duel.


 * A good opponent will always try to focus a Necrophos. Here's another ally who will take the enemy's initiation for you in order to help you get your spells off. Don't forget to help him out in return through a friendly Life drain, and hugely amping up the damage from, or at least protecting him from right clicks.


 * Here's a third ally who will soak up the damage for you. Don't forget you can also restore her mana with once she's back to full hp.
 * If your mana allows it, don't forget to spam while she tanks the tower for your team.


 * Though an opponent has to be particularly blind, the slow from can allow you to catch-up to an opponent, slow him further with Decrepify and unleash stupid amounts of magic damage with  and.


 * Reason

Others

 * Any hero that can make good usage of is a good partner to Pugna. Players love to amplify the damage from their  and . Be mindful that this strategy is entirely countered by s.
 * Similarly, any ally that likes to build a will gladly take the damage buff from decrepify.
 * As usual, an opposing army slowed to a crawl by 's can make for comical situations if you can spam out Nether blast and Life drain.

List of heroes that counter Pugna, and list of heroes that work well with Pugna.