Witch Doctor/Counters

Bad against...

 * Beware of placing the Death Ward if is off cooldown, as it will cancel the effect and leave Witch Doctor vulnerable if he does not react in time.


 * cancels out Death Ward from a long distance.


 * interrupts Death Ward from a decent range.
 * kills Witch Doctor during Death Ward, even through.


 * Morphling can to strength after being hit by Maledict. Since Maledict deals its damage based on the difference between HP on cast and HP after two seconds, odds are Morphling will have more HP than when Maledict was cast, thus resulting in no damage.
 * On the upside, players prone to panicked reactions may Morph to agility, making Maledict even more efficient than intended.
 * can interrupt Death Ward at a decent range.


 * protects allies from Death Ward's physical damage.
 * and will most likely save teammates from dying to Maledict.


 * It is especially easy for Oracle to negate the damage from Maledict, and even heal through it with and.
 * If by some miracle an enemy is still about to die because of Maledict, he can still save him with.


 * Without Dust of Appearance or Sentry Wards, Riki is able to silence Witch Doctor with, and is likely to build a Diffusal Blade, leaving Witch Doctor without mana to cast Voodoo Restoration, as well as Skull Basher to interrupt Death Ward.


 * Rubick can steal easily as it is a channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.
 * However, a skilled Witch Doctor will toggle immediately after placing his  to prevent that.


 * Like any hero with a channeled spell, is a counter to it.
 * goes through spell immunity and prevents Witch Doctor from casting his spells.


 * dispels the stun from Paralyzing Cask. However, it does not dispel the damage from Maledict.
 * Once Witch Doctor first uses his Death Ward in team fights, Tidehunter can simply cancel it with, turning the tables against him, especially if Witch Doctor does not have a.
 * As a precaution, let Tidehunter use Ravage first before channeling Death Ward to turn a team fight in your favor.


 * Vengeful Spirit has two abilities to interrupt Death Ward, even through Black King Bar.

Others

 * 's dodges all damage from Death Ward. Should he choose to buy a, they are quite effective to absorb some shots from your cask, and attack you during Death Ward.
 * Heroes with plenty of summons, such as or  can have their minions soak up most of your Paralyzing Cask.
 * Death Ward's first target (before it bounces) can evade it, therefore and  are poor choices to use it on.
 * However, once the first hit landed, the bounces can no longer miss. Don't forget to manually aim for a target with no evasion !
 * Heals are doubly effective against Maledict.

Items

 * protects against Paralyzing Cask's stun and Maledict's damage.
 * reflects Paralyzing Cask.
 * is able to cancel the channeling of Death Ward. It can also be used to dodge Paralyzing Cask.

Good against...

 * Paralyzing Cask is likely to bounce between him and his bear every single time.


 * Paralyzing cask bounces between him and his wolves, keeping him stunned for long amounts of time.


 * Another hero that should not leave a special circle for his ultimate. The only thing to be afraid is.


 * Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of and.


 * Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Viper abilities.
 * Viper has no way to cancel Death Ward, even through.

Others

 * Roaming duos have a chance to have their gank turned around if they have nothing to soak up Paralyzing Cask.
 * Overall, Witch doctor is good against heroes with summons and illusions, stunning them for longer while dealing damage with Maledict.

Works well with...

 * is the perfect set up for Death Ward (especially if upgraded by ).
 * combined with Maledict can deal huge amount of damage against high health heroes.


 * traps opponents while Death Ward can kill them (especially if upgraded by ).
 * It's also a good setup for your Maledict.


 * and Paralyzing Cask is a recipe for disaster against poorly coordinated enemies.


 * stuns enemies for a long duration and pulls them together allowing to follow with Paralyzing Cask and Death Ward (especially if upgraded by ) and just clean them up.


 * Pit of Malice traps long enough to cast a maledict and death ward combo.


 * Zombies give excellent vision allowing Death Ward with projectiles still bounces to them.
 * Also Witch Doctor typically wants a buffer in front of him which Undying does well.

Others

 * Heroes that has long duration disables:, , , etc.
 * Any burst damage you can deal after Maledict has been applied can make it a lot more effective:, ,.

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

Witch Doctor/Противостоящие