Sand King/Counters

Bad against...

 * As a strength support hero with a self-restore ultimate, Sand King can seldom kill with a single combo of his abilities.
 * Sand King would find it hard to deal damage to, as none of his spells are effective.
 * The damage-over-time abilities of Pheonix disable Sand King's very often.


 * helps and his teammates soak up damage from  and.
 * together with counters heroes with great mobility such as Sand King.
 * drags Sand King out of his.


 * Both and  punishes casters with spammable spells such as Sand King.
 * As a strength caster, reduces Sand King's mana pool even more.
 * silences Sand King, effectively reduces Sand King's counter-initiation potential. It can also interrupt channeling of.


 * has high strength growth. Sand King's combo usually can't deal fatal damage to him.
 * deals damage to Sand King and pulls him out of his . If timed well, can interrupt  channeling.


 * has a relative high strength growth and usually stays at the back in teamfight. It is hard for Sand King to find Zeus and knock him down before Zeus deals his damage.
 * and disables Sand King's, effectively reduces Sand King's counter-initiation potential.
 * deals damage to Sand King in and reveals him, also interrupts channeling of.

Others

 * Point target AoE disables will reveal a damaged while he is trying to escape with his  and  combo. Such Heroes:, ,  and a few others.
 * So can, altought he gets a special mention as he might as well use and interrupt The King's movement has he used  and  combo, diminishing 's threat.

Items

 * ,, and any other item with true sight, because they reveal invisible units.
 * silences, preventing from casting spells. It might as well cancel  channeling and waste its mana and putting it on cooldown without applying its effects.
 * As is an uncontrollable ability, popping  and reflecting its damage will hurt.
 * ignores stun and all magical damage from Sand King.
 * can block, 's only inherent disable, but its rather situational, as one might break it before The King's burrowstrike, or if this is the most irrelevant ability in the team, might as well cast it to break, opening window for abilities such as.
 * will reflect 's.

Good against...

 * Can stun a lot of the s with, making them vulnerable targets.
 * and 's AoE damage ensures all Meepo clones get damaged, making it hard for Meepo to choose which one to flee as all are taking damage at the same rate.
 * Just be aware when using to escape, as  has good AoE damage and disables, which, as explained in the "Bad Against" section, works well against an invisible . His higher base magic resistance may be problematic too for Sand King's magical damage.

Others

 * All illusion Heroes will have their illusions swiftly destroyed by 's AoE nukes.
 * is a good ganker, and might shut down some squish Heroes that tend to be strong as the game progresses. Such Heroes:, , , and others.
 * Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from 's spells. Such Heroes:, , , and others, but this will heavily depend on both  and these Heroes playstyle and positioning.

Works well with...

 * The mana regen from allows  to spam abilities with less concern for mana pool.
 * Both have good disables that are rather useful when ganking.


 * The mana regen from allows  to spam abilities with less concern for mana pool.
 * As channels a,  will as well channel his  and blink into the enemy lines, both unleashing huge AoE magic damage.
 * will save or help when he is pushing a lane.
 * Cast towards a safe location or use  to prevent taking damage, otherwise  will not work.


 * can be used on while he is channeling his ultimate or even if he already finished it, preventing any sort of disable.


 * and will do a great combo.


 * ing in the enemy lines can set one hell of a gank and initiation.


 * and can keep enemies in the middle of.
 * Both of these Heroes also possess high range disables, capable of easily interrupting enemy teleports or other channeling spells, and make fleeing difficult.

Others

 * AoE disables fares well with by locking down his targets as he unleashes high AoE damage:, , ,  and others.
 * In general, Heroes with AoE abilities (especially stuns and slows) can be effective when paired with Sand King due to his initiation capabilities. Such Heroes include, , , and.
 * 's is better used when it has some sort of follow up or initiation, and  can easily fill this role.

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