Necrophos/Counters

Bad against...

 * completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, else he be faced with a quick death if focused on.


 * Anti-Mage lives up to his name, with each attack eating away at Necrophos' much needed mana, possibly rendering him unable to cast his Reaper's Scythe, and as Necrophos is an Intelligence hero, his mana pool will be great enough to deal high damage to Necrophos if is cast on him.
 * Should he cast Ghost Shroud to protect himself from his attacks, Anti-Mage can just wait it out and catch up to him should he attempt to run with or . Ghost Shroud also makes Necrophos more vulnerable to Mana Void's magic damage, making it a bad spell to cast as a last means of defense.
 * makes it very hard for Necrophos to kill Anti-Mage with Reaper's Scythe (on his own), and can shield Anti-Mage from his ultimate, even casting it back to Necrophos.


 * Dazzle's is a spammable healing ability that spreads around his entire team, slowing the death of his teammates as effectively as Necrophos spreads damage to them.
 * If not immediately, delays his ally (or allies, if Dazzle has ) from gradually dying to Necrophos' abilities, especially Reaper's Scythe.


 * Necrophos struggles at clearing away durable illusions or summons. Meepo can overwhelm Necrophos with his many duplicates, especially in the later stages of the game, and his will prevent Necrophos from getting away, even if he casts Ghost Shroud.
 * Meepo's high burst damage can make it difficult for to Necrophos to stay alive, and as Necrophos excels in extended fights, he will not be able to do as much damage as he intends to.


 * Only during the laning stage, Oracle's nullifies any damage that Heartstopper Aura might inflict.
 * and can protect an ally from Reaper's Scythe.
 * Oracle can dispel Ghost Shroud with.


 * is a core item on Phantom Lancer. Should it be purchased, combined with his numerous illusions, it allows him to rapidly deplete Necrophos' mana, rendering Necrophos incapable of casting.
 * It can be difficult to single out the true Phantom Lancer among his army, giving Necrophos a hard time aiming his ultimate.
 * Even if his illusions are defeated, Phantom Lancer is capable of creating more at his disposal, with almost no issue.


 * If Rubick steals Reaper's Scythe, he can turn the powerful ultimate back against Necrophos' team. Even his other spells are useful under Rubick's hands, giving him a sustain or a weak initiation/protection tool.

Others

 * Heroes who possess abilities that can save targets from being killed by Reaper's Scythe:
 * ,, , , , etc.
 * Any disable, silence or mana burn is a good way to nullify Necrophos, as he is slow and has little offensive presence or self defense without his spells.
 * Illusions make it difficult for Necrophos to target his Reaper's Scythe correctly, thus giving or  an edge against Necrophos.
 * Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include (although only from behind),, , and.

Items

 * stops Necrophos from getting too much healing from his abilities.
 * provides magic resistance that can easily cut a Reaper's Scythe's damage, and the 1.5 second delay makes it easy to cast Glimmer on an ally that is about to be Scythed.
 * reflects Reaper's Scythe back to Necrophos. Most of the time his ultimate will not kill him back as he'd be casting it mostly at full health, but it does mean Necrophos will be stunned through spell immunity for 1.5 seconds, preventing him from possibly following up his ultimate with more of his own damage.
 * makes it impossible to cast Reaper's Scythe on his own or even alert your team that Necrophos is about to initiate, letting them escape.
 * ignores damage from most of Necrophos' abilities, especially that of his ultimate.
 * and prevents Necrophos from spamming Death Pulse, preventing him from healing back and/or retaliate, or even use his Ghost Shroud to defend himself with.
 * is a stronger counter than the above mentioned items, preventing not only his abilities from being cast, but also his items that could either heal him further, dispel the debuffs, or help him escape.
 * disables Death Pulse's passive and Heartstopper Aura. Already existing stacks of Death Pulse still provide bonus health and mana regeneration.

Good against...

 * Heartstopper Aura deals percentage-based damage flagged as HP removal, so it is not reduced by, nor does it trigger passive s.
 * Reaper's Scythe is very effective against Bristleback not only due to its percentage-based damage, but rather because it first stuns and then deals its damage, allowing Necrophos to position in front of Bristleback in time.


 * No matter how high Pudge builds up strength with his, all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to Reaper's Scythe. Considering his constant self-damage with , being around Heartstopper Aura will prove risky for an overconfident Pudge.
 * However, it should be noted that Pudge players will tend to buy magic resistance items to help negate Rot's self damage, so later in the game, Pudge may be able to tank Necrophos' damage output easily, but are still vulnerable to Heartstopper Aura's degeneration.


 * Frequent healing from Death Pulse makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with.
 * Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's tankiness, and can kill him quickly after initiation.


 * Phoenix constantly depletes its own health due to the health costs of its abilities. Unlike heroes that have a similar mechanic, Phoenix does not benefit from low health, nor does it really have a countermeasure for it. As such, Phoenix is a very vulnerable target for Necrophos to prey on, especially when caught off guard before it can cast.


 * His Heartstopper Aura deals the same gradual damage over time no matter how high Sven builds his strength or health pool up, and should he fall down to a certain percentage, his high health will no longer matter if Necrophos manages to land his Reaper's Scythe, killing him instantly. But it is best if Necrophos can either catch him off guard before he can possibly use his (which is an item Sven players commonly purchase), or bait him out of it.
 * Ghost Shroud prevents Sven from hitting Necrophos, and if he doesn't have his available, it could make him completely immune to Sven and allow Necrophos to easily kite him around.

Others

 * Carries are a prime target for his ultimate, as if timed properly, they will be killed before they can even have a noticeable effect in a teamfight, and be forced to stay out of the game longer due to the extended respawn time. Such heroes must be careful when engaging a team with Necrophos, as if they are too careless or lack proper protection, their reckless plays can be quickly and severely punished.
 * Heroes that commonly purchase will be unable to use it effectively under the effects of a maxed out Heartstopper Aura.
 * Heroes that have high health but little to no magic resistance build-up are easy prey for Necrophos, as no matter how high they build their health up, Reaper's Scythe will kill them outright as long as they fall under a certain threshold, and Heartstopper Aura will deal the same amount of damage regardless, decaying their health the longer they stay within range. As such, Strength heroes like, or  are good targets for his ultimate.
 * Heroes that have escape abilities (such as, or ) can be either nullified by Reaper's Scythe or a complimentary item for Necrophos (like  or ). If Necrophos is quick enough and enters range, they can quickly, if not instantly, die if they are not quick enough.
 * Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include, , or.

Works well with...

 * The sustain and strong dispel from Abaddon helps keep Necrophos alive longer in fights, allowing a huge damage swing from healing, damage, and massive health removal from Heartstopper Aura.


 * Axe's initiation allows him to both catch and severely damage multiple enemies at once. 's pure damage quickly removes a chunk of health from nearby enemies, making Necrophos' presence more potent.
 * Both of their ultimates are instant kills when fallen below a certain threshold of health. If the enemy team is not careful, they could be very easily wiped from the field without retaliation.


 * A will be very swiftly ended by Necrophos' nukes. If it ends during Reaper's Scythe, the Dueled enemy will also face an extended respawn time, making these two a formidable pair in a teamfight.


 * increases the damage Reaper's Scythe does, allowing Necrophos to kill enemies even quicker.
 * His great teamfight abilities like and  help damage multiple units all at once, making Necrophos' presence even deadlier.

Others

 * Any hero with great nuking power will work well with Necrophos. Such heroes include, , , and.
 * Heroes with high damage in a large area of effect will help make Necrophos a deadly foe for the enemy team, as they would all be more vulnerable to his Heartstopper Aura or be possible targets for his ultimate. Heroes like, , , even wielders like  or  will aid him greatly in a teamfight.

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

Necrophos/Противостоящие