Nyx Assassin/Counters

Bad against...

 * hinders Nyx Assassin's ganking attempts with Vendetta, making him an easy kill for gold as well.


 * While Burrowing, Nyx is an easy target for a, although he can at least partially counter it with a well-timed Spiked Carapace.
 * is always a threat to Nyx Assassin, hindering his attempt of escape using Vendetta.
 * also prevents Nyx Assassin from escaping with Vendetta, as it forces him to stay still.


 * from Storm in can waste Nyx's Spiked Carapace, since its duration is shorter than the Cyclone's.


 * A well-timed prevents Nyx Assassin escaping with Vendetta and does not allow him to disengage with Spiked Carapace.
 * 's high HP easily shrug off Nyx Assassin's burst damage and fend him off.


 * completely counters all of Nyx Assassin's abilities except Vendetta, and does not allow him to disengage with Spiked Carapace.
 * makes quick work of Nyx Assassin, and Spiked Carapace offers no protection at all.


 * Familiars deal many instances of damage quickly, minimizing the effectiveness of Spiked Carapace. They are, however, relatively fragile and can be killed quickly with Nyx Assassin's high burst damage, especially from Vendetta.
 * and tanky item builds make him hard to kill with burst damage.
 * Visage's long range on and  make him hard to escape from, and 's low cooldown outmatches Spiked Carapace.


 * completely negates all of Nyx Assassin's abilities except Vendetta, while allow him to quickly close the gap.
 * combined with an ancient creep makes Nyx Assassin an easy target with or a.


 * Lycan is a common carrier, hindering his attempt of initiate or escape using Vendetta.
 * And the can be killed quickly with Nyx Assassin's high burst damage, although he can at least partially counter it with a well-timed Spiked Carapace.
 * Lycan's high HP easily shrug off Nyx Assassin's burst damage and fend him off.


 * hinders Nyx Assassin's ganking attempts with Vendetta, as well as reducing his armor and make him very vulnerable due to his low health pool.

Others

 * Hero with damage over time abilities can easily pierce Spiked Carapace and damage Nyx Assassin; however, this also means they are easily stunned.
 * Abilities and items with Silence or Root is a threat to Nyx Assassin, the former is because his nature as an ability-reliant hero, the latter is because most of them does not allow him to disengage with Spiked Carapace or Vendetta.
 * Heroes with high HP easily shrug off Nyx Assassin's burst damage and fend him off.
 * Mana Burn is useless against heroes that are not relying on abilities.
 * Nyx Assassin is ability-dependent and thus vulnerable to silence, especially while Burrowed.
 * Some abilities deals damage from an independent source and not from the hero itself, so Nyx cannot counter them with Spiked Carapace: illusions or summoning units,, , and especially 's mines.

Items

 * Detection items prevent Nyx Assassin from using Vendetta to initiate or escape.
 * blocks most of Nyx Assassin's damage.
 * can waste Nyx's Spiked Carapace, since its duration is shorter than the Cyclone's.
 * Any good strength/health item like, or even  can completely eliminate Nyx's solo ganking as a threat.
 * protects multiple heroes from Nyx Assassin's spell damage.
 * discourages Nyx Assassin from targeting a hero with spells or items. However, Nyx Assassin can punish this in return with Spiked Carapace.

Good against...

 * Spike Carapace easily interrupts.
 * 's damage over time sets up an easy Spiked Carapace stun.
 * Crystal Maiden is extremely fragile and dies quickly to Nyx Assassin's burst damage.


 * Vendetta disables.
 * Spiked Carapace reflects the damage from.
 * Enchantress is a rather squishy hero, making her fall easily to Nyx Assassin's high burst damage.


 * Enigma's uncontrollable damage from and  make him easy to stun with Spiked Carapace.
 * can be easily interrupted by Impale or Spiked Carapace.


 * Spiked Carapace can be easily triggered by or, setting up a deadly Impale.


 * With her passive, Medusa can be easily interrupted by Spiked Carapace during combat, especially during her precious.
 * Mana Burn quickly destroys, especially if Medusa only increases her mana pool by bolstering intelligence (which has the added bonus of increasing Mana Burn's damage).
 * Uncontrollable damage from and  can trigger Spiked Carapace.
 * lacks single target damage, making a Burrowed Nyx Assassin hard to kill.


 * Outworld Destroyer's high intelligence gain and fragility makes him an easy target for a massive Mana Burn, as well as killing him outwards with Nyx Assassin's high burst damage.
 * can be easily exploited by Nyx Assassin with his abilities. As long as Astral Imprisonment was not cast on Nyx Assassin, it will make an opportunity for an easy stun, either by Spiked Carapace (if Outworld Destroyer hid his allies or your allies) or Impale (if he hid himself). If Astral Imprisonment was cast on Nyx Assassin, using Spiked Carapace while banished will proc the stun after the disable, since Spike Carapace has a 0 second cast time and Astral Imprisonment deals damage right after the disable ends.
 * An ill-timed or well timed Spiked Carapace can deal a lot of damage to Outworld Destroyer and stun him, unless Outworld Destroyer used  beforehand.


 * Spiked Carapace reacts on any of the damage over time from Phoenix's abilities and can interrupt and.


 * is easy to reflect with Spiked Carapace, either stunning Puck and setting up an easy Impale or forcing a premature.
 * Puck is an intelligence hero that tends to build intelligence items, making it vulnerable to Mana Burn.
 * An ill-timed can easily set Puck up to be stunned by Impale.
 * Puck's low base armor and below average agility gain mean it is always susceptible to Vendetta.


 * 's animation makes it easy to time Spiked Carapace for a stun.
 * Pugna has the largest intelligence gain in the game, making him a prime target for Mana Burn.
 * Pugna needs to channel, making him easy to hit with Impale.


 * is easy to reflect with Spiked Carapace for massive damage.
 * 's area damage can set up an easy stun with Spiked Carapace, especially when combined with Vendetta.
 * In the early game, Sniper's low health pool and high intelligence makes him easy prey for Nyx Assassin.


 * Mana Burn removes much-needed mana for.
 * Spiked Carapace triggers on for an easy stun.


 * and allow easy Spiked Carapace stuns.
 * As a fragile hero that relies on mana and intelligence items, Tinker is vulnerable to Mana Burn.
 * Nyx Assassin's stuns can interrupt and leave Tinker helpless.

Others

 * The nature of some abilities turn them into an easy target for a turnover from Spiked Carapace:
 * Slow-moving projectiles:, ,
 * Large area-of-effect with delay or require channeling:, , , , ,
 * Deals damage over time:, , , , ,
 * Heroes with high intelligence gain and low durability are vulnerable to Mana Burn.
 * Positioning-dependent heroes are threatened by Vendetta:,.
 * Because Vendetta applies a Break status, heroes that rely on passive abilities like, , and will have limited contributions in fights.

Items

 * With Spiked Carapace off cooldown, Nyx Assassin is somewhat a counter to . He can use Spiked Carapace, then Mana Burn a target with an active Lotus Orb, protecting him from the damage of the reflected mana burn (but not the burnt mana), reflecting the damage back and stunning the target.
 * This is better with a, since all it does is deal damage, resulting in a Lotus Orb backfiring and the target suffering twice the Dagon's damage.
 * This works even more effectively with the 175% Spiked Carapace talent (at level 20), as it reflects the Dagon's damage twice, resulting in the Dagon's damage tripling in total. With Dagon 5, this becomes an instant 2400 damage nuke and 2.4 second stun (before amplification/reduction).
 * Another thing is that Lotus Orb itself is a good item itself for Nyx Assassin. Alongside with, a combination of Dagon, Blade Mail, Lotus Orb, and Spiked Carapace hit on enemy with a Lotus Orb activated will deal about 2400(3000 with level 20 talent) magic damage (before reduction/amplification).
 * Items with area of effect damage may proc Spiked Carapace, stunning the wielders and allowing Nyx Assassin to follow with other abilities:, , , and most notably.
 * Powerful passive skills are easily disabled by Vendetta's break:, ,.

Works well with...

 * Nyx Assassin's initiation potential works great in conjunction with Invoker's high damage spells.
 * Impale allows Invoker's to be easily aimed.
 * Invoker's, , and allows Nyx Assassin to land Impale rather easily.


 * Nyx Assassin's high burst damage helps Legion Commander gain damage.
 * removes silences and from Nyx Assassin.


 * Nyx Assassin can initiate using and Vendetta, making him an ideal  target.


 * helps Nyx Assassin locate and eliminate weakened enemies.
 * can help land Impale, which can in turn set up.

Others

 * Heroes with global or very long range spells can help Nyx Assassin take out tougher enemies:, ,.
 * Tanky heroes who can lure enemies to use their AoE nukes, allowing Nyx Assassin to counter-initiate with Spiked Carapace.
 * Heroes with area disables that can help Nyx Assassin land an Impale:, , and.
 * Heroes with can take advantage of Vendetta to sneak behind enemy lines.

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

Nyx Assassin/Противостоящие