Enigma/Counters

Bad against...

 * can give Abaddon a second chance after a Black Hole combo.
 * can be used to save allies or Abaddon himself from Malefice.
 * Abaddon can easily heal himself as well as his allies during a team fight, especially with upgraded.


 * Enigma's Midnight Pulse damage can be substantially mitigated by Anti-Mage's high magic resistance thanks to.
 * In the early game, Anti-Mage's can cancel a  until Enigma gets.
 * Should Anti-Mage survive a Black Hole combo, Enigma will have exhausted most of his skills and items, preventing him from defending himself against any counter initiation or a follow-up from a blink escape.
 * Anti-Mage's will make him a very hard target to use  on, having to solo ult him later on in the game or leave him out of the.


 * can potentially force him to activate prematurely, before pulling off a Black Hole combo.
 * Bloodseeker can find an Enigma out of position and him, making it difficult to initiate properly in a team fight, as it pierces through.


 * Bristleback's constant harass from Quill Spray will greatly hurt Enigma's laning and kill his Eidolons.
 * However, Bristleback has no way of canceling at all. And Bristleback is not a hero that goes for disabling items to counter that problem.


 * Broodmother can kill Enigma's Eidolons with, and spawn her spiderlings in their place. And Enigma can't use to instantly kill spiderlings at once.
 * Without the protection from, Broodmother can cancel Enigma's with  and make him more vulnerable to damage. Broodmother can also buy  to cancel Enigma's  even through.
 * causes Enigma's attacks to miss a lot and renders him more vulnerable to magical damage. And if Broodmother takes 400 AoE, then she will be able to use to cause Enigma's Eidolons to miss their attacks as well. In addition, Enigma does not like to buy items to provide him true strike such as , , and it's upgrade.
 * If Broodmother is lucky enough to survive being trapped in, she will be able to recover her lost health with.
 * gives Broodmother access to, which allows her to create invisible lines on her webs from that will root Enigma, deal damage over time to Enigma and reveal Enigma if he unwittingly steps on them, disrupting his attempts to initiate with , prevent him from using , while also alerting Broodmother on his attempts to ambush her and her allies.


 * Despite Clinkz's fragility, his harassment in the early game can be devastating; as he can kite Enigma and his Eidolons and claim their bounty with and.
 * Clinkz often goes for a disabling item like or, which allows him to cancel Enigma's  until Enigma gets .  can also root Enigma, preventing him from using  to escape from Clinkz.
 * Even with, Clinkz can still easily kill Enigma as all of his abilities ingore spell immunity, and Enigma is a very easy target for , which means Clinkz can solo Enigma at any stage of the game unless Clinkz is caught in.


 * 's stun pierces through spell immunity and Enigma's channeling can be easily cancelled from a safe distance, assuming none of his allies are in the way, and the Black Hole is not centered directly on Enigma.


 * pierces spell immunity and can prevent Enigma from casting any spells or using items until the duration of the spell depletes, as well as cancelling a.
 * While can be blocked by a, which is a common item on Enigma,  upgraded  allows Doom to cast Doom on himself to affect enemies near him, and if Doom can combine this with , he will be able to jump on Enigma while he is channeling .  upgraded  can also cancel  if any of Enigma's allies affected by  gets too close to him for it's duration, ignoring both,  and.


 * Most of the of Jakiro's damage-over-time abilities put on cooldown, potentially forcing Enigma to prematurely activate.
 * Jakiro's, , and  from  can take out Enigma's Eidolons, reduce Enigma's attack speed and put Enigma's  on cooldown.
 * Jakiro can easily cancel with  as Enigma is a very easy target while channeling it.
 * upgraded can deal pure damage-over-time and pierce spell immunity, which can discourage Enigma from even trying to initiate with.


 * can wipe the pushing Eidolons in a lane with ease, diminishing Enigma's laning presence by a lot.
 * will severely slow down Enigma and make him more vulnerable to magical damage more he moves for it's duration.
 * However, Keeper of the Light does not have any way to cancel Black Hole outside from from Aghanim's Scepter.


 * Without, Luna will be able to cancel Enigma's from safe distance with her  or with 0.25s Eclipse Lucent Ministun talent for  and counter-initiate with . This can get even worse for Enigma once Luna gets  and combines it with 0.25s Eclipse Lucent Ministun talent that will allow Luna to use  from safe distance.
 * If Luna chooses to use in anticipation right after Enigma jumps in with, she will be able to kill Enigma before he even gets a chance to use.
 * Luna commonly buys, which can help her recover from Enigma's in case she survives it.
 * combined with can make a short work of Enigma's Eidolons before Luna uses.
 * Bear in mind, however, that once Enigma gets, Luna will be out of solutions to cancel , and going for on Luna can be risky due to 's very short cast range.


 * Medusa's can make quick work of Enigma's Eidolons and take advantage of their considerable bounty.
 * Medusa can also kill Eidolons with her that can also greatly damage Enigma and drain some of his mana.
 * If Medusa activates at the start of a fight, it can make initiating and landing an effective  exceedingly difficult, because  can cancel Enigma's  even through spell immunity, which can discourage Enigma from even trying to initiate with.


 * can save allies from a Black Hole combo. When upgraded with and, it becomes exceedingly difficult for Enigma to land a good  against Outworld Destroyer and his team.
 * can also cancel while Enigma does not have.
 * and can often make a short work out of Enigma and his Eidolons.


 * Even with, Pudge's and  can still disable Engima while he is channeling  as Enigma is a very easy target while channeling.
 * Pudge's upgraded  and  are great ways to save allies from.
 * Enigma is prone to ganks in the jungle or in the off-lane without proper vision. Pudge can take advantage of Enigma's lack of mobility, and gank him often.


 * Enigma's abilities have a huge mana cost, meaning that will deal a lot of damage to Enigma.
 * Pugna can heal allies trapped inside Black Hole thanks to, Pugna can also damage multiple of Enigma's allies around him with when he casts it on  upgraded  during teamfight.
 * can easily kill Eidolons, especially when Enigma is pushing.
 * Even though Pugna cannot cancel on his own, smart Pugna can buy  to stop Enigma from channeling  and make him more vulnerable to counter-attacks with  and.


 * Riki can potentially catch an Enigma out of position and prevent him from properly blinking and initiating, thanks to.
 * Before Enigma gets his, can be used to cancel Black Hole. After Enigma gets , Riki can also cancel Black Hole with Abyssal Blade, which is a common item built on him.
 * renders Riki hidden and invulnerable, which in combination with Abyssal Blade allows Riki to cancel Black Hole with little to no worries of getting caught in it.
 * Enigma's fragility during all stages of the game makes him extremely prone to Riki's ganking.


 * has a longer range than the AoE of for the purposes of cancelling it.
 * All of Enigma's spells are useful to.
 * is useful for interrupting channeling spells or long cast animations. Its stun duration is also amplified thanks to Spell Steal's debuff amplification.
 * can be used to push or counter-push a lane.
 * is useful to block an area or for team fights.
 * is very easy to steal, as it is a channeled ability. It's also one of the best ultimate abilities for team fights, and it can easily turn the fight around for the enemy team. It also does more damage and has a larger cast range thanks to . A stolen can also cancel Enigma's.


 * can be cast from a long range to put Enigma's on cooldown.
 * can interrupt Enigma's Black Hole channeling through and, making Silencer one of Enigma's hard counters. But bear in mind that  can be dispelled with  if activated first.


 * extends Sniper's attack range, allowing him to position himself safely behind his team, making it difficult to catch him in Enigma's relatively small area-of-effect for . When left unattended, he can quickly kill a channeling Enigma (often from the high ground) to rout an otherwise strong initiation.
 * In the early game, Sniper can cancel Enigma's Black Hole with 's ministun. Due to the absolutely ginormous 3000 cast range on Assassinate, Sniper does not need to be too close to Enigma to cancel his . upgraded  can also stun Enigma for a longer duration.
 * Both and  put Enigma's Blink Dagger on cooldown, potentially forcing him to prematurely activate.


 * can ruin Enigma's initiation with, no matter where he is on the map.
 * Spectre often buys, which allows her to deal damage over time to Enigma and put on cooldown.
 * reflects the damage of and  inflicted back to Enigma. This can get even worse for Enigma if Spectre buys.
 * All of Spectre's abilities ignore spell immunity, which means that even with, Enigma has absolutely little to no chance against Spectre at any stage of the game.


 * An isolated Enigma in the early game can be easily killed by Storm Spirit thanks his higher mobility and dueling potential. However, Storm Spirit can be killed when caught by Enigma's full combo, especially if Enigma has.
 * Storm can kill all of Enigma's Eidolons relatively quickly without much risk, slowing down Enigma's farming speed, preventing him from split pushing, and giving Storm its considerable bounty, especially if Enigma chooses the Level 25 Talent that gives him more Eidelons.
 * Storm can zip through stunning Enigma while he's channelling until Enigma buys.


 * Tidehunter's will cripple all of Enigma's Eidolons, and at a higher level, Tidehunter will be capable to instantly kill the whole group of them for a boost of gold.
 * negates Eidolons's damage and Enigma's auto attacks, making laning against Tidehunter nearly impossible for Enigma.
 * has an insane radius, and considering that Enigma is prone to waiting around for a and  combo, 's stun may catch Enigma off guard and put  on cooldown, limiting him a crucial teamfight time.


 * can interrupt and it can pierce spell immunity and neither  nor  can protect Enigma from  as  is an auto-cast ability.
 * In pretty much any phase of the game, Tusk's abilities can easily cancel and disrupt Enigma's positioning.


 * Vengeful Spirit can interrupt Black Hole's channeling through by using  from a safe distance.
 * Vengeful Spirit's Level 25 Talent can make her pierce spell immunity, giving her another option to use in conjunction with  to cancel Enigma's Black Hole channeling even through both,  and.


 * 's spell immunity piercing stun can stop Black Hole's channeling. Due to this ability's large area of effect, it can be cast at a safe distance from the Black Hole. It also goes through and ignores.
 * and upgraded  can be used to make Enigma's Eidolons easier to kill, potentially feeding the enemy team. Also,their constant damage will put  on cooldown, potentially forcing Enigma to prematurely activate.


 * , when directly targeted on Enigma, goes through, stopping Enigma's Black Hole channeling. It also turns his team against him, potentially killing him. Even if Enigma gets on top of ,  can be used to pop , and  will stop Black Hole channeling.
 * can be targeted on an eidolon, killing off other eidolons and damaging nearby heroes as well.


 * Like Abbadon's, can bring Wraith King back to life, giving him a second chance to counter initiate or escape after a Black Hole combo. And since Enigma is not used to buy , this can be a very big problem for him.
 * Without protection from, Wraith King can also cancel Black Hole with that can also deal damage over time, putting  on cooldown.
 * can summon many skeleton warriors that can be used to deal with Enigma's Eidolons.


 * Zeus can break with his long range abilities and global range ultimate,.
 * has a long range and a mini-stun, providing a way for him to cancel Black Hole from safe distances, assuming Enigma doesn't have his.
 * Zeus's grants him  ability that has a global range and mini-stun, making it an even more effective way to cancel Black Hole before Enigma initiates with.
 * Zeus is typically able to position himself at a safe distance from the fight, making him a difficult target to capture in a Black Hole.

Others

 * Enigma is fragile, and lacks escapes, being dependent on for mobility. Ganking Heroes or Heroes with burst damage will likely kill him before he can do anything. Such Heroes include:, , , , , , etc.
 * Enigma's left level 25 talent (increasing the count of Eidolons from ) can potentially feed enemy heroes with Eidolons.
 * Long ranged disables, especially those that pierce spell immunity, cancel Black Hole: 's, 's , 's , 's , 's , 's.
 * Enigma lacks burst damage, and that makes him vulnerable to heroes who can recover themselves and turn the fight around to their advantage after Enigma finishes his initiation:, , , , , , , ,.
 * Heroes who can clear the waves of Enigma's Eidolons:, , , , , , , , ,.

Items

 * 's damage per second could mitigate Enigma's ability to use in order to initiate.
 * can be used as a longer ranged method to cancel Black Hole provided Enigma hasn't activated his or doesn't have  ready.  can later be upgraded into, that can also be used to save allies that are trapped in the.
 * can be used to block, and Enigma has no other solutions to put it's spellblock on cooldown.
 * will reflect back at Enigma if he impulsively tries to cast it on an enemy hero affected by it.
 * can be activated under or  to inflict that damage back to Enigma. But remember that damage return from  will be blocked by Spell Immunity.
 * can root Enigma and interrupt his channeling of, it can also prevent him from using to either escape or initiate, and force him to use  while out of position if he has not used it yet. Later it can be upgraded into  that can also root Enigma's Eidolons while also passively providing chance to release a chain lightning that can damage Enigma and his Eidolons.
 * deals damage over time, which prevents Enigma from using to escape. It also reduces Enigma's health and any healing he receives, making him more vulnerable.
 * and it's upgrade are another long-ranged method of canceling Black Hole as it can silence Enigma and render him defenseless if he has no  or .  can also make it's owner's attacks weaken damage of Malefice, Midnight Pulse and Black Hole.
 * is yet, another long-ranged method of canceling Black Hole, and which can be used before Enigma uses Black King Bar and Black Hole to initiate a teamfight, as it prevents him from using both, abilities and items.
 * , and  can help it's owner to recover himself/herself if they survive Enigma's initiation with Black Hole.
 * can protect multiple heroes against damage from 's magical damage. However, they will still suffer damage from that deals pure damage.
 * 's stun and bash can disable Enigma even while he has active. However, it has extremely short range, and approaching Enigma while he is Spell Immune and channeling Black Hole is a very bad idea.

Good against...

 * Crystal Maiden will be not able to cast her while being constantly stunned by Enigma's.
 * Enigma's can cancel 's channeling regardless of her  and.


 * Enigma's Eidolons from can help soak Juggernaut's  in the early game, mitigating the damage and wasting it on disposable summons. Should Juggernaut choose to kill Enigma's Eidelons with, he will leave himself open to Enigma's disables.
 * Enigma's and 's damage and disable can pierce through Juggernaut's.


 * Lacking any stun and being heavily dependent on his physical attacks and spell immunity, Lifestealer has no way to stop, assuming he does not initiate Enigma first with.
 * Enigma's Black Hole and Midnight Pulse damage can pierce through Lifestealer's.
 * However, if Lifestealer manages to get and combines it with, he will be able to disable Enigma's  inside him with  and he will be able to help his allies recover themselves from Enigma's initiation with  if Lifestealer gets.


 * Malefice will cause Monkey King to struggle without, as its periodic damage and stun disables/interrupts abilities, such as and.
 * can also destroy trees in a wide radius, stunning Monkey King if he happened to be on a tree caught within area-of-effect.


 * Heroes under can be still damaged from the pure damage of  and magical damage of.


 * Enigma's damage can make Underlord suffer heavy damage due to his high health.
 * Enigma can catch Underlord and his team off guard with and  when they teleport using . And  offers no defense against them.
 * However, Enigma needs to approach Underlord carefully as Underlord can interrupt channeling of the with  and can also use  to scout Enigma's location which can also put Enigma's  on cooldown if Enigma has no  available to use.

Others

 * Enigma deals magical (and pure with Aghanim's Scepter upgraded ) damage based on enemies's health, so effective HP is usually a non-issue. He completely ignores defensive abilities like, , and others. Heroes with massive health pools or health regeneration will also be worthless against him.
 * Heroes with channeling abilities or long cast points will struggle when under the effects of Malefice, as its periodic stun will interrupt their casting. This includes spells like;, , , etc.
 * Enigma fares well against a wide range of heroes thanks to his abilities that pierce spell immunity, especially when drafted judiciously and positioned well to initiate or clean up team fights.
 * Enigma can be a perfect counter-initiator with his ultimate. A perfectly timed Black Hole will turn the tide of any initiation, especially from heroes like;, , , , and.

Items

 * offers no protection against and  as they can pierce spell immunity.
 * and cannot protect it's wielder from  and  as 's magical damage will be amplified against Ethereal targets while  deals pure damage which can also damage Ethereal targets.
 * cannot protect heroes affected by it from and, as it should be noted that Enigma primarily relies on using  and  to deal damage for most of the time.

Works well with...

 * 's shatter threshold can often be reached quickly thanks to Midnight Pulse's (and Black Hole's if upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter) percentage based damage. This combo is particularly deadly as all 3 spells have wide AoEs, pierce Spell Immunity and Linken's Sphere, and cannot be dispelled.


 * taunts enemies to forcefully gather around Axe, allowing Enigma to follow up with a Black Hole combo, or vice versa.


 * Black Hole combined with can be devastating when used at its full duration.


 * Dark Seer's allows him to suck more heroes into Black Hole or help Enigma initiate easier for a multi-man Black Hole.
 * 's illusions are able to attack the enemy heroes caught in Black Hole without restraint, dealing devastating amounts of damage.
 * allows Enigma to initiate or escape more easily.
 * can help deal even more damage towards heroes stuck inside Black Hole.


 * can keep Enigma alive while he channels his Black Hole.
 * upgraded can help followup a Black Hole.


 * and combined with  and Eidolons from  can be used to push against waves of creeps and stall enemy pushes.
 * In case he is on low HP, can help Enigma heal himself under the condition that Dawnbreaker is able to land a hit that will trigger it.
 * Dawnbreaker can use from any point of the map either to help Enigma in case he is under attack from enemy heroes, or as a follow-up to Enigma's Black Hole.


 * Black Hole used in tandem with can deal immense amounts of damage during a team fight.
 * Earthshaker can use his abilities to help set up a potential Black Hole initiation or follow-up by keeping the enemy team stunned for a longer duration.


 * can be used to deal insane amount of damage to the enemies trapped on the Black Hole.


 * combined with Black Hole can keep the enemy team disabled for a long duration.
 * and combined with Enigma's Eidolons from  can be used to help Enigma push against waves of creeps and stall enemy pushes.


 * Luna's combined with  can help Enigma and his Eidolons push against waves of creeps and destroy towers quickly.
 * combined with Black Hole can quickly finish off enemy heroes before they get a chance to retailiate. This can become even better once Luna buys that will significantly upgrade 's damage output and cause the beams from  to appear twice as fast.


 * combined with Black Hole can keep the enemy team disabled for an exceedingly long duration.


 * A well-timed can keep multiple enemies in place, giving Enigma enough time set up his Midnight Pulse and Black Hole.


 * is useful to saving allies such as Enigma, as the time spent hidden gives him the opportunity to use whenever its cooldown has been reset.


 * used in conjunction with a Black Hole can result in devastating amounts of damage, as well as further increasing the duration in which enemies are stunned.


 * A well-placed can help Enigma initiate with a Black Hole, further allowing Sand King to follow-up with.


 * Enigma's Black Hole can make enemies very easy for Shadow Shaman to burst down with s from and  upgraded.
 * and can keep the enemy hero disabled for a long time during the ganks on them.


 * Enemies caught in Black Hole become easy targets for . This becomes especially lethal when combined with Skywrath Mage's, allowing him to cast two Mystic Flares on black hole's victims for tremendous damage.


 * can protect Enigma against burst attacks and allows him to recover from nukes.
 * Treant Protector's can disable the enemy team during a team fight, giving Enigma enough time to follow up with a Black Hole combo.


 * used in conjunction with Enigma's Midnight Pulse and Black Hole can deal devastating amounts of damage to the enemy team.
 * can slow enemies, making it difficult to escape Midnight Pulse's AoE damage.
 * can be used to help Enigma initiate or follow up with his initiation.


 * Witch Doctor can follow up with Death Ward and Maledict to deal substantial amounts of damage to enemies stuck in Enigma's Black Hole, especially when upgraded by . Also, Maledict will deal huge damage to enemies due to Enigma's percentage based damage from Midnight Pulse and (Black Hole if upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter)


 * Invoker's AoE spells, especially Cataclysm and deal immense damage to enemies inside Black Hole.

Others

 * Some heroes might make it easier for Enigma to initiate or follow up with his abilities:, , , , , etc.
 * Enigma's Black Hole gives carries enough time to finish off any enemies stunned inside Black hole:, , , , etc.
 * Enigma works well with any hero that requires the enemy to hold still in order to deal the most effective damage:, , etc.

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

Enigma/Противостоящие