Witch Doctor/Counters

Bad against...

 * Rubick can steal Death Ward easily as it is channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.


 * 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 casted, thus it will deal no damage.
 * On the upside, players prone to panicked reactions may Morph to agility, making Maledict even more efficient than intended.
 * Morphling's Adaptive Strike can interrupt Death Ward at range.


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


 * Without Dust of Appearance or Sentry Wards, Riki is able to silence Witch Doctor with Smoke Screen, 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, or pre-empt Paralyzing Cask.


 * Like any hero with a channeled spell, is a counter to it. And  even goes through magic immunity.


 * 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.


 * Vengeful Spirit has two abilities for disable Death Ward, so even BKB during the channeling doesn't work for Witch Doctor against a good Venge.

Others

 * Arc Warden'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

 * Lotus Orb reflects Stun but Linken's Sphere blocks it.
 * Black King Bar dodges all magical damage.
 * Diffusal Blade cut Witch Doctor mana.

Good against...

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


 * Due to Crystal Maiden's low movement speed and fragile nature, she is easily stunned multiple times by Paralyzing Cask and finished off with Malediction ticks.


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

Others

 * Roaming duos have a chance to have their gank turned around if they have nothing to soak up Paralyzing Cask.
 * Monkey King

Works well with...

 * traps opponent while Death Ward can kill them, so long as it's positioned outside.
 * It's also a good setup for your Maledict.


 * Zombies give excellent vision to fleeing enemies for when witch doctor has aghs. The death ward still bounces to them. Also witch doctor typically wants a buffer in front of him which Undying does well.


 * Enigma's is the perfect disable to channel a Death Ward on top of it.
 * Against high HP targets, Maledict will deal huge amounts of damage if they're also standing in.


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


 * Magnus Reverse Polarity stuns enemies for a long period of time and pulls them together so Death Ward just cleans them up.


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

Others

 * Any burst damage you can deal after Maledict has been applied can make it a lot more effective. This includes.
 * Entry
 * Entry

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