Spectre/Counters

Bad against...

 * Spectre has no way to prevent, for escape or initiation. Anti-Mage can easily pick off enemy supports and Spectre cannot do anything about it.
 * burns through Spectre's low mana pool.
 * 's illusions prevent Desolate damage.
 * Even though Anti-Mage is outcarried by Spectre in the later stages of the game, a competent Anti-Mage with a can easily outfarm and get ahead of Spectre before she can come online.


 * Juggernaut's can help save ally supports when Spectre haunts.
 * Juggernaut has much stronger push than Spectre so can end the game early before Spectre comes online.
 * Spectre is often paired with two supports that are often weak vs Juggernaut.


 * and can be used to immediately destroy Spectre's illusion when she Haunts. A fast fingered Lion can protect himself and a teammate.
 * and are good lockdown spells to control and kill Spectre, especially if she doesn't buy defensive items like  and.
 * can be used to burst down Spectre when she is low on life as she has very poor magic resistance.


 * The movement speed granted from means that Spectre has no way to punish Lycan if he wants to splitpush or pick off supports. Furthermore, he will kite Haunt and cannot be slowed by Spectral Dagger.
 * As Lycan typically has out and builds, very rarely will he be damaged by Desolate if he does manage to get into a fight against her.
 * Lycan is often part of an early game push strategy which is often the best counter to Spectre because she needs a lot of time and space to come online as a late game carry.


 * combined with can be used to easily lockdown and burst Spectre.
 * Since the point of Meepo is to come online early to mid game and takeover the whole game Meepo will be much further ahead of Spectre and with his global map presence can hunt and burst Spectre down.
 * Spectre has no strong AOE abilities or way to control or lock down Meepo.


 * can single out Spectre from her illusions, as well as heal his team against her. He also usually stands close to his allies for Death Pulse, effectively disabling Desolate.
 * at level 3 kills Spectre at around 20% due to magic resistance and Dispersion.


 * Global will protect his allies from Spectre's Haunt, both when they are alone and in teamfights.
 * is a major problem for melee enemies, Spectre included, since they must be next to an enemy in order to attack. AoE damage also allows Spectre to be singled out from her illusions.
 * will prevent Spectre from chasing Omniknight, further exacerbated by her terrible mobility outside Haunt.


 * is one of the best tower pushing abilities in the game, with a low cooldown. A competent Pugna will (at the very least) destroy T2 towers and make space for his team before Spectre can finally come online.
 * Spectre's spells, while not spammable, have a fairly high mana cost, so can be fairly damaging to Spectre early game. The mana degen will also dampen Spectre's early game power significantly.
 * Once Pugna gets, he can spam on any illusion Spectre summons, whether it'd be from Haunt, , or some other means.
 * In addition Pugna can disable Spectre's Desolate ability (although its damage is pure, it requires physical attacks) with his ability, leaving Spectre only with Spectral Dagger.


 * Riki's can make it hard for Spectre to escape or burst down Riki with auto attacks.
 * Riki can build and jump inside his ally carry or offlane tank with  to do a lot of damage to Spectre while completely avoiding dispersion.
 * Riki is great at destroying supports which are often needed to keep Spectre safe until she comes online. He can solo take them down quickly in team fights leaving Spectre alone to take on your whole team a fight which she will rarely win.
 * While in Riki does not take damage from Dispersion.


 * can be used immediately to destroy Spectres illusion when she Haunts.
 * Shadow Shaman will be destroyed late game by Dispersion when using to lock down Spectre for his team.
 * Shadow Shaman's and  help him push lanes and end the game early before Spectre can come online and take over the late game.


 * Storm Spirit can exploit every one of Spectre's weaknesses, and thus is one of the best counters against her.
 * Spectre has to be in melee range to deal damage, making her likely to trigger s and susceptible to being kited by procs.
 * can lock Spectre down, who doesn't like to build.
 * for multiple reasons:
 * Spectre cannot evade Storm Spirit, as Ball Lightning is superior to Spectral Dagger in terms of mobility.
 * Storm Spirit can kite her and her Haunt illusions when it's later in the game due to her having no form of pseudo-blinks (Reality is far inferior to Ball Lightning).
 * It is very difficult for Spectre to deal any substantial damage against Storm Spirit with Desolate. Ball Lightning grants invulnerability and can mitigate damage done from Dispersion and.


 * Terrorblades can be used to completely deplete Spectre's health pool without any consequences from Dispersion.
 * Terrorblades can be popped immediately after Haunt is used to counter the initiation.
 * Terrorblade is one of the few late game heros that can stand toe to toe and man fight Spectre and not all is lost if the game goes late when Terrorblade is on your team vs Spectre.


 * Spectre must chase for kills and relies on movement speed for mobility in fights, and has no way to counter the zombies.
 * The potency of can be increased from nearby illusions from Haunt.
 * will shut down Spectre in lane from early game.


 * Venomancer's poison damage over time are very effective against Spectre, which is lack of magic resistance from early to mid game.
 * Venomancer's multiple slows greatly reduces Spectre's movement speed and mobility.
 * s scouts out Spectre while hiding in trees.


 * removes passives, instantly killing Spectre's damage and survivability by removing both Dispersion and Desolate.
 * Due to Haunt and Radiance burn, Spectre is heavily susceptible to being persistently slowed and damaged by without even directly attacking Viper.
 * and further slow Spectre's movement speed to a crawl, while his improved magic resistance means he can easily shrug off Radiance burn.


 * makes it nearly impossible for Spectre to juke into the trees.
 * negates all of Spectre's physical damage. Furthermore, Cold Embrace will generally outheal Desolate.
 * can taunt illusions, not only wasting the entire duration of Haunt but also turning its illusions against Spectre's own team.

Others

 * can control where she goes with and .  shuts her down in teamfights.
 * can pull together Spectre's illusions with, and creates an illusion of Spectre that deals massive damage.
 * 's allows him to stun Spectre and illusions, and  prevents her from juking with Spectral Dagger.
 * Heroes with good escapes can usually outmaneuver and escape from Spectre:, ,
 * Heroes that are strong in lane can cause a lot of problems for Spectre in the early game, preventing her from getting farm and experience.

Items

 * will hard disable Spectre, and she rarely builds a to prevent this.
 * will deal AoE damage and allow Spectre to be identified from her illusions.
 * 's active ability can deal a lot of damage to Spectre during a team fight, as both Dispersion damage and burn will drastically increase the proc chance of Static Charge.
 * can break both Desolate and Dispersion, crippling Spectre.
 * blocks most physical damage from Dispersion.

Good against...

 * As Ancient Apparition likes to stay far away from the fight to get full effectiveness from, he is a very good target for a Haunt gank. Ancient Apparition also has no hard disables, making him an easy kill for Spectre.


 * Being squishy with very bad movement speed, Spectre can easily stay on Crystal Maiden with Haunt and Spectral Dagger.
 * Late game, with enough farm, Spectre can tank an entire, possibly even causing Crystal Maiden to kill herself from Dispersion.


 * Spectre can easily close the distance on Drow Ranger with Haunt and stick on her with Spectral Dagger, negating the bonus attack speed from.


 * Spectre can use Haunt to intercept and disrupt Earthshaker's initiation attempts.
 * Spectral Dagger can be used to traverse past.
 * Earthshaker often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so Desolate can be very effective against him.
 * Beware that the Haunt illusions amplify the damage done from, which can prove fatal for Spectre's own team.


 * Spectre can very easily close the distance on Lina with Haunt and Spectral Dagger and due to Lina's abysmal mobility without a and terrible health pool and armor, Lina easily gets slaughtered due to Desolate.
 * Dispersion can mitigate a good portion of Lina's burst damage, allowing Spectre to turn against her afterwards.


 * Spectre can use Haunt to intercept and disrupt Magnus's initiation attempts.
 * Spectral Dagger can severely slow down Magnus after he uses.
 * Magnus often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so Desolate can be very effective against him.


 * She can get to him anywhere on the map with Haunt (it is impossible to rat against Spectre).
 * Spectre pass through his trees with Spectral Dagger.
 * Desolate damage (he is almost always alone) will melt him quickly.


 * Spectre becomes very tanky late game. Hooking in a Spectre with Manta Style + Diffusal Blade will lead to quick death for Pudge.
 * But beware of hook ganks early game, because he will try to shut down Spectre quickly.


 * None of Spectre's spells are very good for Rubick to.


 * Spectre can reach him easily in the backlines with spectral dagger, or teleport to him with Haunt
 * He is usually a fair distance away from his allies; Desolate will quickly tear Sniper down.


 * His global teleportation with +  is easily countered with Haunt, and Spectre can reach him anywhere on the map.
 * He is squishy, and if alone Desolate will kill him very fast.
 * Cannot use 's miss chance for defense against Spectre since Desolate cannot miss.


 * Spectre can catch up to her with Spectral Dagger, even if she uses.
 * Spectre can instantly reach a ratting Windranger with Haunt.
 * 's miss chance is countered by Desolate.

Others

 * Spectre's entire ability set is designed to get to and destroy heroes that stay in the backlines, both carries (Drow Ranger, Sniper, etc.) and supports (Dazzle, Shadow Shaman, etc.)
 * Heroes that rely on miss chance are completely countered by Desolate: Phantom Assassin, Troll Warlord
 * Invisible heroes can usually be caught by Haunt, and Spectre can chase them, while simultaneously providing detection to her team.

Items

 * Spectre can intercept dependent initiators to aware her team, while simultaneously disrupting enemy engagements.

Works well with...

 * can reveal enemies on low health anywhere on the map (and provide True Sight) so Spectre can Haunt to a low health enemy for an easy kill.
 * can increase her damage from and Desolate.


 * Spectre can use Haunt to reach a Tracked enemy anywhere on the map
 * Gold from killing Tracked enemies will allow Spectre to snowball and become unstoppable quickly


 * can heal Spectre from anywhere on the map
 * Late game he can push lanes by himself, and Spectre will be able to protect him from anywhere on the map with Haunt
 * Ganks from the jungle will allow Spectre to snowball quickly, and he can protect her in lane from enemy ganks from the jungle


 * Haunt can reveal potential targets without making him waste.


 * deals more damage the more units hit by it. This forces the enemy team to split up and risk being killed by Haunt illusions.


 * is devastating to heroes grouped together. The enemy team will be given the choice of being affected more by Haunt if spread out or if grouped.


 * and both provide excellent AOE lockdown to allow Spectre and her illusions to stick onto targets.
 * can aid Spectre heavily in destroying towers, funneling her gold and creating space for her to farm.
 * Magic damage from compliments Spectre's physical and pure damage.
 * Due to the AOE nature of Leshrac's spells, enemies will be discouraged from clumping up, which will make them more susceptible to Haunt ganks.


 * is very effective versus heroes close together. The enemy team is forced to split to avoid this and is more exposed to Desolate from Haunt illusions.
 * can give bonus damage and cleave to Spectre to hasten her farm.


 * can deal massive damage in an area. If the enemy heroes spread out, they risk being killed by Haunt illusions.
 * Enemies will have to make a tough decision during teamfights: either clump up and risk getting hit by a big ultimate from one of the heroes above, or spread out and be picked off by Haunt.


 * can help Treant scout out enemies for potential Haunt ganks.
 * will heal Spectre and her illusions, also providing a slow in case Spectral Dagger is on cooldown.
 * can be used to heal Spectre while she farms the jungle. It can also be used to heal towers, stalling the push of enemies and biding time for Spectre to farm her items.
 * holds enemies in place. If enemies are rooted but far away enough from each other, Haunt illusions can be very devastating as then all of their attacks will be amplified by Desolate.


 * keeps Spectre healthy in lane. Having more health also means more reflected damage with Dispersion.
 * further increases damage of Haunt on a group of enemies.

Others

 * Lane supports in general can help Spectre secure last hits and control the lane:, ,
 * Heroes with global abilities or high mobility help Spectre gank with Haunt:, , ,
 * Spectre deals almost exclusively physical or pure damage. To compliment, nukers such as, , etc. can prevent the team from lacking in magical damage.