Magnus/Counters

Bad against...

 * Magnus has very mediocre damage against Alchemist, because he can outlive the stun duration of reverse polarity with.


 * Night Stalker's ultimate reduces vision for the enemy team, which makes it more difficult for Magnus to initiate with Blink Dagger and Reverse Polarity. It is also more likely Night Stalker will scout out Magnus with Aghanim's Scepter and a gem, after which he can silence Magnus.


 * Phoenix will usually be on the sidelines or further back ready to use . Even after you successfully use Reverse Polarity and skewer Phoenix's teammates, Phoenix can usually counter-initiate using all its spells.


 * All of Magnus's spells are perfect for Rubick to steal, especially Reverse Polarity for a counter initiation.
 * is one of the best instant-disables in the game, easily ruining Magnus's initiation.


 * can sometimes scout out Magnus and also put his blink dagger on cooldown. Aside from that, Sniper is usually a bit further away from the front lines, so it's difficult to catch him with Reverse Polarity unless you already have vision on him and can blink-skewer him to the rest of his team.


 * Spectre breaks Magnus' blink dagger using her ultimate, and later into the game can usually outlive Reverse Polarity's duration.


 * Treant can usually scout out Magnus in the trees and prevent him from initiating. Treant can also counter his initiation with his Ultimate.


 * Tinker can break Magnus's Blink Dagger using and, therefore delaying any initiation or making Magnus use Skewer or  to initiate. Tinker usually gets his own Blink Dagger as well, which makes him harder to lock down unless Magnus commits Reverse Polarity only for Tinker.


 * Similar to Night Stalker, Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and put Blink Dagger on cooldown with, which gives Magnus problems when trying to blink and initiate.


 * Even if Wraith King dies after Magnus disables him, Magnus' entire team will be slowed and vulnerable for counter-initiation.


 * Zeus can easily find Magnus who is often hiding in trees with and, which allows him to warn allies and disrupt his initiation attempts.

Others

 * The main counter to Magnus is not through picks but rather through playstyle. Reduce the vision his team has, break his Blink Dagger however you can and spread out so he only manages to use Reverse Polarity on one person.
 * Damage over time can ruin Magnus's gameplay because it disables Blink Dagger.

Items

 * can cancel Skewer and prevent Reverse Polarity.
 * 's instant silence can prevent Reverse Polarity.
 * can cancel Skewer mid way.
 * can put Magnus' Blink Dagger on cooldown.

Good against...

 * All Magnus abilities are very good against Chaos Knight's illusions.


 * Meepo is vulnerable to area damage and disables from Magnus himself as well as his team through Empower.


 * Reverse Polarity pierces through, wasting part of it's duration.
 * Magnus is tanky and mobile hero and hard for Lifestealer to focus and kill in all stages of a game.


 * Shockwave can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * Empower and Skewer in general are effective for clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.

Others

 * Squishy core heroes (,, etc)
 * Heroes who rely on illusions and spawns (,, etc.).

Items

 * 's illusions will be cleared out of no time with Magnus' skill set.

Works well with...

 * He is good target for Empower and good follow-up for Reverse Polarity (especially with ).


 * Reverse Polarity with (or without) Skewer can set up good for Enigma.


 * Phantom Assassian is another good target for Empower and one of the best sources of burst physical damage due to, , and


 * Sven is perfect target for Empower, especially when he builds items that give attributes.
 * Reverse Polarity is very good setup for.


 * He is not the best target for Empower but one of the best ways to kill everyone who caught by Reverse Polarity.


 * All Phoenix abilities are great in combination with Reverse Polarity. and  can do a lot of damage to enemies caught by Reverse Polarity, or with , it can deal huge damage and create another stun after Reverse Polarity's stun.
 * On the other hand, Reverse Polarity can save Phoenix's from being destroyed, since it pierces through spell immunity.


 * Reverse Polarity is a perfect setup for the and  combo.
 * Kunkka is one of the best targets for Empower due to.

Others

 * AoE Nukers
 * AoE Disablers (,, , , , , etc).

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

Magnus/Противостоящие 马格纳斯/克制