Kunkka counter and synergy picks
Pick Kunkka with Vengeful Spirit to increase win-rate from 48.9% to 54.7% or against Beastmaster to increase win-rate to 56.7% in Patch 7.39b.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
5.9% | |
5.6% | |
5.5% | |
5.0% | |
4.9% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.5% | |
3.3% | |
3.2% | |
3.2% | |
3.1% | |
2.9% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Kisses combo perfectly with X-Torrent-Boat for long-range burst. Kunkka locks heroes in place; Snapfire finishes them off. They excel in teamfight and defend objectives well. Snap’s Cookie also helps Kunkka disengage or re-initiate.
Ravage sets up perfect Boats. Both heroes are tanky, front-liners who disrupt teamfights.
Tide slows enemies with Gush for follow-up Cleaves. Strong synergy for 5v5 clashes around objectives.
X + Torrent into Static Storm is devastating and hard to dodge. Disruptor prevents enemies from escaping Kunkka’s Boat with Glimpse. They both punish poor positioning and dominate vision control fights. High kill potential during early to mid-game skirmishes.
X setup guarantees Requiem hits. Kunkka provides front-line control and vision for SF to channel safely. Double AoE burst obliterates grouped enemies. They dominate early fights around objectives with raw damage.
Fatal Bonds + Boat = massive AoE burst. Golem drop after X-Torrent keeps enemies in place. Kunkka’s damage reduction helps allies survive during chaotic fights. Strong synergy in team-oriented drafts with heavy AoE.
X mark into Ice Path + Macropyre traps enemies in huge AoE damage. Jakiro controls the fight with slows while Kunkka does the damage. Together, they can stall pushes and secure high ground easily. Wave clear and tower pressure is excellent
Fissure or Echo Slam lands perfectly after X mark Torrent and Boat combo . They both punish clumped enemies hard. ES covers Kunkka’s weakness vs mobility with instant stuns. Great control pairing for teamfight-focused lineups.
Kunkka’s Boat keeps Phoenix alive during Supernova. X mark-Torrent to force fights around Egg. Cleave helps keep enemies away from the Egg. They both scale into mid-late game with huge teamfight impact.
X Mark-Torrent guarantees Mystic Flare lands perfectly. Sky provides magical burst where Kunkka lacks. They can dominate mid-game with fast picks and pressure. Great pairing for single-target control and burst strategies.
...core items [7.39b]
A core item in the mid lane to gain some HP and mana sustain. Also allows the potential to make plays with power runes past the 6 minute mark. You can do X Mark into TP plays to fill it up at the fountain.
A core 
Boots of Speed upgrade to increase your armor and do more damage with Tidebringer. Also helps close the gap on enemy heroes for X Marks the Spot.
A core item that uses your high HP pool and Ghostship rum buff to reflect damage back to enemy heroes.
A situational and greedy item in the mid game to use your high HP pool and Ghostship rum buff to do Burn damage to all enemies around you. Also makes you tanky with evasion, and increases your damage output with Tidebringer right clicks.
A core item that lets you avoid most disables on the enemy team to use your entire spell combo and right click freely. Also improves your right click damage and tankiness through HP pool and magic resistance.
A core item for extra damage and control on enemy heroes. Lets you reposition enemies closer to or away from your team.
A core item that grants massive AoE damage and control against enemy heroes with the Ghostship fleet firing cannonballs that do extra damage.
A core item that gives you tankiness with armor and reduces healing in an AoE around you. Works well against illusions and summons along with your AoE damage spells. Also increases your damage output with all spells other than Tidebringer.
A core item that lets you get off your massive AoE damage and control spell combo a second time. Be careful about your mana pool when casting your spells a second time with Refresher.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
7.8% | |
7.2% | |
6.2% | |
5.8% | |
5.7% | |
4.8% | |
4.3% | |
4.3% | |
4.1% | |
4.1% | |
4.1% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.7% | |
3.6% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Kunkka’s AoE damage (Torrent, Tidebringer, Boat) is extremely effective against grouped Meepos. His Cleave can chunk multiple clones at once, making him a major threat in teamfights. Meepo is vulnerable to early aggression and control from X + Torrent + Boat combo.
Chaos Knights 's illusions get destroyed by Cleave and Boat’s AoE burst. X-mark Torrent combo displaces and stuns CK during Phantasm. Kunkka naturally builds armor and AoE items (Crimson, Shiva’s) to survive the chaos
X Mark keeps Lycan or his wolves in check, even during Shapeshift. Boat’s damage reduction helps mitigate Lycan’s burst dive. Tidebringer clears his summons and counters split-push effectively.
Tidebringer cleaves through illusions, letting Kunkka find the real PL. Boat and Torrent force PL to disengage before committing. In late game, one crit cleave can wipe out a full PL army.
X Mark punishes both Bear and Druid positioning. Tidebringer can clear the Spirit Bear. Lone Druid’s squishy main form is vulnerable to Kunkka’s burst and control.
Kunkka builds tanky and offers teamfight utility. X into torrent combo can isolate Medusa from her team. Tidebringer allows him to poke and chip her mana without fully engaging.
Io dies instantly to AoE combos and Cleave. X Mark prevents escape with Relocate, and Boat disrupts their timing. He can't heal through the large burst Kunkka provides.
X Mark removes Duel setup or punishes her post-Duel positioning. Boat reduces damage taken during Duel, often saving Kunkka's teammates. Kunkka’s tankiness makes him a hard Duel target.
X Mark displaces Enigma or cancels his Blink positioning. Boat ruins his combo timing, and Kunkka's BKB timing often comes before Black Hole is a threat. Cleave also chips down Eidolons and softens grouped heroes.
Tidebringer easily wipes out Familiars. X-Torrent punishes Visage’s slow movement and poor escape tools. High burst and boat damage bypass his Gravekeeper’s Cloak stacks quickly.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-5.4% | |
-5.3% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.9% | |
-3.2% | |
-3.2% | |
-3.0% | |
-2.7% | |
-2.6% | |
-2.6% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
He shrugs off Kunkka’s physical damage with Reactive Armor. Kunkka lacks magic burst to bring him down. Timber also out-pushes and controls lanes faster than Kunkka.
Lifestealer is immune to X-Torrent combo while Rage is active. He can use Infest to dodge Boat and burst squishy supports around Kunkka. Kunkka struggles to kite or kill a fat Lifestealer.
Alchemist farms faster and scales harder than Kunkka. Acid Spray + Radiance burn ruins Kunkka’s Cleave-focused fighting style. He tanks through combo and recovers instantly with regen or BKB
Blade Fury dodges Torrent and Boat entirely. Juggernaut can Omnislash Kunkka before he combos. Healing Ward sustains his team through Cleave poke.
Undying punishes long fights, which Kunkka prefers. Tombstone demands early team fight items, delaying Kunkka’s damage output. He also reduces Kunkka’s strength, weakening his tankiness over time. Undying can save teammates with Tombstone by buyying aghanim's shard nullifying kunkka combo's.
Highly mobile, Pangolier dodges Torrent/Boat combos easily. Rolling Thunder stuns Kunkka before he can cast anything. Cleave is less effective against a hero who jumps in and out of fights.
Venomancer’s spells disables Blink Dagger and punishes grouped-up teamfighting. Kunkka lacks sustain and usually doesn’t build magic resistance items . Venomancer slows Kunkka and his allies, making it hard to chase or disengage.
Ember dodges Torrent and Boat with Sleight and Remnant. He out-farms Kunkka, has high mobility, and pokes from a safe distance.Tidebringer rarely hits him, and he punishes Kunkka’s long cooldowns.
ET reduces armor, punishing Kunkka’s high-HP, low-armor build. Spirit + Stomp combo can cancel Kunkka’s setup and isolate him. He scales better in teamfights and destroys Kunkka.
...counter items [7.39b]
Lowers the armor of Kunkka and helps win trades in a right click battle.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Kunkka's constant damage from Tidebringer and other spells.
Provides armor and helps lower the HP regen on Kunkka and chase him down with a movement speed slow on right clicks.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Kunkka's consistent damage with Tidebringer.
Lets you dodge Kunkka's spell combo as you do not get dragged back by X Mark while Cycloned.
Helps significantly lower the HP regen on Kunkka with Soul Release charges and make it easier to burst him down.
Gives you and your team magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Kunkka's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Kunkka's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you debuff immunity and magic resistance to avoid Kunkka's control spells as well as reduce the damage taken from his magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Kunkka's magic heavy toolkit as well as save yourself or an ally caught by his spell combo.
Gives you a repositioning tool to kite Kunkka and save yourself or an ally from his full spell combo before it lands.
Gives you an instant silence and massive burst damage against Kunkka to kill him before he can impact fights or reduce any damage taken through Ghostship.
Gives armor to your team to take less damage from Kunkka's right clicks and Tidebringer to nullify his kill potential.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-6.5% | |
-5.6% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.3% | |
-5.3% | |
-5.2% | |
-4.6% | |
-4.3% | |
-4.2% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.0% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.9% | |
-3.6% |
