Lycan counter and synergy picks
Pick Lycan with Axe to increase win-rate from 48.5% to 55.7% or against Elder Titan to increase win-rate to 55.0% in Patch 7.39b.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
7.1% | |
6.4% | |
6.3% | |
5.6% | |
4.8% | |
4.0% | |
3.7% | |
3.7% | |
3.4% | |
3.2% | |
3.1% | |
2.9% | |
2.9% | |
2.8% | |
2.8% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Beastmasters passive ability works well with Lycan summons.
Chen very much synergizes with the whole Lycan playstyle with summons and gathering with your team.
Great early-game aggression and pick-off that Lycan can follow up.
Brings early game creeps and pressure to match Lycan’s timing.
Provides sustain, armor reduction, and Shallow Grave for dives.
Starts fights and Locks targets in for Lycan to finish with high speed.
Ink Swell + wolves combo well; Soulbind + Summon targeting pairs followed by shapeshift to finish enemy heroes
...core items [7.39b]
A core item to dominate an ancient creep to add to your Wolf pack. The ancients are much more powerful than normal creeps in terms of auras, HP, damage, and abilities. Improves the potential of fighting and split pushing on the map.
An incredible pick up to ensure all your lanes continue to push towards the enemy base.
A core aura item that boosts your team against physical damage and improves the potential of running at towers as well as Roshan with your team and your Wolf pack.
A core item that lets you dominate a creep to add to your Wolf pack. Synergizes well with the Feral Impulse aura and allows you to push lanes and pick off heroes.
A situational aura item that boosts the HP sustain, damage, mana sustain, and tankiness of your team as well as your Wolf pack.
A core item to add even more control and burst damage against elusive enemy heroes. Works well against high armor heroes by doing magic damage through right clicks in the silence duration.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
6.5% | |
5.9% | |
5.8% | |
5.3% | |
5.1% | |
4.6% | |
4.5% | |
4.5% | |
4.4% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.6% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.5% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Lycan's mobility allows him to easily get on top of AA and has enough damage to kill him reliably. Shapeshift essentially provides him with Haste making it difficult for AA to connect his Ice Blast and easy for Lycan to leave Cold Feet's stun radius. Summon Wolves on their own are able to apply enough pressure for AA and force him to kite them.
Oracle's skill set doesnt allow him to defend himself from your units. Even if he disarms you, the units will be able to kill him.
Lich possesses a lot of slows, which Lycan doesn't care about when he Shapeshifts and has no in-built escape, which makes him a good target for Lycan.
Elder Titan needs time to channel and control space, but Lycan breaks formation quickly. Lycan’s mobility dodges Echo Stomp, and summons tank Earth Splitter.
Elder Titan’s spirit-based armor shred matters less when Lycan can run down supports. Lycan forces early fights, preventing Elder Titan from scaling.
Grimstroke is extremely squishy and dies to Lycan’s fast dives. Wolves can scout and cancel potential Ink Swell and Soulbind setups. Lycan’s high mobility ignores Grimstroke’s zoning spells. Grimstroke is often food in early-mid fights.
Void Spirit relies on mobility, but Lycan's Shapeshift speed and vision can keep up. Summons soak his Resonant Pulse and force him to commit his Astral Steps defensively. Void Spirit lacks wave-clear to stop Lycan’s split-push.
Once caught, he dies fast with no tank items.
Night Stalker excels at vision and lockdown during night, but Lycan initiates faster with Shapeshift. Lycan can force daytime fights, weakening Night Stalker’s impact. His summons provide vision that negates Night Stalker’s fog advantage.
In teamfights, Night Stalker struggles to kill Lycan's army alone.
Lycan’s high mobility and summons make it hard for Treant Protector to control him with Overgrowth. Living Armor is ineffective against high summon pressure.
Wolves scout Treant’s location and prevent backline camping. Treant’s slow gameplay is countered by Lycan’s early aggression.
Lycan’s units out-damage Visage’s Familiars in early fights. He can destroy Gravekeeper’s Cloak fast with multiple units. Once Visage is isolated, he falls quickly to Shapeshift dives. Lycan also pushes faster and more reliably than Visage.
Bane is strong at single-target disables, but gets run over by Lycan's army.
Fiend’s Grip is hard to cast under pressure from wolves and creeps. Lycan forces Bane to play defensively and reduces his lane dominance. Summons also break Nightmare saves easily.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-7.9% | |
-7.6% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.1% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.4% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.2% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.0% | |
-2.9% | |
-2.9% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Bloodseeker's Rupture is consider a great counter since using it prevents you from running around with your Ultimate.
Quill Spray can be used to kill Lycan's summons as well as Bristleback allows him to stay alive against Lycan while dishing out counter attacks.
Kraken Shell grants him massive physical attack protection and Anchor Smash will wipe the area, clearing Lycan's wolves.
Naga Siren’s illusions slow down Lycan's summons and confuse his target focus. Song of the Siren stops Lycan mid-push or teamfight initiation. She scales better into the late game and out-splits Lycan. Her tanky illusions also waste Lycan's Shapeshift duration.
Chen can dominate creeps, weakening Lycan’s unit advantage in lane and teamfights. Holy Persuasion creeps block paths and absorb wolf damage. Chen often groups early, countering Lycan's split-push strategy.
Techies slows down Lycan’s snowball with mine traps and area denial.
Wolves trigger Proximity Mines, wasting Lycan’s resources. Blast Off silences Lycan during his Shapeshift. Lycan’s push is hard to commit to due to threat of instant burst.
Kunkka's boat buff and cleave can wipe out Lycan’s summons easily.
X Marks the Spot and Torrent make kiting Lycan trivial. Kunkka’s tankiness makes it hard for Lycan to burst him. His teamfight control punishes Lycan's all-in style.
Sven has Great Cleave to instantly kill Lycan's wolves and units. He becomes immune to slows with Black King Bar, making Lycan’s chase ineffective. Sven outdamages Lycan in most engagements post-15 minutes. Storm Hammer stuns Lycan before he gets full value from Shapeshift.
Batrider easily kites Lycan with sticky Napalm and Flaming Lasso. Lycan’s summons don’t help against magic damage over time and repositioning. Firefly burns through creeps and wolves quickly. Once lassoed, Lycan can't deal his burst damage effectively.
Necrophos punishes Lycan’s commitment with Reaper’s Scythe. Ghost Shroud makes him untargetable by Lycan’s physical damage. Lycan’s units feed Death Pulse sustain. Lycan can't burst him down before he outheals the damage.
Meepo’s high stat gain and clones can overwhelm Lycan faster than he can respond. He uses Poof and Earthbind to lock Lycan in place. Lycan’s summons become ineffective due to AoE nukes. In a farm race, Meepo scales faster and snowballs harder.
...counter items [7.39b]
Lowers the armor of Lycan and helps win trades in a right click battle. Also lets you bring down Wolves much quicker with physical damage.
Gives you tankiness to take less damage from right clicks from Lycan and his Wolf pack to trade HP more effectively. Also counters the armor reduction from Howl.
Gives you tankiness against Lycan and his Wolf pack as well as lower Lycan's HP regen and chase him down with a movement speed slow on right clicks.
Gives you tankiness against Lycan and his Wolf pack as well as a movement speed burst and phased movement to not get blocked by the Wolves.
Gives you HP sustain and tankiness to take less damage from right clicks from Lycan and his Wolf pack.
Gives your team and buildings a barrier to take less damage from right clicks from Lycan and his Wolf pack to nullify his kill and push potential.
Lets you kite Lycan and his Wolf pack by protecting yourself or an ally against their right clicks through invisibility.
Lets you kite Lycan and his Wolf pack by protecting yourself against their right clicks in Ethereal form.
Allows you to create some distance , potentially pushing yourself on another high ground to buy time while Lycan is chasing you with his Ultimate.
Disarms Lycan in his Ultimate, mitigating some of the damage he can output.
Gives you an instant lockdown against Lycan and burst him down with a possible chain stun before he can run away with the Shapeshift movement buff.
Gives armor to your team and buildings to take less damage from right clicks from Lycan and his Wolf pack to nullify their kill and push potential.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-7.9% | |
-6.4% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.1% | |
-4.5% | |
-4.5% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.0% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.9% | |
-3.9% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.5% |
