Slardar counter and synergy picks

Slardar's Guardian Sprint and Corrosive Haze makes him a great host for Infest as well as amplifying the physical damage Lifestealer does.

The slow of Stifling Dagger gives Slardar an easier time into rushing straight to his target with Guardian Sprint and cast Slithereen Crush right next to it.

The global vision provided by Corrosive Haze allows Phantom Assassin to constantly throw Stifling Dagger at her target, even if the target tries to hide among the trees.

Coup de Grace and Stifling Dagger does more damage with Corrosive Haze being cast on the target.

In case both Phantom Assassin and Slardar are retreating or escaping, Slardar can use Guardian Sprint to make a quick escape, allowing Phantom Assassin to use Phantom Strike to hop in.

Templar Assassin's Pure Damage basic attacks from Psi Blades is amplified greatly with the use of Corrosive Haze. In addition to lowering Armor with Meld, she naturally builds Desolator which further enhances her physical damage burst.

Witch Doctor pairs perfectly with Slardar because Slithereen Crush sets up Death Ward and Maledict for devastating combo damage. Slardar's armor reduction ensures even tanky targets melt quickly. Their combined CC and sustain pressure lanes hard. This duo excels in ganking and early fights.

Drow Ranger loves Slardar's Corrosive Haze to amp her physical damage and burst down targets. Slardar frontline stuns enemies so Drow can free hit from distance. Their synergy is especially strong in mid-game skirmishes. Slardar also reveals invisible heroes, helping Drow’s positioning.

Juggernaut benefits from Slardar's control and vision, making it easier to land Omnislash. Slardar’s Crush helps keep enemies in place while Juggernaut follows up. The duo has strong kill threat in lane and skirmishes. Together they snowball tempo and win early fights.

Weaver takes full advantage of the minus armor from Corrosive Haze and excels in fast-paced skirmishes. Slardar provides control that Weaver lacks, and Weaver provides sustained DPS. Together they burst down cores and control vision. The pairing works especially well in fast-push lineups.

Shadow Fiend scales incredibly well with armor reduction, letting Corrosive Haze amplify his right-clicks. Slardar enables Shadow fiend to farm or fight confidently with frontline initiation. This combination wins teamfights when coordinated. Early pickoffs become much easier with Slardar’s vision.

Tusk and Slardar both have strong early-game kill potential, and their stuns chain well together. Tusk's Snowball saves Slardar or helps him close gaps. Once they get Blink, they can take down any core together. Their tempo-oriented aggression is overwhelming if coordinated.

Skywrath Mage offers massive magic burst, and Slardar’s Crush ensures that Sky lands Mystic Flare perfectly. Sky lacks disable, and Slardar fills that gap beautifully. Together they are excellent gankers against single targets. Vision from Haze ensures nobody escapes.

Vengeful Spirit amplifies Slardar’s damage with Wave of Terror and helps with positioning using Swap. Her aura benefits both of them in right-click-based lineups. Their minus armor synergy melts even the tankiest opponents. She also provides a second life with her Aghs later, which Slardar benefits from.

Clinkz survivability depends entirely on Skeleton Walk. Corrosive Haze not only makes its invisibility useless, but also makes Clinkz even more vulnerable to physical damage.

Even though Weaver is slippery, Corrosive Haze reveals him through Shukuchi, and Slardar’s stun can catch him before he uses Time Lapse.

Corrosive Haze makes Riki completely vulnerable to Slardar and his allies, as Riki has no easy way of dispelling it.

Slardar's physical damage with Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep amplified by Corrosive Haze can easily kill Riki.

Sven is vulnerable before BKB, and Slardar’s bash and Corrosive Haze let his team burst Sven quickly. Slardar also punishes Sven’s low mobility and long cooldowns between jumps. By applying pressure early, Slardar slows Sven’s farm-dependent tempo.

Anti-Mage relies on mobility and escaping fights, but Slardar’s vision from Corrosive Haze and instant bash chance makes that difficult. Once AM is stunned, he can die before getting out. Slardar also pressures AM in lane with physical damage before AM has items. Bash through Blink and constant aggression keeps AM in check.

Lifestealer struggles against armor reduction because his sustain can't keep up with burst. Corrosive Haze allows Slardar and his team to kill him even through Rage. Lifestealer also has trouble locking down Slardar in fights due to Slardar’s mobility. Before Lifestealer gets items, Slardar can dominate the lane.

Spectre is tanky but hates armor reduction, and Slardar’s vision disables her ability to sneak away. In early-mid game, Slardar can repeatedly hunt her down with mobility. She has no disables to cancel Slardar’s Blink + Crush combo. Slardar's team benefits from picking Spectre apart before she scales.

Nyx Assassin has low armor and suffers from Corrosive Haze and stun chains. Even in Vendetta, Slardar’s vision makes it harder for Nyx to move safely. Nyx can't tank Slardar’s damage unless extremely ahead. Slardar also doesn’t cast many spells, making Spiked Carapace unreliable.

Ursa struggles when kited, and Slardar’s stun can delay Overpower bursts. The armor reduction makes Ursa die quickly even with Enrage if he’s chain stunned. Slardar also controls Roshan better, denying Ursa his early timing. Ursa’s lack of disables lets Slardar escape or re-engage on his terms.

Keeper of the Light is extremely fragile and offers no disables to stop Slardar’s dives. Slardar can Blink Crush and instantly kill Keeper of the Light, especially in the backlines. Keeper’s reliance on casting from safety is broken by Slardar’s mobility. In every stage, Slardar can shut down COTL’s map impact.

Abaddon can cast Aphotic Shield on any of his allies to immediately dispel Corrosive Haze and/or the stun and the slow components of Slithereen Crush.

All of Slardar's debuffs are also removed if Abaddon's Borrowed Time triggers.

Phantom Lancer's Doppelganger has a low cooldown and applies a basic dispel on PL, making it hard to keep Corrosive Haze on him.

Phantom Lancer usually purchases Manta Style which provides another basic dispel to remove Corrosive Haze with.

Besides Slithereen Crush, Slardar does not have another way to deal with illusions and has a low mana pool, which allows Phantom Lancer with Diffusal Blade to quickly build up illusions while draining Slardar's mana.

Dark Pact purges off Corrosive Haze quickly and can pre-cast it to remove the Slithereen Crush stun duration, which removes Slardar's key tool for chasing and bursting.

Shadow Dance makes Slark untargetable, so even if he’s low, Slardar can’t finish him off during that duration.

Chaos Knight overwhelms Slardar with multiple illusions, making it hard for him to focus the real hero even with Corrosive Haze. Slardar’s single-target focus struggles against CK’s chaos and burst. CK also has high physical damage that melts Slardar before he can sustain in fights. Slardar’s armor reduction has little value when CK overwhelms him with illusion-based damage. Manta style and phantasm dispel corrosive haze.

Terrorblade is another illusion-based hero who shrugs off Slardar’s armor reduction thanks to high armor and multiple units. Once he gets Manta and Satanic, he easily outlasts Slardar in fights. Slardar has no way to clear illusions efficiently, which weakens his impact in late game. Terrorblade also punishes Slardar’s aggression with strong counter-initiation.

Dragon Knight has incredibly high base armor and tankiness, which makes Corrosive Haze less effective. Slardar can’t burst him down fast enough before DK’s natural tanking and healing kick in. Dragon Knight can also outlast fights and push objectives, something Slardar doesn't handle well. In lane, DK sustains easily through any physical harassment Slardar attempts.

Troll Warlord excels in prolonged fights, which is dangerous for Slardar, who depends on quick kills. Troll’s attack speed and lifesteal allow him to beat Slardar head-on after the initial stun. Once Troll ults, he becomes unkillable for Slardar, who lacks disarms or hard disables. Slardar’s armor reduction doesn't stop Troll from scaling through raw stats.

Naga Siren overwhelms Slardar with illusions that waste his bash and spread damage. Her Song of the Siren also resets fights, making Slardar’s aggressive dives less impactful. Slardar struggles to lock her down once she builds Manta or Heart. Illusions also soak up Slardar’s physical damage, rendering him inefficient.

Drow Ranger punishes melee heroes like Slardar with high ranged damage and slow. If Slardar fails to jump her instantly, she can kite and kill him easily with her Gust silence and damage burst. Slardar also doesn’t scale as well into late game compared to her.

Muerta becomes untargetable by physical damage during Pierce the Veil, making Slardar's entire skillset useless. Slardar can’t bash or hit her during this phase, and Muerta can burst him with magical damage. Even before her ult, she kites Slardar easily with her range and movement tools. He gets no value out of his armor reduction against her.

Luna outputs heavy magical and physical damage and scales better in teamfights. Her Lucent Beam and Eclipse burst Slardar down before he can even react. Slardar’s melee nature makes him vulnerable to her glaive bounces and AoE. Once farmed, Luna destroys him in both 1v1 and team scenarios.

Tidehunter naturally counters physical burst with Kraken Shell and extremely high durability. Slardar can’t reduce enough armor to kill him before Ravage turns the fight. Tide’s teamfight presence is more impactful, while Slardar offers mostly pickoff. In lane, Tide’s tankiness and spam make it hard for Slardar to apply pressure. Kraken shell when triggered also dispels corrosive haze