Venomancer counter and synergy picks
Pick Venomancer with Meepo to increase win-rate from 51.7% to 59.7% or against Tiny to increase win-rate to 59.3% in Patch 7.39c.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
8.0% | |
5.6% | |
4.6% | |
4.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.5% | |
3.3% | |
3.3% | |
3.2% | |
2.9% | |
2.9% | |
2.8% | |
2.8% | |
2.7% | |
2.6% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Venomancer combines perfectly with Dark Seer’s Vacuum to hit multiple enemies with Gale and Poison Nova. Ion Shell adds damage while they chase slowed targets. Wall of Replica provides chaos as Venomancer zones enemies with wards. Their combo creates deadly AoE teamfight control.
Warlock’s Chaotic Offering pairs well with Venomancer’s Poison Nova to deliver high teamfight damage. Fatal Bonds amplifies all of Venomancer’s damage over time. Warlock also sustains Venomancer in lane where he is otherwise vulnerable. Together they dominate grouped enemy formations.
Chronosphere locks enemies in place for Venomancer to apply full Poison Nova and Gale. His Plague Wards deal extra chip damage from outside the Chrono. They both work well in drawn-out fights with strong AoE damage. This pairing scales well into the late game.
Phoenix’s Supernova forces enemies to clump or flee while Venomancer slows them down. Venomous Gale and Plague Wards make it difficult for enemies to escape the egg. Their combined magic damage and teamfight control is overwhelming. They pressure lanes and grouped enemies together.
Death Prophet’s Exorcism thrives in extended fights that Venomancer’s poisons naturally create. Venomancer helps peel for her by slowing enemies constantly. Together they can melt towers and teamfight objectives. Their synergy relies on sustained fights and zone control.
Treant Protector’s Living Armor allows Venomancer to survive and hold dangerous territory. Overgrowth roots enemies inside Plague Ward fields and Poison Nova’s area. Treant scouts for Venomancer to get perfect Gale setups. Their defense potential is excellent during sieges.
Pugna provides magical burst and healing through Life Drain, which complements Venomancer’s slow chip damage. Nether Ward punishes enemies who try to spam spells to escape poison. Plague Wards and Decrepify zone enemies together. They dominate pushing and anti-caster matchups.
Venomancer controls space while Underlord locks down choke points with Pit of Malice and Firestorm. Their combined area denial makes it hard for enemies to initiate. Poison Nova synergizes with the sustained burn from Underlord’s skills. They are perfect for stalling and teamfighting.
Disruptor holds enemies inside his Static Storm and Kinetic Field while Venomancer applies Poison Nova and Gale. Glimpse brings back escaping targets into Venomancer’s wards. They excel at punishing poor positioning and forcing fights in their territory. Their combo dominates vision control.
Lich’s Chain Frost bounces between enemies slowed and grouped by Venomancer. Frost Shield adds survivability so Venomancer can maintain presence in fights. Their lane is strong due to constant harass and zone control. Together they lock down and wear down teams over time.
...core items [7.39c]
An upgrade for Urn to reduce the health restoration of tanky heroes on the enemy team and kill them with the high damage from your spells and Plague Wards. Also makes you tanky and provides massive damage through stats as a universal hero.
A core 
Boots of Speed upgrade for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet. Improves your mobility and damage output with attack speed and stats. Helps in both farming and lane control.
A core item for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet. Improves your mobility and attack range to right click enemy heroes from further away and get more value out of your 
Aghanim's Scepter. Works well to put some distance between you and an enemy hero and hit them with infinite range for a short period with the Hurricane Thrust active.
A core item for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet when the dispel has high value in the game, such as playing against roots and silences on the enemy team. Provides you mobility and damage through stats, as well as lets you split push lanes with illusions.
A core item for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet. Significantly increase your damage output through right clicks and Plague Wards.
A core item to avoid most disables and silences on the enemy team to use all your spells, spam Plague Wards, and stay in the front line while hitting freely in fights. Also improves your right click damage and tankiness through HP pool and magic resistance.
A core item for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet. Significantly increases your tankiness and damage through stats and Works well against lifesteal and high HP regen on enemy heroes. Reduces the movement speed and HP sustain of enemy heroes you hit to make them less tanky and keep chasing them.
A core item for the right click build with the Plague Carrier facet. Gives you more DPS with attack speed and stats while boosting your tankiness with evasion and armor.
An alternative to 
Power Treads when looking to build aura items instead of playing as a right clicker. Provides mana sustain to spam your spells for fighting and farming. Gets upgraded to 
Guardian Greaves later in the game.
An early to mid game item to buff one of your cores against physical damage while boosting their attack speed and mobility. Can also be cast on yourself to gain a physical damage barrier.
A core defensive item to provide a magic damage barrier and invisibility to yourself or an allied hero to survive when in trouble. Works well against heavy magic damage lineups.
An aura item that improves your impact in teamfights by buffing your whole team with armor and sustain. Also lets you dispel yourself on cast.
A core item to damage and stun enemy heroes who dispel Venomous Gale with 
Lotus Orb, 
Black King Bar, or another debuff immunity spell.
A core mobility item to quickly close the gap on enemy heroes and burst them down with your Plague Wards and Noxious Plague. Also lets you dodge certain initiations like Chronosphere and Berserkers Call. Has great synergy with 
Scythe of Vyse to Blink and instantly lock down an elusive enemy hero to reliably follow up with your spells.
A late game pick up that gives you instant lockdown against elusive enemy heroes to burst them down with all your spells. Also increases your damage through stats and provides mana regen to spam spells.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
7.6% | |
7.3% | |
7.2% | |
7.0% | |
6.0% | |
5.2% | |
5.0% | |
4.8% | |
4.7% | |
4.7% | |
4.6% | |
4.6% | |
4.5% | |
4.5% | |
4.1% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Venomancer’s damage-over-time abilities harass both the Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear consistently. His Plague Wards can block paths and kite the bear effectively. Poison Nova deals sustained teamfight damage that Lone Druid cannot easily heal through. The bear struggles to fight under slows and constant chip damage.
Venomancer keeps Axe from getting clean initiations by placing Plague Wards in chokepoints and slowing him with Poison Sting. His constant poke prevents Axe from blinking in due to damage interruption. Venomous Gale and Poison Nova heavily weaken Axe during prolonged fights. Axe can't tank through the overwhelming poison damage over time.
Venomancer excels against Ursa by kiting him with slows from Gale and Poison Sting. Ursa relies on quick burst damage, which Venomancer’s abilities naturally prevent. The more Ursa chases, the more poison he takes, making Fury Swipes ineffective over time. Plague Wards also force Ursa to commit resources to reach Venomancer.
Venomancer’s poison cancels Kunkka’s blink or movement setups, disrupting his initiation pattern. The constant slow and vision from Plague Wards make it hard for Kunkka to surprise or disengage. Poison Nova deals damage that cuts through his high health pool. Venomancer’s chip damage wears down Kunkka’s team before fights even begin.
Venomancer’s damage over time pierces through Dragon Knight’s armor and high HP. He can delay DK’s pushes by killing creep waves and applying constant harass. Poison Nova neutralizes Dragon Form’s impact in teamfights. His slows prevent DK from properly sticking to targets or escaping bad positions.
Venomancer counters Templar Assassin by instantly removing Refraction charges with damage-over-time effects. His poison disables her from blinking or playing safely in lane. Plague Wards grant vision to prevent Meld setups. She struggles to survive through Poison Nova in mid to late fights.
Venomancer slows Clockwerk down drastically, making it hard for him to connect with Hookshot initiations. His Plague Wards block Cogs and give vision around terrain. Venomous Gale prevents Clockwerk from escaping once he commits. The chip damage weakens Clockwerk before he can burst supports.
Venomancer limits Night Stalker’s night-time mobility by constantly applying slows and keeping vision through wards. Poison Nova and Gale make it hard for him to isolate targets. Plague Wards also prevent surprise initiations. Night Stalker cannot sustain in extended fights full of AoE damage.
Venomancer kites Bristleback with his powerful slows, preventing him from stacking Quill Spray effectively. The damage-over-time effects bypass Bristleback’s physical resistance. Plague Wards allow safe poking and chip damage. Poison Nova forces Bristleback to either disengage or die in extended combat.
Venomancer reduces Sven’s impact by slowing his movement speed and kiting him during God's Strength. Gale and wards make it difficult for Sven to approach backline targets. Poison Nova weakens Sven before he can burst down a key target. Venomancer's playstyle counters Sven's need for fast kills.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-5.2% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.3% | |
-4.3% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.1% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.3% | |
-3.2% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.1% | |
-2.7% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Venomancer struggles against Phantom Lancer due to his illusions overwhelming Plague Wards. His poison damage is spread thin across duplicates. PL can dispel slows with Doppelganger and easily avoid Gale. Venomancer can’t stop PL from farming or taking over long fights.
Arc Warden outranges Venomancer and uses his clone to kill Plague Wards safely. His magnetic field allows allies to ignore poison chip damage. Venomancer cannot approach Arc Warden without being punished by spark wraiths and flux. He loses map control and poke wars.
Brewmaster dispels all of Venomancer’s damage-over-time effects with Primal Split. During the split, he removes Plague Wards and disables Venomancer’s positioning. Gale and Nova become useless once dispelled. Brewmaster’s utility and tankiness outlasts Venomancer’s slow burn.
Storm Spirit zips in and out of fights, ignoring all of Venomancer’s slow-based control. He can burst Venomancer before poison becomes a threat. Venomancer lacks disables to lock Storm down. Once behind, he can’t recover against Storm’s map pressure.
Tinker has the range and burst to kill Venomancer without getting close. Venomancer’s slow poison damage is too slow to pressure Tinker’s farming pace. Tinker’s mobility keeps him out of reach.
Shadow Demon can purge Poison Sting and Gale from his allies, nullifying Venomancer’s control. His illusions from Disruption can tank wards and push waves. Venomancer’s chip damage is ineffective when SD can save allies at critical moments. He completely removes Venomancer’s influence in key fights.
Naga Siren overwhelms Venomancer with illusions that absorb his poison damage. Her Song of the Siren resets fights and renders Poison Nova useless. Venomancer’s chip damage can’t handle her high armor and magic resistance. He becomes a liability once she gets farm.
Sniper outranges Venomancer and kills Plague Wards from a distance. He is rarely in range to be hit by Gale or Nova. Venomancer struggles to close the gap without getting punished. In fights, Sniper stays safe while Venomancer slowly melts.
Anti-Mage dispels Gale and slows with Manta Style and ignores wards with Blink. Venomancer’s lack of disables makes it impossible to stop AM from farming. His low mobility is punished hard by Mana Void. Anti-Mage scales out of control while Venomancer stalls.
Morphling easily shrugs off poison with his attribute shifting and high sustain. Venomancer can’t burst him before Morph’s regen takes over. Morphling also clears Plague Wards with waveforms. His mobility and late-game strength make Venomancer fall off hard.
...counter items [7.39c]
Helps you sustain HP and mana as Venomancer frequently uses his spells to harass, set up kills, and farm with Plague Wards.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Venomancer's constant damage from spells and right clicks.
Gives HP sustain to you and your ally to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Venomancer's constant damage from spells and right clicks.
Gives you movement speed to kite or close the gap on Venomancer. Also counters the movement slow from Venomous Gale, Poison Sting, and Noxious Plague.
Gives you movement speed to kite or close the gap on Venomancer. Also counters the movement slow from Venomous Gale, Poison Sting, and Noxious Plague.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Venomancer's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Venomancer's constant damage from spells and right clicks.
Gives you HP regen that does not get reduced by Venomancer's constant damage from spells. Also gives you more movement speed to counter the slow from Venomous Gale, Poison Sting, and Noxious Plague.
Lets you dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting off yourself or an ally. Also lets you reflect Noxious Plague back onto Venomancer.
Gives you a dispel against Venomous Gale and Poison Sting. Also lets you dodge the Noxious Plague projectile with a timely Cyclone on yourself.
Provides magic resistance and reduces the damage dealt by Venomancer from all his spells to nullify his burst potential.
Gives you and your team magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Venomancer's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Venomancer's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you debuff immunity and magic resistance to avoid the slow from Venomancer's spells as well as reduce the damage taken from his magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you a dispel against Venomous Gale and Poison Sting. The illusions can also help tank the Noxious Plague damage and control.
Gives you magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Venomancer's magic heavy toolkit as well as save yourself or an ally slowed by his spells.
Gives you a repositioning tool to close the gap on Venomancer or push yourself or an ally to safety when affected by his spells.
Gives you a dispel against Venomous Gale and Poison Sting as well as use the massive lifesteal to gain back your HP lost to Venomancer's spells.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-6.9% | |
-6.8% | |
-6.3% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.3% | |
-5.3% | |
-5.1% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.8% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.6% | |
-3.4% |
