Shadow Shaman

Popularity: #12

Leaderboard: #9

Ban Rank: #32

KDA Rank: #102

Hero

Build

Matchup

Summons powerful serpent wards to deal damage

Shadow Shaman quickly clears the way for his team's forces to march on the enemy base. Blasting enemies with shocking spells and interrupting attackers with hexes, his powerful serpent wards destroy enemy defenses with ease.

Win Rate 52.4%
Pick Rate 16.9%
Attributes
Hero image

560 +50.6/lvl

375 +42.0/lvl

Strength Image

20 +2.3/lvl

Agility Image

16 +1.6/lvl

Intelligence Image

25 +3.5/lvl

Stats
Attack

Damage:

65 - 72 + 3.5/level (180 - 187 at level 30)

Attack

Range:

400

Attack

Armor:

5.7 + 0.3/level (15.7 at level 30)

Attack

Movement:

285

Roles

Carry

Durable

Nuker

Pusher

Support

Escape

Disabler

Initiator

Facets

chicken icon

Chicken Fingers

Win Rate: 52.6%

Pick Rate: 93.5%

Your next attack on an enemy hero transform them into a chicken for %voodoo_duration%s.

snake icon

Massive Serpent Ward

Win Rate: 50.0%

Pick Rate: 6.5%

Summons a single massive Serpent Ward with 10x damage and bounty values and 10x health.

Abilities

Innate Ability Image
Fowl Play

ABILITY: Passive

PASSIVE: Breakable


When taking lethal damage, Shadow Shaman receives a strong dispel and survives as a 1 HP chicken. Incoming damage is reduced to zero for 1s.

Cooldown is reset upon respawning. DISPEL TYPE: Strong Dispel


Lethal Damage from Axe's Culling Blade and Necrophos's Reaper's Scythe will not be prevented.

Incoming damage reduction buff will prevent certain sources of HP removal from killing Shadow Shaman.


DURATION: 3

MOVESPEED BONUS: 0%

Cooldown

120


PATCH 7.38
  • Now upgraded with Aghanim's Shard

  • Increases damage reduction duration to 1.5s and adds a 0.1s invulnerability time before it. Upon triggering Fowl Play, 3 uncontrollable chicken illusions will spawn and try to confuse enemies. They exist for 3s and either stand still or run. Also allows Shadow Shaman to use items while transformed

Q

Ether Shock

AFFECTS: Unit

DAMAGE TYPE: Magical

PIERCES DEBUFF IMMUNITY: No

PASSIVE: No


Creates a cone of ethereal energy that strikes multiple enemy units.


Can hit secondary targets up to 1000 distance away.


TARGETS: 3 / 5 / 7 / 9

DAMAGE: 140 / 200 / 260 / 320

Cooldown

14 / 12 / 10 / 8

Mana Cost

90 / 105 / 120 / 135

Cast Range

600


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

LEVEL 25 TALENT: +250 Ether Shock Damage


Originally used to open shows with the travelling con-man, Rhasta's lightning display shocks adversaries in more ways than one.

W

Hex

AFFECTS: Unit

PIERCES DEBUFF IMMUNITY: No

PASSIVE: No

DISPELLABLE: Strong Dispels Only

DEBUFF [E]: Yes


Transforms an enemy unit into a harmless creature, disabling their attacks and abilities.


Instantly destroys illusions.

The target will have a base movement speed of 100, but buffs granting maximum movement speed won't be disabled.


DURATION: 2 / 2.3 / 2.6 / 2.9

DAMAGE AMPLIFICATION: 0%

Cooldown

24 / 20 / 16 / 12

Mana Cost

130 / 150 / 170 / 190

Cast Range

550


Rhasta often ended performances by turning himself into a chicken - now, the humiliation is shared.

E

Shackles

AFFECTS: Unit

DAMAGE TYPE: Magical

PIERCES DEBUFF IMMUNITY: No

PASSIVE: No

DISPELLABLE: Strong Dispels Only

DEBUFF [E]: Yes


CHANNELED - Magically binds an enemy unit so that it cannot move or attack, absorbing their life energy over time.


CAST RANGE: 450

TOTAL DAMAGE/HEAL: 70 / 140 / 210 / 280

MAX DURATION: 2.4 / 3 / 3.6 / 4.2

Cooldown

13 / 12 / 11 / 10

Mana Cost

125 / 140 / 155 / 170

Cast Range

450


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branchTalent tree branch

LEVEL 20 TALENT: +1.5s Shackles Duration

LEVEL 10 TALENT: +170 Shackles Total Damage


PATCH 7.38
  • No longer upgraded with Aghanim's Shard

  • Now upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter

  • Increases cast range from 450 to 600. Shackled units expel an Ether Shock every 0.9s that affects all enemies within 600 units for 100% of Ether Shock's damage value. Shackled units can't be damaged by this effect. Also allows it to be cast on both enemies and allies, including Serpent Wards. Allied units are not disabled and the shackle is broken if the ally travels further than 2000 units from Shadow Shaman


A self-defense incantation, Rhasta developed shackles after his master was slain in the Bleeding Hills.

Chicken Fingers

ABILITY: Passive

PIERCES DEBUFF IMMUNITY: No

PASSIVE: Breakable

DISPELLABLE: Strong Dispels Only


Your next attack on an enemy hero transform them into a chicken for 1s.


Talents that affect Hex also affects enemies transformed by Chicken Fingers.


Cooldown

15

R

Mass Serpent Ward

AFFECTS: Area

DAMAGE TYPE: Physical

PIERCES DEBUFF IMMUNITY: Yes

PASSIVE: No


Summons 10 Serpent Wards to attack enemy units and structures. The Wards are immune to magic.


DURATION: 45 / 45 / 45

HITS TO DESTROY: 2

CREEP HITS TO DESTROY: 4

Cooldown

110

Mana Cost

200 / 350 / 550

Cast Range

550


FACET: Massive Serpent Ward

snake icon

Summons a single massive Serpent Ward with 10x damage and bounty values and 10x health.


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branchTalent tree branchTalent tree branch

LEVEL 25 TALENT: +1 Ward Attack Targets

LEVEL 20 TALENT: +50% Serpent Wards Max HP

LEVEL 15 TALENT: +160 Serpent Wards Attack Range


PATCH 7.38
  • No longer upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter


Snake charming was a big part of the Shadow Shaman's act; now Rhasta can empower the snakes to do his bidding.

Talents [E]

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+1 Ward Attack Targets

+ 2.8 %

+250 Ether Shock Damage

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+50% Serpent Wards Max HP

+1.5s Shackles Duration

+ 1.1 %

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

Hex Breaks

+160 Serpent Wards Attack Range

+ 0.1 %

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+1.75 Mana Regen

+ 2.5 %

+170 Shackles Total Damage

Win Rate

Pick Rate

PATCH 7.38
  • Level 25 Talent +20% Wards Attack Damage replaced with +1 Ward Attack Targets

Strategy

Make use of Shadow Shaman's high base damage to secure last hits and denies.

A good Combo is to use Hex followed by Mass Serpent Ward with Shackles.

You can pull nearby neutral or lane creeps to your Mass Serpent Wards after you made a move to get some extra gold.

If opponents are farming your Mass Serpent Wards, try to deny individual Serpent Wards with other Serpent Wards if you have the Cluster Cluck facet.

Take your time to farm up Aether Lens or Blink Dagger, so that you can cast you spells more easily in fights.

Initiate on enemies with your long lasting disables, so your allies can follow-up for a kill.

In certain games, Black King Bar can be great to get off full Shackles durations.

Aghanim's Scepter and a Refresher Orb in late game allow you to breach high ground and end the game.

Use portals to move around the map and setup kills with your lengthy disables.

With the Cluster Cluck facet, look to Hex yourself when low on HP right before or after your Fowl Play innate triggers to cause massive confusion and possibly get away.

Counter Strategy

Shadow Shaman has high base damage and a great nuke in Ether Shock. Avoid trading with him.

Shadow Shaman has long lasting stuns but short cast range disables. Keep distance from him.

Shadow Shaman has high solo kill potential on level 6 with Mass Serpent Ward.

Shadow Shaman takes buildings down fast with Mass Serpent Ward. Organize defense quickly.

Focus Shadow Shaman in the fights as he provides a lot of control for his team.

Black King Bar, status resistance items, Linken's Sphere and Lotus Orb are great against Shadow Shaman.

Shadow Shaman is good at ratting your base especially with Aghanim's Scepter and Refresher Orb.

Shadow Shaman does not die and turns into a chicken when hit with lethal damage. You will have to deal the killing blow on him again afterwards.

Lore

Born in the Bleeding Hills, Rhasta was just a starving youngling when picked up by a travelling con-man. For two pins of copper, the old con-man would tell your fortune. For three, he'd castrate your pig, for five, he'd circumcise your sons. For a good meal, he'd don his shaman garb, read from his ancient books, and lay a curse upon your enemies. His strange new youngling, part hill troll, part...something else, worked as assistant and lent an air of the exotic to the con-man's trade.

Always one step ahead of cheated customers, one town ahead of a pursuing patronage, the two trekked across the blighted lands until one day the con-man realized that the little youngling could actually do what he only pretended at. His ward had a gift--a gift that customers valued. And so the youngling Rhasta was thrust before the crowds, and the trade-name Shadow Shaman was born. The two continued from town to town, conjuring for money as Shadow Shaman's reputation grew. Eventually, the pair's duplicitous past caught up with them, and they were ambushed by a mob of swindled ex-clients. The con-man was slain, and for the first time, Rhasta used his powers for darkness, massacring the attackers. He buried his beloved master, and now uses his powers to destroy any who would seek to do him harm.

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