Skywrath Mage counter and synergy picks
Pick Skywrath Mage with Meepo to increase win-rate from 50.2% to 56.3% or against Morphling to increase win-rate to 56.6% in Patch 7.39c.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
6.1% | |
5.4% | |
3.9% | |
3.9% | |
3.5% | |
3.4% | |
2.8% | |
2.8% | |
2.8% | |
2.7% | |
2.6% | |
2.6% | |
2.6% | |
2.5% | |
2.5% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Mars uses Arena of Blood to trap enemies, allowing Skywrath to land Mystic Flare perfectly. Spear of Mars locks a target into Flare range. Together they punish poor positioning and dominate early skirmishes.
Chronosphere ensures Mystic Flare hits fully. Skywrath doesn’t get trapped in the Chrono if positioned carefully and can delete anyone caught. Their ultimates scale well together into late-game fights.
Skywrath's burst ensures quick Duel victories. Ancient Seal silences targets during Duel, making them helpless. This pair snowballs easily by getting constant kills in mid-game skirmishes.
Batrider drags enemies into Mystic Flare with Flaming Lasso. Skywrath follows up with instant silence and high magic damage. They dominate vision control and pickoffs with ease.
Berserker's Call holds multiple enemies in place for Mystic Flare. Skywrath finishes off low HP targets quickly so Axe can secure Culling Blade resets. A devastating combo in early to mid-game.
Hookshot and Power Cogs lock down targets, and Skywrath nukes them from outside. The combo guarantees full Mystic Flare damage. Clockwerk provides vision and initiation that Skywrath needs.
Dismember holds enemies in place for Mystic Flare. Even if the hook misses, Ancient Seal plus Rot creates good kill pressure. Pudge also zones enemies away from Skywrath in close fights.
Black Hole groups up enemies, and Mystic Flare tears them apart. Ancient Seal also prevents BKB-less targets from escaping Enigma’s initiation. This pair dominates late-game teamfights.
Hoof Stomp gives an easy Mystic Flare combo. Skywrath helps Centaur burst targets during Stampede chases. Centaur tanks and initiates while Skywrath does long-range magical damage.
Spirit Breaker stuns and scouts targets from afar, giving Skywrath the opening to silence and combo. Charge of Darkness allows them to initiate from unexpected angles. Great for snowball-heavy drafts.
...core items [7.39c]
A core 
Boots of Speed upgrade that helps with mana sustain to spam your spells for kills and snowball in the game.
A core item to set up your massive burst damage with Mystic Flare on an enemy hero. Also gives you some much needed tankiness with HP pool. Can be upgraded to 
Gleipnir later in the game.
A core item that lets you cast spells and items from a distance and keep yourself out of danger in fights. Gets upgraded to 
Ethereal Blade later in the game.
A core item that doubles all your spells except Arcane Bolt on each cast. Massively improves your damage and control in teamfights.
A core mobility item to quickly close the gap on enemy heroes and follow up with your control and damage spells to burst them down. Lets you get to specific targets in the enemy backline.
A late game pick up that gives you instant lockdown against elusive enemy heroes to follow up with your damage and control spells to burst them down. Also provides mana regen to spam your spells.
An upgrade for 
Aether Lens to amplify your magic damage on an enemy hero and burst them down with all your spells. Also works as a save for your cores against physical damage.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
6.4% | |
6.4% | |
5.7% | |
5.3% | |
4.9% | |
4.5% | |
4.3% | |
4.3% | |
4.3% | |
4.2% | |
4.1% | |
4.0% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.9% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Necrophos is vulnerable to magic burst and low mobility, making him an easy kill for Skywrath. Ancient Seal prevents him from using Ghost Shroud or healing effectively. Skywrath punishes him heavily before he gets tanky.
While mobile, Storm Spirit dies quickly to Skywrath’s silence and burst if caught without vision or before BKB. A fast Ancient Seal prevents Ball Lightning or escape, especially in early fights and ganks.
Elder Titan has a big hitbox and needs to walk in to cast his combo, which makes him a prime target for Skywrath’s slow and silence. His lack of mobility means he melts to Skywrath’s nuke combo before landing his spells.
Brewmaster is vulnerable before and after using Primal Split. A silence or quick burst kills him before he can ulti. His pandas also have trouble dealing with long-range spell spam during fights.
Skywrath’s magic damage bypasses Timbersaw’s high armor, especially in the laning stage. Ancient Seal shuts down his reactive escape, letting Skywrath melt him with Arcane Bolt and Mystic Flare.
Muerta often uses her ultimate for physical immunity, but Skywrath's full kit is magic-based and unaffected. He silences her to prevent safety from Dead Shot or Gunslinger, and can burst her quickly even through Pierce the Veil.
Phoenix needs to channel abilities like Supernova and Sun Ray, which Skywrath interrupts with silence. His massive magical damage deletes Phoenix before she can use defensive spells. Supernova is hard to execute under Ancient Seal.
Although Nyx counters spellcasters, Skywrath outspeeds him. A well-timed silence prevents Carapace and Vendetta escape. Skywrath can kill Nyx before he does any damage, especially with dust or vision.
Puck thrives on spell mobility, but Ancient Seal disables her entire kit. If silenced or stunned for a moment, she dies to Mystic Flare. Puck can’t sustain Skywrath’s burst in mid-game skirmishes.
Zeus is immobile and squishy, making him the perfect target. Skywrath can outdamage him and silence Zeus before Thundergod’s Wrath or Heavenly Jump. Both are high magic burst heroes, but Skywrath gets the edge with speed.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-7.1% | |
-6.1% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.5% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.0% | |
-3.0% | |
-3.0% | |
-2.8% | |
-2.6% | |
-2.5% | |
-2.5% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Familiars interrupt Skywrath’s positioning and can cancel channeling supports nearby. Visage’s cloak resists burst, and Skywrath has no way to clear summons effectively. He gets punished hard in extended fights.
Chen’s creeps tank Mystic Flare and break combo setups. He provides sustain and healing that negates Skywrath’s quick burst style. Skywrath can’t pick off targets easily through Hand of God and creeps.
Lycan’s high movement speed and summons overwhelm Skywrath. He runs Skywrath down with ease, and Skywrath’s spells don’t stop Lycan’s push. Once Lycan builds BKB, Skywrath is a non-threat.
The Spirit Bear tanks Mystic Flare and disables Skywrath with entangle. Skywrath has no control over the bear or its durability. The Druid himself can kill Sky quickly with ranged damage or Blink Bear rushes.
Skywrath wastes a full combo on Wraith King’s first life. With BKB and reincarnation, Wraith King ignores Skywrath’s control completely. He closes the gap and punishes squishy supports easily.
Oracle nullifies Skywrath’s entire playstyle. False Promise prevents death from Mystic Flare, and Fate’s Edict gives magic immunity to allies. He hard-counters burst-heavy magic dealers like Skywrath.
Medusa’s mana shield absorbs Skywrath’s magical damage, and she survives long enough to outscale him. His burst becomes less useful as her tankiness increases. Mystic Flare is almost completely negated.
TA’s Refraction absorbs all of Skywrath’s magic poke. She can kill him in a couple of hits with Blink + Meld before he gets a second spell off. His damage is wasted on her shield unless perfectly timed.
Meepo punishes low-mobility supports like Skywrath with net and poof combo. His clones spread out and take less damage from single-target spells. Skywrath has no AoE or way to keep Meepos off him.
Tiny shrugs off Skywrath’s damage once he gets items. He jumps in with Blink + Toss combo and deletes Skywrath instantly. Skywrath’s lack of control makes him easy prey for Tiny’s burst and mobility.
...counter items [7.39c]
Helps you sustain HP and mana as Skywrath Mage frequently uses his spells to harass and set up kills.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Skywrath Mage's high damage with spells and right clicks.
Gives HP sustain to you and your ally to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Skywrath Mage's high damage with spells and right clicks.
Lets you absorb a massive instance of damage from Arcane Bolt and Concussive Shot.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Skywrath Mage's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Skywrath Mage's high damage with spells and right clicks.
Gives you a dispel against the Ancient Seal silence and Rod of Atos. Also lets you dodge most of the Mystic Flare damage as well as the Arcane Bolt and Concussive Shot projectiles.
Lets you dispel the Ancient Seal silence and Rod of Atos off yourself or a teammate.
Provides magic resistance and reduces the damage dealt by Skywrath Mage 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 Skywrath Mage's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Skywrath Mage's magic heavy toolkit.
Lets you reflect damage back onto Skywrath Mage and burst him down particularly from the Mystic Flare damage.
Gives you debuff immunity and magic resistance to avoid the Ancient Seal silence as well as reduce the damage taken from Skywrath Mage's magic heavy toolkit.
Gives you a dispel against the Ancient Seal silence and Rod of Atos.
Gives you a repositioning tool to push yourself or a teammate out of the Mystic Flare damage area and have a saving tool when silenced by Ancient Seal.
Gives you magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Skywrath Mage's magic heavy toolkit as well as save yourself or an ally silenced by Ancient Seal.
Lets you block one of Skywrath Mage's targeted spells. Particularly useful against Ancient Seal and Rod of Atos to avoid getting silenced or rooted.
Gives you an instant disable against Skywrath Mage to burst him down in its duration before he can impact fights with his high damage and control spells.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-7.8% | |
-5.8% | |
-5.5% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.1% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.8% | |
-4.6% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.1% | |
-4.0% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.4% |
