Ancient Apparition/Counters

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## Bad against...

 **Anti-Mage**
* Anti-Mage can  Blink away from Cold Feet or build a  Manta Style to dispel it.
* Counterspell minimizes the damage Anti-Mage takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Mana Break and  Mana Void deal a lot of damage to Ancient Apparition due to his high mana pool.

 **Brewmaster**
* Primal Split makes Brewmaster invulnerable for the duration, rendering effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast useless.
* Dispel Magic can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
* Brewmaster can easily run Ancient Apparition down with the slow from  Thunder Clap and  Cinder Brew.

 **Riki**
* Riki can get on top of Ancient Apparition very easily with  Blink Strike. This can also double as a way to dodge Ice Blast, along with  Tricks of the Trade.
* Ancient Apparition will frequently resort to casting Ice Blast right before dying.  Smoke Screen can be used to prevent this, stopping Ancient Apparition from having any impact.

 **Lycan**
* Shapeshift increases Lycan's movement speed and renders him unslowable, allowing him to easily avoid and escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Lycan has fast summons, both his wolves from  Summon Wolves can do heavy damage to Ancient Apparition due to his immobility and low armor.

 **Mirana**
* Leap allows Mirana to easily escape the freezing range of Cold Feet. Mirana also tends to build  Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* During  Moonlight Shadow, the invisibility makes it hard to catch Mirana's team with Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition's lack of mobility/escape capabilities makes him an easy target for Mirana at any stage of the game.

 **Oracle**
* False Promise can dispel the stun from Cold Feet and can save an ally that's about to shatter from Ice Blast, even allowing healing with  Purifying Flames by delaying it until after the debuff expires.
* Purifying Flames allows Oracle to deny his allies if they're affected by Ice Blast. If he brings his allies' health to or below the shatter threshold, it will count as him denying the ally. However, this does not work on Oracle himself.
* Fate's Edict provides 100% magic resistance, making it good against all of Ancient Apparition's abilities at all stages of the game.
* Fortune's End can dispel Cold Feet from allies.

 **Phantom Lancer**
* Phantom Lancer can dispel or escape from Cold Feet with  Doppelganger and  Phantom Rush, respectively. Phantom Lancer also frequently builds a  Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition has trouble dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions due to a lack of Area of Effect damage other than Ice Blast.
* Phantom Lancer tends to build a  Diffusal Blade, which greatly amplifies his damage against Ancient Apparition due to Ancient Apparition's high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape/mobility mechanisms, making him an easy target for Phantom Lancer at any stage of the game.

 **Phoenix**
* Icarus Dive helps Phoenix escape from Cold Feet.
	+ However, all of Pheonix's basic abilities do cost health, which can be harmful under the effects of Ice Blast.
* Supernova can save Phoenix from Ice Blast.

 **Terrorblade**
* Sunder allows Terrorblade (or an ally) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Terrorblade often buys  Manta Style which can dispel Cold Feet.

 **Viper**
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage Viper takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Ancient Apparition's slow movement speed, squishy nature, and lack of escape abilities can easily be taken advantage of through  Poison Attack and  Viper Strike.

 **Void Spirit**
* Dissimilate and  Astral Step allow Void Spirit to quickly escape from Cold Feet.
* Void Spirit deals both magical and physical damage, which makes Ancient Apparition an easy target to ambush.
* If Void Spirit purchases  Aghanim's Scepter, the silence provided by  Resonant Pulse can disrupt Ancient Apparition during fights, as he is entirely reliant upon spells to contribute.

 **Weaver**
* Time Lapse allows Weaver (or an ally if upgraded with  Aghanim's Scepter) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Shukuchi completely ignores the slow from Ice Vortex and helps him escape the freeze range of Cold Feet.

### Others

* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities:  Invoker,  Silencer,  Nyx Assassin,  Skywrath Mage,  Shadow Shaman,  Lion and etc.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him:  Riki,  Queen of Pain,  Phantom Assassin,  Windranger,  Bounty Hunter,  Spirit Breaker,  Night Stalker,  Storm Spirit,  Juggernaut, etc.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like  Phantom Assassin or  Clinkz.

### Items

* Cloak,  Glimmer Cape  Pipe of Insight can reduce damage from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Black King Bar dispels Cold Feet and prevents damage from Ancient Apparition's abilities, with the exception of Ice Blast.
* Force Staff and it's upgrade  Hurricane Pike can be used to escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Shadow Blade and it's upgrade  Silver Edge makes it hard to for Ancient Apparition to hit enemy heroes with Ice Blast.
* Manta Style and  Eul's Scepter of Divinity can dispel the Cold Feet debuff.
* Lotus Orb can dispel Cold Feet and can also reflect it back at Ancient Apparition if he impulsively uses it on a hero affected by it.

## Good against...

 **Abaddon**
* Ice Blast nullifies  Borrowed Time's and  Mist Coil's healing.

 **Alchemist**
* Ice Blast nullifies the health regeneration granted by  Chemical Rage, which Alchemist greatly relies on to stay alive in battle.
* Alchemist tends to build  Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.

 **Chen**
* Ice Blast prevents  Divine Favor and  Hand of God from healing his allies or himself.

 **Crystal Maiden**
* Cold feet can be used to ensure that the full channel of  Freezing Field doesn't go off.

 **Dazzle**
* Shallow Grave prevents Ice Blast's shatter for up to 5 seconds, but can mostly only delay it as Ice Blast's debuff lasts 10 seconds and prevents  Shadow Wave from healing them.

 **Death Prophet**
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from  Spirit Siphon and  Exorcism.

 **Huskar**
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing with  Berserker's Blood and negates any lifesteal, making him significantly weaker in battle.
* Burning Spear and  Life Break cost Huskar his own health, killing him under the effects from Ice Blast.
* Huskar often builds  Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.

 **Io**
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing an ally with  Tether and prevents healing from  Overcharge
* Io is a common  Mekansm builder which is useless if he is affected by Ice Blast.

 **Morphling**
* Ice Blast stops Morphling from gaining additional health with  Attribute Shift.
	+ Using  Attribute Shift would even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In the lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.

 **Snapfire**
* Snapfire is vulnerable while she is casting  Mortimer Kisses making her an easy target for the effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast.

 **Winter Wyvern**
* Cold Embrace makes its target immovable, allowing Ancient Apparition to easily land Ice Blast, or a Cold Feet stun.
	+ Ice Blast also negates healing from  Cold Embrace.

### Others

* Ice Blast negates all regeneration, healing and lifesteal, making some heroes and heal-strategies risky.
* Heroes like  Slark,  Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
* Heroes that withstand damage like  Timbersaw,  Bristleback,  Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
* Ice Blast does not debuff illusions, so it can be used to detect the real hero out of his illusions, since the real hero gets debuffed, while the illusions do not. This does not work against Meepo however, since the clones and the main Meepo are debuffed.

### Items

* Ice Blast's ability to nullify health regeneration makes it effective against health regeneration items like  Tranquil Boots,  Heart of Tarrasque,  Urn of Shadows,  Spirit Vessel,  Mekansm and  Guardian Greaves etc.
* Ice Blast's damage per second also disables items like  Blink Dagger.
* Ice Blast is devastating against  Armlet of Mordiggian as users cannot activate it to gain HP and toggling it off can result in health immediately dropping below shatter threshold. And keeping the Armlet toggled on is dangerous as the damage over time from the Armlet can bring a hero's health affected by it down to shatter threshold.
* The Ice Blast debuff still applies even while cycloned by  Eul's Scepter of Divinity.

## Works well with...

 **Bloodseeker**
* Rupture discourages the target from moving out of Ice Blast's impact radius.
* Thirst gives Ancient Apparition vision to accurately target Ice Blast on retreating enemies, especially before they reach the fountain.

 **Faceless Void**
* Chronosphere is the perfect setup for Ice Blast and can be followed by Cold Feet to stun enemies for an additional amount of time.
* Time Dilation and  Time Lock both help Cold Feet for a successful stun on enemies.

 **Meepo**
* Successive casts of  Earthbind lock the enemy in place long enough for both Cold Feet and Ice Blast to hit.
* Ice Vortex amplifies damage from  Poof.

 **Necrophos**
* Ice Vortex amplifies damage for  Death Pulse,  Heartstopper Aura and  Reaper's Scythe.
* The slow from  Ghost Shroud can help secure stuns from Cold Feet.
* Heartstopper Aura deals damage based on maximum health, which brings enemies close to Ice Blast's kill threshold while they are under the effect.

 **Oracle**
* Oracle can use  Purifying Flames to damage enemies under the effects of Ice Blast without healing them.
* Oracle's  Fortune's End root can set up a Cold Feet stun or Ice Blast.

 **Shadow Demon**
* You can almost always ensure a stun by casting Cold Feet followed by  Disruption.
* Ice Vortex stacks with **Lua error in Module:Ability\_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Soul Catcher".** to amplify damage output of allies, especially magical damage.

 **Slark**
* Pounce is perfect setup for Cold Feet and Ice Blast.
* Essence Shift may bring enemies closer to the threshold for Ice Blast.
* Ice Vortex amplifies damage from  Dark Pact.

 **Venomancer**
* Poison Nova deals a large amount of damage but cannot kill anyone by itself. Ice Blast can be used to finish already weakened enemies.
* The slow from  Venomous Gale can help trigger Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition can amplify most of Venomancer's damage with a well-positioned Ice Vortex.

 **Winter Wyvern**
* Winter's Curse can group enemies for an Ice Blast.
* Arctic Burn deals damage based on current health, bringing enemies closer to Ice Blast's Kill Threshold.

### Others

* Any long-duration disable can make a good setup for a long-distance Ice Blast, such as  Legion Commander's  Duel,  Faceless Void's  Chronosphere, or  Enigma's  Black Hole.

### Items

* Dagon can help burst enemies that are under the effects of Ice Vortex and Ice Blast.
* Veil of Discord reduces magic resistance, amplifying all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Radiance deals damage over time in an area, bringing enemies close to Ice Blast's kill Threshold.
* Rod of Atos can assist in setting up a stun with Cold Feet.
* Spirit Vessel's active ability deals damage based on current health, which compliments Ice Blast.