Morphling requires quick decision-making skills, which only come with time and experience. Even if he lacks during the early game, he can easily catch up later on. Most people shy away from Morphling due to the complex nature of his abilities, but if you can master him, there is no way your enemies can have an upper hand!
We bring you the Best 10 Counters to Morphling in the current meta. These heroes turn him into vapor in no time.
10. Mirana
Mirana is a ranged agility hero who is considered to be a flexible pick, meaning it can be played in pretty much all roles. She proves to be a great pick against heroes with low armor and magic resistance. Picking Mirana with other heroes that can stun can lead to an immense lockdown potential. Along with this, she can also use her ultimate offensively or defensively, which provides a great layer of protection to her allies as well.
Why is Mirana a great counter to Morphling?
- Sacred Arrow's long stun duration can prevent Morphling from casting his Waveform or Morph Replicate, making him unable to escape and easier to gank.
- Moonlight Shadow also allows Mirana's team to surprise Morphling while he tries to push towers.
- Mirana usually buys Linken's Sphere to protect herself from single-target abilities, making Morphling's Adaptive Strike and Ethereal Blade harder to use on her.
Items to Buy on Mirana
- Spirit Vessel - Immense DPS and heal reduction to Morphling when used
- Lotus Orb - Can reflect back Adaptive Strike if timed correctly
- Force Staff - Allows her to close the gap or escape from Morph
- Eul’s Scepter - Can be used to set up the arrow
- Mekansm - Immense heals with Mek, can further be upgraded to Guardian Greaves if needed
9. Phantom Lancer
The countless army of fierce warriors is quite overwhelming for his foes. The sheer capability to multiply and confuse his enemies. Phantom Lancer may be quite underwhelming in the early game due to the lack of items but the late game is quite a treat for him as he can fight with the help of his items. His ultimate is extremely great against heroes that lack AoE abilities to counter him. He can pounce on enemies easily and deal a ton of physical damage.
Why is Phantom Lancer a great counter to Morphling?
- Doppelganger can be used to dodge Adaptive Strike combo and create confusion with two additional illusions.
- Eye of Skadi can be bought to slow and negate the health regeneration from Attribute Shift, and is a common item for Phantom Lancer.
- Phantom Lancer can overwhelm Morphling with a large number of illusions.
Items to buy on Phantom Lancer
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Morph and burns his mana
- Mana Style - Exceptional to push lanes and dispel her silence
- Butterfly - Increased evasion, agility, and movement speed
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Morph’s regen while also providing stats.
- Abyssal Blade - Can be used to quickly lock down Morph after getting on top of him, allowing you to beat him down with the physical damage
- Heart of Tarrasque - Increased HP, useful to survive the massive physical damage from Morph
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Phantom_Lancer
8. Earth Spirit
Kaolin, the Earth Spirit is undoubtedly one of the best gankers in the game. His Rolling Boulder ensures that no enemies escape! Along with the stun, he can also silence and slow his enemies and deal them damage over time with his ultimate, Magnetize. Unlike most heroes on this list, Earth Spirit can be played in multiple roles, his flexibility ensures he fits in every other matchup and contributes to teamfights by disabling enemies and dealing some insane damage that can’t be negated easily.
Why is Earth Spirit a great counter to Morphling?
- Geomagnetic Grip is not blocked by Linken's Sphere and can silence Morphling, preventing Morphling from using Waveform or Attribute Shift to escape from ganks.
- In addition, Boulder Smash and Rolling Boulder provide a solid lockdown if used together.
Items to buy on Earth Spirit
- Spirit Vessel - Immense DPS and heal reduction to Morphling when used
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Morph
- Lotus Orb - Reflects targetted spells hence can also be used to reflect Adaptive Strike Eblade combo
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all Morph’s spells
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate Morph
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Earth_Spirit
7. Lion
Considered to be sent from the deepest hells, Lion is considered to be the best disabler hero in the game. Lion is a beginner’s favorite, primarily due to his ease of spells and high burst damage potential. He can often rotate and gank other lanes at early levels. He is known for his chain-disable, which makes him a threat even in the late game. His Hex into Earth Spike is quite the deadly combo that can cause lethal damage with follow-up from his allies!
What makes Lion a great counter to Morphling?
- Mana Drain rapidly saps Morphling's already low mana pool, making him unable to use Waveform or Adaptive Strike. Additionally, Hex prevents these abilities as well.
- An Earth Spike and Finger of Death combo can burst an unwary Morphling down if he has his strength fully shifted to agility.
Items to buy on Lion
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Morphling off-guard
- Blink Dagger - Great for gap closing or initiating
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Morph
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate Morph
- Aghanim’s Scepter - AoE damage from Finger, also reduces the cooldown
6. Rubick
Rubick is an evergreen pick as he never seems to go out of fashion! His excellent spells and spellcasting have kept him relevant all these years as he is a great disabler. Rubick does insane damage not only in the literal sense but if he gets hold of spells like Glimpse or even Fissure, then he can truly turn the tides around. The prominent reason why Rubick is frequently picked is because of the flexibility he provides, along with the impact he has in the game!
Why is Rubick a great counter to Morphling?
- Rubick's ability to steal Attribute Shift makes him extremely annoying to deal with because Rubick's shifted attributes will remain even if he steals a new spell.
- If Rubick moves enough points to strength and then steals Adaptive Strike, he will have a powerful 3-second ranged stun in his arsenal as well.
- Waveform provides a reliable nuke/escape to Rubick.
Items to buy on Rubick
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Decreased cooldown on Spell Steal and allows him to use Aghs upgraded version of stolen spells, exceptional if he is able to steal Electric Vortex
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Morph off-guard
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Morph and also applies a basic dispel
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Morph
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate Morph
5. Anti-Mage
This charismatic warrior has a bone to pick against the mages! His hatred for the arcane arts is unmatchable. He is the Anti-Mage! He has what you need to counter most mage heroes, mana break! An early game AM can effortlessly decimate his enemies' mana and make him buy mangoes or Soul Ring to compensate. This will slow down their farm while AM is known to farm at a faster pace, allowing him to get ahead in the net worth charts.
Why is Anti-Mage a great counter to Morphling?
- Counterspell's bonus magic resistance causes the Ethereal Blade and Adaptive Strike combo to deal significantly less damage.
- Counterspell's active component can reflect the Ethereal Blast and Adaptive Strike combo back into Morphling, dealing significant damage or even killing him.
- Mana Break combined with Manta Style can quickly burn away Morphling's mana, leaving him unable to use his spells.
Items to Buy on AM
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all of Storm’s magic damage spells, making you invulnerable in the fight
- Mana Style - Exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells and Ethereal Blade
- Abyssal Blade - Can be used to quickly lock down Morph after blinking on top of him, allowing you to beat him down with the physical damage
- Battlefury - Essential to split push and farm quickly
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Morph’s regen while also providing stats.
- Butterfly - Increased evasion, agility, and movement speed
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Anti-Mage
4. Skywrath Mage
This intelligent mage possesses the knowledge of the world. His arcane prowess enables him to obliterate his rivals and ensures his victory on the battlefield. Skywrath Mage is a flexible hero, but he is primarily played in the roaming support position. He is known to be annoying in the lane, his low cooldown spells allow him to spam his enemies with immense damage. He is known to disable enemies right from the early game with his Arcane Curse!
Why is Skywrath Mage a great counter to Morphling?
- Low CD spamming abilities and a silence that can last for eternity with Aghanim’s Scepter.
- High Magical damage can be further amplified with items
- Great talent tree that scales well with levels
Items to buy on Skywrath Mage
- Rod of Atos - Great for locking Morphling down
- Ethereal Blade - Can be used in tandem with his other spells and items to deal immense magical damage
- Veil of Discord - Amplifies the magical damage dealt
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Increased magical damage from Ultimate
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Morph and also applies a basic dispel
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Skywrath_Mage
3. Outworld Devourer
Being a ranged hero does wonders especially if you’re against melee heroes in the mid-lane. His foes do not fare well if they are facing Outworld Destroyer. The INT disparity damage is simply too much to handle for them, combined with the magical damage output, and Astral save can turn around team fights. OD is essentially a beast against most mid-laners in the late game. With so many item builds to choose from, Outworld Destroyer is one of the most flexible mid-heroes in the game.
Why is Outworld Destroyer a great counter to Morphling?
- Arcane Orb deals pure damage, effectively bypassing Morphling's high armor from Attribute Shift (Agility Gain).
- Sanity's Eclipse is more effective against a low health and mana pool Morphling, enabling Outworld Destroyer to burst Morphling down before he can shift to Strength.
Items to Buy on Outworld Destroyer
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all of Morph’s magic damage spells, making you invulnerable in the fight
- Hurricane Pike - Allows him to close the gap and deal immense damage to Morph, also provides decent stats
- Scythe of Vyse - Disables Morphling and removes him from the fight
- Refresher’s Orb - Can refresh spells and items and use them again in quick succession to delete Morph from the fight
- Kaya and Sange - Increased mana regen and overall stat gain
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Outworld_Destroyer
2. Arc Warden
This space warden has seen shifts in time and energy. He has bent time itself to neutralize his enemies and prove victorious on the battlefield. He is the one and only, Arc Warden. He might have a weak lane presence, but he scales exponentially after reaching level 6. He farms easily with his Double and is known to split push effortlessly. Though he is slightly complex, he can be mastered within no time if you manage to micro efficiently.
What makes Arc Warden a great counter to Morphling?
- Arc Warden can counter Morphling's strong pushing capabilities by using Magnetic Field to protect buildings.
- Arc Warden also often builds an Orchid Malevolence or Bloodthorn, which can prove dangerous for Morphling.
- Arc Warden can easily break Linken's Sphere with Flux and then slow him with Spark Wraith, making Arc Warden's Tempest Double a legitimate threat as well.
Items to buy on Arc Warden
- Mjolnir - Exceptional for pushing lanes and farming quickly
- Silver Edge - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Morphling
- Scythe of Vyse - Disables Morph and removes him from the fight
- Bloodthorn - Can silence Morph and turn him into rubbles in no time
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Morph’s regen while also providing stats.
1. Ancient Apparition
Kaldr, the Ancient Apparition is quite literally a cool counter to Morphling. He possesses all the quintessential qualities to ruin the latter’s game with the help of Ice Blast, making it impossible for him to survive the team fight or gain HP. He is also a great pick due to his flexibility as he can also be played in the mid-lane, which is quite a rare sight but can do wonders if played exceptionally well. Morph stands no chance in the late game if the mighty Apparition gets his spells off in skirmishes.
What makes Ancient Apparition a great counter to Morphling?
- Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering additional health, and using it will 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.
Items to buy on Ancient Apparition
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Morphling
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Increases Ice Vortex damage and heal reduction, destroying Morph’s game
- Rod of Atos - Allows him to lock Morph down and prevents him from using any spells
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate on Morph
- Scythe of Vyse - Disables Morph and removes him from the fight
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Ancient_Apparition
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