Earthshaker Counters & Build

Viper 1,963 matches

−2.3%

WhyViper dominates the lane early by using his ranged Poison Attack to continuously slow and harass the melee Earthshaker. Corrosive Skin provides passive magic resistance to blunt Earthshaker's spell burst while returning damage and attack speed slows when attacked, and Viper Strike can disable Earthshaker's crucial Aftershock passive.

Primal Beast 711 matches

−1.7%

WhyEarthshaker's disable-heavy kit with Fissure and Aftershock can quickly build Uproar stacks for Primal Beast—especially with the Provoke the Beast facet—granting him high bonus armor and damage to endure burst combos. Additionally, Primal Beast can use Onslaught and Trample to close the gap on Earthshaker and disrupt him with Pulverize before he can find ideal positioning for Echo Slam.

Sniper 6,156 matches

−1.6%

WhySniper secures a heavy advantage early by dominating the lane, using Keen Scope, Take Aim, and Shrapnel to punish the melee Earthshaker from extreme range. If Earthshaker attempts to close the distance to trigger Aftershock, Headshot and Concussive Grenade provide knockback and disarms to keep him safely at bay.

Grimstroke 1,916 matches

−1.3%

WhyGrimstroke establishes an early advantage in lane by using his ranged attacks and Stroke of Fate to harass the melee Earthshaker. In teamfights, Phantom's Embrace inflicts a silence that prevents Earthshaker from executing his spell combos and triggering Aftershock stuns. Furthermore, Soulbind leashes Earthshaker to an ally and prevents blinking, heavily disrupting his positioning for effective Echo Slam initiations.

Templar Assassin 1,655 matches

−1.3%

WhyTemplar Assassin gains an early advantage in lane by harassing the melee Earthshaker from range using Psi Blades and reducing his durability with Meld. Her Refraction barrier naturally negates Earthshaker's heavy, single-instance burst damage from abilities like Enchant Totem and Fissure. Furthermore, Psionic Traps provide vision and potent slows that disrupt Earthshaker's positioning for teamfight initiations.

Anti-Mage 2,542 matches

+4.2%

WhyAlthough Earthshaker clearly loses the lane to Anti-Mage due to Mana Break burning his mana pool, the matchup swings heavily in Earthshaker's favor later in the game. Earthshaker can instantly chain-stun Anti-Mage with Echo Slam and repeated Aftershock procs before Anti-Mage has the chance to react with Blink or Counterspell. Because Echo Slam and Aftershock are area-of-effect abilities rather than unit-targeted spells, Counterspell cannot reflect their crowd control.

Magnus 4,642 matches

+3.1%

WhyOutside of the even laning phase, Magnus's playstyle directly enables Earthshaker's kit; Reverse Polarity groups multiple targets together, creating ideal setups for Earthshaker to counter-initiate with Echo Slam for massive overlapping echo damage. Furthermore, Earthshaker can use the long-range stun and impassable terrain of Fissure to interrupt Magnus during Skewer or isolate him from his follow-up.

Phantom Lancer 3,515 matches

+2.9%

WhyWhile the lane between them is roughly even, Earthshaker dominates teamfights against Phantom Lancer outside of the laning phase. Phantom Lancer's core playstyle revolves around creating vast numbers of illusions with Juxtapose and Doppelganger, which directly amplifies the damage of Echo Slam as every single illusion emits overlapping echo waves back onto the real hero. Earthshaker can also easily control and clear these tightly grouped illusion clusters using the area stuns and damage from Aftershock and Fissure.