Mercurial, the Spectre dominates the current meta with her sharp blade. She cuts through her foes effortlessly and is pleasured by their demise. Spectre is one of the most played heroes in the current patch. With her being so popular, arises the question of how to counter her.

To help you counter this menacing entity, we have compiled this list of the Best 10 Heroes that are great against Spectre. These heroes are great in the current patch and can quickly out farm or disable Spectre. 

10. 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, giving Spectre a run for her money. His ultimate is extremely great against heroes that lack AoE abilities to counter him, this also includes Spectre unless she opts to go for Radiance which further slows down her farm! He can pounce on her easily and deal a ton of physical damage, even resulting in her demise.

Why is Phantom Lancer a counter to Spectre?

• Phantom Lancer has higher mobility and the ability to reset any fights with Doppelganger can be a nuisance for Spectre to fight against.
• Doppelganger can be used to dispel the slow from Spectral Dagger, thus completely rendering it useless.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Diffusal Blade
• Manta Style
• Butterfly
• Eye of Skadi
• Abyssal Blade
• Heart of Tarrasque

 https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Phantom_Lancer

9. Riki

This silent assassin has overthrown empires and obliterated his enemies. He is known to be quick and slippery, not all are blessed enough to see him. Riki is the ultimate carry hero against Spectre. Riki is a threat if paired with the right support in the lane as he can quickly out farm Spectre in the late game. He can snowball quite easily if fed off a few kills. His invisibility is the main selling point, as it is intriguing to the newer players. He may often gank other lanes in the early game, as his Blink Strike combined with Smoke Screen ability assists him in striking his enemies down, something which Spectre can’t escape.

Why is Riki a great counter hero? 

• Riki's Smoke Screen can make it hard for Spectre to escape or burst down Riki with auto-attacks.
• While on Tricks of the Trade, Riki does not take damage from Dispersion.
• Riki can build Aghanim's Scepter and jump inside an allied carry or offlane tank with Tricks of the Trade to do a lot of damage to Spectre while completely avoiding Dispersion.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Diffusal Blade
• Abyssal Blade
• Manta Style
• Black King Bar
• Daedalus

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Riki

8. Undying

The life of Spectre is worsened by the presence of Undying. Picking him first ensures you threaten her with strength steal and harass potential. Having high HP as support will guarantee your carry a free rein as you will be busy shoving her away from the XP range. Undying maintain the tempo in the mid-game as his Tombstone has proven to be immensely helpful to disrupt Spectre and slow her movements. Spectre and her allies stand no chance once he transforms into the Flesh Golem.

Why is Undying a great counter? 

• Spectre must chase for kills and relies on movement speed for mobility in fights, and has no way to counter the Tombstone zombies.
• The potency of Soul Rip can be increased from nearby illusions from Haunt.
• Decay will shut down Spectre during the laning phase by effectively cutting down her initial health pool.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Mekansm
• Solar Crest
• Guardian Greaves
• Glimmer Cape
• Aeon Disk

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Undying
 

7. Meepo

Whenever there’s a Meepo in a pub game, chances are he is either a smurf or even better, someone, trying him out for the first time. Jokes aside, Meepo is an extremely powerful hero against Spectre as he has so much disable and control along with immense damage and sustain to defeat her. Everything from your map awareness to micro-skills needs to be on point when you play Meepo or else Spectre can have an upper hand! Meepo out farms Spectre by a mile, making him online quick. Spectre often lacks the damage to deal with Meepo, rendering her useless in the late game.

Why is Meepo a great counter hero?

• Spectre has no strong AOE abilities or way to control or lock down Meepo.
• Poof combined with Earthbind can be used to easily lockdown and burst Spectre down.
• Meepo's global map presence allows him to effectively hunt for Spectre and disrupt her farm

Items to buy against Spectre

• Blink Dagger
• Eye of Skadi
• Scythe of Vyse
• Dragon Lance
• Heart of Tarrasque

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Meepo

6. Winter Wyvern

The bone-chilling threat of Wyvern’s curse ensures no foes stick around Spectre. She is the perfect first pick material if you want to hit off with immense crowd control. Spectre can’t withstand the heavy damage dealt by Wyvern as her spells are all AoE! Wyvern is known to be a great pick in any situation as she can heal her allies and shove out lanes if needed. But the prominent reason for picking her is Winter’s Curse, her ultimate. It ensures the initiating hero, Spectre in this case, is disabled and forces her allies to hit her. 

Why is Winter Wyvern a great counter hero? 

• Arctic Burn makes it nearly impossible for Spectre to juke into the trees.
• Cold Embrace negates all of Spectre's physical damage. Furthermore, Cold Embrace will generally outheal Desolate.
• Winter's Curse can taunt illusions, not only wasting the entire duration of Haunt but also turning its illusions against Spectre's own team.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Aether Lens
• Glimmer Cape
• Force Staff
• Aeon Disk
• Holy Locket
• Ghost Scepter

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Winter_Wyvern

5. Storm Spirit

This charming and electrifying hero is a top pick in this meta against Spectre. This is due to his highly active play style and fast farming speed. He is widely regarded as one of the best mid laners in the game. Storm is mostly played as a fast tempo mid hero, meaning he usually rotates to gank other lanes and quickly goes back to farming or taking towers. His high mana pool enables him to jump on Spectre and catch her off-guard. Late game Storm is a disaster for the Spectre as she can’t escape him! Storm Spirit can exploit every one of Spectre's weaknesses, and this is one of the best counters against her.

What makes Storm Spirit a great counter?

• Electric Vortex can lock Spectre down as she doesn't like to build Black King Bar.
• Spectre cannot evade Storm Spirit, as Ball Lightning is superior to Spectral Dagger in terms of mobility.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Bloodstone
• Orchid of Maleovalence
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Scythe of Vyse
• Sange and Kaya
• Black King Bar

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Storm_Spirit

4. Shadow Shaman

Many have come and gone but none can withstand the cursed abilities of this Shaman. Shadow Shaman is a great addition to your team against escape heroes as he offers you insane disable potential allowing your team to follow up with damage and spells. Apart from disabling, he is also known to push out lanes effortlessly and deal damage to buildings with his ultimate! He can also rat well in the late game if he has all the right items!

Why is Shadow Shaman a great counter? 

• Hex can be used immediately to destroy Spectre's illusion when she Haunts.
• Shadow Shaman can use Shackles to lock down Spectre for his team.
• Shadow Shaman's Mass Serpent Ward and Ether Shock help him push lanes and end the game early before Spectre can come online and take over the late game.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Aether Lens
• Blink Dagger
• Force Staff
• Glimmer Cape
• Aghanim’s Scepter

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_Shaman/

3. Pugna

The skeletal figure comes alive after he drains their life and turns them into bones and dust. Pugna is infamous for sucking the soul out of you. A pure lane matchup can favor Pugna as he has more INT and mana pool compared to most heroes along with that you face constant harassment and get shoved out of the lane due to the bonkers damage he deals even as a support hero. He is known to farm effortlessly due to his AoE spell and hit his item timings relatively early. You can also save your low HP allies with Life Drain. 

Why is Pugna a great counter hero? 

• Spectre's spells aren’t spammable but have a fairly high mana cost, so Nether Ward can be fairly damaging to Spectre early game. 
• Nether Blast is one of the best tower pushing abilities in the game, with a low cooldown.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Aether Lens
• Aeon Disk
• Scythe of Vyse
• Dagon
• Blink Dagger

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Pugna

2. Lion

Considered to be sent from the deepest hells, Lion is said to be the best support hero in the game against Spectre. Lion is a favorite pick, primarily due to his ease of spells and high burst damage potential. He can often rotate and gank Spectre’s lane 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, quickly resulting in her death.

What makes Lion a great counter? 

• Hex and Mana Drain can be used to immediately destroy Spectre's illusion when she uses Haunt.
• Hex and Earth Spike are good lockdown spells to control and kill Spectre, especially if she doesn't buy defensive items like Linken's Sphere and Black King Bar.
• Finger of Death can be used to burst down Spectre when she is low on life as she has very poor magic resistance.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Blink Dagger
• Force Staff
• Ghost Scepter
• Aether Lens

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Lion

1. Doom

From the depths of hell, comes Doom! His abilities ensure nothing but pain and agony, his fearful presence wins him wars, he is the almighty Doom! He is known to farm the jungle effortlessly right from level one. His high base armor provides him sustain while fighting or laning against Spectre. He is regarded as one of the most played offlaners in the current meta. Spectre can’t lane against him due to his high sustain as well as harass potential. While he can jungle and offlane, Doom can also be played as roaming support, ganking and catching Spectre by surprise as she farms!

What makes Doom a great counter? 

• Infernal Blade's damage is calculated by the percentage of maximum health, meaning that it will hurt Spectre more than most normal attacks, negating some of her tankiness.
• Doom can pick up several different abilities from neutral creeps using Devour, some of which can be annoying to Spectre.
• Doom makes Spectre less disruptive. Combined with Aghanim's Scepter, it will disable Spectre's passive skills, reducing her potential in teamfights.

Items to buy against Spectre

• Shadow Blade
• Blink Dagger
• Shiva’s Guard
• Black King Bar
• Refresher’s Orb

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Doom

You may also like:

• [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Carry Heroes That Wreck Hard!
• Top 10 Best Mid Heroes of Dota 2
• Top 10 Best Support Heroes of Dota 2
• In-game Best Settings for an Advantage in Dota 2
• Top 10 Best Offlane Heroes in Dota 2
• [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Agility Heroes That Wreck Hard!
• [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Junglers That Wreck Hard!
• [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Aghanim Upgrades That Are OP