Stare deep into the abyss, and you for sure know the abyss will stare back. Enigma, the cosmic entity knows no bounds, his reach is infinite and there is no way you escape from his darkness. The wrath of Enigma has trampled millions of players all around the world and has induced fear in their minds. He is an essential offlane hero in the current meta, as we all know how deadly his spells can get if he is not stopped in the early game. His pushing and farming potential is also top-notch, but playing this oddity requires extreme experience and devotion, as he may also not work in every matchup.
Enigma has always been an exciting hero to play, as one fight can change it all in his team’s favor, courtesy of his ultimate. But similarly, one bad fight can also ruin Enigma’s chances of winning if he does not catch multiple heroes in his Black Hole. We bring you the Best 10 Enigma Counters who do obliterate their chances of winning the game!
Best general items against Enigma
- Orchid of Malevolence - It can be used to silence Enigma for 5 seconds, also dealing them an extra 30% damage at the end of its duration. It can be used to prevent Enigma from using Blackhole if he does not have any spell immunity yet.
- Scythe of Vyse - It can be used to hex Enigma, essentially making him unable to use spells or items, along with reducing his movement speed for 3.5 seconds. Highly useful to shut him down, making him useless in teamfights.
- Aeon Disk - Saves heroes from getting bursts quickly from Enigma’s Blackhole and also applies a basic dispel, although it has an extremely high cooldown of 180 seconds.
- Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to escape from Enigma’s Blackhole if you time it right.
- Glimmer Cape - Upon usage, it provides invisibility, and can also be used on allied units to escape or to initiate on Enigma
- Eul’s Scepter - Upon usage, it is used to sweep yourself or Enigma into the air for 2.5 seconds, making him unable to use spells or move. This can be used to lock Enigma down and interrupt his Blackhole or to dodge his Blackhole for a few seconds if timed right on yourself.
10. Spectre
The spectacular Spectre is a nightmare for most heroes as she is always known to catch you off-guard. In most scenarios, Enigma and Spectre have equal potential in the game, it’s always the one who can sustain himself that comes out on the top. Sustainability is a huge factor against Enigma, and Spectre takes care of it by building tanky items like Manta Style, Eye of Skadi, and Abyssal Blade which offer her high
All you need is a few items to face the swordsman alone. Spectre may lack in the farming department in the early game but its the kills and ganks which reward her with gold, making her devastating in the late game. Her late-game potential to quickly solo kill Enigma from anywhere on the map is unmatched by any other carry in the game.
Why is Spectre a great counter to Enigma?
- Haunt can ruin Enigma's initiation with Blink Dagger, no matter where he is on the map.
- Spectre often buys Radiance, which allows her to deal damage over time to Enigma and put Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Dispersion reflects the damage of Midnight Pulse and Black Hole inflicted back on Enigma. This can get even worse for Enigma if Spectre buys Blade Mail.
- All of Spectre's abilities ignore spell immunity, which means that even with Black King Bar, Enigma has little to no chance against Spectre at any stage of the game.
Items to buy on Spectre
- Blademail - Reflects Enigma’s damage to him upon activation.
- Radiance - Burn damage prevents Enigma from blinking away, and can also be useful in pushing lanes
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Enigma by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns his mana and dispels any buffs that he may have.
- Manta Style - On usage, it creates two illusions of Enigma, allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times them right. It is exceptional to push lanes effortlessly and dispel spells.
- Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce Enigma’s regen if he opts for Satanic. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Spectre.
- Abyssal Blade - Upon cast, it stuns the targetted hero for 2 seconds. Can be used to quickly lock down Enigma after using ultimate, allowing you to beat him down with physical damage.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Spectre
9. Pudge
You do not have to be the greatest hooker in the game but it does not take a Dendi to hook stationary targets like Enigma while he is channeling his Black Hole. Pudge can easily save his allies or eat them if they are caught on the edge of the Black Hole. Besides that, Pudge is also extremely tanky and can also Dismember Enigma even if he has his Black King Bar on if the Pudge isn’t caught out by the Black Hole. Overall, a good Pudge can do enough emotional damage to make Enigma players abandon the hero entirely.
Enigma can lane well against Pudge in the laning phase as he can simply block his hooks with the help of his trusty Eidolons. But this does not mean that Pudge can’t come out on top, there are certain power spikes during the early game where the Pudge is significantly stronger than the Enigma (one such instance is when the Pudge acquires his ultimate) Pudge is heavily level-reliant and does not need multiple items to have an impact, unlike the Enigma who has to be equipped with various items to be fight ready.
Why is Pudge a great counter to Enigma?
- Even with Black King Bar, Pudge's Meat Hook and Dismember can still disable Engima while he is channeling Black Hole.
- Pudge's Aghanim's Shard upgrade Dismember and Meat Hook are great ways to save allies from Black Hole.
- Enigma is prone to gank in the jungle or the off-lane without proper vision. Pudge can take advantage of Enigma's lack of mobility, and gank him often.
Items to buy against Enigma
- Aether Lens - Provides increased cast range on items and spells, and can be used to catch the Enigma off-guard with the increased range.
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Can “eat” an ally, basically ingesting them and healing them inside him, it can be used on allies inside Black Hole to save them from potentially life threatening damage.
- Blink Dagger - Upon cast, Blink transports Pudge 1200 units in the distance he is facing, can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage, though Rot damage does not count. Blink is used for closing the gap and to get on top of Enigma, or it can also be used to escape away from him.
- Blademail - Reflects Enigma’s damage to him upon activation. This is highly useful in teamfights if you time it right as Enigma is about to use Black Hole, making him ignore you for the majority of the duration.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Pudge
8. Tidehunter
The mighty Enigma has no choice but to ignore this mighty melon during teamfights as he can not deal damage due to the heavy Kraken Shell even with the help of his Eidolons. Tide can simply negate all the damage and tank through the team fight, shielding his cores. Enigma has no way to turn the tides against the Tidehunter in the late game until he acquires his Black King Bar. Even then he does no damage to the Tide and generally ignores him in the teamfights while Tide still targets him down.
Tidehunter does exceptionally well against Enigma as he can simply lower his already poor armor and deal high damage while significantly reducing the damage he takes in return. He deals little to no damage to the former due to Anchor Smash along with his naturally high Base Armor. Tide can simply blink into Ravage and have his team follow up on the Enigma, he can also build items like Solar Crest, or Lotus Orb to counter certain mechanics of the latter’s gameplay.
Why is Tidehunter a great counter to Enigma?
- Tidehunter's Anchor Smash will cripple all of Enigma's Eidolons, and at a higher level, Tidehunter will be capable of instantly killing the whole group of them for a boost of gold.
- Kraken Shell negates Eidolons' damage and Enigma's auto attacks, making laning against Tidehunter nearly impossible for Enigma.
- Ravage has an insane radius, and considering that Enigma is prone to waiting around for a Blink Dagger and Black King Bar combo, Ravage's stun may catch Enigma off guard and put Blink Dagger on cooldown, limiting him a crucial team fight time.
Items to Buy on Tidehunter
- Blink Dagger - On cast, Blink transports Tidehunter 1200 units in the distance he is facing, can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and get on top of Enigma as he is a ranged hero, or it can also be used to escape away from him.
- Shiva’s Guard - Upon activation, it deals damage in an AoE around Tidehunter, slowing down the affected targets. It also provides increased armor and reduces enemy armor in an AoE.
- Lotus Orb - Upon usage, it reflects targetted spells to the caster. It can also be used by Tidehunter to dispel any enemy debuffs. It can hence be used to reflect or dispel both Grave Chill and Soul Assumptions.
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - The Scepter makes Gush AoE and the Shard grants him Tendrils of the Deep ability which stuns enemies within his reach. The tentacles are essentially a mini ravage, with 75% of Ravage’s radius, making it easy for Tidehnter to reach Enigma.
- Force Staff - Allows Tidehunter to force himself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing. It is quite essential in catching or escaping from Enigma as it does not get disabled on physical attacks like the Blink Dagger.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Tidehunter
7. Zeus
Zeus is nothing less than a god when it comes to domination in-game. The Thundergod is quite undoubtedly a great counter-pick to Enigma as he is known to have poor resistance to magical damage. Zeus fares extremely well if he is laning against Enigma, allowing him to shove him off the lane and even kill him a few times to acquire gold. In the mid-game, as the latter acquires items like Aether Lens and Veil of Discord, Enigma can’t handle the DPS, which proves to be extremely lethal.
As we know, Enigma generally builds a Black King Bar, but it is often built later on in the game, but as he is facing the Thundergod, he has to prioritize it early, or else there is no way he has any impact on his Black Hole as Zeus can easily cancel it with his spells. Buying the Black King Bar so early means that it will have a lesser duration in the late game, eventually giving Zeus the upper hand in teamfights!
Why is Zeus a great counter to Enigma?
- Zeus can break Blink Dagger with his long-range abilities and global range ultimate, Thundergod's Wrath.
- Lightning Bolt has a long range and a mini-stun, providing a way for him to cancel Black Hole from safe distances, assuming Enigma doesn't have his Black King Bar.
- Zeus' Aghanim's Scepter upgraded ability Nimbus has a global range and mini-stun, making it an even more effective way to cancel Black Hole before Enigma initiates with Black King Bar.
- Zeus is typically able to position himself at a safe distance from the fight, making him a difficult target to capture in a Black Hole.
Items to buy on Zeus
- Octraine Core - Provides spell lifesteal and stats
- Refresher’s Orb - Can refresh spells and items and use them again in quick succession to delete Enigma from the fight
- Arcane Blink - Great for gap closing or initiating, low mana cost on spells and items on usage
- Bloodstone - Increased mana and HP usage
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Provides Nimbus which is essential for teamfights in the late game
6. Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage, the 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, especially Enigma due to mana break. An early-game AM can effortlessly decimate Enigma's mana and make him buy mangoes or Soul Ring to compensate. This will slow down his farm while AM is known to farm at a faster pace, allowing him to get ahead in the net worth charts.
Enigma has to often catch the Anti-Mage in the Black Hole or else he can just simply use his ultimate Mana Void to cancel it off, even if the former has a Black King Bar (as it pierces spell immunity). While it is uncommon to see an Enigma face off against AM in the laning phase, it's soothing to see the former being obliterated effortlessly with just a few items. Enigma does farm well, but he tends to lose his tempo in the late game when AM acquires his Battlefury and Black King Bar. Enigma stands no chance when a six-slotted AM pounces on him thanks to Blink and decimates him in no time.
Why is Anti-Mage a great hero against Enigma?
- Enigma's Midnight Pulse damage can be substantially mitigated by Anti-Mage's high magic resistance thanks to Counterspell.
- In the early game, Anti-Mage's Mana Enigma can cancel a Black Hole until Enigma gets Black King Bar.
- Should Anti-Mage survive a Black Hole combo, Enigma will have exhausted most of his skills and items, preventing him from defending himself against any counter initiation or a follow-up from a blink escape.
- Anti-Mage's Blink will make him a very hard target to use Black Hole on, having to solo ult him later on in the game or leave him out of the Black Hole.
Items to Buy against Enigma
- Battlefury - Provides cleave on physical attacks which can be essential to split push and farm quickly
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all of Enigma’s magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top priority, as most seasoned players prefer to purchase the BKB right after the Battlefury
- Mana Style - Creates two illusions of AM on usage, also allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.
- Abyssal Blade - Upon cast, it stuns the targetted hero for 2 seconds. Can be used to quickly lock down Enigma after blinking on top of him, allowing you to beat him down with the physical damage
- Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce Enigma’s regen if he opts for Bloodstone. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to AM.
- Butterfly - Increases evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes AM untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
https://www.dota2.com/hero/anti-mage
5. Sniper
Sniper is one of the most annoying heroes to ever exist in Dota, he is up there with Techies and co. He can easily ruin Enigma’s lane with his immense attack damage, along with the constant harassment from Shrapnel. The worst part is that Enigma can’t even get close enough to touch this mighty dwarf due to his insane attack range. The marksman can simply effortlessly dominate the Enigma with his attack damage. Enigma’s Eidolons stand no chance with the high AoE damage the Sniper possesses in the late game, essentially putting an end to the former’s high ground or split push damage.
The late game can be quite tricky for the Sniper when Enigma decides to jump Sniper as the priority. Positioning is always the key while playing against Enigma, as if you come too close, you’re bound to get popped. A good Sniper player can have an impact in teamfights without being in the forefront. All his items grant him ungodly amounts of damage which can ruin the game of the Enigma if he does not lock him down.
Why is Sniper a great counter to Enigma?
- In the early game, Sniper can cancel Enigma's Black Hole with Assassinate's mini stun.
- Both Shrapnel and Assassinate put Enigma's Blink Dagger on cooldown, potentially forcing him to prematurely activate Black King Bar.
- Take Aim extends Sniper's attack range, allowing him to position himself safely behind his team, making it difficult to catch him in Enigma's relatively small area-of-effect for Black Hole.
Items to buy on Sniper
- Maelstorm/Mjolnir - Malestorm provides Sniper a chance to deal AoE damage on physical attacks. It’s a great item to counter the familiars by dealing AoE damage to them. Its upgrade, Mjolnir, can be used to cast on yourself or allies to deal AoE damage to enemies attacking you under its duration. Both of these items are excellent to stop Enigma’s onslaught.
- Dragon Lance - Provides increased stats and regen along with increased attack range. Sniper is anything but tanky, but an early-game Dragon Lance assures he does not get prioritized by Enigma in fights. It can further be upgraded into a Hurricane Pike to make some distance from Enigma.
- Mask of Madness - Increased attack speed and lifesteal, along with increasing your movement speed. This allows Sniper to deal high damage without many intervals.
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Enigma. It can later be upgraded into Silver Edge which can disable the latter’s passive Bash right after breaking invisibility.
- Monkey King Bar - Provides increased physical attack damage, and also provides true strike upon physical attacks, preventing or essentially countering Enigma if he purchases Butterfly.
- Daedalus - Deals high critical damage, it can be used to deal high damage to Enigma in the mid-game.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Sniper
4. Warlock
Warlock the sinister wizard has been an affluent counter to Enigma regardless of any nerfs or buffs. There are various reasons why Warlock is a deadly counter to Enigma. The damage from Fatal Bonds to both Enigma and his feeble little Eidolons is too much for them to handle, the annoying damage can cause Enigma to go back to the base to regen, further ruining his gameplay and item timings. Warlock also can work well without many items, as he is more of a level-reliant hero, unlike the Enigma.
This mystical wizard is quite underestimated but is utilized to his full potential, and can decimate Enigma with just a few clicks. Warlock is picked frequently due to his easy skill set. He can heal and deal destruction with his spells. Fatal Bonds combined with Shadow Word can deal some heavy damage to Enigma. Chaotic Offering ensures Enigma can’t use Black Hole even with the Black King Bar on as it pierces spell immunity, vastly destroying Enigma’s game.
Why is Warlock a great counter to Enigma?
- Chaotic Offering's spell immunity piercing stun can stop Black Hole's channeling. Due to this ability's large area of effect, it can be cast at a safe distance from the Black Hole. It also goes through Black King Bar and Linken's Sphere.
- Fatal Bonds can be used to make Enigma's Eidolons easier to kill, potentially feeding the enemy team. Also, its constant damage will put Blink Dagger on cooldown, potentially forcing Enigma to prematurely activate Black King Bar.
Items to buy on Warlock
- Hand of Midas - Provides 160 gold by consuming a creep, granting 2.1x of its normal experience. This is a great first item on Warlock as it allows him to acquire his other items quickly.
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Summons two Golems instead of one upon using ultimate. This ensures more damage during a team fight.
- Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to catch or initiate on Enigma in case he uses Blink Dagger.
- Referesher’s Orb - Allows Warlock to refresh his spells, allowing him to cast twice the spells on Enigma and his teammates. This is an exceptional item if combined with Aghanim’s Scepter as it provides you with 4 Golems on the usage of the ultimate.
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, and can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate Enigma.
3. Winter Wyvern
The cold and dreadful Winter Wyvern sends chills down Enigma’s spine with her icy abilities. The laning phase is quite annoying for the Enigma as he can be subjected to harassment by the Wyvern. The former finds it hard to negate all the damage, making him retire to the jungle or switch lanes, as if he ignores the Wyvern’s threat, he can quite surely lose his life within no time. A great Wyvern player knows how to position properly, ensuring she isn’t caught in the Black Hole, while also using Winter’s Curse on the Enigma, making him unable to do any damage to her allies.
The bone-chilling threat of Wyvern’s curse ensures Enigma or his allies don’t stick around. She can also sustain herself and her allies with her heals. She is also known to be a great pick in most situations and certainly does wonders against Enigma due to her great crowd-control abilities. But the prominent reason for picking her is Winter’s Curse, her ultimate. It forces Enigma to use his Black Hole wisely, making him unable to go on enemies if he does not see the Wyvern around.
Why is Winter Wyvern a great counter to Enigma?
- Cold Embrace can be used to save any ally Enigma initiates with his Black Hole.
- Winter's Curse, when directly targeted on Enigma, goes through Black King Bar, stopping Enigma's Black Hole channeling. It also turns his team against him, potentially killing him.
- Splinter Blast can be targeted on an eidolon, killing off other eidolons and damaging nearby heroes as well.
Items to Buy on Winter Wyvern
- Aether Lens - Provides increased cast range on both spells and items, and can be used to catch Enigma off-guard with your ultimate from outside his Black Hole.
- Glimmer Cape- Upon cast, it turns Winter Wyvern or the targetted ally invisible, allowing you to escape from Enigma’s lethal damage.
- Holy Locket - It can be used to heal allies upon usage, based on the charges which are granted based on enemy hero casting spells, basically a glorified Magic Stick. This provides WW tiny bit of sustain and healing required to withstand Enigma’s damage. She can also use it from outside the Black Hole to heal her allies.
- Ghost Scepter - Upon usage, it makes Winter Wyvern immune to physical attacks while making her unable to attack at the same time. She also takes increased magical damage under its duration. Enigma does virtually zero damage if you have Ghost Scepter.
- Blink Dagger - Blink transports Winter Wyvern 1200 units in the distance she is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if she takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and initiate into Enigma.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Winter_Wyvern
2. Rubick
Rubick is an evergreen pick as he never seems to go out of fashion, he can essentially be picked against any hero with decent spell damage including Enigma. It does not take a master-tier Rubick to be excellent at stealing the right spells or spellcasting. Rubick is a great disabler with the help of Telekinesis, which has kept him relevant through these years, allowing him to stop Enigma right in his tracks. Though Enigma deals immense damage from the get-go, Rubick just has to wait for his ultimate which can be used to steal Enigma Strike or even Nethertoxin, giving the Enigma a taste of his own medicine.
The prominent reason why Rubick is frequently picked is because of the flexibility he provides, along with the impact he has in the game. You can also ideally outfarm and kill Enigma if you play Rubick in the mid-lane. Rubick can dominate effortlessly in the late game if he acquires his items, especially his Aghanim’s which allows him to steal an extra spell, which could lead to mind-boggling combos.
Why is Rubick a great counter to Enigma?
- Telekinesis is one of the best instant disables in the game, completely ruining Enigma’s initiation.
- If Rubick can use Spell Steal to take Blackhole, there is no way Enigma can stop what's coming if he is caught!
- He can also steal Malefice which can be used to interrupt Blackhole if he isn't caught in it.
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 can steal Blackhole, which is the core reason for picking this hero against Enigma.
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Enigma off-guard with the increased range by using Telekinesis from a significant distance.
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Enigma’s spells and also applies a basic dispel, although it has an extremely high cooldown of 180 seconds.
- Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to escape or initiate on Enigma.
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, and can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate on the Enigma.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Rubick
1. Silencer
Enigma does not enjoy laning against Silencer as Arcane Curse will pretty much ruin his early game with the DPS if he keeps on spamming his spells. Enigma also hates heroes which deal high physical damage, Silencer not only does that, but he also steals Enigma’ Intelligence which essentially reduces his mana pool for a brief duration making him unable to cast enough spells. The Silencer is overall a solid counter to Enigma, but it is advised to play him in the support role as he also falls off terribly in the late game.
Silence is one lethal mechanic that counters all spell-casting heroes in the game! And well, Silencer… you know it’s self-explanatory. Having spells that silence or prevent Enigma from using any items makes him very powerful against him. The best part is that laning is not fun for Zeu against a Silencer, frequent right-click damage, and low CD spells shove him out of the lane. Global Silence disables all his power, rendering him useless in most teamfights.
Why is Silencer great against Enigma?
- Arcane Curse can be cast from a long-range to put Enigma's Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Global Silence can interrupt Enigma's Black Hole channeling through Black King Bar and Linken's Sphere, making Silencer one of Enigma's hard counters.
- Silencer is generally more relevant in the later phases of the game if compared to Enigma.
Items to buy against Enigma
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, and can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate Enigma, catching him off guard.
- Rod of Atos - Roots Enigma down upon usage, making him unable to move or use any spells. It can further be upgraded into Glepnir.
- Scythe of Vyse - Disables Enigma and removes him from the fight, as he can’t use his spells or items, making him useless without his ultimate. Scythe also slows his movement speed.
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Enigma’s spells and also applies a basic dispel, although it has an extremely high cooldown of 180 seconds.
- Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to escape or initiate on Enigma.
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Global Silence pierces spell immunity, making it impossible for Enigma to escape alive from teamfights, making it impossible for him to get rid of Global Silence with the Black King Bar on.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Silencer
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