Shadow Demon — Dota 2 7.41e Counters, Synergies & Win Rate
Also known as: SD
Shadow Demon (SD) in Dota 2 7.41e: win rate, pick rate, top counters and best teammates, from Batru's ranked-match pipeline.
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Shadow Demon by rank bracket
Shadow Demon is strongest in Divine & Immortal games, winning 45.48% (#115 of 127 heroes), but drops to 40.16% (#126) in Herald & Guardian.
| Bracket | Tier Rank | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | #126 of 127 | 40.16% | 2.02% | 2,226 |
| Crusader & Archon | #121 of 127 | 43.54% | 2.08% | 5,593 |
| Legend & Ancient | #118 of 127 | 45.01% | 2.36% | 5,090 |
| Divine & Immortal | #115 of 127 | 45.48% | 2.79% | 2,177 |
Recent ranked matches split by average match rank — the same data behind the per-rank tier lists each bracket links to.
Shadow Demon win rate by patch
Shadow Demon is winning 42.51% of 3,837 ranked matches in patch 7.41e, down 2.2pp from 7.41d.
| Patch | Win Rate | Change | Pick Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 42.51% | ▼ -2.2pp | 2.20% | 3,837 |
| 7.41d | 44.71% | ▼ -0.5pp | 2.35% | 580,493 |
| 7.41c | 45.18% | ▼ -0.3pp | 2.30% | 315,402 |
| 7.41b | 45.50% | ▼ -1.0pp | 2.79% | 392,771 |
| 7.41a | 46.50% | ▼ -0.6pp | 2.83% | 162,030 |
| 7.41 | 47.15% | — | 2.90% | 26,360 |
Win rate and pick rate per patch window over all quality-filtered ranked matches; the newest patch accumulates matches for days after release — its row shows the current sample size.
Shadow Demon counters & matchups
Shadow Demon is a control support whose Disruption banishes and creates illusions, Soul Catcher amplifies damage, and Demonic Purge slows and dispels. He's strong into immobile, single-target heroes: Elder Titan, Timbersaw and Brewmaster get controlled and amplified down. Shadow Demon is hard-countered by AoE and divers: Tidehunter Ravages through his setup, Riki ambushes him, and Dawnbreaker or Phoenix out-fight him. Draft tip: Shadow Demon is a strong single-target control + save support into squishy drafts; he's weaker into AoE-teamfight and hard-dive line-ups.
Strong against
| Hero | Win Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
 Monkey King | 55.56% | 108 |
 Centaur Warrunner | 53.74% | 147 |
 Weaver | 51.96% | 102 |
 Ember Spirit | 50.00% | 136 |
 Disruptor | 50.00% | 174 |
Struggles against
| Hero | Win Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
 Wraith King | 30.84% | 214 |
 Dark Willow | 33.64% | 110 |
 Spectre | 34.73% | 239 |
 Phantom Lancer | 35.63% | 247 |
 Shadow Shaman | 36.03% | 297 |
 Undying | 36.23% | 265 |
 Axe | 36.42% | 324 |
 Mirana | 36.53% | 167 |
Shadow Demon synergies
Shadow Demon's Disruption is both a save and a damage-amp setup (the illusions plus Soul Catcher), and he enables push strategies. He pairs best with summon/push and illusion cores: Chen leverages his early tempo for a creep-push snowball, while Lycan and Dark Seer turn his control into a siege. Give Shadow Demon a push-oriented core and his Disruption setup plus Soul Catcher amp snowballs the early game.
Best teammates
| Hero | Win Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Wraith King | 51.67% | 209 |
 Skywrath Mage | 51.05% | 143 |
 Rubick | 50.91% | 220 |
Data updated Aug 9, 2026.