Underlord vs Pugna

How this matchup plays

Putting Underlord and Pugna on opposite sides of the river creates a specific problem for the Underlord player. Your game plan relies on spamming Firestorm and Pit of Malice to control space, but Pugna’s Nether Ward directly punishes that. Each spell you cast near the Ward drains your mana and health, making it hard to sustain in lane or contribute to a long teamfight. This constant tax on your resources is Pugna's main way of tilting the engagement in his favor, forcing you to either hold your spells or risk getting worn down before you can be effective.

Later on, the dynamic becomes a cat-and-mouse game. Pugna looks for opportunities to drop his Ward and make Underlord's life miserable, while Underlord has to find a way to get on top of the fragile Pugna. A well-placed Pit of Malice can easily spell death for Pugna if any teammates are nearby to follow up on the root. Underlord can still be a tanky frontliner and reduce the enemy team's damage with Atrophy Aura, but Pugna makes doing the rest of his job more awkward and costly.