Alchemist vs Timbersaw

How this matchup plays

Seeing Timbersaw's Reactive Armor, you might think he'd hold up well against a physical damage core. The issue is Alchemist's Acid Spray. It doesn't care how many stacks of armor Timbersaw builds up; the minus armor melts it all away for your whole team to exploit. A fully charged Unstable Concoction can also lock Timbersaw down in the acid, preventing him from using Timber Chain to escape before he's brought down.

This dynamic makes the laning phase miserable for Timbersaw, who is constantly vulnerable to harass while trying to farm. As the game progresses, Alchemist’s farming speed creates a massive item gap. Alchemist can get an early Radiance to burn through Timbersaw's health with magic damage, or simply build more armor reduction that makes Reactive Armor feel useless. Timbersaw is on a strict clock to shut Alchemist down, but Alchemist has all the tools needed to farm safely and completely negate Timbersaw's core defensive ability.