Ancient Apparition vs Ember Spirit

How this matchup plays

Trying to land Ice Blast on Ember Spirit defines this matchup. Shutting down all healing is a huge problem for an Ember who wants to survive sustained fights with lifesteal or a quick trip to the fountain, and a successful ultimate makes him incredibly vulnerable. On the other hand, Ember has all the tools to make that difficult. He can dodge the projectile with Fire Remnant or avoid a Cold Feet stun with a well-timed Sleight of Fist, making him one of the slipperiest targets for Ancient Apparition's kit.

This duel of prediction continues all game. The Ancient Apparition has to anticipate where Ember will be or rely on allied lockdown to guarantee the hit. A successful blast means Ember can't remnant out, heal, and rejoin a fight. The Ember player knows this and plays around it, saving remnants for escapes or using Sleight of Fist to stay untargetable. If the ultimate misses, Ember is often free to hunt the fragile AA in the back lines, so the outcome really hinges on which player executes better.