Ancient Apparition vs Lich

How this matchup plays

Trying to shatter a target under Ice Blast becomes a real problem when Lich can cast Frost Shield on them. The shield's damage reduction isn't disabled by Ancient Apparition's ultimate, so it directly counters the burst needed to secure a kill. It makes it much harder to push a hero below the shatter threshold. On the other side of things, Lich is very good at punishing a hero who can't move. A well-placed Chain Frost can easily bounce onto a slow-moving Ancient Apparition and take him out of a fight before he can contribute much beyond his ultimate.

Both of these heroes want to play far in the back and enable their cores from a safe distance. The lane can be a toss-up, as both have strong harass and kill potential with their slows and damage spells. Later on, success usually comes down to which team can better execute their game plan. Does the global Ice Blast land and set up a fight-winning gank, or does Frost Shield save a key carry from that gank and turn the fight around? The matchup is less about one hero dominating the other and more about which one's team capitalizes on the setup they provide.