Arc Warden vs Pudge

How this matchup plays

Trying to land a Meat Hook on the right target is the core of this matchup. Pudge wants to isolate a hero and burst them with Dismember, but Arc Warden's Tempest Double makes this a constant guessing game. Hooking the clone wastes a long cooldown and achieves very little, as the Double can continue to fight and deal damage. However, the real Arc Warden is fragile and immobile. If Pudge does manage to hook the correct hero, Arc Warden has almost no way to survive the follow-up, creating a high-risk, high-reward situation for Pudge on every cast.

The game becomes a battle of information and positioning. Pudge's team needs to invest in vision to track the real Arc Warden, while Arc Warden constantly tries to misdirect by using his clone to farm lanes and join fights from afar. A single successful hook on the real hero can halt his momentum and create a huge opening. Conversely, a missed hook or one that lands on the illusion gives Arc Warden's team a window to take objectives or win a fight while Pudge's main spell is unavailable.