Chaos Knight vs Shadow Fiend

How this matchup plays

Getting caught out by a Chaos Knight is often a death sentence for Shadow Fiend. Chaos Knight's entire kit is built to isolate and eliminate a single target, and Shadow Fiend's low health pool and lack of escapes make him an ideal victim. A simple Reality Rift pulls him into melee range for a Chaos Bolt and the full physical burst from Phantasm illusions. While Shadow Fiend can use Shadowraze to damage the illusions, he rarely has the time to cast it effectively before the real Chaos Knight and his copies bring him down.

The matchup becomes a race. Chaos Knight constantly looks for opportunities to find and kill Shadow Fiend before a fight begins, shutting down a major source of the enemy's damage. The Shadow Fiend player's goal is to use his superior farming speed to get a key defensive item like a Black King Bar or a Eul's Scepter. These tools can break Chaos Knight's initiation combo and allow Shadow Fiend to reposition or counter-attack with a powerful Requiem of Souls. The small advantage comes down to whether Chaos Knight can press his lead before Shadow Fiend can itemize to survive.