Earthshaker vs Kez

How this matchup plays

Picking Kez into an Earthshaker is a tough call because Earthshaker's entire kit bypasses what Kez is good at. Kez excels at parrying key abilities in a duel, but that doesn't work against a long-range Fissure stun or the chain-stuns from Aftershock. Earthshaker doesn't need to commit to a direct fight; he can lock Kez down from a distance, rendering the parry useless before the real damage even comes in. Even if Kez gets close, Echo Slam's damage is based on the number of units nearby, not a single big hit that can be countered.

As the game progresses, this problem gets worse for Kez. Once Earthshaker gets a Blink Dagger, Kez can never feel safe farming or pushing a lane. A surprise Blink into an Echo Slam will usually delete him before he can react or swap stances. Kez wants to find isolated targets to duel, but Earthshaker forces fights to be about clumping and area damage — the opposite of what Kez wants. This fundamental clash in objectives is also why they rarely work well on the same team. Kez's only real option is building for magic immunity early, but that's a reactive plan when Earthshaker is dictating the pace.