Lich vs Medusa

How this matchup plays

Deciding how to lane against Medusa means thinking about her Mana Shield. Lich brings a unique tool for this with Sinister Gaze, which drains mana directly. Because Medusa's survivability is tied to her mana pool, forcing her to hold still while her primary defense evaporates can put her in a difficult position. This is on top of Lich's other spells, like Frost Shield, slowing her down and making her an easier target for ganks. Chain Frost also tends to get good bounces when a team is forced to clump up around their Medusa carry to protect her.

This pressure is most effective before Medusa can farm key items. Her goal is to survive the early and mid-game, secure a Black King Bar to ignore Sinister Gaze, and then use her farming speed to pull ahead. Medusa can also interrupt the mana drain with her own Stone Gaze if she reacts quickly. For Lich, success comes from coordinating with his team to punish Medusa during his timing windows. If he can't set up kills and shut down her farm, she will eventually build to a point where his control is much less relevant.