Lifestealer vs Lion

How this matchup plays

Trying to lock a hero down as Lion is usually a death sentence for them, but Lifestealer is the exception. The entire purpose of Lion's kit—chain-stunning with Earth Spike and Hex—is completely negated by a single button press. Lifestealer's Rage makes him immune to the lockdown Lion relies on to be useful in fights. Even Finger of Death loses a lot of its bite against the magic resistance Rage provides. Lion is built to enable kills, but against Lifestealer, he finds his spells are almost useless.

This forces Lion to play a completely different, much more defensive game. He can't be on the front lines setting up plays; instead, he has to hide in the back and hope Lifestealer picks another target. For Lifestealer, the game plan is obvious: once Rage is available, run directly at Lion. Since Lion can't stun, hex, or run away effectively, he’s usually the first to die in a teamfight, leaving his team to deal with a fed Lifestealer. Lion's only hope is to get a jump on him before he can activate his spell immunity.