Muerta vs Sand King

How this matchup plays

Controlling the pace of a teamfight is tricky when these two are on opposite sides. Sand King’s entire damage profile is magical, from Burrowstrike to his Epicenter. This lines up perfectly to punish Muerta if she uses Pierce the Veil, as her ethereal form takes increased damage from spells while making her immune to physical attacks. A full Epicenter on an ulting Muerta will delete her instantly. The flip side is that Muerta has multiple ways to interrupt his channeled ultimate. A fear from The Calling or a ricochet from Dead Shot can completely waste his biggest cooldown and leave him vulnerable in the middle of a fight.

The matchup becomes a game of initiation and reaction time. Early on, Muerta can use her range to bully Sand King out of lane before he has his core items. Once Sand King gets a Blink Dagger, however, he can threaten her from anywhere on the map. Fights then depend on who acts first. If Sand King can jump from the fog and get his full combo off, Muerta dies. If she anticipates the jump and holds her fear, she can turn his aggression against him. Success for either hero depends heavily on vision and positioning.