Shadow Fiend vs Slark

How this matchup plays

Picking one of these cores into the other is a bet on who gets to play their game first. Slark comes equipped with excellent tools for hunting a Shadow Fiend. Dark Pact can purge the fear from Requiem of Souls, and Pounce holds the Fiend in place. This makes him a natural predator. The reverse is also true, however. Shadow Fiend's raw magical burst is often enough to delete Slark from the fight before he can use his defensive spells, especially if SF gets the jump with a Blink Dagger or from invisibility.

The duel often comes down to vision, positioning, and who has better backup. A Shadow Fiend who gets a fast Black King Bar or another defensive item can survive Slark’s initial Pounce and turn the engagement. Teamfights become a test of anticipation; Slark will try to weave through the fight using Shadow Dance to find a flank onto the backline Fiend. Meanwhile, Shadow Fiend’s team needs to provide the lockdown required for him to safely unload his full damage combo. The better player usually wins, not the better hero.