Ogre Magi vs Viper

How this matchup plays

Trying to lock down a target is Ogre Magi’s main job, and Viper is an easy one. Viper’s low mobility and lack of an escape make him very vulnerable to a simple Fireblast stun and Ignite slow. Because Ogre is naturally so tanky, he can walk into range and trade spells without immediately melting to Viper's damage over time. A key part of this is that Viper's Nethertoxin, which is often used to break passives on durable heroes, is completely wasted on Ogre Magi. This leaves Viper without one of his primary tools for shutting down an enemy frontliner, making direct trades feel a bit inefficient for him.

Throughout the game, Ogre Magi can enable ganks on Viper whenever he tries to split-push or farm aggressively. The advantage is only slight, however, because Viper isn't trying to kill Ogre. His goal is to use Viper Strike on Ogre's carry. While Ogre can stun Viper or use Bloodlust to help an ally reposition, he can't undo the ultimate's massive slow and damage once it's applied. The game often comes down to whether Ogre’s team can punish Viper before Viper successfully cripples a more important hero on Ogre’s side.