Sand King vs Spectre

How this matchup plays

Getting jumped as Spectre is often a welcome surprise. Sand King relies on area damage from Epicenter and Sand Storm, which all gets reflected by Dispersion. Instead of bursting a priority target, he ends up taking a massive amount of his own damage back to the face, sometimes killing himself before his channel is even finished. Spectre also isn't afraid to be the isolated target of a Burrowstrike, as Desolate will punish Sand King for finding her alone. On top of that, Haunt can be used to find and interrupt his Epicenter channel from anywhere on the map, completely shutting down his big teamfight spell.

This dynamic forces the Sand King player into a horrible position. He can't be the frontline initiator his team needs because he'll die first. His alternative is to play on the edges, using Burrowstrike to catch supports while actively avoiding Spectre. This plan falls apart once she's farmed. Haunt allows Spectre to pick her fights and jump on him whenever she pleases. Sand King simply lacks the lockdown or single-target damage to survive her, turning him from an initiator into a liability as the game goes on.