How Ancient Apparition and Necrophos perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Ancient Apparition and Necrophos win 52.80% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 1,913 matches.
Combining their ultimates creates a difficult situation for any target. Ice Blast prevents all forms of healing, making it much easier for Necrophos to wear an enemy down with Heartstopper Aura and Death Pulse. Once an enemy is marked by Ice Blast, they can't be saved by support heals or lifesteal as Necrophos closes in. This sets up a clean Reaper's Scythe, as the target's health can only go down, never up, bringing them into execute range more reliably.
In a real game, this means Ancient Apparition can scout for a fight and launch a global Ice Blast, signaling a primary target for Necrophos to pursue. The enemy team is forced to play around this threat, as they can't rely on their usual saves to turn a fight. A well-timed salve or burst heal won't work. Their main options are to disengage entirely or try to win the fight before the debuff and Necrophos's damage take their toll. It forces opponents into uncomfortable decisions, which is often enough to tip the scales.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 57.85% | 650 |
| Crusader & Archon | 54.52% | 1,968 |
| Legend & Ancient | 49.64% | 1,533 |
| Divine & Immortal | 45.15% | 412 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 52.80% | ▼ -1.0pp | 1,913 |
| 7.41d | 53.78% | ▲ +0.1pp | 155,936 |
| 7.41c | 53.64% | ▲ +1.2pp | 66,821 |
| 7.41b | 52.43% | — | 61,871 |
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Data updated Aug 12, 2026.