Bristleback + Ember Spirit

Why this works

Drafting these two cores together often means sacrificing reliable lockdown for damage. Bristleback's Viscous Nasal Goo provides a stacking slow, which can certainly help Ember Spirit land a Searing Chains. The issue is that it's not a hard stun, so mobile enemies can still use escape abilities before the root connects. Both heroes want to play aggressively and output a ton of damage, but they lack the tools to hold a single target in place for a coordinated burst. They end up applying pressure in parallel, with Bristleback running at the frontline while Ember looks for openings, but they don't set each other up for guaranteed kills.

In teamfights, Bristleback does a decent job of creating chaos and soaking up spells, which gives Ember Spirit space to work from the edges with Sleight of Fist. The problem comes when trying to secure kills on priority targets. Without a stun from another teammate, an enemy core can often survive the initial damage and simply walk or blink away from the slows. The success of this duo can depend heavily on the supports bringing the control that Bristleback and Ember Spirit both lack, otherwise they might struggle to turn their damage into decisive kills.