How Bristleback and Lich perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Lich win 52.04% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 10,971 matches.
Placing a Frost Shield on Bristleback makes an already durable hero incredibly difficult to wear down with physical attacks. The shield's damage reduction complements his own passive, allowing him to stay in the fight longer and build up stacks of Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo. This extra survivability from Lich enables Bristleback to play aggressively, run at enemy heroes, and control the pace of a teamfight. The slow from Frost Shield also punishes anyone trying to attack him, making it harder for them to kite or reposition as he gets on top of them.
This combination creates a clear mid-game objective for both teams. With the shield, Bristleback can dive deep, forcing enemies to clump up and focus him, which sets up a great Chain Frost. The opposing team's goal is to either burst him with magic damage or use stuns and breaks to control him before he can run them over. Since the duo lacks a reliable hard lockdown of their own, mobile enemy heroes can often disengage from a fight and wait for the shield to expire. This clear window for counterplay keeps the pairing effective but not overwhelming.
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 | 56.11% | 957 |
| Crusader & Archon | 51.04% | 1,726 |
| Legend & Ancient | 48.83% | 1,065 |
| Divine & Immortal | 44.49% | 245 |
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 | 52.04% | ▲ +0.7pp | 10,971 |
| 7.41d | 51.31% | ▲ +0.2pp | 136,365 |
| 7.41c | 51.12% | ▼ -1.4pp | 71,811 |
| 7.41b | 52.51% | — | 78,759 |
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Data updated Aug 17, 2026.