How Bristleback and Shadow Demon perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Shadow Demon win 42.11% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 228 matches.
Facing this lane often feels less threatening than it should. Shadow Demon is great at creating setup windows with Disruption, but Bristleback lacks the burst damage to truly capitalize when the target reappears. Instead, Bristleback wants to run at enemies and build sustained damage with Quill Spray stacks, a goal that Disruption actively works against by temporarily removing his target from the fight. While a well-timed Soul Catcher can help, the fundamental disconnect remains. Bristleback is a brawler who thrives in extended chaos, while Shadow Demon excels at controlling the battlefield with precise, timed spells that interrupt the very flow Bristleback needs to dominate.
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 | 44.53% | 137 |
| Crusader & Archon | 38.28% | 290 |
| Legend & Ancient | 45.24% | 168 |
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 | 42.11% | ▼ -1.8pp | 228 |
| 7.41d | 43.91% | ▼ -1.5pp | 25,956 |
| 7.41c | 45.36% | ▼ -2.1pp | 14,093 |
| 7.41b | 47.45% | — | 19,141 |
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Data updated Aug 11, 2026.