How Bristleback and Shadow Shaman perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Shadow Shaman win 52.01% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 24,124 matches.
Pairing these two heroes is a commitment to a specific, aggressive game plan. Shadow Shaman provides the long, single-target lockdown that Bristleback needs to get his damage going. An enemy caught by Hex or Shackles becomes an easy target for Bristleback to run at, letting him build up Quill Spray stacks and Warpath speed without the target being able to kite him or turn around. This makes ganks and lane pressure very straightforward, as any hero caught out of position is almost guaranteed to fall.
The success of this duo depends on converting those early kills into objectives. After a successful pickoff, Shadow Shaman can drop his Mass Serpent Wards to secure a tower. However, the combination can struggle if it falls behind or if the enemy team groups up early. The enemy can interrupt Shaman’s channel, save the disabled target, or simply burst Bristleback before he gets enough stacks to be a real threat. The synergy is strongest when finding isolated targets and much less pronounced in a full five-on-five engagement.
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 | 55.32% | 1,766 |
| Crusader & Archon | 50.30% | 3,141 |
| Legend & Ancient | 50.03% | 1,479 |
| Divine & Immortal | 45.31% | 309 |
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 | 52.01% | ▼ -0.2pp | 24,124 |
| 7.41d | 52.19% | ▼ -0.2pp | 213,560 |
| 7.41c | 52.41% | ▼ -1.2pp | 104,644 |
| 7.41b | 53.60% | — | 117,917 |
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Data updated Aug 18, 2026.