How Bristleback and Troll Warlord perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Troll Warlord win 50.14% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 3,327 matches.
Focusing down one of these cores can be a trap. If the enemy team commits everything onto Bristleback, he soaks it up while facing away, and a free-hitting Troll Warlord cleans up. If they try to burst Troll Warlord during his Battle Trance, Bristleback is running around stacking Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Sprays on everyone, making it impossible to disengage cleanly. They both create so much chaos by demanding attention that it’s difficult for enemies to find the right target, often forcing a bad fight.
The game plan is simple: group up mid-game and run down a lane. Bristleback leads the charge, absorbing spells and slowing key targets, which sets up Troll Warlord to lock onto someone and finish them. This can feel overwhelming if the enemy draft lacks control. However, the plan can stumble against teams with strong kiting and disengage. If opponents can successfully split Troll from his target or force Bristleback to turn around and fight, their forward momentum gets broken, and they become much more manageable.
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 | 57.46% | 409 |
| Crusader & Archon | 47.35% | 471 |
| Legend & Ancient | 44.66% | 206 |
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 | 50.14% | ▼ -1.7pp | 3,327 |
| 7.41d | 51.86% | ▼ -0.6pp | 40,683 |
| 7.41c | 52.44% | ▲ +0.2pp | 20,965 |
| 7.41b | 52.22% | — | 21,520 |
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Data updated Aug 17, 2026.