Earthshaker + Io

Why this works

Seeing these two together often brings Relocate-ganks to mind, but the pairing is less about raw offense than it is about utility. Earthshaker is a spellcaster focused on initiation and lockdown, not a right-clicking core who benefits from Io's Overcharge. The main value Io provides is survivability through Tether and a potential escape with Relocate. This allows Earthshaker to make riskier plays, knowing he has a way out after he's used his Blink Dagger and landed his spells. It's more of a safety net than an offensive engine.

This dynamic can struggle in the laning stage and really needs Earthshaker's Blink Dagger to function. Once he has it, the goal is to find aggressive initiations that the rest of your team can follow up on. If an Echo Slam setup doesn't lead to quick kills, both heroes are left in a vulnerable spot with their main spells on cooldown. Success is highly conditional, depending on the team's overall damage output to convert Earthshaker's stuns into won teamfights. Lacking that follow-up damage makes for a very awkward and often ineffective combination.