Nature's Prophet + Slardar

Why this works

Putting these two heroes together seems like a plan for easy ganks, with Nature's Prophet teleporting to finish off a target marked by Corrosive Haze. In practice, their game plans are fundamentally opposed. Slardar is a tempo initiator who wants his team grouped up and ready to capitalize when he finds an opening. He makes the team run at the enemy. Nature's Prophet, by contrast, excels at split-pushing and applying pressure where his team isn't, forcing the enemy to split up. This core conflict often leaves the team feeling disjointed and unable to commit to a single strategy.

This tension comes to a head in the mid-game. Slardar will find a great initiation, landing a multi-hero Slithereen Crush and getting his ultimate on a key enemy. He looks for follow-up, but Nature's Prophet is often on the opposite side of the map hitting a tower, forcing the rest of his allies into a four-versus-five fight they can't win. The enemy team can then collapse on the isolated heroes, take an objective, and then rotate to deal with the split-push. Instead of enabling each other, they often pull the team apart at critical moments.