How Shadow Fiend and Io perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Shadow Fiend and Io win 48.67% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 16,258 matches.
Facing a tethered Shadow Fiend is always a threat. Io provides everything SF lacks: movement speed from Tether, and survivability from Overcharge's damage reduction. This allows Shadow Fiend to be much more aggressive, either landing his Shadowrazes or running at targets to right-click them down. The real danger, though, is the Relocate gank. A surprise Requiem of Souls delivered anywhere on the map can turn a fight or secure a key objective. It forces the enemy team to play cautiously and keep their distance from each other, which can give your team a lot of map control.
The problem is that this entire strategy hinges on Shadow Fiend having a good game. If he falls behind early, Io is stuck supporting a core who can't output enough damage to make the Relocate plays work. The combo is also very predictable; experienced opponents will save their stuns and silences for the moment you arrive. If they can burst SF before he gets his ultimate off, both heroes are likely to die, setting your team back significantly. It's a classic glass cannon setup that either snowballs a lead or fails completely.
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 | 49.13% | 863 |
| Crusader & Archon | 50.83% | 2,288 |
| Legend & Ancient | 47.28% | 1,749 |
| Divine & Immortal | 50.58% | 688 |
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 | 48.67% | ▼ -0.1pp | 16,258 |
| 7.41d | 48.72% | ▼ -0.8pp | 105,682 |
| 7.41c | 49.49% | ▲ +0.5pp | 34,241 |
| 7.41b | 49.04% | — | 33,099 |
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Data updated Aug 18, 2026.