Magnus is a melee hero who controls space and helps his allies quickly close in on opponents. Blink Dagger combined with Reverse Polarity can turn a team fight around, while Skewer lets him move a target into an awkward position. In this article, we’ll examine Magnus’s strengths and weaknesses, counterpicks for each role, useful items, and ways to play against his initiation at different stages of the match.

Hero’s strengths and weaknesses

Magnus is dangerous when he catches several heroes close together. Reverse Polarity stuns enemies in an area, while Skewer helps drag a target toward his team. Empower boosts an ally’s attacks and speeds up farming, so Magnus is useful even without a successful ultimate. The hero can quickly initiate a fight if the enemy team can’t see him moving and doesn’t deal damage to his Blink Dagger.

Magnus’s main weakness is his reliance on a precise initiation. If you disable his Blink Dagger before he initiates, force him to use his ultimate on a single target, or split up before a fight, his impact is significantly reduced. Magnus also struggles when opponents can cancel Skewer, save an ally, or quickly get out of his control area. Don’t stand close together as a team, and don’t let him freely take position behind his allies.

Best heroes against Magnus

Magnus is most often picked in position 3, the offlane, or position 2, the mid lane. Supports need a save or control to deal with his initiation, while cores can hinder Magnus from using Blink and keep the team from grouping together.

Carry

  • Juggernaut can dodge some of the control with Blade Fury and quickly leave a dangerous area. Omnislash helps punish Magnus after a failed initiation, when there are no other nearby targets that can take the hits.
  • Slark uses Pounce to keep Magnus in place after he uses Reverse Polarity. Dark Pact helps dispel some debuffs, and Slark’s mobility makes him difficult to hit. Don’t jump into the team while Reverse Polarity is ready.

Midlaner

  • Queen of Pain quickly escapes danger with Blink and attacks Magnus from the flank. She can force him to use his ultimate on her, then return to the fight once the key ability is on cooldown.
  • Outworld Destroyer can remove himself or an ally from the fight with Astral Imprisonment and disrupt Magnus’s combo. His ranged damage also helps disable Blink Dagger before a fight begins.

Offlaner

  • Beastmaster can stop Magnus with Primal Roar before he reaches a good position. Hawk helps track his movements and spot an attempted initiation in advance.
  • Underlord limits Magnus’s movement with Pit of Malice and helps the team retreat quickly through Fiend’s Gate. His frontline presence lets him withstand some damage while his allies reposition.

Support

  • Rubick can steal Reverse Polarity and punish Magnus’s team with it. Telekinesis can also save an ally or interrupt an attempt to continue the attack after Skewer.
  • Shadow Demon removes a target from the fight with Disruption if he reacts to the initiation in time. This lets the team disrupt the combo and surround Magnus while he is out in front.

Hard Support

  • Winter Wyvern protects an ally with Cold Embrace and can stop Magnus’s team with Winter’s Curse. Keep your distance so you don’t get caught in the same Reverse Polarity as your carry.
  • Oracle saves a target with False Promise and protects them from magic damage with Fate’s Edict. Use your abilities as soon as Magnus picks a target, not after he finishes the entire combo.

What to buy against Magnus

  • Linken’s Sphere blocks some of Magnus’s targeted abilities, but doesn’t protect against every part of his combo.
  • Force Staff helps push an ally out of a dangerous position or interrupt the follow-up attack after Skewer.
  • Glimmer Cape saves a hero from focus fire if used immediately after they are stunned.
  • Black King Bar helps a core avoid magical control and continue fighting after Reverse Polarity.
  • Lotus Orb provides armor and can reflect certain targeted spells if used at the right time.

How to play against Magnus at different stages

Laning

In lane, Magnus is strong thanks to Empower and his high damage against creeps, so don’t stand near the wave if he can hit you with a buffed attack. Try to disable his Blink Dagger with damage, and tell your team when Magnus goes missing from lane. If he uses Skewer to attack but doesn’t secure a kill, respond with control or back off until the ability is off cooldown.

Midgame

In the midgame, spread out before checking the fog of war or going for Roshan. Don’t group up as a team in a narrow passage where Reverse Polarity can hit several heroes. Place vision on the flanks and deal a little damage to Magnus to disable his Blink Dagger. If his ultimate has been used, quickly start a counter-fight or take an objective.

Late game

In the late game, one successful initiation by Magnus can decide the outcome of the match. Agree on who will stand a little farther back and be able to save an ally, and who will watch for Blink Dagger. Don’t go up a high ground as a group without vision, and don’t attack head-on if Magnus hasn’t shown on the map. After his Reverse Polarity, the team should quickly take control of the area while the ability is on cooldown.