Marci, the breakout star from DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, packs a punch beneath her adorable facade.
In Dota 2, she’s a terrifying initiator that can seemingly Rebound from screens away to Dispose her enemies into bad positions. Sidekick, while initially underwhelming, becomes a solid damage and lifesteal boost later in the game. And Unleash showcases her full potential, letting her dole out a flurry of punches to any in her path.
But even the strongest of anime heroines can be beaten. Here are the five best Marci counters across a variety of positions and roles.
Illusions screw with Marci, who likes to focus on single targets — which is why she’s generally good against supports.
This extends to most illusion heroes as well, including Phantom Lancer and Terrorblade. Since they tend to have high agility and armor, they also shrug off Marci’s Unleash and lack of reliable AOE damage to punish.
Naga Siren is best because of her ability to lock down single targets. Marci is basically rendered helpless while Ensnared, and Naga’s illusions can rip her and her low-armor self to shreds. And since Marci’s scaling DPS is mostly tied to her long cooldown ultimate, Naga’s Song of the Siren renders a lot of it moot.
Marci likes her targets to stand still. Pangolier, generally, refuses to do so.
It’s really difficult to lock a Pangolier down. Marci’s initiation is telegraphed, since it requires her (usually) to Rebound off an ally, then use Dispose. Pangolier can escape easily with Swashbuckle, or use an instant Roll Up, using spell immunity to completely nullify Marci’s initiations.
Furthermore, Pangolier’s Rolling Thunder is a good way to disrupt Marci’s preferred fighting style. Causing chaos around the battlefield in a spell immune ball is the opposite of standing still, and Marci will have to wait and watch, or catch Pangolier asleep.
Dark Willow is one of the few supports that are generally resistant to direct right-click damage, thanks to Shadow Realm. Plus, her plethora of lockdown skills in Bramble Maze and Cursed Crown can help deter Marci, who wants to be in the thick of things, forcing the brawler to only commit when she has a Black King Bar.
Both of Willow’s ultimates counter Marci in different ways. Bedlam is good against heroes who want to get up close and personal — and combining this with Shadow Realm also gives Mireska an opportunity to deal a ton of damage to Marci before she even gets to hit anything.
Terrorize forces Marci away from the field of battle. If used after she uses Rebound or Unleash, Willow can take away precious mobility and seconds of her ultimate that Marci will much rather spend punching away.
Winter Wyvern’s long-range nature makes it difficult for Marci to find support. Splinter Blast and Arctic Burn can affect Marci from outside of her initiation range, letting Auroth safely cast spells from the backline.
Cold Embrace is a perfect counter to Marci’s shenanigans, rendering a few bouts of Unleash useless.
Since Marci generally wants to have allies around her to use Rebound and Sidekick, Winter’s Curse turnaround potential skyrockets. Generally, Marci’s engagement will see several of her allies follow up — a perfect opportunity to counter with Wyvern’s ultimate.
Earthshaker is still the king of lockdown. Since he mostly stays hidden, it can be difficult for Marci to find him lurking. Like Wyvern, once Marci initiates, Raigor can instantly counter with Echo Slam or Fissure, preventing Marci and her team from doling out damage.
Even if Earthshaker gets caught, he’s a relatively resilient support that just might be able to survive one or two rounds of Marci’s barrage. His new Aghanim’s Shard grants him a way to free path through his Fissure, giving him a way out even when trapped.
