After long anticipation Deathwing has landed in the Nexus – and how! This permanently unstoppable Bruiser is dominating the Heroes landscape, and is currently at a whopping 62.41% win rate. In Storm League, that is. In Quick Match, Deathwing’s team ends up winning 66.04% of the times. These absurd win rates prove that the Destroyer of Worlds is a force to be reckoned with. But what do you do when you see the opposing team locking in Deathwing? What do you pick to counter him?
Tychus
This tank-shredding ranged assassin is a logical pick against a beefy guy like Deathwing. His trait, Minigun, gives your basic attacks 2.5% of the Hero’s health in bonus damage. When taking The Bigger They Are… at level 4, this increases to 4%. Paired with Titan Grenade at level 16, which makes your Frag Grenade do a bonus of 5% of the hero’s health, Tychus can bring down Deathwing’s enormous health pool rather quickly. Additionally, Tychus can easily dash out of Deathwing’s rather slow casting spells using E (Run and Gun).
Tracer
Tracer might not seem like a logical first choice when countering Deathwing. Deathwing is huge, and Tracer is, well, tiny. Her spray of bullets and many escape opportunities are usually valued for their harassment of the enemy backline. But don’t be mistaken: Tracer can be a huge nuisance for Deathwing too. Her extremely high mobility makes it near impossible for Deathwing to hit her with his slow spells. She can run all around him, shooting him from all sides, and there is exactly nothing he can do about it. Just watch his forward leap, Onslaught – it slows. With Tracer’s many dashes and her Recall this shouldn’t be hard to dodge. Furthermore Tracer has access to a high amount of single target burst damage with her Pulse Bomb. Make sure to take Quantum Spike at level 10 to add another 7% of the target’s health in damage to her ult.
Greymane
The Worgen king of Gilneas has an ultimate that makes every Deathwing player shudder in their gaming chair. Cursed Bullet deals 40% of a Hero’s current health in damage. Yes. Forty (!!) percent. With the ultimate having only a 30 second cooldown, Greymane is a huge danger to Deathwing from level 10 onwards. Gilnean Roulette on level 20 reduces the cooldown becomes even further. After shooting his bullet, Greymane can use Darkflight to jump at his target in Worgen form and finish him off. And if this doesn’t exactly go according to plan, just use Disengage and get yourself to safety quickly (take Running Wild at 13, increasing the range by 35%, if you really want to make sure you can get out safely).
Malthael
The Angel of Death isn’t afraid of death or its dragon. This melee Bruiser, by some rather seen as an assassin, is a natural counter to heroes with large health pools. His passive trait, Reaper’s Mark, makes enemy heroes take 1.75% of their maximum health in damage per second. Malthael’s high self-sustain makes him an excellent duelist that can slowly but steadily tick away Deathwing’s health. His ultimate, Last Rites, deals damage equal to 50% of the enemy hero’s missing health – perfect for finishing Deathwing off.
Zeratul
This stealthy Protoss has access to one of the few things that can stop the Unstoppable: a Time Stop. His Void Prison, available at level 10, can temporarily take Deathwing out of a fight and allows allies to set up combos to burst him down. Zeratul’s high mobility and stealth make him elusive for Deathwing’s long casting abilities. This greatly diminishes Deathwing’s high damage potential. Zeratul can jump in, burst Deathwing a bit, and get out – all in a few seconds. Repeat this and bully Deathwing into backing or flying up.
Valla
Similarly to Tracer, Valla is a highly mobile assassin with a dash that allows her to dodge Deathwing’s abilities. Pick up Tempered by Discipline at level 13 for some self-sustain and take Manticore at level 16 to deal percentage-based damage to this burly dragon. Farflight Quiver at level 20 greatly increases your Basic Attack range, allowing you to shoot away at Deathwing from even further. Valla may be squishy, but she sure has a huge damage potential. Just make sure you don’t get caught – you will die, and very quickly at that.
Lunara
Lunara is arguably the fastest hero in the game. Her trait, Dryad’s Swiftness, provides her with 20% higher movement speed. This is ideal to dart around Deathwing while slowly eating away at his health with your poisonous spears. Your damage-over-time effect, Nature’s Toxin, ticks away Deathwing’s health steadily. With Deathwing not being able to receive healing from allies, you will force him to constantly watch his HP. Take Invigorating Spores at level 16 to make your Basic Attacks deal an additional 1.5% of the enemy’s health when they have 3 stacks of Nature’s Toxin. Your ultimate, Leaping Strike, makes you leap over him with ease, dealing considerable amounts of damage without endangering yourself. Aside from all this, Lunara’s annoying chuckle is enough to send shivers along Deathwing’s spine.
Leoric
The Skeleton King will make Deathwing suffer as he has suffered. This aggressive Bruiser has great self-sustain and is highly mobile. His Drain Hope build lets him siphon away from Deathwing’s health while still being able to move. Take Unyielding Despair at level 13 to lower its cooldown and pick up Crushing Hope at 16 to deal 15% of Deathwing’s maximum health at the end of Drain Hope’s duration. Moreover, catching Deathwing in your Entomb ultimate will leave him with literally no escape – his large body makes it impossible for him to move.
Honorable mention: Kharazim
While not a full Deathwing counter, I believe that Kharazim’s ultimate, Seven-Sided Strike, is worthy of an honorable mention. The ability is able to deal 49% of Deathwing’s health in damage, on a relatively low cooldown of 50 seconds. I don’t think you should necessarily pick Kharazim as a counter to Deathwing. However, if you do find yourself facing him while playing the monk, make sure to pick up this ultimate and enjoy dealing almost half his health in 2 seconds.
