Shadow Shaman is a versatile support who has become one of the most dominant position 4 heroes in Patch 7.39c. His long disables, tower pressure, and teamfight impact make him a staple in high-MMR matches. With a win rate above 52% and a near 60% pick rate, he remains one of the most effective supports in the current meta.

Pros and Cons of Shadow Shaman

Pros:

• Excellent lockdown: Hex and Shackles provide long, reliable crowd control
• Strong pushing ability with Mass Serpent Ward
• Chicken Fingers aspect adds passive Hex every 15 seconds
• Can initiate and follow up fights without farm
• Early-game impact without needing many items

Cons:

• Extremely fragile without defensive tools
• Weak against illusion-based heroes
• Suffers from BKBs, silence, and status resistance
• Vulnerable while channeling Shackles
• Requires good positioning and follow-up from teammates

Shadow Shaman Abilities

Ether Shock

Deals magical damage to a target and several nearby units. Good for harassing and clearing waves.

Hex

Turns a target into a harmless critter, disabling abilities, passives, and items.

Shackles

 A channeled spell that stuns and damages a single target over time. Longest hard disable in the kit.

Mass Serpent Ward

Summons 10 serpent wards that now focus heroes and deal more damage in Patch 7.39c. Great for pushing and objective control.

Aspect Chicken Fingers

Every 15 seconds, your attack applies Hex to the target. This synergizes with all Hex-related talents and creates devastating control chains in fights.

Ability Build

• Level 1: Ether Shock
• Level 2: Hex
• Level 3: Shackles
• Level 6: Mass Serpent Ward
• Max priority: Hex → Shackles → Ether Shock
• Take ultimate whenever possible

Talent Tree

• Level 10: +170 Shackles Total Damage
• Level 15: Hex applies Break
• Level 20: +1.5s Shackles duration
• Level 25: +1 Serpent Ward attack target

Item Build

Starting Items:

Magic Stick, Observer Ward, Clarity, Tango.

Boots:

Arcane Boots — provides much-needed mana sustain for early constant spell usage.

Core Items:

Blink Dagger — enables instant initiation Aether Lens — extends spell range for safer disables.

Utility Items:

Force Staff — repositioning, gap closing Glimmer Cape — invis and magic resistance Aghanim’s Shard — allows casting active items during Shackles Smoke of Deceit — setup kills with allies.

Situational:

Refresher Orb — double disables and wards Ghost Scepter — vs. physical cores Eul’s Scepter — remove silence and help channeling Aeon Disk — survive being focused.

How to Play Shadow Shaman

In lane, use Ether Shock to pressure and secure last hits. Once you get Hex at level 2, you can defend allies or engage enemies. Level 6 is a major timing window — drop your wards and take objectives early.

Post-laning, pair Blink Dagger with Aether Lens to initiate from fog. The combo is simple but deadly: Blink → Hex → Shackles → Mass Serpent Ward. Avoid going in solo — you're fragile and need follow-up.

With Refresher Orb, your control output doubles: two Hexes, two Shackles, two sets of wards. Use Chicken Fingers wisely to keep targets locked even between spell casts.

Always rotate with teammates using Smoke of Deceit. You don’t need much gold to be effective — control, objectives, and tempo are your job.

Matchups

Strong Against:

Ursa — Struggles to deal damage when locked down. Hex and Shackles prevent Enrage or item usage.

Storm Spirit — Vulnerable to instant disable. Blink Hex or cast from fog can punish him before he escapes.

Anti-Mage — Can’t blink or Manta out of full combo. If caught first, he’s eliminated before scaling.

Weak Against:

Naga Siren — Floods the fight with illusions. Difficult to land disables on the real hero and can interrupt your combo with Song of the Siren.

Terrorblade — Tanky, illusion-based, often carries BKB. Can survive disables and turn the fight with Sunder.

Phantom Lancer — Overwhelms you with illusions. Hard to identify and disable the real one. Ether Shock and Serpent Wards are wasted on copies.

Counter Items

Shadow Shaman is countered by:

• Black King Bar (BKB) — Makes your disables useless.
• Nullifier — Removes invis, disables defensive items.
• Orchid Malevolence / Bloodthorn — Silences you before you can cast anything.

Shadow Shaman is a high-impact position 4 support in Patch 7.39c. He controls fights with long disables, demolishes towers with Mass Serpent Ward, and stays relevant at every stage of the game — even with limited farm.