Ishar Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Ishar

Mage

Support

Health

Damage

Skill Effect

Difficulty

Heroes That Counter Ishar

Ishar Ishar is a mage who commands a spirit beast: her passive Furball Furball automatically summons Furball, a companion whose attack, HP and armor scale with its master’s magic power and who always sticks close to Ishar. Skill 1 Somnial Fungus fires a stone that deals magic damage, plants an exploding mushroom behind the victim and sends Furball pouncing at the target; skill 2 Somnial Shield creates a shield, boosts movement speed and calls Furball back to knock up enemies around Ishar; and her ultimate Dreamy Circle raises a magic cage that traps enemies for Furball to leap into. Ishar’s weaknesses are that she has no dash, the stone has to land to activate Furball, and master and pet usually stand close together. Mobile heroes, piercing or AoE damage, and fast gap-closers are what she fears most. Counters to Ishar Ishar include Arum at support, Teeri, Fennik in the Abyssal Dragon lane, Lauriel, Azzen’Ka, Zata in the mid lane, Murad in the jungle and Errol in the Dark Slayer lane.

Support Heroes That Counter Ishar

Arum

Arum

Snare Snare lets Arum Arum dash in and bind the target: for the whole duration both are completely immobilized, and all damage either one takes is transferred to the other. If the bound target is Ishar Ishar , she can’t cast Dreamy Circle or Somnial Shield , and every punch Furball lands on Arum gets bounced right back to its owner. Lion Tamer has its cooldown reduced by 50% when it hits an enemy, letting Arum quickly gather all 3 beasts so Uncaged Uncaged stuns for 1 second on the third wave. Her passive Ravenous Beasts keeps healing her whenever she hits heroes, so Arum can withstand Furball for longer. Use Snare on Ishar right after she drops her cage.

Teeri

Furball always automatically sticks close to Ishar Ishar through her passive Furball Furball , meaning master and pet usually stand near each other. Piercing Heart gives Teeri Teeri empowered basic attacks that pierce through multiple targets, so a shot at Furball still hits Ishar behind it, and if it hits 2 targets the slowing mark also transfers to the second one. Comet Strike applies a mark and slows from range, making it hard for a dash-less Ishar to get out of range. When Furball charges in after Somnial Fungus , back off and keep firing piercing shots. At 100 energy, the passive Fos's Ring empowers Teeri for 3 seconds to unload damage.

Fennik

Supersonic Vortex creates a storm that deals damage every 0.5 seconds and slows every victim inside, perfect against the Ishar Ishar and Furball duo who always stand close together; the center of the storm even deals double damage. When Furball leaps in after a Somnial Fungus , Electric Zap lets Fennik Fennik roll away while untargetable and leave a slowing electric trail behind. Each time you cast Detonator , Fennik dashes an extra distance and gains bonus attack range for 4 seconds, enough to shoot Ishar from outside the range of her stone. In teamfights, stay apart from your teammates and keep a roll in reserve so you still have an escape route when Dreamy Circle drops.

Mid Lane Mages That Counter Ishar

Lauriel
Azzen'Ka
Zata

Lauriel

Lauriel Lauriel is far more mobile than Ishar Ishar : Wings of Purity dashes in a chosen direction and has its cooldown reduced when it hits an enemy, so she can dodge Somnial Fungus and dash again right after. Ishar has no dash at all, only the movement speed from Somnial Shield . Path of Repentance draws a line of light that explodes twice, hitting both Ishar and Furball standing right next to her. After 4 skill hits, the passive Heaven's Punishment bursts, dealing AoE true damage, slowing and healing Lauriel. Inside the Great Judgment field, Lauriel’s cooldowns tick twice as fast, so the moment Ishar misses Dreamy Circle is exactly when to pop your ultimate and unload damage.

Azzen'Ka

Azzen'Ka ‘s Dust Devil bounces between enemies, and since Furball always sticks close to Ishar Ishar , a single throw often hits both master and pet. Sand Punch knocks up and continuously slows the target area, and while Azzen’Ka stands inside it he is invincible for 3 seconds: if you get trapped in Dreamy Circle or pounced on by Furball, drop it right under your own feet. When Furball closes in, Sand Wraith knocks it back along its path and then creates a slowing quicksand zone, opening up space to keep casting. Every hit also applies Desertification from his passive Sand Trap for bonus magic damage.

Zata

Heaven's Wing lets Zata Zata dash forward, and if he passes through his own or an enemy’s skill along the way, he gains extra dashes for 3 seconds. Ishar Ishar ‘s Somnial Fungus stones thus become footholds for Zata to weave around and dodge. After completing 3 dashes, Zata becomes untargetable and deals continuous magic damage to nearby enemy heroes, so Furball has a hard time touching him during that window. Waterspout slows and then returns to Zata, keeping a dash-less Ishar inside the damage zone, while his passive Wind Slash reduces his ultimate’s cooldown every time he deals damage. Ignore Furball and go straight for Ishar.

Jungle Assassins That Counter Ishar

Murad

Murad

Thorn of Time lets Murad Murad dash up to 3 times, stunning enemies hit, and the third dash returns him to his starting position. This lets Murad slash Ishar Ishar and get back out before Furball can return via Somnial Shield to knock him up. At 4 stacks of Rift Rift , Temporal Turbulence unleashes 5 consecutive strikes and Murad can’t be attacked or targeted during the cast, so neither Furball nor Ishar’s skills can easily touch him. Another Dimension also makes him untargetable on activation and slows enemies who touch the edge for 2 seconds. Go in right after Ishar has used Somnial Shield.

Top Lane Fighters That Counter Ishar

Errol

Errol

Demon Claw sends Errol Errol into the air with 2 seconds of invulnerability and lets him choose where to land, so he can ignore a Furball standing guard and drop straight onto Ishar Ishar , knocking her up. It’s also how he dodges the full burst when Furball leaps into the cage after Dreamy Circle . Ghostscythe dashes forward, immobilizing enemies hit and teleporting him next to them, while Boneshaver slashes in a straight line, hitting both master and pet when they line up. Both skills restore part of his missing HP, helping Errol hold up against Furball’s punches. With 5 stacks from his passive Blood Drinker , Boneshaver deals double damage and knocks enemies airborne.

Items That Counter Ishar

Gilded Greaves grants 35% resistance, reducing the duration of all crowd control. Ishar Ishar ‘s kit relies heavily on CC through Furball, such as the knock-up and slow when it returns via Somnial Shield , so shortening those CC windows helps you escape before getting bursted down.

The Unbind active of Wildfire Unbind removes all crowd control effects from yourself and nearby allies, plus 0.5 seconds of CC immunity, on a 90-second cooldown. When Furball returns to knock up the whole group with Somnial Shield or leaps in after Dreamy Circle , the support pops this item to cleanse the carry who’s being locked down.

Nearly all of Ishar Ishar ‘s damage is magic damage, from the Somnial Fungus stone and the exploding mushroom to Furball’s pounce and landing. Medallion of Troy grants up to 112 magic resist based on level, and its Guard layer absorbs 460 – 1300 magic damage after you’ve been out of combat, enough to soak the entire opening burst.

Furball automatically keeps attacking you, so you take damage constantly, which is enough for the Recovery passive of Gaia's Standard to trigger regularly: it restores 5% max HP over 2 seconds (10-second cooldown), and healing effectiveness increases by 5% for every 10% HP lost. A great fit for frontliners who have to stand inside the Dreamy Circle cage.

How to Counter Ishar in the Laning Phase

Stand behind minions to block the stone: Furball only charges the first target hit by Somnial Fungus , and its pounce deals bonus damage to isolated enemy heroes. Hiding behind your minion wave makes the stone hit minions first, so Furball runs over there instead of pouncing on you.

Attack while Somnial Shield is on cooldown: Somnial Shield is Ishar’s only self-defense tool, granting a shield and movement speed while calling Furball back to knock up. Once she’s used it, that’s the safest time for you to close in.

Target the master, not the pet: Furball draws its stats from Ishar’s magic power, and Dreamy Circle even revives it early if it’s killed. Hitting Furball is a waste of time; go around it and focus your damage on Ishar.

Don’t line up with your teammates: The stone is empowered when it hits 2 enemy heroes. Keep some distance from whoever’s with you so she has a hard time hitting two targets at once.

How to Counter Ishar in Teamfights

Spread out before the magic cage: Dreamy Circle traps enemies inside a barrier, then Furball leaps in to deal damage. A clumped-up formation lets her lock down several people; spread out so each cage only catches one target.

Don’t stand between master and pet: When Ishar uses Somnial Shield , Furball flies back and knocks up every enemy along its path and around Ishar. Diving Ishar from the side where Furball is standing puts you right in the knock-up path.

Save CC for Ishar: Ishar has no dash. One root, stun or knock-up from heroes like Arum or Azzen’Ka is enough for the whole team to burst her down before Furball can do any damage.

Protect your carry from Furball: Furball hits very hard if it’s left free on your marksman. Frontliners should stand in front so the stone hits them first.

Tips for Countering Ishar

Strengths to Watch Out For

Furball fights automatically, with attack, HP and armor scaling off Ishar’s magic power.
Dreamy Circle traps enemies inside a barrier, great for starting fights.
Somnial Shield grants a shield and movement speed while calling Furball back to knock up enemies around Ishar.
Somnial Fungus is empowered when it hits 2 heroes, plus an exploding mushroom.

Weaknesses to Exploit

No dash, only the movement speed from Somnial Shield.
Somnial Fungus fires in a straight line; if it hits a minion, Furball charges at the minion.
Master and pet usually stand close together, making them easy to hit at once with piercing or AoE skills.
Very hard to save herself when engaged while Somnial Shield is on cooldown.