Stuart Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Stuart

Marksman

Health

Damage

Ability Effects

Difficulty

Heroes That Counter Stuart

Stuart is an Abyssal Dragon Lane marksman known for his ability to dodge physical damage. Skill 2 Blood Shadow Eye grants him physical damage immunity and boosts movement speed, leaving physical attackers almost helpless while it’s active. Skill 1 Death Missile fires a missile in a straight line, damaging every target along its path; the ultimate Destructive Blast dashes straight at a target, slowing and dealing damage; and the passive Empowered Physique builds energy from basic attacks, skill 1 and skill 3, empowering him at 4 stacks. Stuart Stuart ‘s weaknesses are that skill 2 only blocks physical damage, his kit has no CC immunity, and his ultimate’s dash always brings him right up to his opponents. Magic damage, true damage and sticky heroes with lots of crowd control are what trouble him most. Stuart’s counters include Elsu in the Abyssal Dragon Lane, Tachi, Enzo, Toro, Maloch as support, Zill, Paine in the jungle, Zata, Yue in the mid lane and Marja, Bolt Baron in the Dark Slayer Lane.

Dragon Lane Marksmen That Counter Stuart

Elsu

Elsu

Elsu Elsu deals physical damage, so he can’t go head-to-head while Stuart has Blood Shadow Eye active; his edge lies in range and timing. Snipe Snipe aims for 2 seconds to increase range and accuracy, dealing physical damage and slowing the first hero hit, so Elsu can poke Stuart from very far away while his immunity skill is on cooldown. Each second standing still grants Elsu extra armor penetration thanks to the passive of Sentinel , up to 5 stacks. When Stuart dashes in with Destructive Blast , Disengage rolls backward, fires a slowing shot and boosts movement speed for 2 seconds to keep your distance. If he activates Blood Shadow Eye, stop shooting and wait for the effect to end before continuing.

Tachi

Blood Shadow Eye only blocks physical damage, and that’s exactly why Tachi Tachi is so scary for Stuart. When the 4 marks of his passive Spellbound are fully charged, the seal breaks: Tachi gains attack speed, receives a shield equal to his max HP, and all his damage becomes true damage, so Blood Shadow Eye no longer protects Stuart. Dragon Shatter blinks straight to Stuart’s position and unleashes 3 slowing cross slashes; while casting, Tachi is immune to CC and gains 20% damage reduction, and he unseals immediately upon landing. In the unsealed state, Moon Pierce charges for 1 second, then releases a blade wave dealing true damage. Tachi can be played as a support or in the Dark Slayer Lane.

Enzo

Enzo Enzo ‘s strength against Stuart isn’t damage but crowd control. Blood Shadow Eye only grants physical damage immunity and movement speed; it doesn’t stop binding effects, so when the sickle of Judgment hooks him, Stuart stays held in place even with his skill active. Amputate pulls him toward Enzo, then Decapitate strikes from behind the target under Judgment, cutting off his escape route. Stuart has no CC immunity, so a single bind-and-pull combo is enough for your teammates to pile on magic damage. Build tanky, stick close to him and wait for him to dash into the fight with Destructive Blast before throwing your sickle.

Toro

Toro Toro is tanky, sticky and packs plenty of crowd control, which Stuart has no answer to since he has no CC immunity. Bull Rush charges in and knocks Stuart airborne; if Battlecry finishes charging with an enemy in range, Bull Rush is refreshed, so Toro can charge again when Stuart tries to run. The ultimate Cracked Earth leaps to a target location, slowing on the first two jumps and knocking up on the third, keeping Stuart in the fight even if he pops Blood Shadow Eye for movement speed. Toro is immune to crowd control while casting skills thanks to his passive Tough Hide , so the slow from Destructive Blast can hardly stop him. Chase Stuart down, but don’t stray too far from your own marksman.

Maloch

Maloch Maloch deals true damage once he enters his Plunder state, so Stuart’s physical immunity skill struggles to stop him at that point. As soon as Cleave Cleave or Shock Shock hits an enemy hero, Maloch enters the Plunder state of Plunder Plunder : each basic attack that lands deals true damage and heals him, and Souleater also deals true damage. Shock also knocks Stuart airborne and slows him if he tries to leave the area, while Souleater slows further and creates a shield to absorb shots. Maloch has twice the attack range of other melee heroes, enough to keep up even when Stuart activates Blood Shadow Eye for movement speed. As a support, build plenty of defensive items.

Jungle Assassins That Counter Stuart

Zill
Paine

Zill

All of Zill Zill ‘s skills deal magic damage, which Blood Shadow Eye can’t block. Wind Shift teleports straight to Stuart, while Wind Blade throws twin blades out and back, with both passes dealing damage and slowing. At 3 marks from the passive Dustdevil , Stuart is slowed by the Dustdevil for 5 seconds and each of Zill’s basic attacks on him instantly resets the cooldown of Wind Shift, creating a chain of relentless teleport chases. The ultimate Tornado Tornado strikes 5 times, with the first slash always silencing for 1 second so Stuart can’t activate Blood Shadow Eye or Destructive Blast in time, while Zill is untargetable the whole time.

Paine

Every skill of Paine Paine deals magic damage, including the basic attack right after casting a skill, so even Stuart’s Blood Shadow Eye can’t avoid it. Paine sends out his soul with Soul Tidings to close in while immune to CC, then his body charges forward to slow Stuart and cut off his escape route. Elegy Elegy deals magic damage and silences enemies in the area, so he can’t use Blood Shadow Eye to speed up or Destructive Blast to dash away. For 4 seconds after each skill, the passive Soul Divide turns basic attacks into magic damage, and the first one also becomes a backstab dealing double damage. The ultimate Acknowledge grants brief damage immunity, then dashes in to finish him off.

Mid Lane Mages That Counter Stuart

Zata
Yue

Zata

Zata Zata deals pure magic damage, so the physical immunity skill Blood Shadow Eye can’t save Stuart. Waterspout creates a slowing whirlwind that then returns to where Zata stood when casting, while Screeching Hawk fires a missile that explodes again at max range. These very skills are the foundation for Heaven's Wing : by dashing through his own or enemy skills, Zata can charge using the movement joystick, and after 3 charges he becomes untargetable and continuously deals magic damage to nearby heroes. Each time the passive Wind Slash deals damage, it reduces his ultimate’s cooldown. Stuart has no CC immunity, so he struggles to escape the chain of slowing whirlwinds and charges.

Yue

Yue Yue deals ranged magic damage with jade shards, a type of damage Stuart’s Blood Shadow Eye can’t block. Place Cleave the Realm and Sever Heaven and Earth so their intersection lands right where Stuart stands to make him take double damage; after two casts, the passive Sovereignty empowers and refreshes both skills for a second burst. When Stuart dashes in with Destructive Blast to slow you, Sovereign's Path knocks him back and lets Yue leap backward, restoring a safe distance. Don’t waste your jade while he’s still running fast thanks to Blood Shadow Eye ; wait for his speed boost to wear off before slicing.

Top Lane Fighters That Counter Stuart

Marja
Bolt Baron

Marja

Stuart deals most of his damage with basic shots, and Marja Marja has a way to drain that power. Soul-Devouring Worm tethers Stuart, slowing him, draining his physical attack and magic power and healing Marja, making every shot afterward weaker. When Stuart dashes in with Destructive Blast to slow, Vile Spirit makes Marja untargetable, cleanses debuffs and boosts her speed, then deals damage to nearby enemies both on activation and on cancel. The servants from the passive Soul Curse and the second dash of Wave of Agony let Marja chase relentlessly, forcing Stuart to burn Blood Shadow Eye early to escape.

Bolt Baron

Bolt Baron ‘s basic attacks and all of his skills deal magic damage, so Stuart’s Blood Shadow Eye is useless against him. Thunder Plunge dashes forward with a 2-second shield to close the gap, while Thunder Blast knocks Stuart back, and the closer he is, the farther he gets pushed, perfect for shoving him away the moment he closes in. When Stuart dashes in with Destructive Blast , the ultimate Gathering Thunder grants 1.5 seconds of CC immunity and 30% movement speed, with each lightning strike adding a shield, followed by an 8-second transformation with lightning bouncing between enemies. The passive Thunder Conductor grants an extra basic skill cast at 6 Heavenly Thunder points. If your team has enough physical damage, Bolt Baron can be moved to the Abyssal Dragon Lane.

Items to counter Stuart

Besides +60 movement speed, Sonic Boots reduce damage taken from basic attacks by 10%. Stuart deals most of his damage with basic shots, so every hero who has to stand in front of his gun, especially supports and fighters, takes less punishment.

The Backlash passive reflects 5% of damage taken as true damage (calculated before damage reduction), and activating Retaliate raises it to 25% for 3 seconds. True damage isn’t physical damage, so Stuart still gets hit back when he shoots you with Blood Shadow Eye active. Note that the effect decreases with distance, by up to 50%.

Sentinel reduces the attack speed by 30% and movement speed by 15% of enemies who basic attack you when you take damage. Stuart needs basic attacks to build energy for Empowered Physique, so the attack speed reduction delays his empowerment, while the movement speed reduction makes it easier for your teammates to chase him.

The Lightning passive adds 45 + 3 per level damage to basic attacks and releases a lightning bolt dealing 150 + 20 per level, with an extra 0.3 seconds of cooldown after each trigger. Marksmen laning against Stuart gain an extra source of burst damage on their attacks, helping them win short trades before he activates Blood Shadow Eye.

How to counter Stuart in lane

Stop trading when he activates skill 2: Blood Shadow Eye grants physical damage immunity and boosts movement speed. If you’re a marksman or a physical fighter, back off as soon as you see Stuart activate it, wait for the effect to end, then resume attacking.

Stay out of the projectile’s path: Death Missile fires in a straight line and damages every target along its path. Don’t line up behind minions or teammates so you don’t get hit together.

Watch his energy stacks: Basic attacks, skill 1 and skill 3 charge energy for Empowered Physique ; at 4 stacks he becomes empowered. When Stuart is close to full energy, don’t engage.

Call in a magic damage jungler: Stuart has no CC immunity. Ping a jungler such as Zill Zill or Paine Paine to gank once he has used Destructive Blast to dash forward.

How to counter Stuart in team fights

Assign someone to stick to Stuart: A support or tank such as Toro Toro , Maloch Maloch should stay glued to Stuart, forcing him to burn skills to escape instead of freely shooting your carry.

Save your crowd control for his dash: Destructive Blast takes Stuart right up to his target. This is when he’s closest and has no CC immunity; a stun, knock-up or silence at this moment can easily get him killed.

Leave Stuart to magic damage: Mages and magic damage heroes such as Zata Zata , Yue Yue should focus him first, since Blood Shadow Eye only blocks physical damage. Your marksman should hit other targets until the effect wears off.

Force out his skill 2 early: Once Stuart has used Blood Shadow Eye to escape a fight, that’s when your whole physical damage team should collapse on him before it comes back up.

Tips for Countering Stuart

Strengths to Watch Out For

Blood Shadow Eye grants physical damage immunity and movement speed, very strong against physical heroes.
Destructive Blast dashes in and slows, making it easy to chase and finish off targets.
Death Missile damages every target in a straight line.
Empowered Physique grants an empowered state after 4 stacks.

Weaknesses to Exploit

No CC immunity, easily stunned, knocked up and bound.
Blood Shadow Eye can’t block magic damage or true damage.
Destructive Blast has to dash right up to the target, easily landing him in crowd control.
Vulnerable to relentless chasing while skill 2 is on cooldown.