What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
129 buys
2ndSecond most
93 buys
3rdThird most
92 buys
4thFourth most
80 buys
5thFifth most
75 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Shadow Demon
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 44.9%
- Pick share
- 0.2%
- Matches
- 101,151
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsSupportDisablerInitiatorNuker
NeedsCarryFrontlineTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 30–40 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 51.6% over 7,343 matches.
- You are playing around Divine — its strongest medal, 46.2% over 12,546 picks.
Avoid
- Alchemist is on their side — this hero wins 37.7% of 53 matches against it.
- Grimstroke is on their side — this hero wins 41.5% of 65 matches against it.
- Monkey King is on their side — this hero wins 43.2% of 81 matches against it.
129 buys93 buys92 buys80 buys75 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Shadow Demon took at each level.
QDisruption
Banishes the targeted unit from the battlefield for a short duration.
Unit Target
WDisseminate
Whenever the target takes damage, all enemies, including the target itself if it is an enemy, within 675 range of the target also receive a portion of that damage.
Unit Target · AOE
EShadow Poison
Deals damage in a line, and afflicts enemy units with a poison effect.
AOE · Point Target · Magical damage
RDemonic Purge
Purges the target enemy unit, removing positive buffs, and slowing the target for the duration.
Unit Target · Magical damageMax Order
WQE
Max W first, then Q, then E. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QDisruption
- WDisseminate
- EShadow Poison
- RDemonic Purge
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QDisruption | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WDisseminate | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EShadow Poison | E | E | E | |||||||||||||
| RDemonic Purge | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T | T |
Matchup map
How Shadow Demon performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
113 opponents · public matches40%60%Shadow Demon's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “dispel”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”.
By medal
- Herald42.0%2,460
- Guardian42.6%6,970
- Crusader44.1%12,122
- Archon45.0%17,763
- Legend45.2%20,944
- Ancient46.0%15,674
- Divine46.2%12,546
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min48.3%4,153
- 20–30 min51.0%9,923
- 30–40 min51.6%7,343
- 40–50 min49.1%3,026
- 50 min +50.3%1,344
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Shadow Demon
Abilities
Disruption
Unit TargetBanishes the targeted unit from the battlefield for a short duration. Upon returning, two illusions of the banished unit with bonus base damage are created under Shadow Demon's control.
Disseminate
Unit Target · AOEWhenever the target takes damage, all enemies, including the target itself if it is an enemy, within 675 range of the target also receive a portion of that damage. Can target enemy and allied units. Effect is paused if the target is hidden by Disruption.
Shadow Poison
AOE · Point Target · Magical damageDeals damage in a line, and afflicts enemy units with a poison effect. The poison deals 1/2/4/8/16 times the stack damage based on the number of stacks on the target, up to 5 stacks. Additional stacks cause 50 damage each. This deferred damage is dealt when Shadow Poison's duration is expired, or the Release sub-ability is used.
Demonic Cleanse
Unit TargetCleanses the target allied unit, removing negative buffs for the duration. At the end of the duration, the unit is healed. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Demonic Cleanse. DISPEL TYPE: Basic Dispel
Demonic Purge
Unit Target · Magical damagePurges the target enemy unit, removing positive buffs, and slowing the target for the duration. The unit slowly regains its speed until the end of the duration, upon which damage is dealt. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Demonic Purge. DISPEL TYPE: Basic Dispel
Menace
Hidden · PassiveShadow Demon's Attacks apply a stacking debuff to the enemy for 8 seconds that increases their damage taken.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 23 +2.6
- Agility
- 18 +2.2
- Intelligence
- 22 +3.6
- Move · range
- 290 · 500
Talents
- 4Demonic Purge Applies Shadow PoisonCharges of Disruption
- 3Disseminate Shared DamageDemonic Purge Cooldown
- 2+25 Movement SpeedShadow Poison Cooldown
- 1Shadow Poison Damage+8 Strength
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Demonic Purge
Causes Demonic Purge to break and gain 2 charges.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Demonic Cleanse
Cleanses the target allied unit, removing negative buffs for the duration. At the end of the duration, the unit is healed. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Demonic Cleanse. DISPEL TYPE: Basic Dispel
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.