Baba vs Grey Talon
Written for the Baba player. Playing Grey Talon? See Grey Talon vs Baba →
An even matchup. Baba wins 53.7% of 28,431 games against Grey Talon (+1.8 points vs Baba’s usual 51.9%).
How to win as Baba
- RuleDo not commit before
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion is gone.
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion first — it is his only escape. Show a fake commit, make him launch, then engage on the landing when he has neither the glide nor the evasion - Watch outA tier-3
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… hits your whole wave and you behind it, from roughly 50m, on a short enough cooldown that you cannot hold the lane through it - Your edgeYou survive the opening and they cannot (Baba Baba Released 6 October Released 6 October. A spirit controller: Threadsap steals enemy Spirit and powers up her bullets, her bench grows legs for speed and a knockback kick, Baba’s Brew cycles between a barrier, a silence and a burn, and Feed The Birds hexes everyone in her cone into pigeons. 1/3 against Grey Talon 0/3).
- Buy
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius — The consensus answer to flying and airborne heroes and to channelled aerial ultimates — buy it whenever an enemy fights from the sky. What you are answering here: Grey Talon's
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion .
The numbers: lane, whole match and Oracle and above
| Games | Baba wins | vs Baba's usual | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole match | 53.7% | +1.8 pts (51.9% overall) | 28,431 games |
| Sharing a lane | 53.6% | +1.7 pts (51.9% overall) | 9,076 games |
| Oracle and above | 55.1% | +4.4 pts (50.7% at Oracle+) | 2,178 games |
"Sharing a lane" counts only games where both were assigned the same lane — the laning matchup itself. "Oracle and above" counts only matches whose average rank was Oracle and above. Source: deadlock-api.com, refreshed daily.
Data-supported Measured: you win 53.7% of these, which is 1.8 points above your overall win rate (28,431 matches). The kit-based model agrees. Ranked against this hero's own baseline win rate, not raw win rate. Source: deadlock-api.com.
What should I do right now?
Do
- Plan for
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius — know which tier it sits in so you are not improvising at the shop. - Know what
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion looks like. It is the cooldown this lane revolves around.
Avoid
- Walking to lane on the same path every wave against a hero with Grey Talon's engage range.
Do
- Lowest durability tier in the roster — any successful gap-close in lane is lethal
- Bow is a slow projectile with travel time; a strafing target is genuinely hard to hit, so his lane damage depends on aim rather than being guaranteed
-
Threadsap
Threadsap Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m reaches 35m and steals Spirit from both laners at once if they stand in line, so she wins spirit trades early
Avoid
-
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… pierces the wave, so he farms and pokes with the same button from outside his opponent's range - Bow falloff runs to about 54m — he can contest soul orbs and harass from positions most laners simply cannot answer
Do
- Their first real spike is
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… tier 3 — respect it from that point, not before. - Your spike is ult unlock:
Feed The Birds
Feed The Birds Baba channels for up to 6.5 seconds, covering enemies in front of her with bread. Crowd Control A stacking slow up to 32% during the channel (64% at Tier 1), then a pigeon… Damage Up to 450 spirit damage per target at full stacks (+1.6 per Spirit), reached… Mobility She can keep moving while she channels. 1 +4m cast range and +32% max slow 2 -55s cooldown 5 +125 max damage, +1.5 Spirit scaling and +0.5s on the hex lets her slow and hex a whole team that walks into her cone
Avoid
- Taking an even fight against Grey Talon on their spike timing when you could take the same fight ten minutes later on yours.
Do
- Watch for
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion .
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius is the direct answer — it pulls him out of the air and stuns him, and he has no second escape - Dive him — he has the lowest durability in the group and only one escape;
Phantom Strike
Phantom Strike +35s Cooldown +0.35s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power +15% Weapon Damage +40% Move Speed +3s Slow Duration , Haze
Smoke Bomb
Smoke Bomb Vanishes from sight and gains bonus sprint speed. Mobility significant sprint speed bonus while active; Defensive the strongest single-hero escape in the group — at tier 3 it also purges… 1 grants 2 ability charges 2 removes non-ultimate debuffs on cast and grants 50% bullet lifesteal for 5 seconds approach, or Abrams charge kills him outright
Avoid
- Spending your own escape before
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion is on cooldown.
Grey Talon’s abilities
-
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion Ability 2 Only a control tool once Grey Talon has paid for it: tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne.
-
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius is the direct answer — it pulls him out of the air and stuns him, and he has no second escape - While gliding he cannot dodge; any hitscan tracking hero (Haze, Infernus, Ivy, Wraith) simply out-damages him mid-air
- Step under cover or into a building — the glide gives him no ability to change angle quickly
-
-
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius Ability 3 A second source of hard control: curse (Silence + Disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow.
- It has an arming delay and a visible model — watch the ground on approach routes and around soul orbs and simply walk around it
- Pre-cast
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer BEFORE contact; once Curse lands you cannot activate items at all - Force the trap by sending a durable body (Abrams, Kelvin, Ivy in
Stone Form
Stone Form Turns Ivy into impervious stone and slams her into the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemies and healing her for a portion of her maximum health. Crowd Control area stun on landing; tier 3 extends the stun duration Damage about 75 at base spirit power (deadlock.one); Mobility a downward slam — it repositions her vertically, especially when combined… 1 increased stun duration and improved damage scaling ) through the approach first, then follow with the carry
-
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… Ultimate Grey Talon's fight-ender: area Stun on detonation.
- Grey Talon is a stationary, silent statue for roughly 1.5s of cast plus the whole flight — that is the single best window in his kit to kill him
- The owl is a controllable but visible projectile; break line of sight around a corner or drop off a ledge as it approaches
- Never sit below about 22% health in the open once he has tier 3 — that is an unavoidable execute, not a dodgeable ability
- 1
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion Rain of Arrows first — it is his only escape. Show a fake commit, make him launch, then engage on the landing when he has neither the glide nor the evasion
- 2
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius Spirit Snare second: force it with a durable body walking the obvious approach lane, since the Curse is what actually stops your dive
- 3
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… Guided Owl is worth baiting only when you can punish the cast — pull him into using it on a target with
Ethereal Shift
Ethereal Shift +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power or full health, then kill him during the flight
The matchup in detail
- Very low health and no damage mitigation — he dies to any committed dive Strong evidence
- Everything meaningful in his kit has a visible cast tell (charge draw, snare arming, 1.5s owl cast) Strong evidence
- Airborne during
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion means
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius counters both his escape and his damage window at once Strong evidence
- A tier-3
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… hits your whole wave and you behind it, from roughly 50m, on a short enough cooldown that you cannot hold the lane through it Strong evidence -
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius 's Curse silences, disarms and blocks item use — if you step on it you cannot press
Dispel Magic
Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate ,
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer or
Warp Stone
Warp Stone +16s Cooldown +30% Bullet Resist +6s Buff Duration to get out Strong evidence -
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… at tier 3 executes anyone under about 22% health anywhere on the map; retreating at low health is not actually safe Strong evidence -
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion plus multishot from directly above means your cover on the ground is worth nothing Strong evidence -
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius tier 2's -15% Bullet Resist turns his trap into a damage amp for his entire team's follow-up Strong evidence - Grey Talon can Silence, which means your escape is only real if it is already active. Pre-empt rather than react: if you are walking into a position where the Silence lands, your defensive cooldown should be spent getting out of that position, not saved for after. Strong evidence
- Dive him — he has the lowest durability in the group and only one escape;
Phantom Strike
Phantom Strike +35s Cooldown +0.35s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power +15% Weapon Damage +40% Move Speed +3s Slow Duration , Haze
Smoke Bomb
Smoke Bomb Vanishes from sight and gains bonus sprint speed. Mobility significant sprint speed bonus while active; Defensive the strongest single-hero escape in the group — at tier 3 it also purges… 1 grants 2 ability charges 2 removes non-ultimate debuffs on cast and grants 50% bullet lifesteal for 5 seconds approach, or Abrams charge kills him outright Strong evidence - Buy
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius specifically for
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion : it drops him out of the glide and stuns him, removing his escape and his damage window simultaneously Strong evidence - Pre-activate
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer BEFORE approaching a trapped choke, because
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius 's Curse blocks item activation after it lands Strong evidence - Strafe laterally against
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… and
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… — both are slow projectiles with travel time, not hitscan Strong evidence - Kill him during the roughly 1.5s
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… cast; he is rooted and defenceless for the full duration plus the flight Strong evidence - Fight in enclosed interiors and tunnels where his 54m falloff advantage and his vertical glide are both worthless Strong evidence
- Roughly 1.5s of
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… cast plus the entire owl flight — he is rooted, looking elsewhere, and cannot defend himself Strong evidence - The whole
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion glide against any hitscan hero or against
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius — he cannot change direction Strong evidence - While drawing
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… , where he is slowed and committed to a firing line Strong evidence - The moment after
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius is placed and before it arms — the trap does nothing during the arming delay Strong evidence - Reload windows: at roughly 1.67 shots per second, a missed arrow is a long dead interval where he has no output at all Strong evidence
- Grey Talon builds almost no resist, which is the case where shred stops being a tank-buster and becomes raw amplification. Because shred is subtracted from total resist, a target sitting near zero goes negative — and negative resist is a damage multiplier, with −30% meaning they take 130%. Against a hero this fragile, one shred source in your build is doing the work of a damage item for the whole team's bullets, not just yours. Strong evidence
- You are not a close-range hero forced to walk them down, which makes this lane a range-band problem rather than an approach problem. There is a band where your damage is real and theirs is still comfortable — find it and hold it, because stepping back one band concedes the whole wave and stepping forward one gives them the free trade. Your orb contests should happen from that band, which means positioning before the trooper dies rather than walking in to secure. Strategic
- Grey Talon's chip damage is not primarily about your health bar in lane — it is about your map access. Every point of damage they land resets a 3-second zipline lockout, so a hero who can touch you once every two seconds has effectively removed the zipline from your game. Plan rotations from behind cover with a clean gap, and when you intend to leave lane, leave before you are being shot at rather than because you are. Strong evidence
- Your escape route is vertical and the 09-16-2026 patch aimed at exactly that: slows now affect air drag at 35% of their value, where previously they mostly did not bite in the air. Going airborne to break Grey Talon's slow no longer restores your full movement — you carry a fraction of it into the air with you, at the moment you are also a stationary silhouette. The slow cut of ~20% partly offsets it, but the net is that air-escaping a slow is worse this patch than last. Documented
-
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… pierces the wave, so he farms and pokes with the same button from outside his opponent's range Strong evidence - Bow falloff runs to about 54m — he can contest soul orbs and harass from positions most laners simply cannot answer Strong evidence
- Lowest durability tier in the roster — any successful gap-close in lane is lethal Strong evidence
- Bow is a slow projectile with travel time; a strafing target is genuinely hard to hit, so his lane damage depends on aim rather than being guaranteed Strong evidence
-
Threadsap
Threadsap Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m reaches 35m and steals Spirit from both laners at once if they stand in line, so she wins spirit trades early Strategic
- Your kit is built around lockdown and that is worth less on the Mid Boss than on Grey Talon — it carries 35% Debuff Resist as of 03-06-2026, so your disables run roughly two-thirds as long on it. Plan the take around damage and positioning rather than a CC chain, and spend the chain on Grey Talon if they contest. The payoff is worth the trip: 3,000 souls + 50 per minute, two permanent buffs each, and a Rejuvenator crystal giving up to three single-use revives that return a player at full health after 3 seconds, for 3 minutes. Documented
-
Charged Shot
Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… tier 3 — The charge delay drops by about 3s, turning his setpiece poke into a repeatable ranged attack Strong evidence -
Spirit Snare
Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius tier 2 — -15% Bullet Resist for 10s makes his trap a team-wide damage amp on top of the Curse lockdown Strong evidence -
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… unlock — Gives him cross-map pick potential and a Stun for his team to fight around Strong evidence -
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… tier 3 — The sub-22% execute plus permanent Spirit Power per kill makes his ult a self-scaling snowball Strong evidence
-
Feed The Birds
Feed The Birds Baba channels for up to 6.5 seconds, covering enemies in front of her with bread. Crowd Control A stacking slow up to 32% during the channel (64% at Tier 1), then a pigeon… Damage Up to 450 spirit damage per target at full stacks (+1.6 per Spirit), reached… Mobility She can keep moving while she channels. 1 +4m cast range and +32% max slow 2 -55s cooldown 5 +125 max damage, +1.5 Spirit scaling and +0.5s on the hex unlock — Lets her slow and hex a whole team that walks into her cone Strategic -
Threadsap
Threadsap Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m T1 — +8 more Spirit Damage on every bullet while she holds stolen Spirit doubles the payoff of a hit Strategic
- Your Silence may be worth more in a chain than a teammate's Stun. The 03-06-2026 diminishing-returns system reduces subsequent CC by 10% then 30% inside an 8-second window, and community reporting holds it applies to stuns only — not to silences, slows, hexes or disarms. If that is right, sequencing your Silence after an ally's Stun costs you nothing, while a second Stun in the chain is already 10% shorter. Treat it as community-reported rather than confirmed, but order your chain accordingly against Grey Talon. Uncertain
- Your habit of taking the fight vertical to reset spacing against Grey Talon is weaker on 09-16-2026 than it was. Slows now apply to air drag at 35% of their value, so the air is no longer a slow-free zone, and 2026 has been a steady closing of exactly these loopholes — wall jumping costs 25% stamina regeneration for 5 seconds, and knockups came under debuff reduction in May. Going up is still correct against their ground CC; it is no longer a way to ignore their slows. Documented
- Fight Grey Talon under cover — indoors, under walkways, inside stairwells. Taking away the vertical axis removes most of their kit's value before you spend a single item slot on it. Strategic
- Riding a zipline in Grey Talon's line of sight is worse than walking. Enemy hero damage while you are riding knocks you off for 15% of your max health, a 2.5-second Stun and a fall — for a hero with your health pool that is most of a death handed over for free. You gain knockoff immunity only after 3 consecutive seconds of riding, signalled by a blue particle effect, so the dangerous part is the first three seconds. Mount out of their sight line, not near it. Documented
- Grey Talon wins by choosing where the fight happens. Take your position before the zoning goes down, not after — once the area is committed you are fighting on their terms, and walking in to contest it is exactly the mistake the kit is built to farm. Strategic
- Grey Talon fights from the air, which is exactly what
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius exists for: it applies +100% gravity to an airborne target (raised from +50% in March 2026) and its Stun scales with altitude, up to about +1.5s at 30m. The higher they commit, the harder the punish — and Debuff Resist will not shorten that Stun for them. Documented - Your escape is a big part of why you survive fights, and Grey Talon can turn it off. Debuff Resist shortens the lockout, and a cleanse removes it outright — one of the two is worth a slot specifically because of this hero. Strategic
- With no self-sustain of your own, Grey Talon's chip damage compounds across a lane. Regeneration or Lifesteal early is worth more here than it looks on paper, because it converts their poke from permanent attrition into something you reset between waves. Strategic
-
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius (spirit T3) — The consensus answer to flying and airborne heroes and to channelled aerial ultimates — buy it whenever an enemy fights from the sky. What you are answering here: Grey Talon's
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion . Documented -
Phantom Strike
Phantom Strike +35s Cooldown +0.35s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power +15% Weapon Damage +40% Move Speed +3s Slow Duration (vitality T4) — Buy to catch flying or long-range heroes who otherwise never enter your range, and to Disarm a gun carry mid-burst. What you are answering here: Grey Talon's
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion . Documented -
Debuff Reducer
Debuff Reducer +25% Debuff Resist +90 Bonus Health (vitality T2) — Grey Talon creates that through Grey Talon's
Guided Owl
Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… . The standard early buy when the enemy team chains crowd control; it is also the component for
Spellbreaker
Spellbreaker +9s Cooldown +18% Spirit Resist +25% Debuff Resist +175 Damage Threshold +65% Spirit Damage Reduction +90 Bonus Health Builds from Debuff Reducer and
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer . Documented
- The usual error against Grey Talon is treating
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion as something to react to rather than something to pre-empt. By the time it is on you, the decision has already been made. Strategic
Next
Baba’s other hard matchups
- vs Paige -6.9 pts
- vs Rat King -6.6 pts
- vs Haze -6.1 pts
- vs Graves -5.4 pts
All of Grey Talon
Who beats Grey Talon, the items that shut Grey Talon down, and every ability.
Facing more than Grey Talon?
Add the other five enemies: who to focus first and what to buy against the whole team.
Sources and method for this page
Everything on this page is generated for Deadlock patch 09-29-2026 from Grey Talon's current kit, measured match results and a mechanics rule base. Each line carries its own confidence label.
Grey Talon's kit and counterplay were compiled from 5 sources, cross-checked for patch 09-29-2026. Threat ratings compare this pairing against Baba's own baseline win rate rather than a flat 50%, because ranking by raw win rate produces the wrong answer for heroes whose overall win rate is not 50%.