McGinnis vs Rem

Do

• Plan for Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer — know which tier it sits in so you are not improvising at the shop.
• Know what Pillow Toss looks like. It is the cooldown this lane revolves around.

Avoid

• Walking to lane on the same path every wave against a hero with Rem's engage range.

Do

• 680 max health, so Rem dies to any burst combo that connects
• Zero damage contribution means a lane partner who wants to force kills gets no help doing it
• A 66-round magazine plus Mini Turret Mini Turret 20m Range18s Cooldown Places a small automated turret that fires spirit damage at nearby enemies for a limited lifetime. Damage 24 DPS per turret with 100 turret health (deadlock.one). Defensive Turrets act as a tripwire and a damage sponge; 1 +10 turret DPS, +10m attack range. 2 +25% turret fire rate, +12s turret lifetime. gives her sustained fire and turret pressure in lane.

Avoid

• Tag Along Tag Along 23m Range5.5s Duration40s Cooldown Rem leaps to a friendly hero and naps alongside them. Damage No damage. Burst heals 15% of missing health, then regenerates over time —… Mobility A 23m leap, but only to a friendly hero — Rem cannot use it to escape into… Defensive Attaching to a durable frontliner is Rem's survival plan; 1 1 AP: -8s cooldown (40s to 32s) 2 2 AP: bonus item range, duration and barrier effectiveness while attached 5 5 AP: bonus spirit power while napping and for a short window after waking 's missing-health burst plus lingering regeneration makes a duo lane harder to burst down, and the heal scales with missing health
• Pillow Toss knockback denies the enemy's all-in and refunds cooldowns on hit, so a Rem who lands pillows out-tempos the lane

Do

• Their first real spike is ult unlock — respect it from that point, not before.
• Your spike is Spectral Wall unlock (level 1 priority): Her defining tool is online immediately.

Avoid

• Taking an even fight against Rem on their spike timing when you could take the same fight ten minutes later on yours.

Do

• Watch for Naptime. It is a directional channelled gaze with a 19m radius — the counter is leaving the cone, not hiding, because it goes through walls
• Buy healing reduction early (Healbane Healbane 1,600 souls Tier 2ArmorPassive +8s Duration +7 Spirit Power -35% Incoming Healing / Decay Decay 3,200 souls Tier 3TechPress +30s Cooldown +12s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power -55% Incoming Healing +65 Bonus Health -style anti-heal). Tag Along's missing-health burst is Rem's entire teamfight value and anti-heal cuts it at the source

Avoid

• Spending your own escape before Pillow Toss is on cooldown.

• Naptime Ultimate

  Rem's fight-ender: first a slow with reduced dash distance and a full lockout on movement abilities, then sleep, which is a hard disable.

  • It is a directional channelled gaze with a 19m radius — the counter is leaving the cone, not hiding, because it goes through walls
  • Interrupt the channel: any Stun, Silence or knockdown on Rem stops it; he takes 30% less damage while channelling, so a Stun works better than trying to burst him through it
  • Once your team is asleep, apply exactly one damage instance above the ~100 threshold to wake a key teammate rather than letting the full duration run
• Pillow Toss Ability 1

  Rem decides where you are standing for the next second or two — heavy knockback displacement on hit.

  • It is a single-charge skillshot on a 25s (18s at 1 AP) cooldown — force it out with a feint approach, then commit for real
  • A missed Pillow Toss is the entire engagement window on Rem; with 680 HP and no escape ability, that is the cue to dive
  • Approach from an angle where knockback pushes you toward your own team rather than away from it
• Tag Along Ability 2

  The core of Rem's game: it is simultaneously the only mobility tool, the main healing output, and a positioning trick that keeps Rem glued to a protected body instead of standing in the open.

  • Any Stun knocks Rem off the ally — Stun ultimates and knockdowns are the designed answer, and they leave Rem exposed in the open with 680 HP
  • Kill or force out the frontliner Rem is attached to; Tag Along requires a living ally in 23m and Rem has no other mobility
  • Anti-heal items (Healbane, Decay and similar healing-reduction purchases) cut the missing-health burst directly
• Lil Helpers Lil Helpers 45m Range Rem signals a Helper to go do a job: collect crates, perform Sinner's Sacrifices, or follow and buff an ally hero or friendly troopers. Damage None. Heals troopers for 8 health/second; Helpers rest ~15.1 seconds after… Mobility Grants move speed to the hero being followed Defensive The spirit resist buff on a followed ally is a persistent small mitigation… 1 1 AP: +1 Helper and +1.5 m/s Helper move speed 2 2 AP: +1 Helper and +15% trooper damage/resist 5 5 AP: +1 Helper and +15% spirit resist on the buff Ability 3

  Rem's macro engine and the reason Rem contributes to a game without contributing damage. Helpers convert map resources into souls and tempo while Rem stands in lane, and the buff mode is a quiet but real combat contribution.

  • Watch the tunnels — Helpers stealing Sinner's Sacrifices Sinner's Sacrifice Soul objective Ten machines around the map, plus the Bell Tower A slot machine you punch for souls: each light melee pays about a twentieth of its value, each heavy a tenth, and the final hit pays half plus a heavy — more in the jackpot window, whose timing now varies. 500 health; it hits back for 80 a punch outside the jackpot phase. Souls 310 souls at 0:00 +3.35 a minute is free enemy economy, and killing the Helper or contesting the sacrifice yourself denies it
  • Helpers are killable; removing one costs Rem the ~15.1s rest cycle plus travel time
  • A followed ally is the one Rem intends to keep alive — it is a free read on where Tag Along will go next

1. 1 Pillow Toss

   Pillow Toss first, always. It is one charge on a 25s (18s at 1 AP) cooldown, it is Rem's only self-peel, and landing it is also what refunds cooldowns on everything else. Feint an approach with a durable body, eat the pillow, then commit for real

2. 2 Tag Along

   Then Tag Along. A Rem who has already leapt to an ally cannot leap again for 40s (32s at 1 AP); forcing the hop by threatening that ally strands Rem where it lands

3. 3 Naptime

   Naptime is worth baiting only with a Stun held in reserve — otherwise a forced cast still wins Rem the objective. At 2 charges it is also the one ability you cannot reliably drain

• 680 HP with no escape ability that works without a nearby ally Strong evidence
• Anti-heal items shut down the majority of the kit's value directly Strong evidence
• Contributes essentially no damage, so an enemy who survives the heal window is never punished Strong evidence
• You out-lane Rem and they out-scale the lane phase, so the whole matchup lives in the first six minutes. The lead you build there has to be spent before Guardians fall and the map turns into grouped objectives — souls banked are not a lead against a hero who is better in the format that follows. Convert into their Guardian, into the Urn at 10:00, or into map control ahead of the first Rift around 11:00, and treat any minute where your advantage is sitting unspent as a minute given back. Strategic
• Neither of you can disengage well, so fights between you tend to go to completion. That makes the decision to start one much more important than anything you do inside it — commit only when you already have the advantage, because backing out is not available to either side. Strategic

• Naptime strips your dash distance and locks out every movement ability before the sleep even lands, so once you are in the 19m gaze there is no mechanical out — then your whole group is asleep for the objective Strong evidence
• Tag Along's 15%-of-missing-health burst plus lingering regeneration means the frontliner you just spent all cooldowns on is back to fighting health before your cooldowns return Strong evidence
• Pillow Toss knocks your diver clean off the target and, at 2 AP, applies -40% fire rate — your engage is displaced and your DPS is halved in one button Strong evidence
• Lil Helpers quietly take Sinner's Sacrifices Sinner's Sacrifice Soul objective Ten machines around the map, plus the Bell Tower A slot machine you punch for souls: each light melee pays about a twentieth of its value, each heavy a tenth, and the final hit pays half plus a heavy — more in the jackpot window, whose timing now varies. 500 health; it hits back for 80 a punch outside the jackpot phase. Souls 310 souls at 0:00 +3.35 a minute out of your tunnels and collect crates Crates Breakable Streets, rooftops and tunnels — about 500 of them Ordinary breakables. Each has a 60% chance to drop souls; a Tough Crate always drops, for double. Souls 23 souls a crate, 60% of the time +2 a minute across the map, so Rem's team out-economies yours without winning a fight Strong evidence
• Because Naptime pierces walls and floors, the usual 'break line of sight' answer to a large area ultimate does nothing here Strong evidence

• Buy healing reduction early (Healbane / Decay-style anti-heal). Tag Along's missing-health burst is Rem's entire teamfight value and anti-heal cuts it at the source Strong evidence
• Hold a Stun or knockdown for two specific moments: Rem attached via Tag Along (the Stun knocks Rem off the ally) and Rem channelling Naptime (the Stun cancels the ult outright) Strong evidence
• Focus Rem directly — 680 HP with no escape means any gap-closer that gets past Pillow Toss kills before the heal cycle matters Strong evidence
• Bring a hero with an unstoppable or knockback-immunity window; Pillow Toss is Rem's only self-peel and immunity walks through it Strong evidence
• If your team is slept, deliberately apply one damage instance above the ~100 wake threshold to your most important teammate rather than letting the full duration run Strong evidence
• Contest the crates Crates Breakable Streets, rooftops and tunnels — about 500 of them Ordinary breakables. Each has a 60% chance to drop souls; a Tough Crate always drops, for double. Souls 23 souls a crate, 60% of the time +2 a minute and tunnel sacrifices on Rem's half of the map — killing Helpers costs Rem the ~15.1s rest cycle and denies the macro value the pick is built on Strong evidence
• You do not have the CC to reliably break Naptime out of your own kit, so buy the cheapest thing that does: Silence Wave Silence Wave 3,200 souls Tier 3TechInstantCast +42s Cooldown +3s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +90 Bonus Health is the only area Silence in the shop and the standard answer to channelled ultimates. Area matters because you do not have to win the aim duel — you have to cover the spot they cast from. Note the alternative, Counterspell Counterspell 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorPassive +23s Cooldown +20 Spirit Power +6s Buff Duration +0.8s Spell Parry Duration +50 Bonus Health +5 Spirit Power , parries a single ability outright but requires a read; Silence Wave forgives a bad read, which is why it is the buy when interrupting is not your specialty. Strong evidence
• Rem does a lot of damage through summons rather than in person. Do not spend single-target cooldowns clearing them — Area Damage handles the summons while you keep your burst for the hero. Check whether the summons are what is actually killing you before you commit to fighting the hero at all. Strategic

• Any moment Pillow Toss is down — that is a 680 HP hero with no displacement and no way to stop a gap-closer for the next 18-25 seconds Strong evidence
• Immediately after Tag Along is used, while the 40s (32s at 1 AP) cooldown runs and Rem is stuck on whichever ally was chosen Strong evidence
• When Rem is out of 23m range of every living teammate: Tag Along has no valid target, so Rem has zero mobility Strong evidence
• During the Naptime channel — Rem is stationary and telegraphed for 1.9 seconds, though he takes 30% less damage while channelling Strong evidence
• After a Helper has been sent to follow a hero: it rests for ~15.1 seconds, so consecutive Helper plays are on a real timer Strong evidence
• The first few minutes of lane before the 1 AP cooldown cuts, when both Pillow Toss (25s) and Tag Along (40s) are at base cooldowns Strong evidence
• Rem 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 have real objective damage, which makes the Guardian your win condition in this lane rather than Rem's health bar. Guardian resistance scales from +50% down to −50% across roughly the first twelve minutes since 05-22-2026 — it gets softer, not harder, so the pressure you can apply grows every minute from about 6:00. Guardians also have no ability-damage reduction, so spirit works on them at full value. Older guides claiming Guardians toughen over time are wrong. Documented
• You are a strong laner, so know where the income actually goes. Trooper souls are split among players within roughly 45m of the orb or 30m of the killer, and two players nearby take 54% each rather than 50% — a duo lane is slightly net-positive for the team and clearly negative for you individually. If you are winning the lane against Rem, holding the wave alone at range from your partner is worth real souls per minute. Treat the exact distances as community-sourced. Uncertain

• Your objective damage is the lever in this matchup and the Walker timing is where it pays. Walkers sit around 65% damage resistance early and decay toward −65% by minute 18, so the same rotation that accomplishes nothing at 12:00 kills one outright at 17:00. Each Walker your team destroys also unlocks an extra item slot for the whole team, so the take is a build spike for five other people, not just souls. Remember a Walker is invulnerable unless someone is within 22m. Strong evidence
• Rotation speed is the axis you lose on against Rem, and it is not purely a hero stat. Ziplines run at a fixed 18 m/s on inner lanes and 21 m/s on outer regardless of your move speed, and destroying a base guardian converts that lane into a permanent Express Line at +80%. If they take a base guardian before you do, their map becomes structurally faster than yours for the rest of the game. That objective is worth contesting for the travel time alone, separately from the souls. Strong evidence

• Naptime is a channel, which means the fight is decided by whether you can break it. Hold one interrupt — a Stun, a Silence, or a displacement — specifically for that cast rather than spending it on the opening trade. If you have no interrupt, the answer is line of sight: leave the area entirely rather than trying to out-heal it. Strong evidence
• Rem brings enough lockdown that Stun sequencing matters. Community reporting describes Stun diminishing returns of roughly 10% then 30% inside an 8-second window, applying to stuns only and not to silences, slows, disarms or hexes — so their follow-up chain may be shorter than the first one felt. Treat this as unconfirmed, but it is worth knowing before you burn a cleanse on the opening Stun. Uncertain

• Rem decides where you stand, not you. The practical rule is to never hold a position whose failure case is being moved — stand so that being yanked or knocked puts you somewhere survivable rather than inside their whole team. Cover at your back is worth more than cover in front. Strong evidence
• When you go for their Walker against a team with Rem peeling, the 22m rule is your positioning constraint: a Walker is invulnerable while no enemy is within 22m, so somebody has to be inside that ring for any of your damage to count. Being that body is a commitment, not a poke. Backdoor protection also gives the Walker 65% damage reduction and 65 HP/s regeneration until your trooper wave arrives, so going without the wave is not a faster take, it is no take at all. Strong evidence

• Rem heals through damage, so healing reduction is not optional here — but pick the right application route. Anti-heal arrives two ways: bullet-applied (Toxic Bullets Toxic Bullets 3,200 souls Tier 3WeaponPassive -40% Incoming Healing , T3) builds up through gunfire, and spirit-applied (Healbane, T2) lands off Spirit Damage. Buy the one that matches how you actually deal damage, or it will never apply. Documented
• If Rem buys Dispel Magic Dispel Magic 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 Heal Amount to purge your anti-heal, bullet-applied reduction re-lands on your very next shot, while spirit-applied reduction has to wait for your next ability. That asymmetry is a real argument for the bullet route against a hero who will buy a purge. Strong evidence
• Unstoppable (vitality T4) — This lineup gets its channelled ultimates from Rem. Buy when enemy lockdown is the reason you lose fights — it lets you walk through a full CC chain and still deal damage. Documented
• Counterspell (vitality T3) — Buy against telegraphed single-target ultimates and hex-style point-and-click abilities you can read and parry. Relevant here because of Rem. Documented
• Monster Rounds Monster Rounds 800 souls Tier 1WeaponPassive +25% Weapon Damage vs. NPCs +1 Out of Combat Regen +25% Bullet Resist vs. NPCs (weapon T1) — Buy when you need to clear Haunt camps Haunts Neutral camps Lanes and Districts across the map Haunts replace the old neutral camps. They are not a reskin: each type behaves differently, and the health bar now shows a camp's soul value and how hard it is, so you can decide whether a camp is worth your time before you start shooting. Three eye colours mark the tier — teal for tier I, yellow for tier II, red for tier III. Souls 41/68/181 souls tier I / II / III a creep +0.44 / +0.73 / +1.95 a minute and waves quickly. What you are answering here: Rem's Lil Helpers. Strong evidence

• Anti-heal against Rem is bought correctly and applied at the wrong moment. Healbane's reduction runs for 8 seconds from your Spirit Damage and Toxic Bullets' runs while the bleed is up — both are windows, and re-applying the same source before it expires does not stack a second instance. The mistake is opening the fight clean and reaching for anti-heal once they start healing; by then you have spent the fight. Land it before they commit, then keep the window refreshed rather than re-triggering it. Strong evidence