Heroes of Newerth is a game about mastery. Players in the top tier team have risen to that level, but some go beyond that – they have truly mastered a particular hero. Right before HoN Tour officially kicks off, we'd like to present you the top player-hero combinations in the game as of today.

sLiCKz – Forsaken Archer
The magic between these two goes back a long time. Ever since sLiCKz made his first debut in the competitive scene, he's been known for his Forsaken Archer. Even though the hero eventually lost some of its popularity in recent tournaments, sLiCKz and Tt eSports are still honoring the old gal with frequent selections. Every time the Australian player gets his hands on the lovely Forsaken Archer, the opposing team is in for some trouble in the form of a very farmed carry, besides the excellent ganking and well coordinated team plays, performed by Tt eSports under the command of sLiCKs as their captain. Usually Forsaken Archer players prefer a more passive, early farming style, and becoming more active later in the game. However sLiCKz's Forsaken Archer is quite aggressive from early stages of the game, crippling his opponents through the use of well placed abilities during ganks and team fights, while keeping a steady farm throughout the game. Thus he becomes a force to be reckoned whenever he gets her.

zai` – Wildsoul
While it might have been unknown or not recognized in the past, thanks to recent tournaments, the secret is out on this one. It has reached a point now, where every single opposing team bans Wildsoul against Trademark eSports just because zai` is such a force with him. Commonly played in the suicide role, Wildsoul can not only perfectly control the lane but also provides a strong pushing power mid-game and insane damage output late. In the hands of zai`, those positive traits seem to be amplified and no team wants to allow Booboo to be controlled by the 15-year old player from Sweden. He might be forced to find another “trademark” hero soon, but for now Wildsoul is the choice for the youngster.

noobG – Corrupted Disciple
Another one of the less used carries is Corrupted Disciple. He might be under-utilized by other players and teams, but he turns into a deadly machine whenever the Danish tdM carry has control. In the recent tournaments, the Disciple was unleashed a couple of times and the results were mostly positive for the European powerhouse. The team does not go for this combination often, but when the draft lacks a carry, tdM can always play this trump card and still be in a perfect situation for the game – all thanks to noobG and his Corrupted Disciple.

MoonMeander – Tundra
Tundra is considered to be very strong in the current metagame and has been a common blind ban for some time. Even so, the combination of Moon and Tundra might be scarier than the hero alone. Ever since Tundra became a viable choice in competitive play, MoonMeander has terrorized middle lane with the hero, dominating pretty much every single opponent. In a recent tournament, the world got a glimpse of this combination when compLexity's opponents failed to ban Tundra and he fell into the hands of the community king MoonMeander. He crushed mid, successfully ganked the sidelanes and ultimately led the match to the very end.

Chessie – Ophelia
One word can describe the synergy between Chessie and his jungling lady – Annihilation. Everyone clearly remembers his Ophelia Annihilation against tdM in the Grand Final of the OSC tournament, and ever since then Ophelia has been banned more and more. The standout jungle player Chessie has turned his attention to perfecting other heroes, but when he can get his hands on his signature hero, he can make opposing teams suffer. Smart decisions, good timings and extraordinary micro are the main attributes that makes this combination so lethal.

sQy – Voodoo Jester
The only team that plays Voodoo Jester is QsQ357 and their team leader, sQy, seems to love the acid throwing maniac. He's extremely effective with the hero, not only as a great support and ganker early on, but also as a damage dealer in teamfights, thanks to expert use of Voodoo Jester's ultimate and Cursed Ground. It is an unconventional choice in the current state of the game, but sQy and QsQ357 make it work.

Brized – War Beast
About three months ago, Brized joined forces with Vitriolic Gaming and with him came the ressurection of War Beast. Brized showed just how dominant this hero can be in all stages of the game, featuring perfectly timed ganks and overwhelming damage in the middle and late game. After Brized brought this hero back into the scene, some other teams have taken notice and begun utilizing him, but the true champion of War Beast remains Big Bad Brized. Also notable is his Shadowblade, who hasn't caught on like War Beast did, but Brized tried to establish the hero several times and actually had some success playing him.

Swindlemelonzz – Demented Shaman
The Shaman is a perfect example of an afterthought in the game today. He had his time when Cthulhuphant was introduced and people figured out the awesome laning synergy between these two, but after the great elephant fell out of favor, Demented Shaman was simply forgotten. However, Swindlemelonzz has been pushing this great weapon back into the game, specifically displaying his ability in a solo role. Expert use of Entangle and Healing Wave can be difficult to deal with in a 1v1 situation and his Ultimate and Unbreakable can be deciding factors in team fights later in the game. He is literally the full package and Swindlemelonzz has shown that on more than one occasion.

Other notable combinations: Limmp – Pollywog Priest, iNsania – Tempest, KheZu – Tremble, bkid – Pebbles, dabeliuteef – Wretched Hag/Valkyrie and Kookiez – Monkey King