Spy match-ups

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I'm going to gut you like a Cornish game hen. Click to listen — The Spy on his battle plan

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Class			Strategy
Spy	vs.	Scout	A typical Scout rarely stands still and is difficult to hit with any of your weapons, making him a poor target for a backstab. With his speed, he can simply bump into you to Spy-check and easily chase you down. The Force-A-Nature’s knockback, Mad Milk, and the Boston Basher’s bleed effect can aid in revealing you further, so it may be best to avoid him whenever possible. Additionally, the Scout's damage is superior to yours. If you end up directly fighting a Scout, backpedal erratically while firing your Revolver; you don’t want to fight him at close range.
Spy	vs.	Soldier	The Soldier walks slowly and brings a large amount of firepower to his team, making him a prime backstab target. However, he tends to be hard to reach on the battlefield, where he will make use of rocket jumping and frequently be ahead of his team or at high ground. With his mobility and the Rocket Launcher's high damage output, being caught by a Soldier almost guarantees your death. Should your backstab fail or he discover you, it's best to flee; your Revolver does not deal much damage relative to his large health pool.
Spy	vs.	Pyro	The Pyro's fire serves as a counter to your Cloak and disguise. Because there is no friendly fire, he can use his Flamethrower to freely Spy-check all of his teammates. In combat, its large spread may inadvertently reveal you, making him a suboptimal backstab target. Additionally, he can use the compression blast to keep you pinned in a corner upon discovery. If you are forced to directly fight a Pyro, keep a medium distance and a steady aim; your Revolver outdamages all of his secondary weapons. Take particular note of where bodies of water and health kits are so that you can easily extinguish yourself when retreating. If you are having trouble with an enemy Pyro, consider using the Dead Ringer or the Spy-cicle; these items can extinguish afterburn and give you some immunity to his routine Spy-checks.
Spy	vs.	Demoman	A Demoman will often be too focused on combat or laying Sticky traps to pay attention to you. He moves relatively slowly and cannot frequently Sticky jump without sacrificing a sizable portion of health, allowing you to easily catch up for a backstab. Your Cloak and disguise can be used to pass over his Sticky traps with some degree of safety. While the Demoman can deal more damage than you at all ranges, his explosive projectiles can be dodged while his Stickybombs take time to arm, and his weapons reload slowly. If fighting the Demoman directly, remain within medium range but outside melee range, especially if he has a shield equipped; the Demoman will have some difficultly aiming yet be unable to use his melee weapon.
Spy	vs.	Heavy	A Heavy is a large, slow target who provides a lot of firepower for his team, making him your natural prey. Due to the nature of the Minigun, a Heavy must continuously look at his target. Before attacking, be sure that he is focused on combat; if you are discovered, his Minigun’s wide spread will easily track your Cloak if the sheer damage doesn’t kill you first. Specifically killing him should take much of the pressure off from you as you retreat back to your team.
Spy	vs.	Engineer	The Spy has the potential to kill the Engineer and destroy his equipment in one fell swoop. While the two of you are about even in a one-on-one encounter, the Engineer will typically be near his Sentry Gun, which can easily mow down whatever it targets. However, your Cloak and disguise won't draw the attention of his Sentry Gun, allowing you to approach and disable his buildings with your Electro Sappers. If there are no other enemies in the area, you can place Electro Sappers faster than he can remove them, forcing him to abandon his buildings and attack you. If you constantly dodge his fire, his buildings will eventually fall. If the Engineer is working on his buildings or the area is too heavily guarded, employ the “Stab then sap” strategy: backstab him, quickly sap his Sentry Gun before it can attack you, then flee. It is best to attempt this while the Sentry Gun is facing away from you or in the midst of upgrading; otherwise, you might take significant damage following the backstab. If an Engineer is between you and his Sentry Gun, it is possible to bait the Sentry Gun into firing at its owner by revealing yourself. If you are having difficulty approaching a Sentry Gun, Your Eternal Reward will allow you to maintain a disguise immediately following a backstab, which may make it easier to enter sapping range. If there are too many enemies guarding the area, it’s best to coordinate with your teammates; you can simply disable all nearby buildings, allowing your allies to destroy them.
Spy	vs.	Medic	A Medic’s ability to heal his teammates makes him one of your most important targets. However, he is no easy target. He will often be backed up by his teammates, making getting by unnoticed difficult, and experienced Medics will also look behind their back constantly. In addition to this, a Medic is also slightly faster than you, making him harder to catch up to and backstab. Try and get him while he is strafing your teammates fire, as he will probably be too busy trying to evade their fire to notice you. Under some circumstances, it might be better to not kill a Medic at all. You can disguise as his team to lure him into a trap, or even trick him into wasting an Ubercharge on you.
Spy	vs.	Sniper	A Sniper will typically be focused on aiming at targets that are far away and will not notice that you’re behind him. If he is wearing the Razorback, simply gun him down with your primary weapon before he can retaliate. However, should the Sniper discover you, he can use Jarate or the bleed effect from the Tribalman's Shiv to nullify your Cloak and disguise, leaving you vulnerable to all nearby enemies. Even with his weak close range weapons, a Sniper is capable of defeating you in a one-on-one encounter, especially if he inflicts one of his debuffs on you. If your backstab fails, keep a modest distance while firing your Revolver or simply retreat and try again later.
Spy	vs.	Spy	It is not a Spy's job to deal with enemy Spies. In most circumstances, if you see an enemy Spy, you should report his disguise and whereabouts to your teammates and continue about your business. However, if you do see an opportunity to backstab him while he is distracted, take it. Likewise, being a Spy does not mean you are immune to Spies; you should Spy-check as often as the other classes. You can Spy-check by approaching the backs of teammates with the Knife active; if you automatically raise it as if to backstab someone, that "teammate" is a Spy. If you end up directly fighting an enemy Spy, dodge his attacks while retaliating with your Revolver.

See also

• Team strategy
• Spy (competitive)