Phantom Assassin/Counters

Bad against...

 * Jumping in with Phantom Strike makes Phantom Assassin an exceptionally easy target for, Trying to gank Axe with Phantom Strike is a suicide
 * is generally useless against Axe's abilities and item build. For example, can kill Phantom Assassin with her own critical strikes, which she cannot stop when taunted by.


 * Bristleback's tankiness makes him extremely difficult for Phantom Assassin to take down, and nearly impossible to gank.
 * can kill or badly hurt Phantom Assassin.


 * greatly lowers Phantom Assassin's damage, as her critical multiplier becomes very weak when her base damage is reduced.
 * renders Phantom Assassin completely useless, and goes through her.


 * turns Phantom Assassin's attacks against herself, as he deals damage with every hit, and his big health pool makes sure that a lot of hits will be needed.
 * If Centaur Warrunner gets the jump on Phantom Assassin first, she will be unable to activate and might be bursted down with the help of his.
 * can save an ally under attack by Phantom Assassin, offsetting the slow from . If he owns an, he can prevent a low-health ally from being killed in one crit.


 * High armor thanks to makes it difficult for Phantom Assassin to burst down Dragon Knight, as she deals 100% physical damage.
 * stuns Phantom Assassin as soon as she initiates, preventing her from gaining bonus attack rate.
 * Splash damage from hits Phantom Assassin through Blur, allowing Dragon Knight to deal 75% damage to her when attacking directly without.
 * Dragon Knight is one of the few heroes who can safely solo lane against Phantom Assassin along side a support.


 * and 's fast cast animation easily catches Phantom Assassin when she jumps in to attack.
 * often ends Phantom Assassin before she can do anything in the early to mid game.


 * Morphling's high armor serves as a direct counter to Phantom Assassin, causing her attacks to do far less damage. She is also very vulnerable to burst damage, and can be brought down quickly using his and  combo.


 * easily catches Phantom Assassin when she jumps in to attack.
 * renders Phantom Assassin useless, as she depends entirely on physical attacks.


 * applies a severe attack speed slow, severely hindering Phantom Assassin's damage output. While Phantom Strike may be able to slightly remedy the problem, Phoenix' magical (and pure) damage output completely ignore her Blur's evasion, resulting in severe damage to her low health pool.


 * Puck relies mainly on magical burst damage, which Phantom Assassin is most vulnerable against.
 * and disjoint Stifling Dagger, also allowing to kite Phantom Assassin.
 * will stun Phantom Assassin one she uses Phantom Strike.


 * can lower the damage output from procs, hindering 's main source of scaling.
 * makes catching difficult, as both of 's spells are single target. It can also purge the attack speed buff from.
 * strikes cannot be evaded by.


 * 's long range and low cooldowns allows Skywrath Mage to severely harass Phantom Assassin in lane.
 * prevents Phantom Assassin from escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike.
 * 's heavy magical damage nukes Phantom Assassin down quickly during the early to mid game.


 * Without protection, Phantom Assassin's  cannot evade  because its damage is a separate damage instance and it can be applied before the actual attack damage hits.
 * Spectre's high durability provided by and damage block items can make Phantom Assassin's attacks only to tickle.


 * Tinker's burst damage is a real problem for Phantom Assassin if she is not protected by a and the 100% miss chance from  will take away all of her damage.
 * Tinker likes to buy a, which is another hard counter to Phantom Assassin, as she cannot activate her while hexed. In Tinker's hands, it is even more powerful against her, because he can refresh the cooldown with  to permanently disable Phantom Assassin.

Others

 * Heroes with magical burst damage can often kill Phantom Assassin before she gets to do much:, ,
 * Heroes with disables that ignore spell immunity will render Phantom Assassin quite useless in teamfights thoughout the game:, , , , ,
 * , with, and hex abilities all prevent item usage, which is a severe problem for Phantom Assassin as it prevents her from using , the one item that helps protect her against the aforementioned dangers.  with  also disables Phantom Assassin's Evasion and Critical Strike, removing much of her damage and survivability.
 * Ethereal state disarms the target and makes them more vulnerable to magic damage, both of which Phantom Assassin despises. Especially and any hero that is wielding, such as  or , or . (see above).

Items

 * completely negates the evasion from Blur, even if she stacks it up with.
 * is in a similar vein as Monkey King Bar, but also makes her an even more vulnerable target thanks to its damage amplification and critical strikes, making Phantom Assassin an even more fragile target.
 * completely removes Phantom Assassin's chances of escape. As Hex also disables item usage, even if she purchases, if the Hex is applied before she can activate it, she may fall down very easily once further disabled and nuked down.
 * temporarily disables her evasion and critical strike, as well as applying a damage reduction onto her, making entering teamfights very risky for her.
 * prevents Phantom Assassin attacking you (but you can't use auto-attack either for the duration), making it good protection item for casters. It can be upgraded to later, which can be used on allies too, or to nuke and disarm Phantom Assassin.
 * can be used to save targets hit by Phantom Assassin's crits. However, it is not advised if your team already has invisible heroes as enemies will then most likely carry all the time.

Good against...

 * Anti-Mage can easily withstand heavy magical burst due to, but he is still somewhat vulnerable to physical damage. Phantom Assassin's burst physical damage can destroy Anti-Mage while is on cooldown or while he is stunned or hexed.
 * Blur makes Anti-Mage unable to deal significant damage to her until one of the following:
 * Anti-Mage gains True Strike by buying a.
 * He or an ally obtains a form of Break, e.g. or  upgraded with an.
 * He or an ally obtains means to gain accuracy (currently the only way to do this is by purchasing a ).
 * Phantom Assassin has an abysmal mana pool and intelligence gain, making and  deal minimal damage.


 * Crystal Maiden's low health pool and slow movement speed make her a tempting and easy target.
 * However, it may be wise to build first before attempting to fight her alone, as she can disable you and retaliate with.


 * Dazzle's lack of a true disable makes him a relatively vulnerable target for Phantom Assassin.
 * Coup de Grace will often kill Dazzle's teammates before he has a chance to use.


 * Nature's Prophet's low mobility and health pool allows Phantom Assassin to destroy him in the early game.
 * Phantom Strike allows Phantom Assassin to jump in and out of, provided she has vision.


 * does not grant Riki a mobility advantage over Phantom Assassin, as her saves the same purpose, but with a higher range.
 * A Carry Riki usually has a hard time dealing with, as a or  are unfavourable item picks for him (or, even more unlikely, a ).
 * A is a very common pick for Phantom Assassin, fully countering  and  while activated.


 * Sniper's lack of mobility and reliance on attack range makes him an easy target for Phantom Assassin to jump on.

Others

 * Fragile support heroes are all ideal targets for the Phantom Assassin. Heroes such as and  are all prime targets that may not be able to react quickly and fight back due to Phantom Assassin's sudden appearance.
 * Heroes that lack escape mechanisms or disables are all easy targets for Phantom Assassin if they are not careful. Look for, and  and try to catch them off guard.
 * Assuming they have not bought anti-evasion items, auto-attack dependent heroes such as, or  can be a minor threat for Phantom Assassin early in the game, and may even be completely dominated by her thanks to her evasion.

Works well with...

 * gives Phantom Assassin more damage, even amplifying the damage from Stifling Dagger.
 * Combining Ancient Apparition and Phantom Assassin's slows to stun an enemy with can easily force an enemy succumb to this pair during the laning phase.


 * gives Phantom Assassin greater attack speed, increasing her chances of landing a Coup de Grace.
 * long stun duration lets Phantom Assassin beat down enemies.
 * Beastmaster's Boar and Hawk helps Phantom Assassin chase down targets, and can be used as targets for her to jump to.


 * greatly enhances Phantom Assassin's crit damage, as well as giving her cleaving attack. It also speeds up Phantom Assassin's ability to farm.
 * groups up enemies into one spot, combined with Magnus's and Phantom Assassin's tendency to buy, Phantom Assassin will shred through multiple heroes in a blink of an eye.


 * Casting on Phantom Assassin after she uses Phantom Strike will guarantee a huge damage burst, especially during the early game when 's damage is significant.
 * Phantom Assassin's Stifling Dagger allows Omniknight to catch up with the target and slows them with.
 * Blur makes Phantom Assassin more resistant to physical attacks and makes her immune to most magical spells. When combined, Phantom Assassin becomes very hard to kill.


 * not only keeps track of a target but also highly reduces their armor, enabling Phantom Assassin to cut them down much quicker. His stun and follow-up slow can also prove useful in a clash, preventing retaliation and/or escape.


 * greatly increases Phantom Assassin's attack speed, helping her proc Coup de Grace much more often.


 * can bring an enemy into Phantom Assassin's clutches, then prevent their escape with her.
 * and also allows Phantom Assassin to deal more damage, giving her an edge in teamfights.

Others

 * Heroes that amplify physical damage or reduce armor all work well with the Phantom Assassin in teamfights, such as or . Items such as  and  both also compliment Phantom Assassin's abilities well.
 * Slows and disables let her catch up to fleeing enemies. As such, Heroes like, or  are useful to have in a chase in that they might be able to help pin down their target for her.

List of heroes that counter Phantom Assassin, and list of heroes that work well with Phantom Assassin.