Phantom Lancer/Counters

Bad against...

 * helps locks down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
 * clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
 * Phantom Lancer's high damage is bad against Blade Mail, an item Axe almost always gets.


 * 's tankiness and damage reduction from the rear makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to chase and finish off, due to his lack of burst damage.
 * destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * 's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with.


 * and makes short work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * 's splash damage takes out Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
 * If Dragon Knight can the real Phantom Lancer, he and his team can quickly kill him before he has a chance to escape.


 * deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * , combined with the cleave from, allows Ember Spirit to destroy all of Phantom Lancer's illusions. If there are enough units within the radius, combined with , he could potentially kill an entire team with a single use of this ability.
 * also deals significant damage to illusions, and protects against Spirit Lance.
 * Phantom Rush is unable to catch Ember Spirit when he teleports to his s.


 * and destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.


 * and Kunkka's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * deals high damage to Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * 's long duration prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.


 * Leshrac's AoE abilities destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * and require no targeting, thus hitting Phantom Lancer whenever he's nearby.


 * from multiple Meepos will destroy illusions quickly.
 * 's area root can catch Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions and prevent him from using Doppelganger for a long time.


 * helps Magnus' allies clear out illusions.
 * and will pull Phantom Lancer along with his illusions, and reposition them together for easy nuking.


 * , and  are effective for clearing out Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * Phoenix's AoE abilities can prove troublesome for Phantom Lancer.
 * dramatically reduce Phantom Lancer and his illusions' attack speed.
 * 's movement speed reduction makes retreating difficult.
 * burns away illusions, and is invulnerable to attacks from illusions.


 * and are effective nukes against Phantom Lancer's illusions, especially in the early game.
 * limits Phantom Rush's mobility during teamfights.


 * can destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions or damage them heavily.
 * cannot be broken even with Doppelganger, serving as a marker for the real Phantom Lancer.
 * gives Razor's high mobility to chas edown Phantom Lancer making Spirit Lance and slow useless.
 * along with can quickly reduce Phantom Lancer's armor.


 * All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
 * will usually eliminate all illusions in one cast.


 * destroys illusions, avoids Spirit Lance, and makes Storm Spirit very hard to catch, even with Phantom Rush.


 * and destroys illusions in just a few hits.
 * 's AoE stun will hit Phantom Lancer when he's grouped up with illusions.
 * Sven's low mana causes him to take less damage from . This is further reduced by the armor bonus from.


 * and make it very difficult for Phantom Lancer's illusions to damage to Tidehunter.
 * will stun the real Phantom Lancer while clearing most of his illusions.
 * reduces base damage, which is the majority of Phantom Lancer's auto-attack damage.


 * upgraded kills Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
 * Phantom Lancer's lack of burst damage and disables makes it hard for him to stop 's channel.
 * is not dispelled by or Doppelganger, and can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer.

Others

 * 's with lvl 25 talent hex Lion can clear entire PL illusions although PL can make quick work of him at that stage.
 * Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
 * 's marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences him.
 * 's shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
 * 's will only debuff Phantom Lancer, and not his illusions.
 * 's is undispellable.
 * 's is undispellable.


 * Almost any hero with an AoE nuke will be effective against Phantom Lancer in the early game, although not necessarily in the late game:, ,
 * Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down:, , ,
 * Heroes with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: ,

Items

 * 's Guard ability will completely negate the damage of Phantom Lancer's illusions, even when Phantom Lancer has considerable farm.
 * 's cleave damage helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * places an undispellable debuff which helps identify the real Phantom Lancer.
 * 's burn aura helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions, and its evasion chance provides some protection from 's mana burn.
 * breaks Juxtapose and Phantom Rush and places undispellable debuff which helps identify the real Phantom Lancer.
 * and 's chain lightning helps clear Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * and indirectly locks down Phantom Lancer by preventing him from using Doppelganger to disjoint or dispel.
 * helps clear out Phantom Lancer's illusions. The passive aura and active slow reduces Phantom Lancer's attack speed.
 * helps his victims get off an escape ability.

Good against...

 * is paused if even one illusion remains near Phantom Lancer. It can also be dispelled with Doppelganger.
 * Phantom Lancer can also easily dodge an activated, or use his illusions to trigger it safely.
 * Phantom Rush allows Lancer to quickly get inside of Arc Warden's.
 * Phantom Lancer and his clones are able to quickly drain Arc Warden of his mana with a . This means Warden's will also be summoned without mana.


 * Doppelganger dispels.
 * Bounty Hunter also has no area of effect abilities to help with the illusions.


 * Chaos Knight's single target abilities are difficult to target against Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * Chaos Knight's lack of mobility makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer to rush and drain of mana.


 * Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer jump in and out of.
 * Clockwerk's low mobility makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer to rush on, and overwhelm with clones.


 * Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer instantly escape from.
 * Doppelganger is one of the most reliable ways to dodge, other than spell immunity.
 * Doppelganger dispels.


 * Aside from his ultimate, Lifestealer has no AoE abilities to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions, nor does he have the mobility to escape Phantom Rush.
 * Doppelganger dispels.


 * Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear lack mobility, and are easy overwhelmed after being slowed by.


 * Doppelganger dispels and.
 * slow is very ineffective against Phantom Rush.
 * If Shadow Demon buys, Demonic Purge can disable Juxtapose, so check his inventory whenever possible.
 * Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy 's illusions very quickly.


 * Slark has no sustained AoE to fight off Phantom Lancer's illusions as they continually spawn.
 * Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark by spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from.
 * Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark if he tries to escape with.


 * Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy charges very quickly.


 * Phantom Lancer's many illusions will easily destroy, provided he has sufficient farm.


 * Ursa's low mobility allows Phantom Lancer to swarm him with illusions, and drain him of mana.
 * can be difficult to build up when Ursa is unsure which target is the real Phantom Lancer.


 * Although cannot be dispelled by Doppelganger, Viper's lack of mobility and AoE damage makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer.
 * Viper's various slows do not work against Phantom Rush.


 * Phantom Lancer's illusions will quickly destroy multiple layers of.
 * Visage has no mobility mechanisms, making him a prime target for Phantom Rush.


 * lets Phantom Lancer drain Wraith King's mana, preventing from triggering until he upgrades his talent point at level 20.

Others

 * Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer:, , , , ,
 * Heroes with single-target abilities and low-mobility are all an exceptionally easy targets for Phantom Rush: ,
 * Illusions can be sent out to destroy ' mines.

Works well with...

 * Bane's long disable with gives Phantom Lancer plenty of time to spawn several illusions.


 * allows Phantom Lancer to spam Spirit Lance in the early game.
 * and Crystal Maiden's slows helps Phantom Lancer chase down enemies.


 * Phantom Lancer and his many illusions multiply the damage from, allowing Dazzle to deal up to 980 physical damage to adjacent foes.
 * A timely can allow Phantom Lancer to get off a Doppelganger, run to safety, then return to the fight after a few heals. Due to his chaotic nature, it can be very hard to finish off Phantom Lancer if the enemy has already used their AoE abilities.


 * lets Phantom Lancer charge enemies without fear, from a great distance.
 * The slow from helps Jakiro aim his abilities.


 * allows liberal use of Spirit Lance and Doppelganger in the early game, especially in lane.
 * Timed correctly, the cooldown reduction lets Phantom Lancer use Spirit Lance twice in quick succession. To do so, be sure to have Keeper of the Light cast Chakra Magic after using Spirit Lance.
 * Casting Doppelganger twice also allows Phantom Lancer to create 4 illusions immediately.


 * 's long range root and short cooldown time helps Phantom Lancer run down enemies.
 * gives him the time to build up a large illusion army.


 * The long disable time from and  allows Phantom Lancer to build up his illusions.


 * 's armor reduction helps Phantom Lancer and his illusions hit harder, compensating for his lack of burst damage.


 * Spirit Breaker's hectic initiation with and stuns from  give Phantom Lancer space to attack the enemy at will.


 * lowers enemy health, allowing Phantom Lancer to kill them easier without burst damage.
 * 's slowing zombies create havoc on the battlefield, giving Phantom Lancer the opportunity to beat down an opponent and spawn illusions while they attempt to destroy the Tombstone.


 * Venomancer's slows help Phantom Lancer stay on top of his target without pausing between attacks to move or Phantom Rush.

Others

 * Heroes who can create chaotic, prolonged fights will give Phantom Lancer enough time to generate illusions and drain the enemy team of mana:, , , ,

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

Phantom Lancer/Противостоящие