Phantom Lancer/Counters

Bad against...

 * will trigger off of Phantom Lancer's illusions, usually destroying all of them instantly.


 * All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage which can clear illusions.
 * Sand King with an can delete Phantom Lancer and his illusions with a single, because it procs  debuffs on each illusion hit.


 * can be cast on an ally of Phantom Lancer to cause his entire illusion army caught inside to attack the target. This will usually result in the target of Wyvern's ult to be completely drained of mana if Phantom Lancer has a.


 * Meepo's natural Magic Resistance can be a threat towards Phantom Lancer. Poof can destroy his illusions in seconds, Earthbind can snare multiple clones of him.
 * Meepo's can take out multiple clones with another  to  combo.


 * and are both excellent for removing multiple clones at once and identifying the real Phantom Lancer.

Others

 * Any debuff that can't be purged off can help an opponent figure out immediately which lancer is the real one
 * Some make it extremely obvious like since it also silences and mutes Phantom Lancer.
 * Others simply paint a target on him, such as (for which the debuff doesn't apply on illusions too) or.
 * There is usually a window in the early-mid game where ANY AOE spell is good enough against Phantom Lancer., , you name it.

Items

 * Maelstrom
 * Mjollnir
 * Black King Bar
 * Monkey King Bar
 * Silver Edge
 * Orchid Malevolence
 * Bloodthorn
 * Battlefury (for melee heroes)

Good against...

 * Phantom Lancer and his clones are able to drain Wraith King of his mana with a, preventing Wraith King's from triggering.


 * Phantom Lancer and his clones are able to quickly drain Zet of his mana with a . This means Warden's will also summon without mana.
 * Keeping even a single clone near the real Phantom Lancer will fully cancel Warden's, it can also be dispelled using.


 * is able to dispel Bounty's on cast.
 * (Same goes for Slardar's )


 * Phantom Lancer can completely dominate her with a  as every attack of Phantom Lancer and his illusion will drain her mana, making   ineffective.


 * Phantom Lancer's many illusions will easily eat away, provided he has sufficient farm.
 * can dispel both and.

Others

 * Techies
 * Clinkz
 * Weaver

Works well with...

 * will allow you to keep spamming in the early game.
 * Her other spells should allow you to run down an enemy at any point in the game.


 * will also allow you to keep spamming in the early game. The cooldown reduction it provides is also very nice: as Spirit Lance's cd is already very low, you will be able to cast it twice in quicker(er) succession. Be sure to have KotL cast Chakra Magic BEFORE you cast lance.
 * enables you to split push even better, as you will be able to rejoin fights very quickly. It could also potentially save your life if you get initiated on and they lose track of the real PL for a couple of seconds.


 * Should you manage to surround an enemy with illusions, a well-timed can deal an instant 980 physical nuke without Dazzle even being close.
 * Most of PL's damage is physical, will do wonders to turn your soft-hitting illusions into fearsome right-clickers.
 * Due to his chaotic nature, it can be very hard to finish off a PL if the enemy has already blown off their AOE spells. A timely can allow PL to get off a  and run away to safety, then, with a heal or two, go back into the fight fearlessly... A strategy that applies to a ton of carries with any kind of mobility.


 * Reason


 * Reason

Others

 * Although it can be interesting to stack up on mana-depleting abilities to render your opponents unable to cast any spells, don't forget that before you get considerably farmed, most of your illusions' damage will come from burning away your opponent's mana. A in  with full hp and no mana is arguably more fearsome than the same Sven with full hp and full mana, since you can easily dodge the  and purge away his . At the very least, he's tankier.
 * Chaotic, prolonged fights are usually the ones where PL excels, rather than huge bursts of AOE. A prolonged fight against a PL should result in the enemy having no mana left to cast spell, which should allow the rest of your team to finish them off if you don't have enough damage yourself. Considering bringing in that charging or a  to help create more chaos.
 * Entry

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