Phoenix/Counters

Bad against...

 * Night Stalker is a hard counter to Phoenix. His will slow Phoenix to a cripple (and interrupt  if it hits during it), his  makes escape impossible (especially with its 8 second duration at night), and his  gives him high movement and attack speed, the tools needed to take down a vulnerable.


 * Huskar's will let him easily face down a  with his high magic resistance and increasing attack speed.  may not be an easy escape from Huskar either as, if well timed, can chase Phoenix during it with.


 * Ursa can easily unleash a number of attacks in an incredibly short amount of time, easily destroying the in a couple of seconds. His  also dampens any damage Phoenix might toss at his direction, as well as remove any debuffs Phoenix may place on him.


 * Silencer will most likely disrupt your initiation with his ultimate,, prevent escape with his , and if Phoenix happens to die to him (or near him) enough times, he would sap Phoenix' much needed Intelligence to make him a stronger foe and Phoenix with less mana than it already had.


 * will give full spell immunity and high attack speed, all things to protect Lifestealer against anything Phoenix may retaliate with, however he may fall short on chasing if Phoenix dives away, unless he purchases.

Others

 * Any Hero with high attack speed (whether naturally or through abilities) such as or  will be a threat to Phoenix when it initiates, as they can easily tear down a Supernova, perhaps even while debuffed by.
 * Silence (and mana burns) will be a persistent problem for Phoenix, as it is heavily reliant on its abilities whether defensively or offensively, so Heroes like, , even must be closely observed to prevent being shut down by these Heroes.
 * is unlike any other multi-unit enemy Phoenix may face in the battlefield. Unlike illusion-based Heroes like or, Meepo's clones are not illusions, meaning they can deal full damage to the Phoenix Sun if all four (or five) are present. Their naturally high magic resistance may also make it more difficult for Phoenix to fight back.
 * is similar to Meepo in that his is not an illusion, rather a full Hero. While it may not be as great of a threat than Meepo is, it can still be the difference between a successful and a failed Supernova.
 * , while not a hard counter to Phoenix, is still quite the threat. While can be easily avoided, if it does hit, its lengthy silence and pure damage can be a severe punishment for a slow, unobservant, or simply unfortunate Phoenix. His  can turn  into a suicide option, and it cannot be dispelled, meaning even if Phoenix completes a Supernova, choosing to Dive may just cut its health back down.
 * Since all of Phoenix' abilities (except for ) have health costs, Heroes like or  can turn Phoenix' abilities against it. However, Supernova does completely protect Phoenix from, even fully heal it while having the debuff on (but does not dispel it).

Items

 * will completely nullify a Hero to Phoenix' offensive spells, even the Pure damage.
 * , as mentioned earlier with silences, will prevent Phoenix escaping or retaliating, but it will also make it more vulnerable to damage thanks to its damage amplification.
 * can turn any Hero into a severe threat as its granted high attack speed can spell the end for a misplaced.
 * will make a whole enemy team more resilient against Phoenix' DPS, however its slow debuffs and Sun Ray's Pure damage can still go through.

Good against...

 * Her charges can and will be easily burned away by Phoenix' damage over time abilities, and  can't protect her from Phoenix' AoE abilities, even without detection.


 * Although it may seem threatening, an army of Phantom Lancer illusions will not be a problem for Phoenix as cannot be destroyed by illusions. Even without it,  can slow an entire army down and destroy them easily as they take more damage than the main hero.


 * While her does give extra attack speed, she cannot use the ability against the Phoenix Sun, and while her  may protect her from auto-attacks, Phoenix' strong DPS and attack speed slow can easily render her helpless.


 * Legion Commander relies on her powerful auto-attack and her to be effective. But if Phoenix gets the jump on her first, she can find herself severely slowed, taking heavy damage, and find herself unable to Duel a burning.

Others

 * Heroes who depend on auto-attacks (mostly carries like or ) can be nullified by ' attack speed slow.
 * High magic resistance can be a problem for Phoenix as most of its abilities deal Magical damage, but deals Pure, so Heroes like,  or  should still be wary of this ability if they are low on health.
 * Illusion-based Heroes such as or  are vulnerable to Phoenix' DPS and attack speed slow, as their illusions, no matter how many, will be unable to deal enough damage to actually be a threat, and they will be useless against.

Works well with...

 * Enigma's can set up the perfect situation for Phoenix to use all of its AoE abilities, but most importantly, protect the Phoenix Sun, disabling the whole enemy team and letting it complete its duration to deal full damage and stun.


 * Good positioning timing is required in this combination as can be the perfect set-up for  to deal full damage or protect the.


 * is very effective when combined with Phoenix' damage over time abilities, and if the whole team is affected by it and all of Phoenix' debuffs, it can very easily end in a teamwipe. and  can also help set-up an initiation for Phoenix and cripple the enemy for it.


 * Lifestealer can hide inside Phoenix with and surprise enemies with an initiation with.


 * Sven can be seen as a good protector of the Phoenix Sun as he can charge in, stun with and kill an entire team if they are too distracted in destroying it, thanks to his  and.

Others

 * Any Hero with a large AoE disable can make a very good combination with Phoenix, such as, , and.
 * Magical damage amplification complements Phoenix' abilities very well, and make facing the even more deadly to the enemy, thus abilities like, , and items like  are effective when paired with Phoenix.

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