Phantom Lancer/Counters

Bad against...

 * helps locking down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
 * combined with clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
 * Phantom Lancer's low health in the early game makes him a frequent target for.


 * '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.
 * together with reflects Phanton Lancer's damage and quickly destroys his illusions.


 * and '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.
 * Earthshaker's AoE abilities can quickly kill Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * with gives Cleave to help destroy illusions.


 * , allows Ember Spirit to destroy all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * 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.


 * clears Phantom Lancer's illusion easily as it deals bonus damage to more targets.
 * can be used on an allied hero or Grimstoke himself to stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
 * has an undispellable debuff that can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer. It also prevents him from using Doppelganger.


 * and destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.


 * combined with attack modifiers such as or  makes a quick work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * will stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions if they're near a tree.


 * Jakiro's AoE abilities are great against Phantom Lancer:
 * slows down and damages Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
 * will not only deal AoE damage but also lowers Phantom Lancer's attack speed.
 * and combo can easily clear all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * Jakiro can predict Doppelganger and on top.


 * 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.
 * Meepo aims to end the game as early as possible, while Phantom Lancer is a lategame hero.
 * This also means that, in the late game, Meepo stands no chance against Phantom Lancer.


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


 * Pangolier's AoE abilities especially, are very effective against Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * Phoenix's AoE abilities can prove troublesome for Phantom Lancer.
 * dramatically reduces 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 and Doppelganger'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 chase down 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.
 * However, is usually a non-issue against Doppelganger.


 * Storm Spirit has multiple AoE abilities to deal with Phantom Lancer, especially with.
 * 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 makes 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.
 * An upgraded  slows down and reduces all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.


 * All Timbersaw's abilities deal AoE pure damage and can easily deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * highly negates Phantom Lancer's physical damage, making him having a hard time killing Timbersaw.


 * and makes a quick work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * helps clear illusions and protects Void Spirit from Phantom Lancer's physical damage and with the upgrade, it prevents Phantom Lancer from casting his abilities.
 * Void's Spirit mobility makes it hard for him to chase down with Phantom Rush.


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

Others

 * 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 and mutes 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.
 * 's is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
 * Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down:, , , and
 * Heroes with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions:

Items

 * Both and  will completely negate the damage of Phantom Lancer's illusions, even when Phantom Lancer has a considerable farm.
 * 's cleave damage helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * prevents Phantom Lancer from proccing Juxtapose places an undispellable debuff which helps identify the real Phantom Lancer.
 * 's burn aura helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions, and its blind chance provides some protection from his right clicks.
 * 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 reduce Phantom Lancer's attack speed and regeneration.
 * helps his victims get off an escape ability.
 * reveals the real hero as it is not dispellable and negates the safety of his many illusions, so the enemy can focus him down.
 * 's AoE root prevents Phantom Lancer and his illusions from using Doppelganger.

Good against...

 * One of Arc Warden's hardest counters, Arc Warden, who has primarily single target damage, will struggle tremendously against Phantom Lancer:
 * is paused if even one illusion remains near Phantom Lancer. It can also be dispelled with.
 * Phantom Lancer can also easily dodge an activated, or use his illusions to trigger it safely.
 * allows Lancer to quickly close gap to 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 and.
 * There are usually way too many illusions for Batrider to lasso the real Phantom Lancer, since the illusions' hitboxes also body block the real Phantom Lancer.


 * 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 and drain his already low mana pool.


 * . 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.


 * lets Phantom Lancer instantly escape from.
 * is one of the most reliable ways to dodge, other than spell immunity.
 * dispels.
 * However, even with the negation of the rest of his kit, (especially when upgraded with ) remains as one of the strongest lockdowns against Phantom Lancer, and as such Disruptor must never be underestimated.


 * Aside from his ultimate, Lifestealer has no AoE abilities to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions, nor does he have the mobility to escape.
 * dispels.
 * Phantom Lancer usually builds, which a problem for a low already mana hero like Lifestealer.


 * Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear lack mobility, and are easy overwhelmed after being slowed by.
 * is useless since Phantom Lancer can return to fight him again with his.


 * Although Outworld Destroyer will typically destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions in one shot, Phantom Lancer spawns too many of them for Outworld Destroyer to deal with. However, be careful about initating on Outworld, as will erase your illusions and deal massive damage to you. He can then follow up with  and.


 * Phantom Lancer creates way too many illusions for Pugna's to destroy, overwhelming him easily.
 * can dodge or dispel.
 * is a common item for Phantom Lancer to burn Pugna's large mana pool and deals a large amount of damage in the process.


 * 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.
 * 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.
 * He also has no ways of dealing with the illusions, since Decay doesn't steal strength from illusions.


 * 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.
 * Although Phantom Lancer should be wary due to applying Break.


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


 * lets Phantom Lancer drain Wraith King's mana, preventing from triggering until he buys an.
 * Wraith King is bad against illusions-based heroes, as is his only single-target disable and can get overwhelmed easily.
 * can disjoint.

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 :, ,
 * Illusions can be sent out to destroy mines.

Items

 * Some items with dispellable debuffs such as, , or can be dispelled by Doppelganger.

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 lots of 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.
 * , similar to Shallow Grave, allows Phantom Lancer to escape with Doppelganger and heal up with and.


 * 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