Phantom Lancer/Counters

Bad against...

 * helps locks down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
 * clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.


 * 's tankiness makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to finish off.
 * destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions. Its passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with.


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


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


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


 * clears out Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
 * A smart Luna will often wait until Phantom Lancer's illusions are cleared, then she activate to finish real one.


 * Multiple s will destroy illusions quickly.
 * can is an AoE root, and can catch Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.


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


 * 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.
 * deals Pure damage to all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * 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.


 * stays on Phantom Lancer regardless of any illusions he spawns. It cannot be dispelled by Doppelganger,, or removed by spell immunity.
 * has an extremely wide radius, and deals fair damage to illusions.


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


 * destroys illusions, avoids Spirit Lance, and makes Spirit Storm 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.


 * 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.

Others

 * Heroes with debuffs that can't be purged with Doppelganger 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.
 * 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 hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: ,

Items

 * 's cleave damage helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
 * '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, however, there are very little chance to apply break on 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.

Good against...

 * is paused if even one illusion remains near Phantom Lancer. It can also be dispelled with Doppelganger.
 * Phantom Lancer and his clones are able to quickly drain Arc Warden of his mana with a . This means Warden's will also summon without mana.


 * Doppelganger dispels.


 * 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 magic 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 purged and slowed by.


 * Slark has no sustained AOE to fight off illusions as they continually spawn. Furthermore, he rarely ever builds  nor . Also,  cannot steal attributes from illusions.
 * Phantom Lancer has two ways to dodge Slark's spells: and, although the leash from  cannot be dispelled.
 * can give vision of Slark via spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from.
 * If Slark tries to use Pounce to get away from Phantom Lancer, he can easily catch up to Slark with.


 * Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy charges very quickly.


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


 * 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 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 25.

Others

 * Heroes with a strong reliance on single target damage and no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer:, , , , ,
 * 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.
 * 's armor reduction turns Phantom Lancer's soft-hitting illusions into fearsome right-clickers.
 * 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 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 before using Spirit Lance.
 * enables Phantom Lancer to split push even better, as he will be able to rejoin fights very quickly. It could also save Phantom Lancer's life if he is able to elude or confuse the enemy for a few seconds.


 * '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.