Phantom Lancer counter and synergy picks
Pick Phantom Lancer with Wraith King to increase win-rate from 47.9% to 55.4% or against Chen to increase win-rate to 58.7% in Patch 7.38c.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.38c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
7.5% | |
3.8% | |
3.5% | |
3.3% | |
3.1% | |
2.8% | |
2.8% | |
2.7% | |
2.3% | |
2.3% | |
2.3% | |
2.1% | |
2.1% | |
2.1% | |
2.1% |
...based on gameplay [up-to-date]
Chakra Magic reduces PL’s cooldowns (especially Doppelganger), helping him spam abilities and create more illusions faster.
Great for mana sustain and wave clear and defending towers.
Ink Swell on PL gives him a strong diving tool -- stuns enemies and buffs his engage.
Soulbind can lock down multiple heroes for PL to swarm.
Decay lowers enemy health, allowing Phantom Lancer to kill them easier without burst damage.
Tombstone'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.
...counter items [up-to-date]
A core Boots upgrade to improve your mobility and damage output with attack speed and stats. Helps you farm much faster with illusions as well as save mana through stats toggling.
A core item to burn the mana of enemy heroes with your hero and illusions. Also boosts your damage output and illusions damage output as well as providing great stats.
A core item that gives you mobility and damage through stats. Also gives you a dispel and the ability to split push lanes with more illusions.
A core item to boost your farming speed and damage in fights with Spirit Lance bouncing on multiple units to create more illusions.
A core item to make your hero and your illusions extremely tanky with HP pool and regen. Makes it extremely difficult for the enemy team to deal with your illusions.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.38c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
10.8% | |
9.3% | |
8.8% | |
8.2% | |
7.6% | |
7.2% | |
7.1% | |
6.0% | |
5.4% | |
5.2% | |
5.1% | |
4.8% | |
4.7% | |
4.6% | |
4.6% |
...based on gameplay [up-to-date]
Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy Refraction charges very quickly.
Diffusal Blade, his core item, drains Templar Assassin's small mana pool, rendering her unable to save herself with Meld.
Phantom Lancer's many illusions will easily destroy Tombstone, provided he has sufficient farm.
He also has no ways of dealing with the illusions, since Decay doesn't steal strength from illusions.
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 Open Wounds.
Phantom Lancer usually builds Diffusal Blade, which a problem for a low already mana hero like Lifestealer.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.38c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-7.7% | |
-7.6% | |
-6.9% | |
-6.2% | |
-5.9% | |
-5.1% | |
-4.8% | |
-4.2% | |
-4.1% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.7% | |
-3.7% | |
-3.5% | |
-3.2% | |
-3.2% |
...based on gameplay [up-to-date]
Atrophy Aura reduces BASE attack damage and PL being an Illusion hero greatly benefits from stacking Agility and increasing his Base damage and Attack Speed to empowers his Illusions. Agility stacking means high armor so both Firestorm and Pit of Malice are great at providing reliable Magic damage and Crowd Control for him and his Illusions due to their AOE properties.
Leshrac's AoE abilities destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova require no targeting, thus hitting Phantom Lancer whenever he's nearby.
Jakiro's AoE abilities are great against Phantom Lancer:
Dual Breath slows down and damages Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
Liquid Fire will not only deal AoE damage but also lowers Phantom Lancer's attack speed.
Ice Path and Macropyre combo can easily clear all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Jakiro can predict Doppelganger and Ice Path on top.
...counter items [up-to-date]
Gives you tankiness to take less damage from right clicks from Phantom Lancer and his illusions to trade HP more effectively.
Helps you sustain HP and mana as Phantom Lancer frequently uses his spells to harass, secure last hits, and survive.
Gives you AoE damage with Chain Lightning procs to kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Gives you cleave damage on right clicks to kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Gives you debuff immunity and magic resistance to avoid your mana getting burnt from Diffusal Blade as well as reduce the damage taken from Spirit Lance buffed with Aghanims Scepter.
Gives you AoE lockdown and damage with Chain Lightning procs to catch and kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Lets you kite Phantom Lancer and his illusions by protecting yourself or an ally against their right clicks through invisibility.
Lets you kite Phantom Lancer and his illusions by protecting yourself against their right clicks in Ethereal form.
Lets you kill one of Phantom Lancers illusions as well as have an instant disable against him to burst him down in its duration before he uses Doppelganger to cause confusion and get away.
Lets you save an ally from the right clicks and Diffusal Blade mana burn from Phantom Lancer and his illusions. Can also be used to burst him down with heavy magic damage as a follow up.
Gives you attack speed and AoE damage with Chain Lightning procs to kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Gives you tankiness and AoE damage with Arctic Blast to kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Gives you evasion and AoE damage with the Radiance Burn to kill Phantom Lancer and his illusions much quicker.
Gives you armor and evasion to defend yourself against right clicks from Phantom Lancer and his illusions with the tankiness and miss chance.
Gives armor to your team and buildings to take less damage from Phantom Lancer and his illusions to nullify his kill and push potential.
Gives you AoE damage and control to slow down and kill Phantom Lancer as well as his illusions.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.38c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-6.9% | |
-6.2% | |
-6.1% | |
-5.8% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.3% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.6% | |
-4.5% | |
-3.9% | |
-3.7% | |
-3.5% | |
-3.3% |
