Bane
* Jakiro relies entirely on dealing damage through his area-of-effect abilities, making 
Enfeeble less effective against him, although it will still reduce his cast range.
* An ill-timed 
Nightmare can give Jakiro a good setup for all of his ablities.
* Jakiro can easily cancel 
Fiend's Grip with 
Ice Path, as Bane is very easy target while channeling it.
* 
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Macropyre can deal pure damage-over-time and pierce spell immunity, which can discourage Bane from even trying to use Fiend's Grip.
Additional:
* Jakiro relies entirely on dealing damage through his area-of-effect abilities, making Enfeeble less effective against him, although it will still reduce his cast range.
* An ill-timed Nightmare can give Jakiro a good setup for all of his ablities.
* Jakiro can easily cancel Fiend's Grip with Ice Path, as Bane is very easy target while channeling it.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Macropyre can deal pure damage-over-time and pierce spell immunity, which can discourage Bane from even trying to use Fiend's Grip.
Phantom Lancer
* Jakiro's spells inflict AoE damage, meaning he can take down Phantom Lancer's illusion army very quickly.
* Bear in mind, however, that once Phantom Lancer buys 
Diffusal Blade which can burn Jakiro's mana, Jakiro will be vulnerable to Phantom Lancer 's counter-attacks if he runs out of mana.
Additional:
* 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.
Bane
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: 
Crystal Maiden, 
Witch Doctor, 
Bane, 
Pugna, 
Pudge.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's many illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Additional:
* 
Echo Slam deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Earthshaker's AoE abilities can quickly kill Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Enchant Totem with Aghanim's Scepter gives Cleave to help destroy illusions.
Bane
* Heroes who commonly buy 
Linken's Sphere: 
Luna, 
Weaver, 
Morphling, 
Queen of Pain, 
Ember Spirit.
Phantom Lancer
* Sleight of Fist is the natural counter to Phantom Lancer's army of illusions, especially when combined with 
Battle Fury.
Additional:
* 
Sleight of Fist, allows Ember Spirit to destroy all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Flame Guard also deals significant damage to illusions, and protects against Spirit Lance.
* Phantom Rush is unable to catch Ember Spirit when he teleports to his 
Fire Remnants.
Bane
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane, Pudge, Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, 
Enigma.
Phantom Lancer
* Stroke of Fate's damage increases the more units are hit by it, making it effective against Phantom Lancer's army of illusions.
* Phantom's Embrace and Ink Swell's stun can prevent Phantom Lancer from escaping with 
Doppelganger if properly timed.
* If he has already used Doppelganger, Soulbind can tie Phantom Lancer to one of his own illusions to keep him in place, or to ensure a kill if Grimstroke's team is unsure which one is the real hero.
Additional:
* 
Stroke of Fate clears Phantom Lancer's illusion easily as it deals bonus damage to more targets.
* 
Ink Swell can be used on an allied hero or Grimstoke himself to stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
* 
Soulbind has an undispellable debuff that can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer. It also prevents him from using Doppelganger.
Bane
* Hex abilities can cancel the channelling of Fiend's Grip : 
Lion, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Dazzle from 
Aghanim's Shard with upgraded 
Poison Touch.
Phantom Lancer
* Lion may upgrade 
Mana Drain, 
Hex and 
Finger of Death through Talent Tree and Aghanim's itens to make them affect secondary targets or turn them into AoE abilities. This can make things difficult for heroes like 
Phantom Lancer, 
Naga Siren and 
Terrorblade, who rely on illusion armies.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's lack of disables makes it hard for him to stop Echo Stomp's channelling.
* However, due to the long cast time of his abilities, a good Phantom Lancer can use 
Manta Style and/or Doppelganger to dodge the abilities.
* Phantom Lancer's high agility and relatively low strength make him very vulnerable to Natural Order.
* Additionally, Echo Stomp and Earth Splitter can clear his wave of illusions.
* Should Phantom Lancer tries to increase his health by investing for 
Heart of Tarrasque, Earth Splitter does more damage to him and his illusions.
Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: 
Outworld Destroyer, 
Shadow Demon, 
Tusk, 
Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
Phantom Lancer
* Phoenix's AoE abilities can prove troublesome for Phantom Lancer.
* 
Fire Spirits dramatically reduces Phantom Lancer and his illusions' attack speed.
* 
Icarus Dive's movement speed reduction makes retreating difficult.
* 
Supernova burns away illusions, and is invulnerable to attacks from illusions.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: 
Disruptor, 
Death Prophet, Enigma, 
Faceless Void, 
Invoker, 
Lich, 
Magnus, 
Mars, 
Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, 
Puck, Queen of Pain, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Treant Protector, 
Underlord, 
Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, 
Zeus.
Bane
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip can be instantly dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
* Bane lacks mobility, therefore becoming helpless when silenced by Curse of Avernus.
Additional:
* 
Aphotic Shield applies a strong dispel on the allied target and can be used to remove both Fiend's Grip & Nightmare.
* 
Borrowed Time applies a strong dispel on Abaddon and can instantly remove both Fiend's Grip & Nightmare when activated.
* Bane, when caught by 
Curse of Avernus will struggle to escape because of his innately low mobility.
Phantom Lancer
* Leshrac can easily clear Phantom Lancer's illusions with his huge area of effect damage.
Additional:
* 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.
Phantom Lancer
* Berserker's Call catches Phantom Lancer when he is hidden among his illusions.
* Counter Helix quickly destroys Phantom Lancer's illusion army. The more illusions there are, the more often Counter Helix is triggered.
* Phantom Lancer's low early game health makes him an easy target for Culling Blade.
Additional:
* 
Berserker's Call helps locking down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
* 
Counter Helix combined with 
Blade Mail clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
* Phantom Lancer's low health in the early game makes him a frequent target for 
Culling Blade.
Phantom Lancer
* Bristleback'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.
* Quill Spray quickly destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bristleback's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with Diffusal Blade.
Additional:
* 
Bristleback'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.
* 
Quill Spray destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bristleback's passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with Diffusal Blade.
Phantom Lancer
* His illusions will kill themselves in a few hits because of Retaliate. The nukes from Hoof Stomp and Double-Edge should be enough to clear them for a large portion of the game
* Centaur Warrunner's small mana pool makes Diffusal Blade's damage much lower once Centaur doesn't have any more mana left to burn. Keep in mind that Double Edge does not cost mana.
* Be wary when chasing down Phantom Lancer. Hoof Stomp's terrible cast time makes it quite easy to dodge with Doppelganger.
Additional:
* 
Hoof Stomp and 
Double Edge makes short work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Retaliate together with Blade Mail reflects Phanton Lancer's damage and quickly destroys his illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* Tidebringer, Torrent and Ghostship destroys Phantom Lancer's illusion army.
* Phantom Lancer can't escape with Doppelganger under your X Marks the Spot, but can use it to dodge it.
Additional:
* 
Tidebringer and Kunkka's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip is a powerful but channeled ability, making it useful and easy to 
Spell Steal and interrupt with 
Telekinesis.
* Stolen Fiend's Grip or Nightmare combined with 
Arcane Supremacy allows Rubick to disable Bane's allies for a longer period of time.
* As a natural Aghanim's Scepter carrier, Rubick can steal an upgraded Fiend's Grip and deal lots of damage to Bane's allies.
Phantom Lancer
* All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
* However, 
Epicenter is usually a non-issue against Doppelganger.
Phantom Lancer
* The dragon's splash damage wears down his illusions.
* Early harassment with Breath of Fire hinders his farming.
* Fireball stops his pushes and allows for a defence.
Additional:
* 
Breathe Fire and 
Elder Dragon Form's splash damage takes out Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
* If Dragon Knight can 
Dragon Tail the real Phantom Lancer, he and his team can quickly kill him before he has a chance to escape.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Great Cleave and 
God's Strength destroys illusions in just a few hits.
* 
Storm Hammer'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 Diffusal Blade. This is further reduced by the armor bonus from 
Warcry.
Additional:
* Great Cleave and God's Strength cuts through Phantom Lancer's illusions in no time.
* Storm Hammer's AoE stun will hit Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Bushwhack will stun and make a quick work of Phantom Lancer and his illusion when he's near a tree.
* 
Sharpshooter breaks 
Juxtapose and deals hefty damage.
* Sharpshooter ignores Illusions and will only damage and breaks the real phantom lancer, when used right, this will allow you to reveal the real phantom lancer amongst his Illusions
Additional:
* 
Acorn Shot combined with attack modifiers such as 
Maelstrom or 
Daedalus makes a quick work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Bushwhack will stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions if they're near a tree.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Plasma Field can destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions or damage them heavily.
* 
Static Link cannot be broken even with Doppelganger, serving as a marker for the real Phantom Lancer.
* 
Storm Surge gives Razor's high mobility to chase down Phantom Lancer making Spirit Lance and Diffusal Blade slow useless.
* 
Eye of the Storm along with Aghanim's Scepter can quickly reduce Phantom Lancer's armor.
Additional:
* Plasma Field and Eye of the Storm clears most of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Static Link is not dispelled by Doppelganger or Manta Style which can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer while also draining his base damage.
* Razor's high mobility with Storm Surge makes it hard for Phantom Lancer to chase down with 
Phantom Rush. When upgraded with Aghanim's Shard, it makes a quick work of his illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* Snapfire's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Bane
* Hex abilities can cancel the channelling of Fiend's Grip : Lion, Shadow Shaman, Dazzle from Aghanim's Shard with upgraded Poison Touch.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that rely on illusions typically spawn very strong illusions inside Dark Seer Wall of Replica that he can use against them or their team: Phantom Lancer, 
Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Terrorblade.
Additional:
* 
Ion Shell helps taking down illusions quickly, making it easy to identify the real Phantom Lancer.
* 
Surge allows Dark Seer and his teammates to run away from Phantom Lancer, who relies on his Phantom Rush to chase enemies.
Bane
* Heroes with strong dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: 
Oracle, 
Legion Commander, 
Omniknight.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summoned units don't fare well against Dawnbreaker. (Phantom Lancer ,
Beastmaster ,
Lycan).
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded 
Brain Sap: 
Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, 
Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, 
Visage, 
Warlock, 
Wraith King.
Bane
* Heroes with single-target abilities will be overwhelmed by Lycan and his summons: Wraith King, Bane, 
Phantom Assassin.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down: 
Timbersaw, 
Axe, 
Bristleback, 
Alchemist and Underlord
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes the make heavy use of illusions, like Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, or 
Spectre can suffer from Crystal Maiden, as Freezing Field can quickly kill off the entire horde if not stopped.
Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
Phantom Lancer
* Shadow Demon's 
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* 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:
* 
Doom's 
Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* 
Bloodseeker's 
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* 
Ancient Apparition's 
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* 
Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* 
Monkey King's 
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer's strength is the sheer amount of illusions he can conjure, Dissimulate can be cast on an ally that he is focusing to quickly thin out his ranks
* Landing a upgraded Demonic Purge on the real Phantom Lancer prevents him from making very many illusions (His only source being Doppelganger), You can reapply as needed if you have the Shard
* Disrupting Phantom Lancer allows you to create multiple extra illusions with Juxtapose, As he is a common carrier of Diffusal Blade, you can also drain the mana of any nearby heros
Phantom Lancer
* Although Phantom Lancer will generate strong illusions, and you can also break his Juxtapose with an Aghanim's Demonic Purge, you have a small chance of guessing which is the real Phantom Lancer after he uses Doppelganger.
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Bane
* Heroes who are entirely reliant on dealing physical damage and/or have very little to no area-of-effect abilities will make Underlord tickle and will have no effect against him thanks to his 
Atrophy Aura, and will also be unable to ambush Underlord and his team if Underlord chooses to use 
Fiend's Gate to get to a designated point of the map: Phantom Assassin, Terrorblade, 
Troll Warlord, 
Drow Ranger, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, 
Sven, Wraith King, 
Bounty Hunter, Alchemist, 
Templar Assassin, 
Nyx Assassin, Bane.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down: Timbersaw, Axe, Bristleback, Alchemist and Underlord
Additional:
* 
Firestorm is very useful for clearing multiple Phantom Lancer's illusions swiftly.
* 
Pit of Malice will continuously disrupt many of Phantom Lancer's illusions, drastically reducing their damage and potency.
* Atrophy Aura reduces damage of both Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
* Phantom Lancer has nothing to stop Underlord and his team to escape with Fiend's Gate, nor to intercept them if Undelord chooses to use Fiend's Gate to get to the designated points of the map.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* As long as Windranger is able to identify the real hero among the illusions, heroes relying on them can be easily tagged with Focus Fire: Chaos Knight, Terrorblade, Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren.
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Bane
* Though Bane's Enfeeble can weaken Luna's physical damage output, it still does not weaken her magical damage output, although it will still reduce her cast range.
* Without 
Black King Bar, Luna's 
Lucent Beam and 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun talent for 
Eclipse can be used to disable Bane while he is channeling Fiend's Grip.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun can repetively stun Bane, and can even discourage him from even trying to use Fiend's Grip.
Additional:
* Though Bane's Enfeeble can weaken Luna's physical damage output, it still does not weaken her magical damage output (although it can still disable her cast range).
* Without Black King Bar, Luna's Lucent Beam and 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun talent for Eclipse can be used to disable Bane while he is channeling Fiend's Grip.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse combined with 0.25 Eclipse Mini-stun can repetively stun Bane, and can even discourage him from even trying to use Fiend's Grip.
* Smart and skilled Luna can buy 
Abyssal Blade to cancel Fiend's Grip even through Black King Bar in case of emergency. Forcing Bane to buy Linken's Sphere.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusions and summons are double-edge sword type of matchup for Luna. On one hand, they can tank damage from Eclipse, but on the other hand, she can easily clear them before Eclipse with Moon Glaives. Examples include Spectre, Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade) or bring other units into the fight (such as Nature's Prophet, 
Lone Druid, 
Chen, 
Enchantress, 
Meepo and 
Arc Warden).
Phantom Lancer
* Even though Luna can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions with Moon Glaives, Phantom Lancer can create too many illusions to tank Luna's Eclipse and for Luna to handle overall.
* Doppelganger can be used to dodge a number of Lucent Beams during Eclipse.
* Phantom Lancer can chase Luna effectively regardless of her high movement speed thanks to Phantom Rush and 
Spirit Lance.
* Luna's low health pool is easily exploited by the sheer damage output from Phantom Lancer's illusions. Additionally, Phantom Lancer can often create more illusions for Luna to handle.
Bane
* Both 
Infernal Blade and Doom can be used to disable Bane while he is channeling Fiend's Grip.
* A similar effect can be achieved by using 
Devour on {U:Centaur Conqueror}, which will give him access to 
War Stomp.
Phantom Lancer
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* 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:
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions can make it difficult to Doom the real hero. Should Doom figure out the real hero, the illusions can make it difficult to cast any abilities, as their hitboxes can be used to body-block the real Phantom Lancer.
* Phantom Lancer is an ideal Diffusal Blade carrier. With it, he can quite easily deplete Doom's already poor mana pool, potentially making him unable to cast his abilities to escape, retaliate or heal.
* Doom lacks any effective ability to clear waves of creeps and illusions, as the vast majority of his abilities are single-target. Without an answer, Doom may find it difficult to deal with Phantom Lancer's presence.
Phantom Lancer
* Poof will destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions within a short time.
* Earthbind prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.
Additional:
* 
Poof from multiple Meepos will destroy illusions quickly.
* 
Earthbind'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.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: 
Anti-Mage, 
Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, 
Gyrocopter, 
Juggernaut, Meepo, 
Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, 
Riki, Shadow Fiend, 
Slark, 
Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Laser prevents Juxtapose from triggering, as it only triggers on successful attacks
* Laser does high splash, and upgrading it with Aghanim's Scepter makes it deal twice as much damage due to the bounce. Combined with Rearm, Tinker can rapidly deplete Phantom Lancer's illusion army
* However, if Phantom Lancer ambushes Tinker, Tinker will not survive versus Phantom Lancer.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion heroes, such as Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade will become strong against Tinker in the late game. Without Aghanim's Scepter Tinker is forced to defensively disarm heroes with Laser, leaving illusions free to deal physical damage which Tinker's low armor makes highly effective. In addition, 
Mjollnir or Battle Fury, two common pickups against illusion heroes, don't work well on Tinker at all.
Bane
* 
Insatiable Hunger's attack damage amplification can reduce the effectiveness of Enfeeble, and the Enfeeble will not weaken the magical damage output from 
Silken Bola, 
Spawn Spiderlings and 
Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, though it will still reduce their cast range.
* Bane's single-targeted arsenal of abilities make him an easy target for Broodmother and her Spiderlings.
* Broodmother often buys 
Orchid Malevolence and it's upgrade 
Bloodthorn, which allows her to cancel Fiend's Grip, and completely shut Bane down.
Additional:
* Insatiable Hunger's attack damage amplification can reduce the effectiveness of Enfeeble, and the Enfeeble will not weaken the magical damage output from Silken Bola, Spawn Spiderlings and Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, though it will still reduce their cast range.
* Bane's single-targeted arsenal of abilities make him an easy target for Broodmother and her Spiderlings.
* Broodmother often buys Orchid Malevolence and it's upgrade Bloodthorn, which allows her to cancel Fiend's Grip, and completely shut Bane down.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Phantom Assassin, Broodmother
Phantom Lancer
* 
Illusory Orb and 
Waning Rift are effective nukes against Phantom Lancer's illusions, especially in the early game.
* 
Dream Coil limits Phantom Rush and Doppelganger's mobility during teamfights.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Bane
* Even with Black King Bar, Pudge's 
Meat Hook and 
Dismember can still catch and disable Bane while he is channeling Fiend's Grip, breaking the channel as a result, Meat Hook can also be used to save targets affected by Bane's abilities.
* Dismember can disable Bane while channeling Fiend's Grip if Pudge is not targeted. Aghanim's Shard upgraded Dismember can also be used to save an allied hero that is targeted by Fiend's Grip.
* Pudge's high health and health regeneration allows him to survive through most of Bane's abilities.
Phantom Lancer
* Any heroes that naturally buy Diffusal Blade like Phantom Lancer or have a mana break talent is a big issue for Pudge because of his low mana pool.
Phantom Lancer
* Flak Cannon destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Additional:
* 
Flak Cannon and 
Call Down destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Storm Spirit has multiple AoE abilities to deal with Phantom Lancer, especially with Aghanim's Scepter.
* 
Ball Lightning destroys illusions, avoids Spirit Lance, and makes Storm Spirit very hard to catch, even with Phantom Rush.
Additional:
* Ball Lightning with or without the 
Static Remnant talent allows Storm Spirit to destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly. It is also easy to dodge Spirit Lance with Ball Lightning and makes Spirit Storm very hard to catch even with Phantom Rush.
Bane
* Wraith King, Medusa, 
Storm Spirit and other mana dependent heroes will have diminished impact on a fight if they survive Fiend's Grip due to its mana steal.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Empower helps Magnus' allies clear out illusions.
* 
Reverse Polarity and 
Skewer will pull Phantom Lancer along with his illusions, and reposition them together for easy nuking.
* 
Shockwave deals significant area damage in the early game,destroys phantoms and may even indicate the real Phantom Lancer.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Swashbuckle,Maelstrom or Diffusal Blade allow him to quickly destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Pangolier's high mobility allows him to easily escape from Phantom Lancer, through both Phantom Rush and Diffusal Blade.
* Phantom Rush will cause Phantom Lancer to be stunned by Rolling Thunder, or set himself up for a Shield Crash.
Additional:
* Pangolier's AoE abilities especially 
Shield Crash, are very effective against Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Bane
* Heroes with spell immunity can still be disabled by Fiend's Grip and damaged by Brain Sap: Juggernaut, 
Lifestealer, 
Pangolier.
Bane
* Heroes with strong dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: Oracle, Legion Commander, Omniknight.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who rely on illusions will see them destroyed easily by Overwhelming Odds: Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade, Naga Siren
Additional:
* 
Overwhelming Odds deals high damage to Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Duel's long duration prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.
Bane
* Bane has powerful single-target abilities that can help his allies win Duels, or at least cripple Legion Commander for the duration.
* Nightmare can waste Duel's entire duration as the dueled units transfer the Nightmare back and forth. This may be prevented if a non-Dueling unit attacks the Nightmared Dueler.
Additional:
* Enfeeble, Nightmare and Fiend's Grip all prevent Legion Commander from winning Duels, especially when Bane has 
Blink Dagger.
Bane
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with 
Death Ward and Bane's Fiend's Grip.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons and illusions can find themselves easily bested by Lina, like Broodmother, Nature's Prophet, Chen, Terrorblade, Naga Siren, Visage, Wraith King, Lycan, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger can be used to easily dodge Light Strike Array if timed correctly.
* While Lina can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions with her abilities, Phantom Lancer can quickly deplete Lina's mana pool with his illusions and deal massive damage from it simultaneously since Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier.
Bane
* Enfeeble weakens Viper's attack damage, any healing he receives and his cast range, which makes him unable to harass enemy heroes with 
Nethertoxin, 
Poison Attack and 
Viper Strike.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Viper, damaging him while healing Bane, which allows Bane to fight back against Viper's damage over time output, even through debuff immunity from Black King Bar.
* Viper's 
Corrosive Skin is useless against Bane as all of his damaging abilities deal Pure damage.
* Viper has no solutions to cancel Fiend's Grip and in addition, he hates buying disabling items like 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity.
Additional:
* Enfeeble weakens Viper's attack damage, any healing he receives and his cast range, which makes him unable to harass enemy heroes with Nethertoxin, Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
* Viper's Corrosive Skin is useless against Bane as all of his damaging abilities deal Pure damage.
* Viper has no solutions to cancel Fiend's Grip and in addition, he hates buying disabling items like Eul's Scepter of Divinity.
Phantom Lancer
* Although Viper Strike 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.
* Although Phantom Lancer should be wary due to Nethertoxin applying Break.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer can overwhelm Viper with spawned illusions from Spirit Lance and Doppelganger. In addition, Diffusal Blade, a core item on Phantom Lancer, burns Viper's limited mana pool, reducing his potential poison damage.
* Viper's various slows do not work against Phantom Rush. Additionally, it is almost impossible to keep Lancer inside Nethertoxin's radius in order to disable the passive.
Bane
* Bane can use Nightmare and Fiend's Grip to lock down Ursa early game and in team fights, forcing Ursa to buy a Black King Bar and making him very vulnerable to being kited once his Black King Bar is down to 6 seconds.
* Overall, Bane's potent disables force Ursa to build more defensive items and play more defensively in general.
Phantom Lancer
* Ursa has no sustained AoE to deal with illusions, it becomes worse since Phantom Lancer can create more illusions in a matter of seconds.
* Diffusal Blade can be used to drain Ursa mana. This is a standard item for Phantom Lancer in every match.
* Doppelganger applies basic dispel on Phantom Lancer, which will remove the slow from Earthshock. It also resets fights with more illusions, making hard for Ursa to hit the real Phantom Lancer.
* Manta Style creates two more illusions and also applies a basic dispel, further complicating the problem for Ursa to deal with.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip provides mana drain, which can heavily damage 
Mana Shield and prevent Medusa from using 
Stone Gaze.
* Even if she does use Stone Gaze, Nightmare can buy enough time to protect allies and reset the fight.
Additional:
* Fiend's Grip leaves Medusa defenseless, since not only does it deal damage, it also drains mana.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer with Diffusal Blade will very quickly burn Medusa's mana, making Mana Shield significantly less effective.
* Doppelganger's 1 second invulnerability can be used to dodge Medusa's petrification from Stone Gaze, as well as Mystic Snake.
* Phantom Lancer's illusions outnumber Medusa's targets from Split Shot, likely shielding his team in the process.
Bane
* Enfeeble greatly reduces Phantom Assassin's attack damage, and if her attack damage is weak, 
Coup De Grace will also suffer from attack damage reduction as well. Enfeeble also reduces cast range of Phantom Assassin's abilities, making her unable to harass with 
Stifling Dagger and to use 
Phantom Strike at longer distances.
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip can ground Phantom Assassin, who normally blinks around with Phantom Strike, and stop her from outputting damage.
* Phantom Assassin's low health pool early on makes her susceptible to {A|Brain Sap|Bane
Additional:
* Enfeeble greatly reduces Phantom Assassin's attack damage, and if her attack damage is weak, Coup De Grace will also suffer from attack damage reduction as well. Enfeeble also reduces any healing Phantom Assassin receives, making her unable to heal herself with Phantom Strike, and it also reduces cast range of Phantom Assassin's abilities, making her unable to harass with Stifling Dagger and to use Phantom Strike at longer distances.
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip can ground Phantom Assassin, who normally blinks around with Phantom Strike, and stop her from outputting damage, even with Black King Bar.
* Phantom Assassin's low health pool early on makes her susceptible to Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip's heavy nuke damage.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusions and summons can be hard for Phantom Assassin to deal with, as she lacks any AoE abilities to deal with them without items: Broodmother, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Shadow Shaman, Visage, Nature's Prophet, Terrorblade, Warlock, Wraith King.
Bane
* Even though Bane has no abilities to deal with multiple Chen's creeps, skilled Bane can easily counter this problem by going for Aghanim's Shard, which will allow Brain Sap to easily kill Chen's creeps and by buying either 
Gleipnir or Mjollnir.
* Fiend's Grip can disable Chen or any of his allies and often finish them before he can save them with 
Hand of God. And to make things worse, Chen has no way to cancel Fiend's Grip on his own, and must rely on outside from {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} under his control.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion and heroes with summons are difficult to kill with Chen's single-target offensive spells: Terrorblade, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Broodmother, Naga Siren, Lycan, Visage, Beastmaster, Warlock, Wraith King. And even though Chen can convert enemy summons with Holy Persuasion, their much greater numbers will often overwhelm Chen and his creeps.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger can dispel Leech Seed. It can also destroy large amounts of trees, counteracting Nature's Guise and Eyes in the Forest.
Bane
* Heroes who possess abilities that can save targets from being killed by Reaper's Scythe: 
Abaddon, Bane, Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Omniknight, etc.
Phantom Lancer
* Diffusal Blade is a core item on Phantom Lancer. And when combined with his numerous illusions, it allows him to rapidly deplete Necrophos's mana, rendering Necrophos incapable of doing anything.
* It can be difficult to single out the true Phantom Lancer among his army, giving Necrophos a hard time with aiming his ultimate.
* Even if his illusions are defeated, Phantom Lancer can simply create more of them at his disposal with almost no issues.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Rush lets Phantom Lancer get close quickly and disable Marksmanship.
* As Phantom Lancer commonly buys Manta Style, he can easily dispel Gust and then chase after Drow Ranger.
* Because Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier, he can easily burn Drow Ranger's mana and render her unable to use Frost Arrow and Gust to save herself.
Bane
* Heroes that can disable or silence Silencer for a long time, such as Bane and Legion Commander, can lock down Silencer while their allies put him down.
Phantom Lancer
* Due to Phantom Rush and Juxtapose being passives and not affected by silence, a Phantom Lancer with a Diffusal Blade can easily kill Silencer.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger is a very reliable tool against Glimpse, enabling him to dodge it consistently.
* Doppelganger also allows Phantom Lancer to escape from Kinetic Field so long as there isn't a Static Storm on top of him.
Additional:
* Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer instantly escape from 
Kinetic Field.
* Doppelganger is one of the most reliable ways to dodge 
Glimpse, other than spell immunity.
* Doppelganger dispels 
Thunder Strike.
* However, even with the negation of the rest of his kit, 
Static Storm (especially when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter) remains as one of the strongest lockdowns against Phantom Lancer, and as such Disruptor must never be underestimated.
Bane
* Heroes with spell immunity can still be disabled by Fiend's Grip and damaged by Brain Sap: Juggernaut, Lifestealer, Pangolier.
Additional:
* Enfeeble can weaken Lifestealer's Feast and may force him to cast Rage too quickly or itemize to dispel it.
* Fiend's Grip pierces through magic immunity and allows him to disable Lifestealer while in Rage.
Phantom Lancer
* Lifestealer will struggle to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions and will either be forced to use his abilities too quickly, or itemize too heavily for them.
* Phantom Lancer commonly builds Diffusal Blade, which poses a large problem to Lifestealer and his low mana pool, and can shut him down from even casting his abilities.
Additional:
* 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.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Carry heroes who can close the gap reliably are very problematic: Phantom Lancer, Ember Spirit, Phantom Assassin.
Bane
* Heroes with either magical, physical or pure damage burst: Bane, Ember Spirit, 
Leshrac, 
Lina, Luna, Nyx Assassin, Phantom Assassin, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Tinker, 
Ursa, 
Void Spirit.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirits's weak area-of-effect: Beastmaster, Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Additional:
* Fiend's Grip pierces spell immunity, rendering 
Blade Fury nearly useless.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion-based heroes are effective against Omnislash and Juggernaut's single-targeted damage: Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade,Phantom Lancer.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger dispels 
Sticky Napalm and 
Flamebreak.
* 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.
Bane
* After Brewmaster has committed Thunder Clap and Cinder Brew to gank, Bane can use Nightmare on Brewmaster to wait out the debuffs, and might even turn the tables by buying time for allied reinforcements.
* Bane can also prevent Brewmaster from using Primal Split with his long disables.
Bane
* Enfeeble can be used to decrease Shadow Fiend's already abysmal level one damage even further, preventing him from getting farm and 
Necromastery stacks.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Shadow Fiend, even through debuff immunity from Black King Bar.
* Nightmare allows Bane to set up some early ganks onto Shadow Fiend.
* Fiend's Grip enables Bane to completely take Shadow Fiend out of a fight and potentially even kill him, even through Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Enfeeble can be used to decrease Shadow Fiend's already abysmal level one damage even further, preventing him from getting farm and Necromastery stacks.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Shadow Fiend.
* Nightmare allows Bane to set up some early ganks onto Shadow Fiend.
* Fiend's Grip enables Bane to completely take Shadow Fiend out of a fight and potentially even kill him, even through Black King Bar.
Bane
* If Bane is outside 
Chronosphere, he can use Nightmare or Fiend's Grip to cripple Faceless Void inside.
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip are long duration disables and can render 
Time Walk's mobility very unreliable.
Phantom Lancer
* Ogre Magi has no undispellable AoE damage or disables and has nothing to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Doppelganger disjoints and dispels Ignite.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger dispels Flux.
* Phantom Rush closes the distance between Phantom Lancer and Arc Warden.
* Juxtapose can overwhelm Arc Warden and nullify his kit which is only effective against isolated enemies.
Additional:
* One of Arc Warden's hardest counters, Arc Warden, who has primarily single target damage, will struggle tremendously against Phantom Lancer:
* 
Flux is paused if even one illusion remains near Phantom Lancer. It can also be dispelled with Doppelganger.
* Phantom Lancer can also easily dodge an activated 
Spark Wraith, or use his illusions to trigger it safely.
* Phantom Rush allows Lancer to quickly close gap to get inside of Arc Warden's 
Magnetic Field.
* Phantom Lancer and his clones are able to quickly drain Arc Warden of his mana with a Diffusal Blade. This means Warden's 
Tempest Double will also be summoned without mana.
Phantom Lancer
* Void's slow is dispelled by Doppelganger or counteracted by Phantom Rush.
* Spirit Lance's and Diffusal Blade's slow reduces Night Stalker's mobility and helps him or his ally escape if they're inflicted by Void or Crippling Fear.
* Night Stalker has no AoE abilites to take out Phantom Lancer's illusions. Even if Night Stalker gets an Aghanim's Scepter, there will be way too many illusions for Night Stalker to handle.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's Doppelganger has a low cooldown and applies a basic dispel on PL, making it hard to keep Corrosive Haze on him.
* Phantom Lancer usually purchases Manta Style which provides another basic dispel to remove Corrosive Haze with.
* Besides Slithereen Crush, Slardar does not have another way to deal with illusions and has a low mana pool, which allows Phantom Lancer with Diffusal Blade to quickly build up illusions while draining Slardar's mana.
* Phantom Rush outruns Guardian Sprint, forcing Slardar to Blink away or use Slithereen Crush defensively to avoid being killed.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer has higher mobility and the ability to reset any fights with Doppelganger can be a nuisance for spectre to fight against.
* Phantom Lancer is a natural carrier of Diffusal Blade and Manta Style, which is outright nullify 
Desolate. In fact, Phantom Lancer will always have illusions with him at anytime, thus further exacerbated the problem.
* Although Spectre is largely AoE oriented, unfortunately, they are damage-over-time (DoT) rather than burst AoE damage. Without any effective ways to quickly destroy illusion and reveal the real hero, Spectre has little availability to manfight Phantom Lancer at any points in the game.
* Spectre often relies on 
Spectral Dagger as a pseudo-mobility skill. With her low mana pool and complete dependence on it to catch enemy team, she will soon find herself unable to do anything significant once her mana pool is completely drained.
* Doppelganger can be used to dispel the slow from Spectral Dagger, thus completely render it useless.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip prevents Anti-Mage from Blinking away or using Manta Style. It also pierces spell immunity.
* Nightmare sets Bane's team up for chain disables on Anti-Mage.
* Enfeeble lowers Anti-Mage's status resistance and magic resistance, making him more vulnerable to disables and magic damage.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer creates way too many illusions for Pugna's 
Life Drain to destroy, overwhelming him easily.
* Doppelganger can dodge 
Nether Blast or dispel 
Decrepify.
* Diffusal Blade is a common item for Phantom Lancer to burn Pugna's large mana pool and deals a large amount of damage in the process.
Additional:
* Though Life Drain instantly destroys illusions, Phantom Lancer creates way too many for Pugna to handle.
* A good Phantom Lancer will also dodge your Nether Blast with Doppelganger.
* Phantom Lancer is the most natural Diffusal Blade carrier to burn Pugna's very large pool of mana away and deal a large amount of damage in the process.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* 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
* Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear lack mobility, and are easy overwhelmed after being slowed by Diffusal Blade.
* 
Savage Roar is useless since Phantom Lancer can return to fight him again with his Phantom Rush.
Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger and Juxtapose allow Phantom Lancer to initiate on Outworld Destroyer, and, although Arcane Orb will normally destroy his illusions instantly, Phantom Lancer will spawn too many to deal with without using Sanity's Eclipse.
* Outworld Destroyer has very little AOE ability; His Astral Imprisonment with Aghanim's Scepter is his primary AOE, and it does too little damage to eliminate Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Additional:
* 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 
Sanity's Eclipse will erase your illusions and deal massive damage to you. He can then follow up with 
Astral Imprisonment and 
Meteor Hammer.
Bane
* Heroes who commonly buy Linken's Sphere: Luna, Weaver, Morphling, Queen of Pain, Ember Spirit.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer can effortlessly overwhelm Morphling with a large number of illusions. It becomes even more effective with {Item ID:Diffusal Blade}, which takes away his mana in the process.
* Doppelganger can be used to dodge Adaptive Strike combo and create confusion with two additional illusions.
* 
Eye of Skadi can be bought to slow and negate the health regeneration from Attribute Shift, and a common item for Phantom Lancer.
Phantom Lancer
* Battery Assault's damage is dispersed against Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Phantom Lancer can blink out of Power Cogs with Doppelganger.
* When chasing, a Phantom Lancer can close in with Phantom Rush and burn down Clockwerk's mana with Diffusal Blade, rendering him helpless before he has a chance to erect a defensive Power Cogs.
* Because Clockwerk does not like to buy items to deal with multiple enemies at once, like Battle Fury, Maelstrom and Mjollnir, he will be unable to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions coming from Juxtapose.
Additional:
* Doppelganger. lets Phantom Lancer jump in and out of 
Power Cogs.
* Clockwerk's low mobility makes him an easy target for Phantom Lancer to rush on, and overwhelm with clones.
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Bane
* Wraith King, Medusa, Storm Spirit and other mana dependent heroes will have diminished impact on a fight if they survive Fiend's Grip due to its mana steal.
Phantom Lancer
* Diffusal Blade lets Phantom Lancer drain Wraith King's mana, preventing 
Reincarnation from triggering until he buys an Aghanim's Shard.
* Wraith King is bad against illusions-based heroes, as 
Wraithfire Blast is his only single-target disable and can get overwhelmed easily.
* Doppelganger can disjoint Wraithfire Blast.
Additional:
* Doppelganger disjoints Wraithfire Blast.
* Wraith King is not good at handling illusion-based heroes, as his only disable is single-target.
* Phantom Lancer tends to get Diffusal Blade, leaving Wraith King no mana to reincarnate until he has Aghanim's Shard.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusions can be sent out to destroy 
Techies mines.
Bane
* Heroes with nukes: Bane, Lich, Lion, Skywrath Mage
Bane
* Heroes that can keep Marci for a long time in one place so she can't pursue her targets, like Bane, Lion, Shadow Shaman, Invoker, Disruptor and 
Kunkka.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
* 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:
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that can destroy trees will deny Monkey King spots to jump on, or cause him to fall: 
Windranger, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Additional:
* One of Terrorblade's illusions can be used to absorb damage and disable Nightmare.
* Terrorblade's large amount of illusions can make it difficult to pinpoint and target the real Terrorblade with Fiend's Grip. But bear in mind that Bane can counter this with Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap and by farming Mjollnir, although it can be hard to play Bane as carry and farm Mjollnir on him.
* However, bear in mind that illusions from 
Conjure Image have different colors than other illusions which can be seen even by enemy team, and that can make it easy for Bane to detect real Terrorblade unless Terrorblade buys Manta Style.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with single-target abilities and low-mobility are all an exceptionally easy targets for Phantom Rush: Terrorblade, Chaos Knight, Wraith King
Additional:
* With no wave clear and mostly focus on dealing single target damage, Terrorblade will be overwhelmed in no time due to Juxtapose. And to make things worse, Terroblade is not a common Battle Fury nor Mjollnir wielder to counter this problem.
* 
Reflection can be dispeled instantly with Doppelganger.
* As Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier, he can drain Terrorblade's mana, leaving Terrorblade with no chance to use 
Sunder to save himself.
* Besides Reflection that can be used to detect real Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade has no other ways to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions. And what's worse is that Phantom Lancer can much easily detect the real Terrorblade due to Conjure Image having illusions having different colors.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Additional:
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip help to control/disable Troll Warlord in team-fights.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Bane
* 
Dark Pact can dispel Enfeeble, as well as Nightmare and Fiend's Grip when timed correctly.
* 
Shadow Dance can protect Slark from Bane's single-target abilities.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* 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 Shadow Dance.
* Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark if he tries to escape with 
Pounce.
Additional:
* Slark has no sustained AoE damage to deal with a lot of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Doppelganger lets Phantom Lancer dodge Dark Pact and Pounce and partially wastes the duration of Shadow Dance.
* Spirit Lance can give vision of Slark via spawning an illusion, making it harder for him to juke and gain the passive bonus from Shadow Dance.
* Phantom Rush helps Phantom Lancer chase down Slark when he jumps away with Pounce.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Skywrath Mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. His skills are mostly target-based and he has terrible strength and agility, he can easily be kited or harassed by illusion-based heroes like Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer, or by Heroes that summon other units like Lone Druid, Lycan and Beastmaster.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with dispels: Legion Commander, Oracle, Slark, Phantom Lancer
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, keeping track of heroes who rely on invisibility, mobility, or illusions: Riki, Broodmother, Phantom Lancer
Bane
* Heroes that can cancel Charge of Darkness: 
Ogre Magi, 
Earthshaker, Lion, 
Rubick, Lina, Luna, 
Jakiro, 
Dawnbreaker, Alchemist, Ogre Magi, Axe, Shadow Shaman, Naga Siren, Mars, Bane, Pudge, 
Clockwerk.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Naga Siren, Broodmother, Warlock, Visage, Nature's Prophet, Shadow Shaman, Lycan, Wraith King.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer with Doppelganger
* Heroes that can remove the Track debuff with their skills:
* Abaddon with Aphotic Shield and Borrowed Time
* 
Huskar with 
Life Break
* Juggernaut with Blade Fury
* Legion Commander with 
Press the Attack
* Lifestealer with 
Rage and 
Infest
* Naga Siren with 
Mirror Image
* Omniknight with 
Heavenly Grace
* Oracle with 
Fortune's End and 
False Promise
* Phantom Lancer with Doppelganger
* Slark with Dark Pact
* Ursa with 
Enrage
* Weaver with 
Time Lapse
* 
Tidehunter with 
Kraken Shell when damage received reaches the threshold.
Additional:
* Doppelganger dispels 
Track.
* Bounty Hunter also has no area of effect abilities to help with the illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* Nyx Assassin's skillset is mostly single-targeted, therefore he will have difficulties against heroes with illusions and summons: Naga Siren, Broodmother, Lycan, Visage, Phantom Lancer. And to make things worse, Nyx Asassin is not a common Battle Fury, Maelstrom, Mjollnir, Gleipnir or 
Radiance wielder to counter this problem.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusions can overwhelm Huskar: Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Chaos Knight.
Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
Additional:
* Bane has low mobility and health, making him an easy target for Walrus PUNCH!
* Walrus PUNCH! can be used to cancel Fiend's Grip if he is not the target.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge an incoming snowball.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys a Diffusal Blade, which is very effective against Tusk's low mana pool.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys Manta Style which can also dodge an incoming snowball, much like Doppelganger.
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Additional:
* Phantasm's illusions make it difficult for Bane to target Chaos Knight with Nightmare, Enfeeble, and Fiend's Grip.
* Chaos Bolt is a comparatively low cooldown tool to interrupt Fiend's Grip.
* Nightmare can be transferred by Phantasm illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* Juxtapose allows Phantom Lancer to overwhelm Chaos Knight due to his single-target abilities.
* Phantom Lancer often builds a Manta Style, which can be used to disjoint Chaos Bolt or dispel Reality Rift.
* Doppelganger can be used to dodge Chaos Bolt.
* Diffusal Blade, another common item on Phantom Lancer, can quickly drain Chaos Knight's low mana pool, leaving him unable to cast spells.
Additional:
* 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 Phantom Rush and drain his already low mana pool.
Bane
* Hex abilities can cancel the channelling of Fiend's Grip : Lion, Shadow Shaman, Dazzle from Aghanim's Shard with upgraded Poison Touch.
Phantom Lancer
* Juxtapose and Doppelganger conjures too many illusions for Dazzle to deal with, given he has no inherent movement- or AoE-abilities.
* However, this can be partially solved with Aghanim's Shard-upgraded Poison Touch, as the hex instantly destroys illusions in an area as well as revealing the real Phantom Lancer when he's hiding among his army of illusions.
* Phantom Rush and Spirit Lance allow Phantom Lancer to trivially catch Dazzle even in the back line of a fight.
* Phantom Lancer has high base armor which counters Dazzle's physical damage based spells in lane.
* Diffusal Blade, a core item on Phantom Lancer, drains mana, which can be a problem for Dazzle, as all of his abilities have a high mana cost.
Bane
* Heroes with strong channeling spells like Crystal Maiden's 
Freezing Field, Bane's Fiend's Grip, and Enigma's 
Black Hole can easily be interrupted from a long range by Nether Swap, assuming they don't have a Linken's Sphere.
Phantom Lancer
* Vengeful Spirit has no strong AoE nuke or disable against Phantom Lancer's Illusions.
* Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier, which reduces Vengeful Spirit's low mana pool very quickly, leaving her defenseless.
* Doppelganger can dodge Vengeful Spirit's abilites.
* Phantom Rush with his illusions can chase Vengeful Spirit efficiently.
Phantom Lancer
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* 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:
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer can dispel or escape from Cold Feet with Doppelganger and Phantom Rush, respectively. Phantom Lancer also frequently builds a Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition has trouble dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions due to a lack of Area of Effect damage other than Ice Blast.
* Phantom Lancer tends to build a Diffusal Blade, which greatly amplifies his damage against Ancient Apparition due to Ancient Apparition's high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape/mobility mechanisms, making him an easy target for Phantom Lancer at any stage of the game.
Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm and overwhelm Bane, who has no area abilities to deal with them outside from Aghanim's Shard upgraded Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock, Wraith King.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions will quickly destroy multiple layers of 
Gravekeeper's Cloak.
* Visage has no mobility mechanisms, making him a prime target for Phantom Rush.
Bane
* Mirana can build Eul's Scepter of Divinity and 
Sacred Arrow can help her's allies canceled from Fiend's Grip.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
Phantom Lancer
* All Timbersaw's abilities deal AoE pure damage and can easily deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Reactive Armor highly negates Phantom Lancer's physical damage, making him having a hard time killing Timbersaw.
Additional:
* Phantom Lancer's lack of burst damage and constant attacks will increase Reactive Armor to max level immediately.
* Coupled with 
Timber Chain, it makes an easy escape and almost impossible for Timbersaw to be killed by Phantom Lancer.
* 
Whirling Death and 
Chakram can instantly destroy large groups of illusions, negating Phantom Lancer's advantage, although Phantom Lancer usually builds Diffusal Blade. It can be a problem in late game.
Bane
* Brain Sap's pure damage ignores stacks of Reactive Armor.
* Nightmare prevents Timbersaw from using Timber Chain, setting him up for chain stuns and burst damage.
* Enfeeble highly reduces regeneration granted by reactive armor.
* Fiend's Grip immobilizes Timbersaw and drains his low mana pool, preventing escape afterwards. It also pierces Black King Bar.
* Bane's multiple disables often force Timbersaw or his teammates to spend gold on a Linken's Sphere.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Dead Shot passes through all of Phantom Lancer's illusions, allowing her to separate him from the illusions easily.
* However, Phantom Lancer's high mobility can still pose a threat to Muerta's limited movement.
Bane
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip both allow Bane to potentially waste Pierce the Veil.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to trade very effectively against Muerta's low health pool in the early game. Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip can also damage and disable Muerta even through both, Pierce The Veil and Black King Bar.
* Enfeeble reduces Muerta's attack damage and cast range, both of which she benefits greatly from.
Additional:
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip both allow Bane to potentially waste Pierce the Veil.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to trade very effectively against Muerta's low health pool in the early game. Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip can also damage and disable Muerta even through both, 
Pierce the Veil and Black King Bar.
* Enfeeble reduces Muerta's attack damage and cast range, both of which she benefits greatly from.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who lack burst damage will have a hard time against Mars: Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet, Lich.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Astral Step and 
Dissimilate makes a quick work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Resonant Pulse helps clear illusions and protects Void Spirit from Phantom Lancer's physical damage and with the Aghanim's Scepter upgrade, it prevents Phantom Lancer from casting his abilities.
* Void's Spirit mobility makes it hard for him to chase down with Phantom Rush.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip and Nightmare are very useful to lock down Void Spirit.
* Brain Sap can be difficult for Void Spirit to deal with in the laning stage.
Bane
* Heroes who commonly buy Linken's Sphere: Luna, Weaver, Morphling, Queen of Pain, Ember Spirit.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: Zeus
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Bane
* Heroes who commonly buy Linken's Sphere: Luna, Weaver, Morphling, Queen of Pain, Ember Spirit.
Bane
* Low-health, normally mobile carries who rely entirely on raw attack damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: Anti-Mage, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Meepo, Mirana, Monkey King, Morphling, Phantom Assassin, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Shadow Fiend, Slark, Sniper, Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, Weaver.
Phantom Lancer
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* 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:
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusion and clone abilities may confuse Bloodseeker, causing him to waste time in fights: Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Arc Warden
Bane
* Heroes with strong dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: Oracle, Legion Commander, Omniknight.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who are not easily crippled by Fate's Edict or Fortune's End, such as Timbersaw, or those who can dispel them, such as Phantom Lancer, can kill Oracle unhindered.
Phantom Lancer
* Broodmother, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Bane
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Destroyer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Bane
*
Kraken Shell dispels Fiend's Grip, wasting it easily. Additionally, in late game, it secures premature dispell of a level 4 Nightmare, in case of continuous Bane's rightclicks. 
Gush, but not of 
Anchor Smash or 
Ravage, and thanks again to 
Kraken Shell, is easily dispellable for him in team fights. 
Ravage affects large area, effectively reaching Bane's spot for applying Fiend's Grip, even with Glimmer Cape, Aether Lens and/or Aghanim's Scepter.
Fiend's Grip, wasting it easily.
* Enfeeble only reduces distance of
*
Additional:
* Kraken Shell dispels
Phantom Lancer
*
Kraken Shell and 
Anchor Smash makes it very difficult for Phantom Lancer's illusions to deal damage to Tidehunter.
Ravage will stun the real Phantom Lancer while clearing most of his illusions.
Anchor Smash reduces base damage, which is the majority of Phantom Lancer's auto-attack damage.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Gush slows down and reduces all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Diffusal Blade.
Spirit Lance and 
Phantom Rush (and even 
Diffusal Blade), Tide Hunter can shrug it all off with Kraken Shell and escape by using a 
Town Portal Scroll or just moving away.
Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Gush can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions easily.
*
*
* An
Additional:
* A dozen of Phantom Lancer's illusions with all their might can barely hurt Tidehunter at all thanks to Kraken Shell and Anchor Smash. The only way Phantom Lancer can hurt Tidehunter is through the mana burn provided by
* Even with high chasing power from
* The AoE nukes from Ravage, Anchor Smash, and an