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.
Dragon Knight
* Static Link saps Dragon Knight of his already low base damage, making him even more useless in a fight if he gets kited.
* Storm Surge makes Razor much faster than Dragon Knight, and hard to catch.
* Eye of the Storm melts Dragon Knight's armor and bypasses 
Black King Bar, his core item.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Timbersaw's pure damage will kill Dragon Knight surprisingly fast, especially if he gets caught in a bad position while laning.
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.
Dragon Knight
* 
Elder Titan's 
Natural Order completely nullifies Dragon Knight's high armor.
Phantom Lancer
* Flak Cannon destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Additional:
* 
Flak Cannon and 
Call Down destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that relies on armor or other type of physical damage negation are easy for Gyrocopter to take down during the early game with his magical damage: 
Axe, 
Dragon Knight, 
Sven.
Phantom Lancer
* All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
* However, 
Epicenter is usually a non-issue against Doppelganger.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: Dragon Knight, 
Jakiro, 
Pugna, 
Earthshaker.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Durable heroes relied a lot on their main passive effects and items' effects such as 
Bristleback, 
Underlord, 
Spectre and Dragon Knight can be disabled easily with Sharpshooter's break, reducing their potential in teamfights.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes who rely on burst physical damage are affected by Lucky Shot's disarm: 
Terrorblade, Sven, 
Clinkz, 
Windranger, 
Alchemist, Dragon Knight, 
Legion Commander
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with long cooldowns on their abilities or ultimate will struggle against the relentless pressure provided by Fiend's Gate: Terrorblade, Dragon Knight, 
Omniknight.
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.
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.
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.
* An Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Gush slows down and reduces all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
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 Diffusal Blade.
* Even with high chasing power from 
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.
* The AoE nukes from Ravage, Anchor Smash, and an Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Gush can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions easily.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Counterspell can helpful blocked off to 
Dragon Tail.
Additional:
* 
Counterspell makes Anti-Mage exceptionally resistant to Breathe Fire, Dragon Tail, Fireball (requires 
Aghanim's Shard) and Elder Dragon Form's attacks. Its active component also blocks and reflects Dragon Tail back at Dragon Knight.
* 
Mana Break drains Dragon Knight's small mana pool, although it won't affect Dragon Knight much if he is in his Elder Dragon Form.
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
* 
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.
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
* 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.
Dragon Knight
* Lich's constant slows with 
Frost Blast and 
Chain Frost will slow Dragon Knight to a crawl, especially in a crowded teamfight.
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
* 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.
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.
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.
Phantom Lancer
* Snapfire's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
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.
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.
Phantom Lancer
* 
Broodmother, 
Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summoned units don't fare well against Dawnbreaker. (Phantom Lancer ,
Beastmaster ,
Lycan).
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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes who rely strongly on melee physical damage will fare badly against Omniknight's Guardian Angel: 
Phantom Assassin, 
Juggernaut, Dragon Knight, Lycan, 
Ursa, 
Troll Warlord
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 with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: 
Zeus
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.
Dragon Knight
* Because Exorcism's damage is not reduce by damage block abilities or items, Death Prophet can be very good against heroes who rely on armor to survive: Axe, Terrorblade, 
Morphling, Dragon Knight
Dragon Knight
* In general, heroes that can slow down Dragon Knight's movement speed will do well against him. This includes 
Venomancer and others in addition to the heroes mentioned above.
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.
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
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, 
Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Once you have an Aghanim's Scepter, Shadow Demon instantly reaches a new power spike and becomes a counter for a variety of heroes that have strong passives.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of their tankiness and become easier to finish off: Bristleback, Spectre, Phantom Assassin, Enchantress, Dragon Knight.
* Heroes that lose a great amount of damage output and become less threatening: Phantom Assassin, Sven, 
Slark, Phantom Lancer.
* You can always stack camps and farm the scepter with Shadow Poison.
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.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who lack burst damage will have a hard time against Mars: Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet, 
Lich.
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.
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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes who can match Void Spirit's mobility (like the aforementioned 
Ember Spirit or 
Queen of Pain) or tank his spells (Dragon Knight or 
Centaur Warrunner) are very problematic for him.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Any hero who can survive Magnus's initiations and manfight him: 
Huskar, 
Faceless Void, 
Weaver, 
Abaddon, Troll Warlord, Alchemist, Dragon Knight, 
Night Stalker, 
Viper.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that rely on physical damage are ineffective against Dragon Knight due to his high armor: Phantom Assassin,Bloodseeker, 
Lifestealer, Troll Warlord, Sven
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw, Bristleback, Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
Additional:
* 
Cold Feet and 
Ice Vortex both hinder Dragon Knight's movement greatly during teamfights.
* Ice Blast ignores Dragon Knight's armor, disables his health regeneration, and kills him prematurely.
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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* 
Dragon Blood's armor bonus greatly reduces the damage dealt by Phantasm.
* 
Breathe Fire and 
Elder Dragon Form's splash damage quickly destroy illusions and reduces their damage output.
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.
Dragon Knight
* If Silencer can't prevent Dragon Knight from using Elder Dragon Form, Silencer's spells aren't going to be that effective against him, as Dragon Knight relies on right-clicks and not spells.
* Dragon Blood's armor bonus and health regeneration allows Dragon Knight to stay in the lane against Glaives of Wisdom.
* Dragon Knight often builds Black King Bar, allowing him to remove Global Silence before engaging.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Despite the armor reduction from Meld, Templar Assassin's reliance on physical damage and medium attack speed is unlikely to harm Dragon Knight.
* Templar Assassin's Refraction charges also get quickly removed by the damage over time from Dragon Knight's ultimate.
Additional:
* The damage over time from Dragon Knight's Elder Dragon Form rapidly burns down Refraction, allowing him to attack her.
* Also, Breathe Fire reduces Templar Assassin's damage and Dragon Tail is a stun with a considerable duration, letting him and his team whittle her health down once her defenses wear off.
* Templar Assassin will struggle to kill Dragon Knight thanks to his high armor and health regen from Dragon Blood as she deals entirely physical damage.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: Axe, Dragon Knight, Night Stalker, Centaur Warrunner, 
Wraith King and more.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Dragon Knight's heavy armor negates 
Vendetta's burst physical damage. His large HP pool also gives him a good chance of surviving Nyx Assassin's follow-up nuke damage.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Dragon Knight, 
Mars, Centaur Warrunner.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Phantom Assassin, Broodmother
Dragon Knight
* Breathe Fire will clear Broodmother's spiderites while significantly damaging her spiderlings and decreasing their damage output.
* Dragon Blood's added armor and regen mitigates the damage done by Broodmother and her spiders.
* Elder Dragon Form at level 2 and above applies splash damage to Dragon Knight's auto attacks.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that rely on physical damage are ineffective against Dragon Knight due to his high armor: Phantom Assassin,Bloodseeker, Lifestealer, Troll Warlord, Sven
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that rely on physical damage are ineffective against Dragon Knight due to his high armor: Phantom Assassin,Bloodseeker, Lifestealer, Troll Warlord, Sven
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damage can make quick work of Chen's converted creeps and at same time gain farm: 
Magnus, Jakiro, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Kunkka, 
Luna, Dragon Knight, 
Medusa, Alchemist.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion-based heroes are effective against Omnislash and Juggernaut's single-targeted damage: Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade,Phantom Lancer.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with high armor and/or durability can handle Juggernaut's ultimate, such as Sven and Dragon Knight.
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.
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
* Doppelganger can dispel Leech Seed. It can also destroy large amounts of trees, counteracting Nature's Guise and Eyes in the Forest.
Dragon Knight
* Riki does little damage to Dragon Knight, as he relies only on physical damage with modest attack speed and lack of burst.
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.
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
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, keeping track of heroes who rely on invisibility, mobility, or illusions: 
Riki, Broodmother, Phantom Lancer
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.
Dragon Knight
* Spirit Breaker's slow attack speed and moderate damage do very little to harm Dragon Knight, even if ganked with 
Charge of Darkness.
Dragon Knight
* 
Death Ward does little damage against Dragon Knight's armor, and Dragon Knight's high health regeneration minimizes damage from 
Maledict.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
* 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
* 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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Dragon Knight can simply tank and destroy all Shadow Shaman's Serpent Wards.
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
* 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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes whose attacks can affect multiple enemies at once will clear Naga Siren's illusions. Such heroes include Sven, Magnus, Dragon Knight, Luna, Medusa, 
Templar Assassin, 
Gyrocopter, 
Muerta.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that reduce the damage that Marci can deal during her ultimate, like 
Razor, 
Rubick, 
Bane, Dragon Knight and Underlord.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes that rely on physical damage are ineffective against Dragon Knight due to his high armor: Phantom Assassin,Bloodseeker, Lifestealer, Troll Warlord, Sven
Phantom Lancer
* Carry heroes who can close the gap reliably are very problematic: Phantom Lancer, Ember Spirit, Phantom Assassin.
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
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.
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.
Dragon Knight
* 
Heartstopper Aura and 
Reaper's Scythe go right through Dragon Knight's armor.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Enemies that possess high defenses through magic resistance, damage reduction, or high regeneration will make it difficult to whittle their health down to get to Reaper's Scythe's threshold. Such heroes include Bristleback (although only from behind), Spectre, Ursa, and Dragon Knight.
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with high armor like Dragon Knight, or with abilities to cause attacks to miss like Phantom Assassin, Riki and 
Tinker will be hard to deal with, as Clinkz relies almost entirely on physical attacks.
Additional:
* The extra damage from 
Searing Arrows is largely blocked by Dragon Knight's armor.
* Clinkz has too low health to survive a gank.Getting stunned keeps him down long enough for a reaction.
* Breathe Fire reduces his damage, as he almost exclusively deals physical damage.
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
Dragon Knight
* Heroes with high armor and durability can be exceptionally hard for Bloodseeker to bring down: Dragon Knight, Axe
Additional:
* Bloodseeker's physical damage is unlikely to kill Dragon Knight, and therefore rarely get a chance to recover the large amount of HP from 
Bloodrage.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Dragon Knight's insanely high armor and splash damage can cause Lycan to struggle taking him down.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
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.
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
* 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.
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
* 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.
Dragon Knight
* Shadow Fiend's 
Presence of the Dark Lord reduces Dragon Knight's armor considerably, and his strong base attacks are augmented by his 
Necromastery.
Dragon Knight
* Dragon Tail can be used to cancel Requiem of Souls.
* Breathe Fire reduces Shadow Fiend's damage even further.
* Dragon Knight's high strength and Dragon Blood means that he'll be able to tank Shadow Fiend's right clicks.
Dragon Knight
* 
Slardar can chase Dragon Knight down with 
Guardian Sprint and stun him with both 
Slithereen Crush and his passive 
Bash of the Deep. He can also use 
Corrosive Haze to whittle Dragon Knight's armor.
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.
Dragon Knight
* In the early game, a Dragon Knight without Black King Bar is basically defenseless against Viper.
* Viper can harass Dragon Knight at any time with his 
Poison Attack and 
Nethertoxin.
* 
Corrosive Skin reduces damage from Dragon Fire and inflicts damage to him.
* 
Viper Strike disables Dragon Blood, negating his main survivability.
* Viper Strike and Poison Attack can severely slow him down even with his Elder Dragon Form.
Additional:
* Dragon Knight is easily harassed by Poison Attack after the laning stage ends.
* Corrosive Skin protects Viper from Breathe Fire and returns damage.
* Viper Strike can disable Dragon Blood, Dragon's Knight main source of armor and health regeneration.
* Between Poison Attack and Viper Strike, Viper can keep Dragon Knight permanently slowed even in Elder Dragon Form.
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.
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.
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
Dragon Knight
* Dragon Knight has no built-in disengage from 
Frost Arrows, and 
Marksmanship procs ignore base armor, bypassing Dragon Knight’s durability for the most part, making Drow one of the few heroes that can deal enough sustained damage to solo kill Dragon Knight.
* With Aghanim's Scepter, Frost Arrows also apply hypothermia stacks, reducing her target’s regen, which is especially potent against tanks like Dragon Knight. (A similar effect can also be achieved with an Eye of Skadi).
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.
Dragon Knight
* 
Fury swipes can tear Dragon knight down as it stacks infinitely.
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.
Phantom Lancer
* 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 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.
Dragon Knight
* 
Arcane Orb's constant pure damage output is devastating to Dragon Knight.
* Dragon Knight's relatively low mana pool leads to heavy damage from 
Sanity's Eclipse, which also bypasses his armor.
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.
Dragon Knight
* Huskar can burn down Dragon Knight's health quickly during the early to mid game, but is not as effective during the late game. However, Life Break remains a constant threat due to the slow and percentage-based damage.
Additional:
* Huskar can negate Dragon Knight's passive with multiple trades of Burning Spear.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusions can overwhelm Huskar: Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Chaos Knight.
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.
Diffusal Blade.
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.
* 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
Additional:
*
*
*
Dragon Knight
*
Viscous Nasal Goo slows down Dragon Knight and lowers armor, locking him down and making him more vulnerable.