Razor
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Muerta
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 13%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Dead Shot ignore Phantom Lancer's illusions from 
Juxtapose, allowing you to separate him from the illusions easily
* However Phantom Lancer can still easily take out Muerta
Tidehunter
* Heroes with large physical resistance do not counter Muerta's 
Pierce the Veil such as 
Omniknight or 
Tidehunter
Death Prophet
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 11%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell neither dispels nor provides damage reduction against 
Spirit Siphon. This ability also drains health based on percentage damage, making Tidehunter's large healthpool a very appealing target. Furthermore, the health gained from the Siphon is independent from the amount of damage dealt, so Death Prophet will always heal a large amount of from Tidehunter's pool even if Tidehunter has magic reduction items or abilities on him, which makes her an untargetable enemy for you as this easily outweights any damage output you can provide.
* 
Exorcism is yet another ability from which Kraken Shell provides no useful protection, as the spirits completely ignore the damage block and are unaffected by the dispel. This ability also creates an unfriendly area where your blink will be constantly cancelled, reducing your ability to land a good Ravage.
* Ravage does not stop neither Spirit Siphon nor Exorcism, making the ability mostly ineffective against her. Additionally, Death Prophet usually builds 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity, which can be used to dodge the stun entirely.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 11%)Tidehunter
* Both 
Gush and 
Ravage do little damage against Counterspell.
* Blink helps Anti-Mage escape through 
Anchor Smash.
* Tidehunter's small mana pool can be eated by Mana Break, preventing to spam his abilities and ignores the protection from 
Kraken Shell.
Additional:
* 
Mana Break quickly burns Tidehunter's mana pool, preventing him from spamming his abilities, and Kraken Shell does not mitigate the bonus damage component.
* 
Blink allows Anti-Mage to enter combat quickly and safely after Ravage.
Centaur Warrunner
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)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.
Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)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.
Gyrocopter
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* Flak Cannon destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Additional:
* 
Flak Cannon and 
Call Down destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)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.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)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.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)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.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)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.
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)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.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)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.
Snapfire
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Phantom Lancer
* Snapfire's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Ember Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 11%)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.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)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.
Sven
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)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.
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Phantom Lancer
* Pangolier's skill has considerable damage and area of effect, allows 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.
Hoodwink
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)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.
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)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.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 5%)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.
Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 4%)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.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)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.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 43% pickrate: 1%)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.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that rely on illusions will suffer against Ion Shell, which kills them very quickly: Phantom Lancer, 
Chaos Knight, 
Naga Siren, 
Meepo.
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)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.
Underlord
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)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 illusions swiftly.
* Pit of Malice will continuously disrupt many illusions, drastically reducing their damage and potency.
* Athropy Aura reduces damage of both Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
Dawnbreaker
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 8%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summoned units don't fare well against Dawnbreaker. (Phantom Lancer ,
Beastmaster ,
Lycan)
Earth Spirit
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Tidehunter
* Positioning-reliant heroes (
Windranger, Tidehunter, 
Ursa...), since Earth Spirit can disrupt positioning with his Boulder Smash.
Zeus
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: 
Zeus
Winter Wyvern
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Broodmother, 
Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Alchemist
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down: Timbersaw, Axe, Bristleback, Alchemist and Underlord
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 25%)Tidehunter
* Heroes with strong team-fight abilities (especially ultimates) like Tidehunter, 
Brewmaster, 
Death Prophet, etc.
Additional:
* 
Fade Bolt reduces damage output of Anchor Smash.
* Ravage is an easy target to 
Spell Steal, so always be sure to use Anchor Smash immediately after Ravage when playing against a Rubick.
* Spells stolen by Rubick are potentially stronger due to the lack of cast animations, his talents, and his passive, 
Arcane Supremacy.
Doom
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)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.
Tidehunter
* Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high HP targets such as Tidehunter.
* Doom prevents Tidehunter from casting his Gush, Anchor Smash and Ravage, making him useless in team fights.
* If Doom gets an Aghanim's Scepter, he can also disable Kraken Shell, reducing his survivability.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions can make it difficult to Doom the original. Should Doom figure out the original hero, the illusions can make it difficult to cast any abilities, as their hitboxes can be used to body-block the 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.
Mars
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who lack burst damage will have a hard time against Mars: Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet, 
Lich.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 11%)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 when Tinker's only area of effect damage, March of the Machines, ceases to kill illusions quickly. 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.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 1%)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.
Tidehunter
* Heroes who can stun multiple units at once: 
Dark Willow, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Slardar, 
Invoker, and Tidehunter.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 15%)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.
Tidehunter
* Any hero who can counter-initiate in anticipation without getting caught in Reverse Polarity: 
Sven, Omniknight, 
Enigma, 
Luna, Naga Siren, 
Mars, 
Jakiro, 
Venomancer, 
Elder Titan, 
Faceless Void, 
Rubick, 
Keeper of the Light, 
Pugna, Invoker, 
Spectre, Alchemist, 
Treant Protector, 
Lina, 
Oracle, Zeus, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Phoenix, 
Razor, 
Huskar, 
Batrider, 
Kunkka, Tidehunter, 
Wraith King, 
Sand King, 
Medusa, 
Dawnbreaker.
Nyx Assassin
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Tidehunter
* 
Mana Burn can instantly deplete Tidehunter's low mana pool, especially in the early game, potentially preventing Tidehunter from casting Ravage.
* Ravage's travel time allows Nyx Assassin to easily stun Tidehunter with 
Spiked Carapace.
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.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 11%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell provides no protection against 
Omnislash or 
Swiftslash.
* If timed correctly, Omnislash, Swiftslash and 
Blade Fury are all capable of dodging Ravage, giving Juggernaut several tools to render your strongest ability moot.
* Blade Fury is an effective way to harass Tidehunter in the laning stage as Tidehunter has no means of getting Juggernaut away from him. 
Healing Ward also greatly minimizes Tidehunter's ability to harass Juggernaut.
* 
Blade Dance minimizes the effectiveness of Anchor Smash's damage reduction.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion-based heroes are effective against Omnislash and Juggernaut's single-targeted damage: Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade,Phantom Lancer.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* Juxtapose allows Phantom Lancer to overwhelm Chaos Knight due to his single-target abilities.
* Doppelganger can be used to dodge Chaos Bolt.
* Since Phantom Lancer builds Diffusal Blade often, it 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.
Tidehunter
* Ravage damages and disables Chaos Knight and his illusions.
* Anchor Smash deals respectable area damage, especially to Phantasms and lowers Chaos Knight's damage.
* Kraken Shell dispels Chaos Bolt and Reality Rift while providing protection from damage.
Batrider
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)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.
Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell can dispel Flaming Lasso.
* If Batrider drags Tidehunter back towards his team, it can be setup for a well placed Ravage.
Additional:
* Kraken Shell is very useful against Sticky Napalm and Flamebreak, easily dispelling them regularly.
* Tidehunter is probably the worst hero to target with 
Flaming Lasso, as Kraken Shell will remove it and Tidehunter often survives long enough to cast Ravage in the middle of Batrider's team. At the same time, if Batrider initiates on his teammate, Tidehunter will have the perfect opportunity to counter-initiate.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)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.
Tidehunter
* Vengeful Spirit should carefully consider whether to use her Nether Swap on Tidehunter, as it can easily position him for a Ravage on Vengeful Spirit and her allies.
* Due to Magic Missile's high damage, Kraken Shell will often proc and clear Tidehunter's debuffs.
Undying
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 10%)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.
Tidehunter
* Tidehunter takes close to no damage from Undying's zombies once he maxes out his Kraken Shell, especially if he gets the level 20 Kraken Shell upgrading talent. This might allow him to blink away to safety.
Visage
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 2%)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.
Tidehunter
* Visage's Familiars cannot penetrate Kraken Shell and will do almost no damage to Tidehunter even with 
Medallion of Courage or 
Solar Crest.
* Anchor Smash's bonus damage has the potential to kill Familiars.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 1%)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.
Tidehunter
* Other heroes who has armor and slow debuffs won't allow Medusa to disengage from combat: Tidehunter, Bristleback, Slardar.
Pudge
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 29%)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.
Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell can dispel Dismember after reaching a certain threshold of damage.
* Tidehunter's naturally high health, strength gain, and common itemization for survivability through magic resistance makes Tidehunter a poor target.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)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.
Tidehunter
* Tidehunter's Kraken Shell dispels Corrosive Haze and Bash of the Deep's stun if enough damage is taken. Anchor Smash and Kraken Shell's damage block also reduces Slardar's damage.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: 
Phantom Assassin, Broodmother
Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell makes Tidehunter take nearly no damage from Spiderlings.
* Anchor Smash kills Spiderlings in one or two casts, should Broodmother try to swarm Tidehunter with them.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 10%)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, Naga Siren, Terrorblade.
Tidehunter
* Heroes such as 
Lone Druid, Tidehunter and 
Viper can be very problematic for Phantom Assassin because they give her very little time to farm and become scary.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)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.
Tidehunter
* Tidehunter with Kraken Shell when damage received reaches the threshold.
* 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.
Morphling
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 8%)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.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)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.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy 
Refraction charges very quickly.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 18%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell dispels both Shadowraze's damage amplification stacks and Requiem of Soul's damage reduction (provided Tidehunter has taken enough damage).
* Ravage cancels Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend isn't protected by 
Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Kraken Shell dispels the damage amplification stacks of 
Shadowraze as well as the damage reduction from 
Requiem of Souls (provided he has taken enough damage).
* Anchor Smash reduces Shadow Fiend's large attack damage, Kraken Shell makes Tidehunter the last target Shadow Fiend wants to attack.
* Ravage can easily cancel Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend isn't protected by Black King Bar.
Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell dispels the stun from Paralyzing Cask. However, it does not dispel the damage from Maledict.
* Once Witch Doctor first uses his Death Ward in team fights, Tidehunter can simply cancel it with Ravage, turning the tables against him, especially if Witch Doctor does not have a Black King Bar.
* As a precaution, let Tidehunter use Ravage first before channeling Death Ward to turn a team fight in your favor.
Bane
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* Low-health, normally mobile carries with a lot of damage are vulnerable to Bane's nukes and disables: 
Anti-Mage, 
Clinkz, 
Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, 
Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Luna, 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 Bane, who has no area abilities outside from 
Aghanim's Shard upgraded 
Brain Sap: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade, Visage, 
Warlock, Wraith King.
Tidehunter
* 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.
* Enfeeble only reduces distance of 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.
Additional:
* Kraken Shell dispels 
Fiend's Grip, wasting it easily.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)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.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 4%)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.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)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.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 15%)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.
Clockwerk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)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.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Tidehunter
* Tidehunter's Anchor Smash will cripple all of Enigma's Eidolons, and at a higher level, Tidehunter will be capable to instantly kill the whole group of them for a boost of gold.
* Kraken Shell negates Eidolons's damage and Enigma's auto attacks, making laning against Tidehunter nearly impossible for Enigma.
* Ravage has an insane radius, and considering that Enigma is prone to waiting around for a 
Blink Dagger and Black King Bar combo, Ravage's stun may catch Enigma off guard and put Blink Dagger on cooldown, limiting him a crucial teamfight time.
Lina
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 16%)Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger can be used to easily dodge Light Strike Array if timed correctly.
* 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.
Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 18%)Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Rush lets Phantom Lancer get close quickly and disable Marksmanship.
* One of Phantom Lancer's core items (Manta Style) can dispel Gust.
Spectre
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 11%)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.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 4%)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.
Dazzle
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 9%)Phantom Lancer
* Juxtapose and Doppelganger conjures too many illusions for Dazzle to deal with, given he has no inherent movement- or AoE-abilities.
* 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 physcial damage based spells in lane.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)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.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 16%)Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger can dispel Leech Seed. It can also destroy large amounts of trees, counteracting Nature's Guise and Eyes in the Forest.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)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.
Lycan
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 3%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell grants him massive physical attack protection
* Anchor Smash will wipe the area, clearing Lycan's wolves.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 2%)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.
* 
Reflection can be dispeled instantly with Doppelganger.
* As Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier, he can drain Terrorblade's mana, leaving Terrorblade no chance to use 
Sunder to save himself.
* Besides Reflection, 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.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 12%)Tidehunter
* Most summons and illusions can barely hurt Tidehunter at all, after their attacks get reduced by Anchor Smash and blocked by Kraken Shell: Nature's Prophet, Enigma
* Also Ravage's large area of effect and damage can easily damage all those units at once, or just straight up clear them.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* Illusions can be sent out to destroy 
Techies mines.
Keeper of the Light
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with dispels: Legion Commander, Oracle, Slark, Phantom Lancer
Skywrath Mage
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 10%)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.
Io
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with both illusions and summons, for Io has nothing to deal with multiple enemies at once outside from Spirit's weak area-of-effect: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Lycan, Naga Siren, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Shadow Shaman, Terrorblade, Visage, Warlock.
Chen
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 0%)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. And even though Chen can convert enemy summons with Holy Persuasion, their much greater numbers will often overwhelm Chen and his creeps.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 4%)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.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Tidehunter
* Heroes that excel at grouping up with their team very early will be able to take advantage of a Clinkz that tries to pick off heroes that are alone: Brewmaster, 
Dazzle, Tidehunter.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusions can overwhelm Huskar: Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, 
Arc Warden, Chaos Knight.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 15%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
Riki
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 54% pickrate: 13%)Tidehunter
* Riki doesn't deal burst damage.Durable heroes (Axe, Tidehunter etc.) will usually survive a jump from him,move out of Smoke Screen and potentially retaliate.
Lion
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* One of Lion's level 20 talents lets Mana Drain affect 2 secondary targets. This can make things difficult for heroes like Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, and Terrorblade who rely on illusion armies.
* Mana Drain and Hex instantly kill any illusions. Finger of Death upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter also shreds most illusions.
* One of Lion's level 20 talents lets Mana Drain affect 2 secondary targets. This can make things difficult for heroes like Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, and Terrorblade who rely on illusion armies.
Tidehunter
* Tidehunter naturally has a high health pool and thus makes it hard for Lion to burst him down. Kraken Shell further mitigates this by dispelling any disables Lion casts when Tidehunter takes enough damage.
* Gush and Ravage can both not only burst Lion down, but also catch him out and prevent him from escaping.
Windranger
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 10%)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.
Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell easily dispels the lengthy stun from 
Shackleshot.
* Kraken Shell (and possibly Anchor Smash) blocks huge amount of damage from 
Focus Fire.
* Anchor Smash is one of the few sources of True Strike, which means Tidehunter can deal significant damage through 
Windrun, while also reducing Windranger's damage output.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)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.
Tidehunter
* Gush can make Crystal Maiden's already weak armor even weaker.
* Kraken Shell can dispel Frostbite, preventing him from getting stuck inside Freezing Field.
* Ravage is very useful for interrupting Freezing Field, even while Crystal Maiden is under the effects of 
Glimmer Cape. Crystal Maiden must purchase a Black King Bar, which is far more costly.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)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.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 15%)Tidehunter
* Heroes with low mana pools (eg.Doom andTidehunter) will feel the effects of Silencer's Intelligence Steal far more than others.
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.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 44% pickrate: 11%)Tidehunter
* Melee heroes who may struggle to get close to Sniper: Wraith King, Kunkka, Doom, Tidehunter, Underlord, Troll Warlord, and etc.
Phantom Lancer
* Carry heroes who can close the gap reliably are very problematic: Phantom Lancer, 
Ember Spirit, Phantom Assassin.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)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.
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)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
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 10%)Tidehunter
* In the mid-game, Tidehunter relies on Kraken Shell to stay alive and get his Ravage off. Apart from Thunder Strike, none of Disruptor's abilities can be dispelled, so it's rather easy to trap him inside Kinetic Field and Static Storm.
* Be mindful, however, that Kraken Shell still makes Tidehunter very tanky, so be sure that you can kill him with your combo or your partners while he is silenced and trapped.
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.
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)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
Tidehunter
* Durable heroes: Axe, Bristleback, Tidehunter, Wraith King
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)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
Viper
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Tidehunter
* 
Nethertoxin cancels out Kraken Shell and stops the hard dispel from passively activating, preventing Tidehunter from functioning as a frontline tank.
* Anchor Smash is mostly irrelevant against a ranged hero.
* Tidehunter relies on the threat of Ravage, which has an obscenely long cooldown. Viper can exploit the downtime with his short cooldowns.
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.
* 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.
Luna
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)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).
Tidehunter
* Luna often builds Black King Bar, and none of Tidehunter's spells can bypass spell immunity.
* Though Anchor Smash can weaken Luna's physical damage, it does not weaken her magical damage, which means that 
Lucent Beam and 
Eclipse deal a lot of magic damage in the early and mid-game, which can bypass Tidehunter's Kraken Shell.
Additional:
* Luna often builds Black King Bar, and none of Tidehunter's spells can bypass spell immunity.
* Though Anchor Smash can weaken Luna's physical damage, it does not weaken her magical damage, which means that Lucent Beam and Eclipse deal a lot of magic damage in the early and mid-game, which can bypass Tidehunter's Kraken Shell.
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.
Tidehunter
* Heroes that rely on base damage: Luna, Phantom Lancer are easily countered with Anchor Smash.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
* However, 
Epicenter is usually a non-issue against Doppelganger.
Tidehunter
* Ravage, being an AoE disable, cancels Epicenter's channeling from a long range, limiting his potential to counter-initiate.
* This can be remedied, however, by first using a Black King Bar, then channel Epicenter, then finally initiate with Blink Dagger.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Tidehunter
* No matter how Tidehunter builds tanky items such as (
Guardian Greaves, 
Crimson Guard or 
Pipe of Insight), all it needs is for him to fall below a certain percentage of health for him to fall to Reaper's Scythe.
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.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 12%)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 her 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.
Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell grants a considerable damage block. preventing Jakiro's spells from being very effective on him, Your Liquid Fire and Ice Path will actually deal 0 damage, while Macropyre will deal only half it's damage
* It also purges him of debuffs when he takes a set amount of damage, which frees him from your Ice path/Macropyre combo,
* Not only does Tidehunter's Gush prevents Jakiro from easily escaping a fight, it's Armor reduction makes Jakiro much easier to kill
Additional:
* Kraken Shell dispels Dual Breath, Ice Path, 
Liquid Frost, Liquid Fire and even Macropyre's Burn.
* It also completely negates the damage from Liquid Fire and Ice path, while heavily reducing the damage from all of his other abilities
* Jakiro is a naturally slow hero, Gush will allow you to easily catch him, while also reducing his Armor
Outworld Destroyer
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Tidehunter
* Kraken Shell's dispel does not restore mana lost through 
Astral Imprisonment, and the stolen mana can really hurt Tidehunter's ability to initiate
* 
Arcane Orb high pure damage ignores Tidehunter's Armor, and is barely affected by his Kraken Shell's damage block
* It is also completely unaffected by Anchor Smash, due to it relying on Outworlds Mana pool
* 
Sanity's Eclipse is effective on Tidehunter's poor mana pool, While it is reduced by Kraken Shell, the damage reduction is negligible.
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.
Slark
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Tidehunter
* Dark Pact dispels debuffs from Gush, Anchor Smash and even Ravage if timed correctly.
* Kraken Shell cannot restore attributes stolen by 
Essence Shift or dispel the leash if he gets 
Pounced.
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.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 15%)Tidehunter
* 
Fury Swipes will keep stacking on Tidehunter since it cannot be dispelled by Kraken Shell and its bonus damage cannot be reduced by Anchor Smash.
* Enrage dispels the slow from Gush, and if upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter, can even dispel Ravage's stun.
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 create two more illusions and also applies basic dispel, further complicate the problem for Ursa to deal with.
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.
Doppelganger or 
Manta Style which can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer while also draining his base damage.
Phantom Rush. When upgraded with Aghanim's Shard, it makes a quick work of his illusions.
*
*
*
Additional:
* Plasma Field and Eye of the Storm clears most of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Static Link is not dispelled by
* Razor's high mobility with Storm Surge makes it hard for Phantom Lancer to chase down with
Tidehunter
* Heroes who relies on high armor such as
Dragon Knight, 
Tidehunter, and 
Pudge can be melted by Eye of the Storm.
Static Link, and the stolen damage easily offsets Anchor Smash's damage reduction. Razor can keep attacking Tidehunter from afar, denying his chance to use Anchor Smash.
Eye of the Storm melts Tidehunter's armor and makes him much less tanky.
Additional:
* Kraken Shell's dispel does not restore damage stolen by
*
* Razor can chase Tidehunter by himself without relying on actual crowd control ability, so the strong dispel from Kraken Shell is less useful.