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Bad against...[]

Axe icon
  • Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike's extra attack speed will cause Phantom Assassin to trigger Counter Helix icon Counter Helix more often, which can be fatal for Phantom Assassin in the early game. Jumping on Axe with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike is not a good idea for Phantom Assassin at all as it makes her a seriously easy target for a counter-initiation with Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call and Blade Mail icon Blade Mail.
  • Most of Axe's abilities pierce Black King Bar icon Black King Bar, allowing him to lock down Phantom Assassin at any time.
  • Berserker's Call greatly reduces Phantom Assassin's ability to crit hard against Axe, and may cause her to kill herself when used with Blade Mail icon Blade Mail. Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call can also affect Phantom Assassin even if she has Black King Bar icon Black King Bar active as Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call can fully pierce spell immunity, making Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call one of the best abilities in the game against heroes like Phantom Assassin who wants to kill opponents quickly without being interrupted.
  • Culling Blade icon Culling Blade can often kill Phantom Assassin before she can do anything due to her low health and strength gain. And every time Culling Blade icon Culling Blade successfully kills Phantom Assassin or any of her teammates, Axe gains permanent armor from it, which in combination with armour items that Axe often purchases like Blade Mail icon Blade Mail, Crimson Guard icon Crimson Guard, Assault Cuirass icon Assault Cuirass and Shiva's Guard icon Shiva's Guard can make Phantom Assassin's attacks only tickle Axe.
Bane icon
  • Enfeeble greatly reduces Phantom Assassin's attack damage, and if her attack damage is weak, Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace will also suffer from attack damage reduction as well. Enfeeble also reduces any healing Phantom Assassin receives, making her unable to heal herself with Phantom Strike, and it also reduces cast range of Phantom Assassin's abilities, making her unable to harass with Stifling Dagger icon Stifling Dagger and to use Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike at longer distances.
  • Nightmare and Fiend's Grip can ground Phantom Assassin, who normally blinks around with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike, and stop her from outputting damage, even with Black King Bar.
  • Phantom Assassin's low health pool early on makes her susceptible to Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip's heavy nuke damage.
Batrider icon
  • Phantom Assassin does not deal with early aggression very easily (especially when magical damage). A competent Batrider can make life very difficult with Sticky Napalm icon Sticky Napalm followed by any other spell.
Broodmother icon
  • Phantom Assassin's single target abilities make her very helpless against swarms of Spiderlings without Battle Fury icon Battle Fury.
  • Because Phantom Assassin is always reliant on critical strikes, Broodmother will usually have enough time to use Spin Web to save herself.
  • Silken Bola icon Silken Bola can cripple Phantom Assassin greatly due to her being 100% reliant on physical attacks.
  • Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter gives Broodmother access to Spinner's Snare icon Spinner's Snare, which allows her to create invisible lines on her webs from Spin Web icon Spin Web that will root Phantom Assassin, deal damage over time to Phantom Assassin and reveal Phantom Assassin if she unwittingly steps on them, disrupting her attempts to initiate or escape with with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike while also alerting Broodmother on her attempts to ambush her and her allies.
Centaur Warrunner icon
Hoodwink icon
  • Sharpshooter icon Sharpshooter disables both Blur icon Blur and Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace, weakening her damage and survivability.
  • Because Phantom Assassin is often reliant on critical strikes, Hoodwink can have enough time to simply move near a tree and escape with Scurry icon Scurry.
Lina icon
Luna icon
Omniknight icon
Phoenix icon
  • Fire Spirits icon Fire Spirits applies a severe attack speed slow, severely hindering Phantom Assassin's damage output.
  • Phantom Assassin cannot cast Phantom Strike on Phoenix during Supernova icon Supernova.
Puck icon
  • Puck relies mainly on magical burst damage, which Phantom Assassin is most vulnerable against.
  • Phase Shift icon Phase Shift and Illusory Orb icon Illusory Orb disjoint Stifling Dagger, also allowing to kite Phantom Assassin.
  • Dream Coil icon Dream Coil will stun Phantom Assassin if she uses Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike to blink away.
Razor icon
Slark icon
  • Slark's Pounce icon Pounce allows him to close the gap on Phantom Assassin and prevent her from escaping with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike.
  • As a hero who typically builds Silver Edge icon Silver Edge, Slark can use it to disable Phantom Assassin's Blur icon Blur and Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace, thus taking down her attack evasion and drastically reducing her damage output.
  • Because Phantom Assassin is always reliant on critical strikes, Slark will have plenty of time to escape with Pounce icon Pounce, Shadow Dance icon Shadow Dance and Silver Edge icon Silver Edge (provided that he purchased it already).
  • Depth Shroud icon Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard will allow Slark to save both, himself and his allies from Phantom Assassin with Shadow Dance icon Shadow Dance, and to freely fightback against her without removing invisibility upon attacking.
  • Essence Shift icon Essence Shift is much more harmful for Phantom Assassin than for other heroes, as losing the agility means that her physical damage will be also reduced, which can also weaken Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace if Slark manages to steal lots of agility from her.
  • Overall, any attempt for Phantom Assassin to take down Slark will hurt her more than Slark.
Skywrath Mage icon
  • While Phantom Assassin can kill Skywrath Mage in a few strikes, Skywrath Mage can also do the same to her if she is not careful.
  • Arcane Bolt icon Arcane Bolt's long range and low cooldowns allows Skywrath Mage to severely harass Phantom Assassin in lane.
  • Ancient Seal icon Ancient Seal prevents Phantom Assassin from escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike.
  • Mystic Flare icon Mystic Flare's heavy magical damage nukes Phantom Assassin down quickly during the early to mid game.
Spectre icon
  • Dispersion icon Dispersion makes it hard for Phantom Assassin to burst down Spectre while also reflecting back Phantom Assassin's high burst damage against herself.
  • Black King Bar icon Black King Bar is useless for Phantom Assassin against Spectre as all of her skills pierce spell immunity.
  • Spectre only needs to be careful against Fan of Knives icon Fan of Knives from Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard, as it can disable Desolate icon Desolate and Dispersion icon Dispersion, though this issue can be solved by buying Blade Mail icon Blade Mail, which is a common item on Spectre.
Timbersaw icon
  • Reactive Armor icon Reactive Armor helps Timbersaw sustain harassment from Stifling Dagger icon Stifling Dagger.
  • Phantom Assassin has a moderate health pool and usually appears in the front line of battle, making her vulnerable to Timbersaw's pure burst damage output.
  • Timbersaw can easily escape from Phantom Assassin thanks to his Timber Chain icon Timber Chain.
Troll Warlord icon
  • Whirling Axes (Melee) icon Whirling Axes (Melee) makes it hard for Phantom Assassin to land a Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace.
  • Troll Warlord often buys Silver Edge icon Silver Edge and Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar, the items that greatly help against Phantom Assassin's Blur ability.
  • Battle Trance icon Battle Trance completely negates Phantom Assassin's large damage output, preventing Troll Warlord from dying easily. The lifesteal also allows Troll Warlord to restore much of his health.
Underlord icon
  • Firestorm icon Firestorm can deal serious damage to Phantom Assassin during laning.
  • Pit of Malice icon Pit of Malice prevents Phantom Assassin from either escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike.
  • Phantom Assassin's damage output is entirely physical, therefore Atrophy Aura icon Atrophy Aura is very hazardous for her in most of the stages, particularly since it also affects Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace, hindering Phantom Assassin's main source of damage.
  • Without proper items and any area-of-effect ability/item, Phantom Assassin cannot stop Underlord and his team to escape with Fiend's Gate icon Fiend's Gate, and she has nothing to intercept Underlord and his team when they use Fiend's Gate icon Fiend's Gate to teleport on any area of the map outside of Fan of Knives icon Fan of Knives from Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard.
Windranger icon
  • Phantom Assassin's Blur icon Blur is useless against Windranger as she commonly buys items that require Javelin icon Javelin like Maelstrom icon Maelstrom, Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar or Bloodthorn icon Bloodthorn, and other than Stifling Dagger, Phantom Assassin has nothing else that can bypass Windrun.
  • Additionally, Phantom Assassin doesn't like building Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar because her crits are reliant on attack damage.
  • Focus Fire can still deal considerable damage despite Blur's evasion due to the increased attack speed.

Others[]

Items[]

  • Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar grants accuracy to counter Blur icon Blur.
  • Witch Blade icon Witch Blade and its upgrade Parasma icon Parasma can deal damage over time to Phantom Assassin every 9 seconds, and attacks from both items have True Strike. Parasma icon Parasma can also weaken Phantom Assassin's magic resistance by 20% for 3 seconds, rendering her more vulnerable to abilities that deal magical damage.
  • Revenant's Brooch icon Revenant's Brooch's attacks can damage Phantom Assassin even while she has Black King Bar icon Black King Bar active, though it's damage output will be reduced for Black King Bar icon Black King Bar's duration.
  • Maelstrom icon Maelstrom's, Gleipnir icon Gleipnir's and Mjollnir icon Mjollnir's Chain Lightning can pierce through Blur icon Blur.
  • Blade Mail icon Blade Mail turns Phantom Assassin's massive burst damage against her, discouraging her from attacking.
  • Bloodthorn icon Bloodthorn makes her a more vulnerable target thanks to its ability to make every attack have true strike, damage amplification, and critical strikes. In addition, the silence prevents her from initiating effectively, being unable to use her Stifling Dagger icon Stifling Dagger and Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike, making her susceptible to kiting.
  • Scythe of Vyse icon Scythe of Vyse completely removes Phantom Assassin's chances of escape. As Hex also disables item usage, even if she purchases Black King Bar icon Black King Bar, if the Hex is applied before she can activate it, she may fall down very easily once further disabled and nuked down before she even gets a chance to retaliate.
  • Nullifier icon Nullifier can be used to dispel Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike's attack speed buff from Phantom Assassin, and to continuously dispel Phantom Assassin even if she is spell immune.
  • Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade makes Phantom Assassin a very easy target to disable if she uses Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike on a hero who wields it. And to make thins worse, Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade can disable Phantom Assassin even if she is spell immune.
  • Butterfly icon Butterfly provides evasion against Phantom Assassin's direct attacks, minimalizing chances for her to inflict damage on it's owner with Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace. Additionally, Phantom Assassin doesn't like building Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar because her crits are reliant on attack damage.
  • Silver Edge icon Silver Edge's breaks Blur icon Blur and Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace, severely crippling her damage and survivability while also making her weak even against heroes she naturally counters.
  • Gleipnir icon Gleipnir can be used to root Phantom Assassin, preventing her from using Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike while also providing a passive chance to have it's owner's attacks release a Chain Lightning that can pierce through Blur icon Blur.
  • Ghost Scepter icon Ghost Scepter prevents Phantom Assassin from attacking, making it a good protection item for casters. It can be upgraded to Ethereal Blade icon Ethereal Blade later, which can be used on allies or to nuke and disarm Phantom Assassin. In addition, Phantom Assassin hates to buy Revenant's Brooch icon Revenant's Brooch, which is one of the two items (other being Nullifier icon Nullifier) that helps her deal with Ethereal state or buying items that let her deal magical damage like Revenant's Brooch icon Revenant's Brooch, Dagon icon Dagon and Ethereal Blade icon Ethereal Blade.
  • Glimmer Cape icon Glimmer Cape can be used to save targets hit by Phantom Assassin's crits. However, it is not advised if your team already has invisible heroes as enemies will then most likely carry Dust of Appearance icon Dust of Appearance all the time.
  • Solar Crest icon Solar Crest not only melts Phantom Assassin's armor, it also reduces her attack speed from Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike.
  • Heaven's Halberd icon Heaven's Halberd disarms Phantom Assassin, preventing her from proccing Coup de Grace icon Coup de Grace. Its evasion also provides reliable protection against her physical attacks.
  • Lotus Orb icon Lotus Orb will reflect Stifling Dagger icon Stifling Dagger back at Phantom Assassin, discouraging her from harassing an enemy hero protected by it.

Good against...[]

Anti-Mage icon
  • Anti-Mage can easily withstand heavy magical bursts due to Counterspell icon Counterspell, but he is still somewhat vulnerable to physical damage. Phantom Assassin's burst physical damage can destroy Anti-Mage while Blink (Anti-Mage) icon Blink is on cooldown or while he is stunned or hexed.
  • Blur makes Anti-Mage unable to deal significant damage to her without buying Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar, which means he cannot buy items to benefit his Mana Break icon Mana Break.
  • Phantom Assassin has an abysmal mana pool and intelligence gain, making Mana Break icon Mana Break and Mana Void icon Mana Void deal minimal damage.
Crystal Maiden icon
  • Crystal Maiden's low health pool and slow movement speed make her a tempting and easy target.
  • However, it may be wise to build Black King Bar icon Black King Bar first before attempting to fight her alone, as she can disable you and retaliate with Freezing Field icon Freezing Field.
Dazzle icon
  • Dazzle's lack of a true disable makes him a relatively vulnerable target for Phantom Assassin.
  • Coup de Grace will often kill Dazzle's teammates before he has a chance to use Shallow Grave icon Shallow Grave.
Lifestealer icon
  • Rage icon Rage does absolutely nothing against Phantom Strike with items.
  • Feast icon Feast and Ghoul Frenzy icon Ghoul Frenzy are very difficult to utilise thanks to Blur.
  • Lifestealer generally wants to buy items that make him hard to kill, not an Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar which only offers damage.
Nature's Prophet icon
  • Nature's Prophet's low mobility and health pool allow Phantom Assassin to destroy him in the early game.
  • Phantom Strike allows Phantom Assassin to jump in and out of Sprout icon Sprout, provided she has vision.
Riki icon
  • Blink Strike icon Blink Strike does not grant Riki a mobility advantage over Phantom Assassin, as her Phantom Strike serves the same purpose, but with a higher range.
  • A Carry Riki usually has a hard time dealing with Blur, as a Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar or Bloodthorn icon Bloodthorn are unfavourable item picks for him (or, even more unlikely, a Silver Edge icon Silver Edge).
  • A Black King Bar icon Black King Bar is a very common pick for Phantom Assassin, fully countering Smoke Screen icon Smoke Screen and Diffusal Blade icon Diffusal Blade while activated.
Sniper icon
  • Sniper's lack of mobility and reliance on attack range makes him an easy target for Phantom Assassin to jump on.

Others[]

  • Fragile support heroes are all ideal targets for the Phantom Assassin. Heroes such as Lina minimap icon Lina and Witch Doctor minimap icon Witch Doctor are all prime targets that may not be able to react quickly and fight back due to Phantom Assassin's sudden appearance.
  • Heroes who lack escape mechanisms or disables are all easy targets for Phantom Assassin if they are not careful.
  • Assuming they have not bought anti-evasion items, attack-dependent heroes such as Ursa minimap icon Ursa, Terrorblade minimap icon Terrorblade or Lifestealer minimap icon Lifestealer can be a minor threat for Phantom Assassin early in the game, and may even be completely dominated by her thanks to her evasion.

Items[]

Works well with...[]

Ancient Apparition icon
  • Combining Ancient Apparition and Phantom Assassin's slows to stun an enemy with Cold Feet icon Cold Feet can easily force an enemy to succumb to this pair during the laning phase.
  • Ice Blast icon Ice Blast makes one-shot crits even more likely for Phantom Assassin.
Beastmaster icon
  • Inner Beast icon Inner Beast gives Phantom Assassin greater attack speed, increasing her chances of landing a Coup de Grace.
  • Primal Roar icon Primal Roar long stun duration lets Phantom Assassin beat down enemies.
  • Beastmaster's Boar and Hawk help Phantom Assassin chase down targets, and can be used as targets for her to jump to.
Magnus icon
  • Empower icon Empower greatly enhances Phantom Assassin's crit damage, as well as giving her a cleaving attack. It also speeds up Phantom Assassin's ability to farm.
  • Reverse Polarity icon Reverse Polarity groups up enemies into one spot, combined with Magnus's Empower icon Empower and Phantom Assassin's tendency to buy Battle Fury icon Battle Fury, Phantom Assassin will shred through multiple heroes in a blink of an eye.
Omniknight icon
  • Casting Purification icon Purification on Phantom Assassin after she uses Phantom Strike will guarantee a huge damage burst, especially during the early game when Purification icon Purification's damage is significant.
  • Phantom Assassin's Stifling Dagger allows Omniknight to catch up with the target and slows them with Degen Aura icon Degen Aura.
  • Blur makes Phantom Assassin more resistant to physical attacks and Frosthaven Heavenly Grace icon Heavenly Grace makes her much more resistant against disables.
Slardar icon
  • Corrosive Haze icon Corrosive Haze not only keeps track of a target but also highly reduces their armor, enabling Phantom Assassin to cut them down much quicker. His stun and follow-up slow can also prove useful in a clash, preventing retaliation and/or escape.
Vengeful Spirit icon

Others[]

  • Heroes who amplify physical damage or reduce armor all work well with the Phantom Assassin in team fights, such as Shadow Fiend minimap icon Shadow Fiend or Dazzle minimap icon Dazzle.
  • Slows and disables let her catch up to fleeing enemies. Heroes like Lion minimap icon Lion, Bane minimap icon Bane, or Pudge minimap icon Pudge are useful to have in a chase in that they might be able to help pin down their target for her.

Items[]

Works poorly with...[]

Pudge icon
  • If Phantom Assassin uses Phantom Strike icon Phantom Strike before Pudge uses Meat Hook icon Meat Hook on a hero he's about to hook, then it will be Phantom Assassin who is going to be hooked, rendering both, Pudge and Phantom Assassin's ganking attempts wasted while alerting enemy hero on their presence.
Pugna icon
  • Pugna's Decrepify icon Decrepify will render the enemy hero immune to all kinds of Physical damage output and will prevent Phantom Assassin from engaging the affected hero.

Others[]

Items[]

  • Any hero who buys and wields Ethereal Blade icon Ethereal Blade will render an enemy hero immune to all kinds of physical damage, potentially denying Phantom Assassin to kill an enemy hero.
  • Badly-timed and ill-positioned Force Staff icon Force Staff will save the enemy hero from Phantom Assassin during the ganks.



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