Bad against...
- Berserker's Call helps locks down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
- Counter Helix clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
- 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. Its passive costs no mana, meaning that it will continue to trigger even if Phantom Lancer drains Bristleback's mana with Diffusal Blade.
- Hoof Stomp and Double Edge makes short work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Elder Dragon Form's splash damage takes out Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
- Echo Slam deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Sleight of Fist, combined with the cleave from Battle Fury, allows Ember Spirit to destroy all of Phantom Lancer's illusions. If there are enough units within the radius, he could potentially kill an entire team with a single use of this ability.
- 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.
- Flak Cannon and Call Down destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
- Tidebringer and Kunkka's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Overwhelming Odds deals high damage to Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Duel's long duration prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Shield Crash, Rolling Thunder and Swashbuckle are effective for clearing out Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Phoenix's AoE abilities can prove troublesome for Phantom Lancer.
- Fire Spirits dramatically reduce Phantom Lancer and his illusions' attack speed.
- Icarus Dive's movement speed reduction makes retreating difficult.
- Sun Ray deals magical damage to all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Supernova burns away illusions, and is invulnerable to attacks from illusions.
- Illusory Orb and Waning Rift are effective nukes against Phantom Lancer's illusions, especially in the early game.
- Dream Coil limits Phantom Rush's mobility during teamfights.
- All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
- Epicenter will usually eliminate all illusions in one cast.
- Ball Lightning destroys illusions, avoids Spirit Lance, and makes Spirit Storm very hard to catch, even with Phantom Rush.
- 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.
- Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Death Ward kills Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
- Phantom Lancer's lack of burst damage and disables makes it hard for him to stop Death Ward's channel.
- Maledict is not dispelled by Manta Style or Doppelganger, and can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer.
Others
- 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 him. When upgraded via Aghanim's Scepter, it disables his passive abilities, rendering him useless.
- 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.
- Almost any hero with an AoE nuke will be effective against Phantom Lancer in the early game, although not necessarily in the late game: Lina, Abaddon, Pugna
- Heroes that require burst damage to kill will be difficult for Phantom Lancer to take down: Timbersaw, Axe, Bristleback, Alchemist
- Heroes with global nukes will hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: Zeus, Nature's Prophet
Items
- Battle Fury's cleave damage helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Heaven's Halberd places an undispellable debuff which helps identify the real Phantom Lancer.
- Radiance's burn aura helps destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions, and its evasion chance provides some protection from Diffusal Blade's mana burn.
- Silver Edge breaks Juxtapose and Phantom Rush and places undispellable debuff which helps identify the real Phantom Lancer.
- Maelstrom and Mjollnir's chain lightning helps clear Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Orchid Malevolence and Bloodthorn indirectly locks down Phantom Lancer by preventing him from using Doppelganger to disjoint or dispel.
- Shiva's Guard helps clear out Phantom Lancer's illusions. The passive aura and active slow reduces Phantom Lancer's attack speed.
Good against...
- Flux is paused if even one illusion remains near Phantom Lancer. It can also be dispelled with Doppelganger.
- Phantom Rush allows Lancer to quickly 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.
- Doppelganger dispels Track.
- 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 rush and drain of mana.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear lack mobility, and are easy overwhelmed after being slowed by Diffusal Blade.
- 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.
- Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy Refraction charges very quickly.
- Phantom Lancer's many illusions will easily eat away Living Armor, provided he has sufficient farm.
- Doppelganger can dispel Leech Seed.
- Ursa's low mobility allows Phantom Lancer to swarm him with illusions, and drain him of mana.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Fury Swipes". can be difficult to build up when Ursa is unsure target is the real 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.
- 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.
- Diffusal Blade lets Phantom Lancer drain Wraith King's mana, preventing Reincarnation from triggering until he upgrades his talent point at level 20.
Others
- Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Sniper, Terrorblade, Viper, Broodmother
- Heroes with single-target abilities and low-mobility are all an exceptionally easy targets for Phantom Rush: Night Stalker, Chaos Knight
- Illusions can be sent out to destroy Techies' mines.
Works well with...
- Bane's long disable with Fiend's Grip gives Phantom Lancer plenty of time to spawn several illusions.
- Arcane Aura allows Phantom Lancer to spam Spirit Lance in the early game.
- Frostbite and Crystal Maiden's slows helps Phantom Lancer chase down enemies.
- Phantom Lancer and his many illusions multiply the damage from Shadow Wave, allowing Dazzle to deal up to 980 physical damage to adjacent foes.
- A timely Shallow Grave can allow Phantom Lancer to get off a Doppelganger, run to safety, then return to the fight after a few heals. Due to his chaotic nature, it can be very hard to finish off Phantom Lancer if the enemy has already used their AoE abilities.
- Ice Path lets Phantom Lancer charge enemies without fear, from a great distance.
- The slow from Diffusal Blade helps Jakiro aim his abilities.
- Chakra Magic allows liberal use of Spirit Lance in the early game, especially in lane.
- Timed correctly, the cooldown reduction lets Phantom Lancer use Spirit Lance twice in quick succession. To do so, be sure to have Keeper of the Light cast Chakra Magic before using Spirit Lance.
- Fortune's End's long range root and short cooldown time helps Phantom Lancer run down enemies.
- False Promise gives him the time to build up a large illusion army.
- Corrosive Haze's armor reduction helps Phantom Lancer and his illusions hit harder, compensating for his lack of burst damage.
- Spirit Breaker's hectic initiation with Charge of Darkness and stuns from Greater Bash give Phantom Lancer space to attack the enemy at will.
- Decay lowers enemy health, allowing Phantom Lancer to kill them easier without burst damage.
- Tombstone's slowing zombies create havoc on the battlefield, giving Phantom Lancer the opportunity to beat down an opponent and spawn illusions while they attempt to destroy the Tombstone.
- Venomancer's slows help Phantom Lancer stay on top of his target without pausing between attacks to move or Phantom Rush.
Others
- Heroes who can create chaotic, prolonged fights will give Phantom Lancer enough time to generate illusions and drain the enemy team of mana: Warlock, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker, Brewmaster, Undying
