Earthshaker
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 12%)Grimstroke
[wiki] rating: 1.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* 
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.
* 
Phantom's Embrace and 
Soulbind have an undispellable debuff that can be used to mark the real Phantom Lancer.
Additional:
* 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.
Bane
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: 
Bane, 
Pudge, 
Witch Doctor, 
Crystal Maiden, 
Enigma.
Sven
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 14%)Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* 
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.
Sand King
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* All of Sand King's abilities deal AoE damage.
* 
Epicenter will usually eliminate all illusions in one cast. Phantom Lancer lacks any disables to stop the channelling.
Tidehunter
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Kraken Shell and 
Anchor Smash makes it very difficult for Phantom Lancer's illusions to damage to Tidehunter.
* 
Ravage will stun the real Phantom Lancer while clearing most of his illusions.
* Anchor Smash reduces base damage, which is the majority of Phantom Lancer's auto-attack damage.
* An 
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Gush slows down and reduces all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Additional:
* A dozen of Phantom Lancer's illusions with all their might can barely hurt Tidehunter at all thanks to Kraken Shell and Anchor Smash. The only way Phantom Lancer can hurt Tidehunter is through the mana burn provided by Diffusal Blade.
* Even with high chasing power from 
Spirit Lance and 
Phantom Rush (and even Diffusal Blade), Tide Hunter can shrug it all off with Kraken Shell and escape by using a 
Town Portal Scroll or just moving away.
Jakiro
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 14%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Dual Breath slows down Phantom Lancer and his illusions.
* 
Liquid Fire will not only deal AoE damage but also lowers Phantom Lancer's attack speed.
* An 
Ice Path and 
Macropyre combo can easily clear all of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Additional:
* Jakiro's spells inflict AoE damage, meaning he can take down Phantom Lancer's illusion army very quickly.
Razor
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 1%)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.
Phoenix
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 13%)Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: 
Outworld Devourer, 
Shadow Demon, 
Tusk, 
Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter
Phantom Lancer
* Phoenix's AoE abilities can prove troublesome for Phantom Lancer.
* 
Fire Spirits dramatically reduces Phantom Lancer and his illusions' attack speed.
* 
Icarus Dive's movement speed reduction makes retreating difficult.
* 
Supernova burns away illusions, and is invulnerable to attacks from illusions.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: 
Disruptor, 
Death Prophet, Enigma, 
Faceless Void, 
Invoker, 
Lich, 
Magnus, 
Mars, 
Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, 
Puck, 
Queen of Pain, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Treant Protector, 
Underlord, 
Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, 
Zeus.
Snapfire
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 8%)Phantom Lancer
* Snapfire's AoE abilities in general are effective in clearing Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Axe
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Berserker's Call helps locks down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
* 
Counter Helix clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
* 
Blade Mail Phantom Lancer's high damage is bad against Blade Mail, an item Axe almost always gets.
Additional:
* 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.
Leshrac
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* Leshrac can easily clear Phantom Lancer's illusions with his huge area of effect damage.
Abaddon
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* 
Aphotic Shield can instantly remove disables from his allies, including Fiend's Grip.
* 
Borrowed Time can instantly remove disables from Abaddon, including Fiend's Grip.
* Bane has no mobility and is helpless if caught by 
Curse of Avernus.
Additional:
* 
Nightmare and 
Fiend's Grip can be instantly dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
Elder Titan
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)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.
Centaur Warrunner
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Hoof Stomp and 
Double Edge makes short work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Retaliate together with Blade Mail reflects Phanton Lancer's damage.
Additional:
* 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.
Dragon Knight
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* 
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.
Kunkka
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 6%)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.
Ember Spirit
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 11%)Phantom Lancer
* 
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.
Additional:
* Sleight of Fist is the natural counter to Phantom Lancer's army of illusions, especially when combined with 
Battle Fury.
Bristleback
[wiki] rating: 1.0 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 5%)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 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:
* Quill Spray cleans up Phantom Lancer's illusions in no time.
* Phantom Lancer's complete lack of burst damage makes it nearly impossible for him to kill Bristleback during chases.
Dark Seer
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that rely on illusions will suffer against Ion Shell, which kills them very quickly: Phantom Lancer, 
Chaos Knight, 
Naga Siren, 
Meepo.
* Heroes that rely on illusions typically spawn very strong illusions inside your Wall of Replica that you should use against them or their team.
Crystal Maiden
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 13%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes the make heavy use of illusions, like Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, or 
Spectre can suffer from Crystal Maiden, as Freezing Field can quickly kill off the entire horde if not stopped.
Alchemist
[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
Lycan
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Bane
* Heroes with single-target abilities will be overwhelmed by Lycan and his summons: 
Wraith King, Bane, 
Phantom Assassin.
Spirit Breaker
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)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
Legion Commander
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 14%)Bane
* Heroes with dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: 
Oracle, 
Legion Commander, 
Omniknight
Phantom Lancer
* 
Overwhelming Odds deals high damage to Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* 
Duel's long duration prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.
Bane
* 
Enfeeble, Nightmare and Fiend's Grip all prevent Legion Commander from winning Duels, especially when Bane has 
Blink Dagger.
Additional:
* Bane has powerful single-target abilities that can help his allies win Duels, or at least cripple Legion Commander for the duration.
* Nightmare can waste Duel's entire duration as the dueled units transfer the Nightmare back and forth. This may be prevented if a non-Dueling unit attacks the Nightmared Dueler.
Omniknight
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 1%)Bane
* Heroes with dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: Oracle, Legion Commander, Omniknight
Lion
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)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.
Nature's Prophet
[wiki] rating: 0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 7%)Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm Bane, who has no area abilities: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, 
Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade
Storm Spirit
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 10%)Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* 
Ball Lightning destroys illusions, avoids Spirit Lance, and makes Storm Spirit very hard to catch, even with Phantom Rush.
Bane
* Wraith King, Medusa, 
Storm Spirit and other mana dependent heroes will have diminished impact on a fight if they survive Fiend's Grip due to its mana steal.
Magnus
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 14%)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.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Pangolier
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Phantom Lancer
* Pangolier's AoE abilities especially 
Shield Crash, is very effective against Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Additional:
* 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.
Bane
* Heroes with other kind of disables that pierce spell immunity can hold Pangolier in place during Rolling Thunder: Axe, 
Beastmaster, Enigma, Magnus, Pudge, 
Batrider, Bane, Winter Wyvern
Chen
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 1%)Bane
* Bane has zero Spells to deal with multiple Chen's Creeps.
* Fiend's Grip can be easily interrupted by {U:Centaur Conqueror} and {U:Mud Golem} abilites.
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. However, Chen can convert enemy summons with Holy Persuasion, as long as they don't bunch up.
Witch Doctor
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)Phantom Lancer
* A Death Ward upgraded by Aghanim's Scepter clears most of Phantom Lancer's illusions. Phantom Lancer's lack of disable also makes it impossible for him to cancel its channelling.
* Maledict cannot be dispelled by Doppelganger.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Meepo
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 1%)Phantom Lancer
* 
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.
Additional:
* Poof will destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions within a short time.
* Earthbind prevents Phantom Lancer from using Doppelganger.
Bane
* 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.
Puck
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 6%)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's mobility during teamfights.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Gyrocopter
[wiki] rating: 0.4 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* 
Flak Cannon and 
Call Down destroy Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Additional:
* Flak Cannon destroys Phantom Lancer's illusions very quickly.
Bane
* 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.
Shadow Demon
[wiki] rating: 0.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 3%)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 him.
* 
Bloodseeker's 
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* 
Ancient Apparition's 
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* 
Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's 
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Devourer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger dispels 
Soul Catcher and 
Shadow Poison.
* Demonic Purge slow is very ineffective against Phantom Rush.
* If Shadow Demon buys Aghanim's Scepter, Demonic Purge can disable Juxtapose, so check his inventory whenever possible.
* Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy 
Disruption's illusions very quickly.
Medusa
[wiki] rating: -2.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 3%)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 your team in the process.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip provides mana drain, which can heavily damage 
Mana Shield and prevent Medusa from using 
Stone Gaze.
* Even if she does use Stone Gaze, Nightmare can buy enough time to protect allies and reset the fight.
Additional:
* His Fiend's Grip will leave Medusa defenseless after he's done, if his teammates can provide cover for him or he initiates at the right time by Spell immunity.
Lifestealer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)Bane
* Heroes with spell immunity can still be disabled by Fiend's Grip: Juggernaut, 
Lifestealer, 
Pangolier.
Additional:
* Fiend's Grip can disable Lifestealer through Rage.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* Doppelganger dispels Open Wounds.
* Lifestealer has no way of dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Phantom Lancer also commonly builds Diffusal Blade, which poses a large problem to Lifestealer and his low mana pool.
Ursa
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Bane
* Bane's Enfeeble makes Ursa more susceptible to disables as it reduces Status Resistance.
* Bane can use Nightmare and Fiend's Grip to lock down Ursa early game and in team fights, forcing Ursa to buy a Black King Bar and making him very vulnerable to being kited once his Black King Bar is down to 5 seconds.
* Overall, Bane's potent disables force Ursa to build more defensive items and play more defensively in general.
Phantom Lancer
* Ursa struggles against illusion heroes like Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer.
Phantom Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)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: Broodmother, Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight.
Bane
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip can ground Phantom Assassin, who normally blinks around with 
Phantom Strike, and stop her from outputting damage.
* Phantom Assassin's low health pool early on makes her susceptible to Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip's heavy nuke damage.
Additional:
* Nightmare's lengthy duration prevents Phantom Assassin from finishing off a target enemy hero.
* Fiend's Grip can disable Phantom Assassin, even through spell immunity.
Silencer
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Bane
* Heroes that can disable or silence Silencer for a long time, such as Bane and Legion Commander, can lock down Silencer while their allies put him down.
Phantom Lancer
* Due to Phantom Rush and 
Juxtapose being passives and not affected by silence, a Phantom Lancer with a Diffusal Blade can easily kill Silencer.
Disruptor
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 10%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Viper
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Bane
* Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane, Enigma, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Warlock
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.
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.
Juggernaut
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 19%)Bane
* Fiend's Grip and an Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Brain Sap pierces spell immunity, rendering Blade Fury nearly useless.
Phantom Lancer
* Illusion-based heroes are effective against Omnislash and Juggernaut's single-targeted damage: Naga Siren, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade,Phantom Lancer.
Treant Protector
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger can dispel Leech Seed. It can also destroy large amounts of trees, counteracting Nature's Guise and Eyes in the Forest.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Wraith King
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 8%)Bane
* Wraith King, Medusa, Storm Spirit and other mana dependent heroes will have diminished impact on a fight if they survive Fiend's Grip due to its mana steal.
Phantom Lancer
* Diffusal Blade lets Phantom Lancer drain Wraith King's mana, preventing 
Reincarnation from triggering until he upgrades his talent point at level 20.
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.
Necrophos
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* Diffusal Blade is a core item on Phantom Lancer. Should it be purchased, combined with his numerous illusions, it allows him to rapidly deplete Necrophos' mana, rendering Necrophos incapable of casting 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 is capable of creating more at his disposal with almost no issues.
Bane
* Heroes who possess abilities that can save targets from being killed by Reaper's Scythe: 
Abaddon, Bane, Outworld Devourer, Shadow Demon, Omniknight, etc.
Drow Ranger
[wiki] rating: -1.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 13%)Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Rush lets Phantom Lancer get close quickly and disable Marksmanship.
* Juxtapose's illusions are hard for Drow Ranger to deal with as she has no AoE damage naturally.
Bane
* 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.
Sniper
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 6%)Bane
* 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 no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Clinkz, Sniper, Terrorblade, Broodmother
Additional:
* Phantom Rush grants Phantom Lancer the mobility to close in the distance between Sniper.
* Phantom Lancer can dispel Sniper's Assassinate easily with Doppelganger and causes confusion to Sniper with the latter effect of creating an additional of 2 illusions.
* Phantom Lancer's Juxtapose easily can overwhelm Sniper, as his damage is mostly single-targeted.
Clinkz
[wiki] rating: -1.2 (winrate: 57% pickrate: 10%)Bane
* 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 no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Clinkz, Sniper, Terrorblade, Broodmother
Dazzle
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 5%)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.
Brewmaster
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 2%)Bane
* After Brewmaster has committed Thunder Clap and Cinder Brew to gank, Bane can use Nightmare on Brewmaster to wait out the debuffs, and might even turn the tables by buying time for allied reinforcements.
* Bane can also prevent Brewmaster from using Primal Split with his long disables.
Shadow Fiend
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 11%)Bane
* Enfeeble can be used to decrease Shadow Fiend's already abysmal level one damage even further, preventing him from getting farm and Necromastery stacks.
* Brain Sap allows Bane to heavily harass Shadow Fiend.
* Nightmare allows Bane to set up some early ganks onto Shadow Fiend.
* Fiend's Grip enables Bane to completely take Shadow Fiend out of a fight and potentially even kill him, even through 
Black King Bar.
Templar Assassin
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions destroy 
Refraction charges very quickly.
Troll Warlord
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 4%)Bane
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip help to control/disable Troll Warlord in team-fights.
Lone Druid
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 2%)Phantom Lancer
* Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear lack mobility, and are easy overwhelmed after being slowed by Diffusal Blade.
Bounty Hunter
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger dispels 
Track.
* Bounty Hunter also has no area of effect abilities to help with the illusions.
Faceless Void
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 17%)Bane
* If Bane is outside 
Chronosphere, he can use Nightmare or Fiend's Grip to cripple Faceless Void inside.
* Nightmare and Fiend's Grip are long duration disables and can render 
Time Walk's mobility very unreliable.
Ogre Magi
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Phantom Lancer
* Ogre Magi has no AoE damage or disables and has nothing to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Doppelganger disjoints and dispels Ignite.
Slardar
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 9%)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.
Undying
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's many illusions will easily destroy 
Tombstone, provided he has sufficient farm.
Anti-Mage
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 16%)Bane
* Fiend's Grip's very long disable prevents Anti-Mage from Blinking away or using Manta Style. It also pierces spell immunity.
* Nightmare sets Bane's team up for chain disables on Anti-Mage.
* Enfeeble lowers Anti-Mage's status resistance and magic resistance, making him more vulnerable to disables and magic damage that normally would not affect him much.
Arc Warden
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 9%)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 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.
Additional:
* Doppelganger dispels Flux.
* Phantom Rush closes the distance between Phantom Lancer and Arc Warden.
* Juxtapose overwhelms Arc Warden and nullifies his kit which is only effective against isolated opponents.
Clockwerk
[wiki] rating: -1.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 10%)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.
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.
Io
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 4%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Axe, Death Prophet, Phantom Lancer
Enchantress
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 45% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* Heroes with nukes: Bane, Lich, 
Lion, 
Skywrath Mage
Monkey King
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 46% pickrate: 6%)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 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
Bane
* 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.
Tinker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 5%)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.
Morphling
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 11%)Bane
* 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.
Terrorblade
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 8%)Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm Bane, who has no area abilities: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade
Additional:
* Nightmare can easily cleared by Terrorblade's spammable illusions.
* Almost all of Bane's damage revolves exclusively around single-target effects. Terrorblade can almost always get a Sunder off.
Bane
* 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 no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Clinkz, Sniper, Terrorblade, Broodmother
Slark
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 13%)Bane
* 
Dark Pact can dispel Enfeeble, as well as Nightmare and Fiend's Grip if timed well.
* 
Shadow Dance protects Slark from Bane's single-target-only abilities.
Bane
* 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
* 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 to deal with Phantom Lancer's many 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.
Techies
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* Illusions can be sent out to destroy 
Techies' mines.
Queen of Pain
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 15%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Mars
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 9%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Death Prophet
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 2%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Invoker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 21%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Weaver
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 4%)Bane
* 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.
Luna
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 5%)Bane
* It is almost impossible for Bane to use Fiend's Grip properly against Luna's allies due to the huge cast range of the Lucent Beam.
Additional:
* Luna's 
Lucent Beam can be used to disable Bane while he is channeling Fiend's Grip.
* Luna's 
Eclipse will often be able to kill Bane before he can even act.
Bane
* 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
* Phantom Lancer creates many illusions to tank Luna's Eclipse.
* 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.
* Although her Moon Glaives kill his illusions quickly, Luna's low health pool is easily exploited by the sheer damage output from his illusions.
Lich
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 12%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Skywrath Mage
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 7%)Phantom Lancer
* Skywrath mage also has a terrible time fighting against anything that isn't a hero. As Mystic Flare only affects heroes, 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.
Huskar
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with illusions can overwhelm Huskar, as he has no AoE abilities: Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, 
Arc Warden, Chaos Knight.
Enigma
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Mirana
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 13%)Bane
* Heroes that cannot move in fights such as a Dueling Legion Commander or anyone channeling a spell like Bane, Pudge, or Enigma are easy Sacred Arrow targets.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with summons or illusions makes Sacred Arrow harder to land: Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Nature's Prophet.
Bane
* 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.
Night Stalker
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with single-target abilities and low-mobility are all an exceptionally easy targets for Phantom Rush: 
Night Stalker, Chaos Knight
Additional:
* 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.
Riki
[wiki] rating: -0.6 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 5%)Bane
* 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.
Lina
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 13%)Bane
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with 
Death Ward and Bane's Fiend's Grip.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Doom
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 9%)Phantom Lancer
* Doom's Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences 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 him.
* Bloodseeker's Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's illusions can make it difficult to Doom the 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.
Ancient Apparition
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 7%)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 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 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.
Chaos Knight
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm Bane, who has no area abilities: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade
Additional:
* Phantasm's illusions make it difficult for Bane to target Chaos Knight with Nightmare, Brain Sap and Fiend's Grip.
* Chaos Bolt is a comparatively low cooldown tool to interrupt Fiend's Grip.
* Nightmare can be transferred by Phantasm illusions.
Phantom Lancer
* 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.
Additional:
* Juxtapose allows Phantom Lancer to overwhelm Chaos Knight due to his single-target abilities.
* Doppelganger can be used to dodge Chaos Bolt.
* Spirit Lance can be used to harass Chaos Knight during the early game.
* Since Phantom Lancer build Diffusal Blade often, it can quickly drain Chaos Knight of all his mana, leaving him unable to cast spells.
Void Spirit
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 12%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that can summon units will have their summons destroyed very quickly if badly micro-managed, like 
Chen, Lycan, and Phantom Lancer.
Bane
* Fiend's Grip and Nightmare are very useful to lock down Void Spirit.
* Brain Sap can be difficult for Void Spirit to deal with in the laning stage.
Pugna
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 50% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Since Life drain takes out illusions instantly, Pugna with a scepter is decent versus plenty of illusion heroes, most notably Naga Siren and Terrorblade and the aforementioned Chaos Knight. Phantom Lancer is an exception.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer creates way too many illusion for Pugna's 
Life Drain to destroy, overwhelming him easily.
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.
Visage
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 1%)Bane
* Stone Form can easily interrupt heroes with long channeling spells, like Crystal Maiden, Bane, Witch Doctor, or Enigma.
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.
Vengeful Spirit
[wiki] rating: -0.4 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 6%)Bane
* Heroes with strong channeling spells like Crystal Maiden's 
Freezing Field, Bane's Fiend's Grip, and Enigma's 
Black Hole can easily be interrupted from a long range by Nether Swap, assuming they don't have a 
Linken's Sphere.
Phantom Lancer
* Vengeful Spirit has no strong AoE nuke or disable against Phantom Lancer's Illusions.
* Phantom Lancer is a natural Diffusal Blade carrier, which reduces Vengeful Spirit's low mana pool very quickly, leaving her defenseless.
* Doppelganger can dodge Vengeful Spirit's abilites.
* Phantom Rush with his illusions can chase Vengeful Spirit efficiently.
Outworld Devourer
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 47% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Devourer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Pudge
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 24%)Bane
* Heroes that have a channeled ability can be interrupted by Meat Hook: 
Pugna, Witch Doctor, Enigma, Bane.
Additional:
* 
Meat Hook can easily hit nightmared targets, as well as Bane while channeling Fiend's Grip.
* 
Dismember interrupts Fiend's Grip if Pudge is not targetted.
* Pudge's high health and health regeneration let him absorb much of Bane's nukes.
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with many summons or illusions are much harder to catch with Meat Hook: Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Chen.
Tusk
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 6%)Bane
* Bane has low mobility and health makes him an easy target for Warlus Punch.
* Walrus PUNCH! can be used to cancel Fiend's Grip if he is not a target.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge an incoming snowball.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys a Diffusal Blade, which is very effective against Tusk's low mana pool.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys Manta Style which can also dodge an incoming snowball, much like Doppelganger.
Rubick
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 48% pickrate: 21%)Bane
* Fiend's Grip is a powerful channeled ability, making it easy and useful to 
Spell Steal and interrupt with 
Telekinesis.
* Stolen Fiend's Grip or Nightmare combined with 
Arcane Supremacy allows Rubick to disable Bane's allies for a long amount of time.
* As a natural Aghanim's Scepter carrier, Rubick can steal an upgraded Brain Sap and deal lots of damage to Bane's team.
Phantom Lancer
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge and dispel Fade Bolt's damage reduction debuff.
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge the stun from an incoming Telekenesis when he is not the primary target.
* Phantom Lancer is a common Diffusal Blade carrier leaving Rubick no mana to spam abilities from Spell Steal.
Winter Wyvern
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 6%)Phantom Lancer
* Broodmother, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer by their nature offer very good target for Splinter Blast and Winter's Curse.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Timbersaw
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 49% pickrate: 5%)Phantom Lancer
* All Timbersaw's abilities are 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 making escaping from crowds easy, it is 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.
Bane
* Brain Sap's magic damage ignores stacks of Reactive Armor.
* Nightmare prevents Timbersaw from using Timber Chain, setting him up for chain stuns and burst damage.
* Fiend's Grip immobilizes Timbersaw and drains his low mana pool, preventing escape afterwards. It also pierces Black King Bar.
* Bane's multiple disables often force Timbersaw or his teammates to spend gold on a Linken's Sphere.
Oracle
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 51% pickrate: 8%)Bane
* Heroes with dispels can dispel Bane's disables from their allies: Oracle, Legion Commander, Omniknight
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes who are not easily crippled by Fate's Edict or Fortune's End, such as Timbersaw, or those who can dispel them, such as Phantom Lancer, can kill Oracle unhindered.
Bloodseeker
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 52% pickrate: 6%)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 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
Zeus
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 53% pickrate: 14%)Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with global nukes will target and hit Phantom Lancer regardless of his illusions: Zeus
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Broodmother
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 55% pickrate: 3%)Bane
* Heroes with illusions and summons can swarm Bane, who has no area abilities: Broodmother, Chaos Knight, Nature's Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes with no AoE abilities will struggle against Phantom Lancer: Clinkz, Sniper, Terrorblade, Broodmother
Underlord
[wiki] rating: 0.0 (winrate: 56% pickrate: 10%)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.
Bane
* Heroes that wish to disrupt fights with spell combos or big ultimates are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor, Death Prophet, Enigma, Faceless Void, Invoker, Lich, Magnus, Mars, Medusa, Outworld Devourer, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend, Treant Protector, Underlord, Winter Wyvern, Witch Doctor, Zeus.
Phantom Lancer
* Phantom Lancer's many illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Echo Slam deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.
Additional:
*
Bane
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure:
Crystal Maiden, 
Witch Doctor, 
Bane, 
Pugna, 
Pudge.