Phantom Lancer is picked in 11.7% of Very High matches, 11.8% of High and 13.1% of Normal, and wins 53.2% / 53.7% / 53.3%. He fills fights with illusions: Juxtapose creates them when he attacks, Spirit Lance adds one and slows the target, and Doppelganger scatters him among copies. Phantom Rush closes the distance. He starts slowly and ends strong: his team gains more XP in 46.6% of games before minute 15 and 45.3% between 15 and 35, but 52.2% after, and he wins 48.2% under 25 minutes, 52.1% at 25–50 and 59.5% past 50 minutes.
Countered by TidehunterTidehunter doesn't win the lane: his team gains more XP in 45.9% of games before minute 15. The gap opens in the midgame, when Phantom Lancer has illusions and Tidehunter has his tools against them.
Phantom Lancer's illusions deal a small share of his damage, and Tidehunter is built to shrug that off. Anchor Smash hits every unit around Tidehunter and cuts their attack damage, so it clears illusions and weakens the real hero at once. Kraken Shell blocks part of each physical attack, which takes a large share out of weak illusion hits. Ravage stuns everything nearby, illusions included, and Gush lowers the real hero's armor. Tidehunter's team gains more XP in 57.5% of games between minutes 15 and 35.
This is the largest counter in these guides after Anti-Mage's: +12.75 weighted, with +13.2 in Very High, +13.75 in High and +9.71 in Normal. Tidehunter wins 51.8% / 52.4% / 51.5% (Very High / High / Normal) against Phantom Lancer, against his usual 48.4% / 49.2% / 49.9%. The effect lives in the midgame: he wins 54.1% of 25–50 minute games (10,105 games) but only 43.9% past 50 minutes (2,346 games), where Phantom Lancer's scaling comes back. The 37.7% under 25 minutes comes from 363 games.
Best teammate: AlchemistTwo greedy heroes start slowly together. Their team gains more XP in only 35.2% of games before minute 15 and 42.7% between minutes 15 and 35, and they win only 32.4% of the 74 games that end before 25 minutes.
Acid Spray lowers the armor of every enemy in an area, so each of Phantom Lancer's illusions hits harder. Corrosive Weaponry slows enemies and lowers their attack damage. Berserk Potion thrown on Phantom Lancer dispels him and gives him attack speed, movement speed and regeneration, and Unstable Concoction stuns the hero his illusions surround.
This pair is built for long games. Their XP-gain share reaches 52.9% after minute 35, and they win 62% of games past 50 minutes (324 games) and 52.5% at 25–50 minutes (2,129 games). The advantage is +8.99 in Very High, +6.88 in High and +4.73 in Normal. The pair wins 54.1% / 53.3% / 52.7% (Very High / High / Normal), with Alchemist normally at only 46.5% / 46.1% / 47.1%.
Based on 2,111,000 public ranked matches of patch 7.41, played 30 September – 14 October 2026. Advantage is the win-rate difference from what the two heroes' own win rates predict, times two (+6 is about 3 win-rate points), weighted over the skill brackets. The live numbers on the Phantom Lancer page update every few hours. More guides: Dota 2 counter guides.
