How to Win the lane, Push and then Dominate

Introduction

Phantom Lancer is a hard carry who is also a very strong laner with the right build.

You'll be starting strong, pushing during mid game and dominating at the end.

My win rate is 81.48% with Phantom Lancer. My profile is https://dotabuff.com/players/10866975 Check out my matches by finding one you like on that site, copying the match id at the top and then pasting it in the Match ID box of "Recent games" section in Dota.

Items

Start of Game

Quelling Blade will make it easier to get those last hits but also it will transfer to your illusions. You and your illusions will be able to farm faster with it after the laning phase. Sell it once you need room for the big late items.


Stout Shield helps minimise damage during the laning phase. Sell it to make room for the Vitality Booster later.

Early Game

Soul Ring will enable you to win most of your lanes. Use it and then Spirit Lance. But it's best to save it for Level 2 or 3 Spirit Lance. Next item should be Ring of Regen. Now you have a good amount of health regen, +5.


Tranquil Boots will give you back any health lost from Soul Ring, enable you to jungle early and is great for an invisible character like PL who can invis away, heal and come back to the fight.


Once you have taken the tower, buy a couple of these and help push the other lanes. You always want to be either fighting or farming the jungle/lanes.

Mid Game

Phantom Lancer is pretty squishy and this will build into Heart of Tarrasque


Diffusal Blade Gives agility, mana drain and extra damage to your illusions and the purge function is an awesome slow. Each illusion will be draining about 30 mana per hit. This makes enemies very wary about tanking illusions, even if they are very tanky themselves. They can lose a lot of mana very quickly.


Buy this next once you have saved up 4400. Makes you and your illusions far tankier. Now your illusions are a lot harder to deal with. By the time you get this, the game is usually in the bag.

Late Game

Gives you and your illusions evasion as well as attack speed. Meaning your illusions spawn much faster. Overall great item on PL.


Buying this frees up your Town Portal Scroll slot, so you can get more items. Also gives great speed to you and your illusions.


Great for defending when you need illusions in a pinch. Gives 10% speed, great for use with Boots of Travel, which would result in 429 movement speed.


The damage does not get transferred to your illusions but the chance to land a critical strike does. Improves illusion damage output overall by about 30%

Skills

Spirit Lance:- Great in the laning phase. Especially when you can spam it with something like Soul Ring. One of the reasons it is so effective is because of it's insane range, 750 and also the 7 second cooldown. You'll find you'll have many assists because of this spell. Also this spell actually scales up, the spawned illusion becomes stronger as you do.

Doppelwalk
Doppelwalk:- When fleeing try to face one way, doppelwalk and then run another way. They'll chase the illusion. When you'ved pushed the lane far and you want to turn back use doppelwalk first. You will add another illusion and the enemy won't be able to tell you've left. If you run back, they can often tell by seeing on the minimap because of their creeps giving vision, and may try to cut off your retreat if they are close.


Juxtapose:- Turns you into a farming and pushing demon. I like to take a skill in this at level 4 for pushing later and because you can use it to help get last hits when an illusion appears and for extra confusion if the enemy wants to target you with a spell.

Phantom Edge
Phantom Edge:- Similar to Juxtapose and the magic resistance stacks.

Playstyle

Overall I like to play it very safe. I rely on Spirit Lance and my illusions to do the damage early and mid game. I'll only run up and right click an enemy when it's safe. As a hard carry you want to be making money and not losing the money from dieing. Other players may get annoyed that you are not in the thick of it like them and hanging back and lancing, but they will understand once you secure the win. If you go and die with them, then you will not be able to get your items as quickly making it harder to win.

At the start buy your items, skill dopplewalk then:

Select PL press CTL+1
Select the illusion press CTL+2
Select PL and the illusion and press CTL+3.

Now you can select yourself, your illusion, or both by pressing either 1,2 or 3.

Now pick one of the side lanes. I like to pick the hard lane. (Radiant top or Dire bottom). Just because PL is such a good laner and I like to make it easier for my teammates in the easier lane.

Go for last hits, buy Ring of Regen, soul ring recipe and Sage's Mask. Next buy another Ring of Regen. Now you can spam Spirit Lance. Try to target the squishier of the two. You'll either be getting kills or sending them back to the fountain. Once have destroyed their tower, teleport to another tower and do the same. If it turns into a stalemate with both teams across the river from eachother, teleport to another lane and push that. The power of PL is his ability to farm and push (splitpush), meaning they will have to devote people to defend their towers. Unlike Nature's Prophet you become a beast late game. If it's not safe to push the lanes, go for the jungle.

Enemies

Bounty Hunter:- People often like to pick him as a counter for his Track. Track can be purged with either Diffusal Blade or Manta Style. Keep an eye out for the Track icon above your health because it's not obvious when he tracks you. There is no effect or sound. I like to dopplewalk and send out that illusion ahead of me so he tracks that instead. PL is actually a great counter for Bounty Hunter. As long as you don't play like Rambo, you are a great Gem of True Sight holder. Especially because your illusions also carry the effect.


Outworld Destroyer:- His Arcane Orb does 400 damage to illusions at rank 4.


Axe:- He can destroy your illusions with Counter Helix but he will often lose all of his mana in the process if you have Diffusal Blade. It can be risky to attack him at the same time as all of your illusions because Counter Helix will be always activating. Try to avoid targetting him in a teamfight until the end.


Nature's Prophet:- People may choose him to counter your push but actually he can help you. When you see a lane is pushed up to your tower. Teleport there push to the river and then Nature's Prophet may have done the same to the other lane, so teleport there. This way you can farm the lanes safely on your side of the map.