Phantom Lancer- The Master of Illusions Guide!

Introduction

Hey guys this is Gonark and this is my guide on Phantom Lancer. Phantom Lancer is an Agility carry hero who is also a decent pusher. He is not that much item dependant as Anti Mage or other hard carries to be effective, but if you want him to take over the game he can be considered very much item dependant.
Also note that if you suck at last hitting, dont play PL.

Skills

At level 1 you wanna get 1 level of Doppelwalk as its your only escape mechanism. Maxing Spirit Lance first will give you a bit of nuke as well as that precious slow. At level 8 your Doppelwalk and Spirit Lance should be at max. You may ask why not juxtapose early on? its because you need to farm safe early on and Juxtapose is more of a pushing power. Getting one level of Juxtapose at level 9 and at level 10 and 11 you want to get your ultiPhantom Edge .
Well you max Juxtapose by level 14 and your all set to push.

Spirit Lance

Spirit Lance is more of a nuking source early on for PL. Later on that nuke damage wont matter but the important thing will be that precious 40% slow at max level.
It has a low cooldown of 7 secs and will create an 8 sec illusion when cast on a hero.

Doppelwalk

Doppelwalk is PL's only escape mechanism. At max level it will render you invisible for 8 secs and it gives you 15% bonus movement speed. It has a manacost of 60 at max level and a 15 second cooldown. This spell will also create an illusion when cast which last for 20 secs.

Juxtapose

This is PL's special ability and pushing power. This can confuse opponents but is also easily countered. At max level you have a 12% chance of creating illusions while right-clicking and have a max capacity of 8 illusions which last for 20 secs.

Phantom Edge

This is PL's ulti and nothing much has to be said about this passive ability. This passive gives you 20% magic resistance at max level and gives you a 6% bonus chance to Juxtapose. It also gives your illusions a 7% chance to duplicate themselves meaning that even your illusions have the ability to Juxtapose . The magic resistance will also stack with items which in most passives is not possible.
Just remember to learn this passive after at least a level 1 Juxtapose .

Starting Items

Starting items for PL will be the typical Tango and Healing Salve with 3 Ironwood branches. You have a choice between a Ring of Protection and Quelling Blade . If your confident in your last hitting skills, get a Ring of Protection , If not get a Quelling Blade. You also have a choice of starting with a Slippers of Agility instead of the branches.

Early Game Items

In the early stages, if you are laning against people who spam their spells, then turning the branches into a Magic Wand is a decent idea. Also getting a {{Ring of Aquila]] is good as in some cases PL is mana dependant. Boots for Pl are Tranquil Boots because of the heal and the movement speed and also because its cheap.

Mid Game Items

A Diffusal Blade is totally core on PL as his illusions will mana burn as well. Manta Style is for more illusions to confuse the enemy more and for pushing power. Also the Manta Style Illusion is a bit stronger than your illusions so its a decent idea to build a Manta. But always get at 2 Levels of Diffusal Blade before getting the Manta Style .

Situational/Luxury Items

Just remeber to get the two core items before the following items

Radiance is popular on pub as the illusions will activate the burn damage as well.Its also decent for pushing but this is more of 30+min item.

Butterfly is good on any agility carry hero, so no explanation needed.

Heart of Tarrasque This item is good for Tankiness and against hard right-clickers.

Quelling Blade If you have trouble last hitting

Counters Of PL

What counters PL?
I would like to list my counters as heroes and items
Also the hero counters are who can clean up his illusions/Reveal his invisibility
Items

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- A Gem or any invisibility counter hero
- Radiance as the burn damage will remove your the confusion of which is the real PL

Heroes

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1. Spectre
2. Kunkka
3. Batrider
4. Bounty Hunter
5. Slardar
6.Doom Bringer
7. Faceless Void
8. Bloodseeker
9. Medusa
10. Earthshaker

Spectre -ulti and Haunt will reveal you and with the help of a Radiance and Diffusal Blade will kill you if you are too squishy.
Kunkka -is not much of a counter but if he can mark you will most certainly die, also he can easily identify you with his cleave damage.
Batrider - Ah the DoT hero with a disable. No more explanation needed
Bounty Hunter - Track
Slardar - Well, he is a counter to almost every invisible hero
Doom Bringer - His Doom will disable all your spells and items,so he is really a counter and if he picks up a Radiance then theres no point in soloing this hero
Faceless Void - Not much of a counter but if he wastes his ulti Chronosphere then you will be revealed
Bloodseeker-With almost all his spells, his silence and Rupture can be devastating but if he doesnt know which one you are then you can kill this hero easily
Medusa - Her ulti will slow you, make you take extra damage,Kill all your illusions, all you can do is pray that you can survive the hits
Earthshaker - His Echo Slam will pretty much finish you

Note-
Getting a Heart of Tarrasque might be helpful in these case so you really should consider getting it.

In Closing

I hope you enjoyed my guide and I hope it was helpful in many aspects. Constructive criticism would be great and please rate my guide.
This is Gonark, PEACE!