Phantom Assassin is dangerous in short engagements: she jumps on a vulnerable hero and tries to kill them with a few critical hits. If the team isn't ready to respond, a single kill like that is enough to lose a fight. Let's look at who can stop Phantom Assassin, which items help land attacks on her, and how to avoid giving her an easy first jump.
Hero Overview
Stifling Dagger lets her slow an enemy and deal damage from a distance. Phantom Strike quickly brings Phantom Assassin to her target and increases her attack speed, while Coup de Grace grants powerful critical hits. Evasion helps her withstand physical attacks, while Blur makes her harder to find and makes it difficult to prepare an attack against her.
Phantom Assassin's main strengths are her high single-target damage and her ability to suddenly reach a support. Her weaknesses are her dependence on items and her vulnerability to disables and magical damage. Before she has Black King Bar, a failed jump can easily end in death. Later on, these are especially important:
- abilities that can keep Phantom Assassin in place even through protection;
- items that counter evasion.
Best Heroes Against Phantom Assassin
Phantom Assassin is usually picked in position 1—as a carry. Durable laning heroes, magical damage, and supports who can survive the first hit or protect an ally in time are useful against her.
Carry
- Morphling gains a lot of armor from Agility and can survive an attack with Attribute Shift. It's important for him to start shifting attributes in time: it won't guarantee his survival against sudden disables and heavy damage.
- Troll Warlord makes it harder to land attacks with Whirling Axes and can survive a dangerous trade with Battle Trance. He still needs an answer to evasion to attack Mortred reliably.
Mid
- Viper pressures her with magical damage and slows. Viper Strike applies Break, weakening Phantom Assassin's passive abilities while she isn't protected from the effect.
- Lina deals heavy magical burst damage, which evasion does not help against. She benefits from catching Phantom Assassin before she activates Black King Bar or waiting until its effect ends.
Offlaner
- Axe catches Phantom Assassin with Berserker's Call even through Black King Bar. Her increased attack speed triggers Counter Helix, and with Blade Mail, this makes jumping on Axe especially dangerous.
- Centaur Warrunner withstands physical attacks and punishes them with Retaliate. Stampede helps an ally retreat after Mortred's jump, while Hoof Stomp provides a counter-disable.
Support
- Hoodwink catches Mortred near a tree with Bushwhack. Sharpshooter can deal heavy damage and apply Break if Phantom Assassin isn't protected from debuffs.
- Sven in the support role is useful mainly because of Warcry: the bonus armor helps allies survive critical hits. Storm Hammer lets him respond to a jump while Mortred doesn't have Black King Bar active.
Hard Support
- Dazzle keeps a chosen ally from dying with Shallow Grave. He needs to stay out of the first attack, or the save won't come in time.
- Omniknight protects the team from physical damage with Guardian Angel and restores health with Purification. With good positioning, he can thwart Phantom Assassin's entire initial assault.
What to Buy Against Phantom Assassin
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Monkey King Bar | helps land attacks through evasion and deals bonus damage. This is an important purchase for a hero who needs to kill Mortred with regular attacks |
| Bloodthorn | silences the target and helps the team land attacks on them. The effect can be dispelled, so keep Phantom Assassin's defensive items in mind |
| Silver Edge | applies Break and weakens passive abilities. It's best to use it when the team is ready to follow up with an attack |
| Ghost Scepter | lets a support survive physical attacks. Once Mortred has Nullifier, you need to prepare another way to save yourself |
| Blade Mail | reflects damage and is especially useful on a durable hero whom Phantom Assassin is forced to attack while disabled |
| Assault Cuirass | grants armor to nearby allies and helps the team withstand physical damage in a big fight |
| Abyssal Blade | keeps Mortred in place even during Black King Bar and lets you stop her after she jumps |
How to Play Against Phantom Assassin at Different Stages
Laning
Put pressure on Phantom Assassin while she doesn't have items for fast farming and protection. Force her to last-hit creeps with Stifling Dagger from an awkward distance, and attack together with your support. Don't stand far away from your low-health lane partner: Phantom Strike lets Phantom Assassin quickly go from farming safely to securing a kill.
Mid Game
After she buys a farming item, take control of the jungle and stop her from safely building her next items. Don't expose all your supports at once in a fight. If Phantom Assassin jumps first, respond with disables and save her target instead of continuing to hit another enemy. Keep an eye on Black King Bar: it changes which abilities you can use to keep her in place.
Late Game
Keep the hero with a save separate from Phantom Assassin's primary target. Check whether the team has a way to land attacks through evasion, not just high damage on paper. After she buys Nullifier, plan in advance what to use alongside Ghost Scepter and other dispellable defenses. Don't use all your stuns before Phantom Assassin enters the fight: her jump on a team that can't respond can decide the match.
