Phantom Assassin
Mortred was the youngest of the Veiled Sisters, trained in the arts of assassination from a young age. Her dedication made her the most lethal of her order, striking from the shadows with impossible precision.
At a Glance
Core Principles
“The Veil is both my cloak and my blade. In shadow, I prepare. In light, I deliver. Precision is not a skill; it is the only truth.”
Patience is a Virtue
You are fragile, not a frontline brawler. Your power lies in the perfect moment. Do not engage first. Let chaos unfold, then appear from the shadows to claim the prize.
Know Your Prey
Not all heroes are your equal target. Supports are your sustenance, carries are your ambition. Identify who you can kill quickly and focus your fury there. A support kill is worth more than a failed attempt on a tanky carry.
The Blade is an Extension
Your dagger is not just for damage. It is a scout, a last-hit tool, and a debuff-applicator. Master its every use. Desolate your target from afar before you even close the distance.
Control the Information
Blur is your greatest psychological weapon. Vanish from the minimap and their fear begins. They will play cautiously, they will waste resources, they will see threats in every dark corner. Create that paranoia.
Embrace the Chaos
Your critical strike is random. You cannot plan for it, but you must be ready when it arrives. A single incredible hit can turn certain death into a triumphant victory. Stay calm in the face of RNG and capitalize on your luck when it strikes.
Surgical Strike
You are an assassin, not a warrior. Every Phantom Strike must have a purpose. Every BKB activation must lead to a kill. Every item you build must refine your lethal purpose. Be precise, be swift, be deadly.
Hero Overview
Phantom Assassin is a stealthy, agility-based carry who excels at singling out and eliminating key targets with overwhelming burst physical damage. Her skill set provides harassment, mobility, evasion, and one of the game's most lethal critical strikes, making her a constant threat throughout the match.
PA's gameplay revolves around farming efficiently with Stifling Dagger, then using Phantom Strike to jump onto vulnerable heroes. The goal is to secure a few early kills to accelerate your item timings. Mid-game, you apply pressure through Blur's invisibility and pick off supports. Late-game, with items like Desolator and BKB, you become a team-wiping machine, deleting heroes with a flurry of critical strikes. Active Blur management and smart usage of Phantom Strike are what separates a good PA from a great one.
Pros
- Extremely high damage output with Coup de Grace
- Excellent mobility and escape with Phantom Strike
- Blur provides high evasion and information denial
- Stifling Dagger offers effective lane harassment and farming
- Can farm jungle efficiently with Phantom Strike
Cons
- Very fragile and susceptible to stuns and disables
- Reliant on physical damage; struggles against high armor
- Blur's evasion can be countered by items and abilities
- Mana pool is very limited, requiring careful skill usage
- Weak in lane against strong ranged harassers
Ability Analysis
Stifling Dagger
ActivePhantom Assassin hurls a dagger at a target enemy, dealing damage and slowing movement speed. The dagger applies on-hit effects and deals damage based on her attack damage.
Notes: This is your primary laning and farming tool. It applies attack modifiers like Desolator or a Silver Edge buff. Use it from fog of war to avoid giving the enemy Magic Stick charges. The projectile grants vision, so use it to scout. Mastering its damage allows you to secure last hits safely without being denied.
Phantom Strike
ActivePhantom Assassin teleports to a target unit, friendly or enemy, and gains bonus attack speed for a short duration.
Notes: Your initiation and escape mechanism. When escaping, look for creeps, neutrals, or even summoned units to jump to. The attack speed bonus is significant for tower sieging—jump onto a creep near a tower to take it down faster. Be aware that roots prevent you from using this ability.
Blur
ActivePhantom Assassin becomes ethereal, gaining evasion. When active, she is invisible to enemy minimaps and fades from view, but is still visible. Activating Blur disjoint incoming projectiles.
Notes: You are not truly invisible; enemies can still see your shimmering model. Creeps and neutrals will not attack you while Blur is active. Activating it will dispel you like a Smoke of Deceit does, so be wary of enemy heroes and towers. Use the active to dodge stuns and projectiles. The minimap deception is a powerful psychological tool.
Coup de Grace
PassivePhantom Assassin's attacks have a chance to deal a devastating critical strike. The critical strike also has a chance to apply a deadly slow.
Notes: This is why you are a threat. One lucky crit can end a fight before it begins. The damage is pure physical, so armor is your main counter. Remember that Break effects will disable both the evasion from Blur and this critical strike. Position yourself to maximize hits on priority targets.
Fan of Knives (Aghanim's Scepter)
ActivePhantom Assassin releases a fan of knives in an area around her, dealing damage to all enemy units and applying Break for a duration. The damage is based on the target's max HP.
Notes: This upgrade makes you an anti-illusion monster. Since the damage is percentage-based, it shreds illusions like Phantom Lancer's or Naga Siren's. The Break is invaluable against heroes who rely on passive abilities, such as Ursa's Enrage or Bristleback's passive. A fantastic counter-pick item.
Developer's Notes
Developer Insights
Phantom Assassin is the embodiment of the high-risk, high-reward carry. Her Coup de Grace is one of the most devastating critical strikes in the game, capable of turning ganks into instant kills and team fights into routs.
Key Insights:
- Stifling Dagger is your laning tool and pseudo-ranged attack; mastering its projectile speed and damage values is fundamental.
- Blur is not just evasion; it's a repositioning and information-denial tool. Active Blur can disjoint projectiles and hide you from the minimap.
- Phantom Strike is both an initiation and escape mechanism. Always be aware of jumpable targets.
Phantom Assassin thrives on chaos and misdirection. Use Blur to confuse, Dagger to harass, and strike when the moment is perfect. Your goal isn't just to kill—it's to make the enemy fear every shadow.
Game Strategy
Early Game
Timeframe: 0-15 minutes Objective: Survive the lane and secure key farm for your first core item. Key: Use Stifling Dagger to safely get last hits from a distance.; Practice right-click + melee range Dagger to prevent denies.; Zone with Dagger if the enemy has no Magic Stick, cast from fog if they do.; Use Blur to dodge incoming spells or harass.; Jungle efficiently with Phantom Strike between camps. Items: Power Treads (Priority #1); Poor Man's Shield for block/armor; Desolator components Tips: Be mindful of your mana. You can't afford to spam Dagger recklessly.; Blur's passive evasion can win you trades if right-clicked by a melee hero.; Your goal is Battle Fury (if chosen) or Desolator. Don't get greedy for kills; farm is your priority.; Look for kill opportunities only when the enemy is severely out of position.
Mid Game
Timeframe: 15-30 minutes Objective: Pick off isolated heroes and control side lanes. Key: Use Blur's active to reposition and ambush supports or junglers.; Coordinate with your team to gank; you cannot initiate alone without BKB.; Farm a lane with Dagger, then use Blur to disappear into the jungle.; Split push with the attack speed from Phantom Strike on creeps.; Crucially, get your Black King Bar before major teamfights. Items: Black King Bar (Essential for teamfights); Desolator (Damage amplification); Possible Battle Fury Tips: The minimap deception from Blur is your best weapon. Use it to make the enemy play scared.; Do not fight without BKB if the enemy has reliable disables.; Your target should almost always be the support. Delete them first, then work your way to the carry.; A 4-5 second BKB is often enough to kill one or two heroes and win a fight.
Late Game
Timeframe: 30+ minutes Objective: Execute the enemy carry and win the game. Key: Wait for the fight to start before entering with BKB and Phantom Strike.; Identify the highest-value target (usually the enemy carry) and eliminate them.; Position yourself to avoid being kited or disabled before you can act.; Use items like Silver Edge to Break key passives or Satanic to survive burst.; Leverage Fan of Knives (with Agh's) against illusion-heavy lineups. Items: Satanic (Survivability); Butterfly (Damage and Evasion stack); Monkey King Bar (Against other evasion heroes); Aghanim's Scepter (Utility and Counter-Play) Tips: One Coup de Grace can win the game. Be patient and wait for the right moment to strike.; Don't be the first one in. Let your tank or initiator go first, then clean up.; Your BKB duration will be short. Make every second count.; Managing Tread agility is key for both damage and armor. Switch to Strength if taking heavy spell damage.
Tips & Strategies
Dagger Precision
- Stifling Dagger is an instant attack, applying attack modifiers on impact. You can launch a dagger, then activate Shadow Blade for a guaranteed crit on the hit.
- The projectile grants vision on impact. Use it to check Roshan pit or high ground from a safe distance.
- Since it breaks Smoke, use it before a gank to scout, not after initiating.
Blur: Art of Deception
- Active Blur disjoint projectiles. Use it to dodge everything from a Storm Hammer to a Mystic Flare.
- You are not fully invisible. Enemy heroes can still see your faint outline. Use this to your advantage by appearing and disappearing to confuse them.
- Neutral creep aggro is disabled. You can walk through jungle camps without waking them, useful for positioning or escaping.
Strike & Escape
- Always be scanning for a Phantom Strike target, even when escaping. A neutrals camp you can see is often your ticket out.
- The attack speed buff from Phantom Strike allows you to siege towers incredibly fast. Jump onto a creep to take advantage of this.
- You cannot Phantom Strike if rooted. Be wary of items like Rod of Atos or abilities like Overgrowth.
Mastering Criticals
- Break effects completely disable Coup de Grace. Silver Edge, Viper Strike, and your own Aghanim's Scepter will neutralize your damage.
- Reflected damage from Blade Mail is not blocked by BKB. If you are killing yourself on a Blade Mail, you need to activate BKB or disengage.
- The Aghanim's Shard that reduces Blur cooldown on kills works on Aegis buys and Reincarnation. This can give you massive uptime on your evasion in drawn-out fights.
Item Guide
Starting Items
Basic stats for last hitting and survivability in a difficult lane. Build into PMS or Wraith Band.
Tango, Slippers, Circlet
Core Items
The holy trinity for PA. Treads for stats/armor switching, Deso to amplify your crits, and BKB to ensure you actually get to attack.
Power Treads, Desolator, Black King Bar
Situational Items
Adapt to the game. Butterfly for more damage/evasion. Silver Edge to pierce evasion and apply Break. Satanic for survivability against burst. MKB against other evasion heroes. Abyssal to lock down targets.
Butterfly, Silver Edge, Satanic, MKB, Abyssal Blade
Counter Guide
Good With
Phantom Assassin synergizes with heroes who can create the opening she needs or amplify her kill potential. Keeper of the Light can Illuminate to wave clear, giving PA space, and provide a mana-free Blink to initiate with Recall. Omniknight is a perfect partner, with Guardian Angel making her immune to physical damage during BKB downtime and Repel purging disables. Shadow Demon can set up kills with Disruption and amplify her damage with Soul Catcher. Lich provides armor and slows with Frost Shield, while his sacrifice helps PA control the lane. Any hero that provides a disable (like Vengeful Spirit's Wave of Terror stun) or a way for PA to get on top of her target (like Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast) dramatically increases her effectiveness. The goal is to enable PA to do what she does best: hit things until they die.
Bad Against
Phantom Assassin is countered by heroes and items that either prevent her from attacking or negate her damage. Axe is her bane, as Berserker's Call forces her to attack him, triggering Blade Mail and Counters and wasting her critical strikes. Disablers like Lion and Shadow Shaman can lock her down for the duration of a fight, rendering her useless. Illusion heroes like Phantom Lancer can be difficult to deal with without an Aghanim's Scepter, as she struggles to find the real hero. Stout Shield and Vanguard significantly reduce her early-game damage output. Permits like Silver Edge provide an easy Break, disabling her Blur and Coup de Grace. High burst magic damage that she can't evade, such as from Lina or Linus, is also a major threat before she gets a BKB. The core counters are disables, Break effects, high armor, and heroes who can turn her own damage against her.
Good Against
Phantom Assassin thrives when hunting squishy, immobile supports who have no escape mechanism. Heroes like Sniper, Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, and Zeus are prime targets who can be deleted with a single Phantom Strike and a few lucky crits. She is also effective against heroes who rely on channeling spells, as a single attack can interrupt them, and Blur's active can dodge their initial disable. She excels at punishing out-of-position carries. Heroes with low base armor or mobility, like Anti-Mage before he gets his Manta Style, are vulnerable to her burst. Her ability to one-shot heroes creates immense pressure and forces the enemy team to play defensively and group up, giving your team control over the map. In short, if it's squishy and isolated, it's PA's next victim.