Chaos Knight vs Skywrath Mage

How this matchup plays

Using Mystic Flare against a Chaos Knight with Phantasm active can be a mistake. The ultimate's damage is split among all heroes in its radius, and the illusions count for this, soaking up a huge portion of the burst. Skywrath Mage can still use his other spells to clear away the illusions, but they will have already served their purpose by blunting his most dangerous ability. This interaction forces Skywrath to either find the real Chaos Knight immediately or risk his entire combo having little impact.

Early on, Skywrath Mage's constant spam can make laning difficult. As the game progresses, however, Chaos Knight starts to view him as a primary target. A single Reality Rift is often enough to close the distance and kill the fragile support, who has no innate escape. Skywrath must rely on his team's lockdown and positioning to survive, but the chaos created by Phantasm makes it difficult to reliably target the real Chaos Knight before his illusions and Reality Rift secure the kill.