Dark Willow vs Phantom Assassin

How this matchup plays

Farming core items often feels safer for Phantom Assassin because a solo Dark Willow poses little threat to her. Willow's physical damage is almost entirely negated by Blur, forcing her to rely on spellcasting. While Cursed Crown and Bramble Maze are decent lockdown, they have delays or travel times. This gives a prepared Phantom Assassin a window to close the distance with Phantom Strike and burst Willow down before the full control takes effect. A Black King Bar on PA makes this dynamic even more one-sided, leaving Willow with very few ways to stop her.

Throughout the game, Dark Willow has to play from the safety of her team, as she can be a primary target for Phantom Assassin's pickoffs. Her best-case scenario is using Terrorize as a counter-initiation tool when PA jumps into a fight, buying time for her allies to react. In contrast, Phantom Assassin will constantly look for opportunities to find and kill Willow before a fight starts, especially around objectives. The slight advantage comes from PA's ability to dictate the engagement and prey on Willow's positioning.