Dawnbreaker vs Phantom Lancer

How this matchup plays

Thinking you can clear every illusion with Starbreaker often leads to trouble. Dawnbreaker has the area damage to threaten a Phantom Lancer push, and Luminosity helps her fight through the swarm. A good PL player, however, will use Doppelganger to dodge the final smash and stun from Starbreaker. He can also use it to get out of Celestial Hammer's slow trail. This turns the fight into a delicate timing game, where Dawnbreaker has to land her spells perfectly while Phantom Lancer is constantly creating chaos and looking for an opening to strike.

Early on, Dawnbreaker can often control the lane. But once Phantom Lancer gets his core items, the fight becomes much harder for her. He can burn through Dawnbreaker's mana, leaving her unable to cast the spells needed to clear illusions. From there, it becomes a game of who gets the jump on whom. If Dawnbreaker initiates with Solar Guardian, she can turn a fight around. If Phantom Lancer catches her out of position without her cooldowns, she falls quickly. The outcome really depends on which hero gets ahead and executes better.