Dazzle vs Phantom Lancer

How this matchup plays

Choosing Dazzle to face a Phantom Lancer can be a trap. The very reason they work well together is what makes this matchup difficult for Dazzle. His Shadow Wave gets its damage by bouncing between many allied units, which is fantastic when Phantom Lancer is on his team providing illusions. But when those illusions are on the enemy team, Dazzle has no efficient way to clear them. Poison Touch is single-target, and while Shallow Grave is great for saving someone from a focused burst, it can't stop the constant, widespread damage from an entire army of illusions.

Early on, Dazzle can be a nuisance in lane, but his impact falls off as soon as Phantom Lancer starts to multiply. The PL player will try to overwhelm the fight, making it impossible for Dazzle to identify the real hero and forcing out saves on low-priority targets. Dazzle’s game plan becomes about survival and hoping his cores have enough area damage to handle the illusion swarm. Without that help from his team, he’s fighting a losing battle against a hero who seems to be everywhere at once.