Morphling vs Phantom Lancer

How this matchup plays

Trying to burst Phantom Lancer down seems like the right idea, but it rarely works out for Morphling. The issue isn't damage, it's mana. Phantom Lancer creates a swarm of illusions that, with his usual items, will drain Morphling's entire mana pool in seconds. A Morphling with no mana can't use Attribute Shift to gain strength when he's being attacked, leaving him stuck in his high-agility form. He becomes incredibly fragile and easy to finish off, unable to cast spells or escape.

The laning stage can feel manageable for Morphling, but his game falls apart once Phantom Lancer gets his core items. Morphling can't safely farm side lanes because a single Spirit Lance can set up a kill. In teamfights, Phantom Lancer can use Doppelganger to dodge the initial burst from Adaptive Strike, then immediately surround and drain Morphling. Morphling's only real hope is to avoid direct confrontation and Morph into another hero to fight, but PL's illusions will often find and overwhelm him regardless of what form he takes.