How Phantom Lancer and Sand King perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Phantom Lancer and Sand King win 50.22% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 685 matches.
Trying to focus a target through the chaos of a Sand King initiation is difficult. His Burrowstrike provides the lockdown needed for Phantom Lancer to safely close the gap with Phantom Rush and start building illusions. While enemies are dealing with Epicenter's damage and slow, the Lancer army is already forming. This combination of area denial and a multiplying carry makes it hard for opponents to find and eliminate the real Phantom Lancer before they're overwhelmed by his copies.
The success of this pairing often comes down to Sand King's positioning and timing, usually after he secures a Blink Dagger. His initiation creates the opening for Phantom Lancer to commit to a fight and start taking over. An enemy team's best response is to spread out to avoid a multi-hero stun and to have enough area damage ready for the moment the illusions appear. If they can survive the initial burst and clear the copies quickly, they can expose the real Lancer and turn the fight around.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 52.33% | 344 |
| Crusader & Archon | 46.38% | 733 |
| Legend & Ancient | 48.38% | 401 |
| Divine & Immortal | 45.58% | 147 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 50.22% | ▼ -1.5pp | 685 |
| 7.41d | 51.74% | ▲ +0.3pp | 57,674 |
| 7.41c | 51.43% | ▼ -1.5pp | 30,538 |
| 7.41b | 52.88% | — | 39,355 |
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Data updated Aug 11, 2026.