How Phantom Lancer and Viper perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Phantom Lancer and Viper win 52.76% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 1,052 matches.
Controlling the map early gives Phantom Lancer the room he needs to farm up his first core items. Viper is a natural lane bully who can secure his own area and apply pressure, forcing enemy rotations away from PL. In teamfights, this lane dominance translates into excellent setup. A target hit by Viper Strike or even just constant Poison Attacks is too slow to escape the illusion swarm. More importantly, Nethertoxin can break key defensive passives that would otherwise help an enemy survive against Phantom Lancer, leaving them completely vulnerable.
The game plan is straightforward. Viper creates pressure in the mid game, taking towers and forcing fights while Phantom Lancer focuses on his economy. Once PL comes online with a Diffusal Blade, the pair can start hunting together. Viper’s slows pin a target down, and Phantom Lancer's illusions surround them for the kill. The enemy's main counterplay is to try and punish PL's greed before he gets his items, but Viper's constant map presence makes that a risky move.
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 | 51.41% | 745 |
| Crusader & Archon | 51.38% | 1,090 |
| Legend & Ancient | 51.95% | 616 |
| Divine & Immortal | 48.22% | 197 |
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 | 52.76% | ▲ +0.9pp | 1,052 |
| 7.41d | 51.86% | ▲ +0.2pp | 101,622 |
| 7.41c | 51.66% | ▼ -0.6pp | 50,740 |
| 7.41b | 52.24% | — | 49,714 |
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Data updated Aug 11, 2026.