How Phantom Lancer and Warlock perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Phantom Lancer and Warlock win 49.88% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 1,209 matches.
Fighting into a Phantom Lancer that is creating illusions is already messy. Warlock can make it much more awkward by linking enemy heroes with Fatal Bonds. Any area damage used to clear the illusions will also get shared back onto important targets, making it painful to deal with the swarm. If enemies try to scatter, a well-placed Upheaval from Warlock slows them down, keeping them in range for Phantom Lancer and his army to continue their assault. The linked damage from Bonds simply makes Phantom Lancer's sustained attacks more effective at wearing people down.
This pairing really starts to function in mid-game teamfights when Phantom Lancer has enough items to create illusions and stay in the fight. A good setup from Warlock provides a much better opening for Phantom Lancer to go in. Enemies are forced to choose between focusing Warlock before he can cast his spells, or having a disengage ready to pull back once the spells are out. It creates a difficult situation for opponents, forcing them to react to the combo rather than executing their own plan.
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 | 51.52% | 526 |
| Crusader & Archon | 49.63% | 1,217 |
| Legend & Ancient | 46.32% | 775 |
| Divine & Immortal | 48.03% | 279 |
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 | 49.88% | ▼ -1.4pp | 1,209 |
| 7.41d | 51.31% | ▼ -1.1pp | 96,791 |
| 7.41c | 52.46% | ▲ +0.1pp | 50,569 |
| 7.41b | 52.40% | — | 54,136 |
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Data updated Aug 12, 2026.