Phantom Lancer is a really strong carry, especially in this meta. His early game is quite smooth, as well as his strong mid-late game transition. With the addition of a scepter upgrade, there’s really not much alot of heroes can do to him once he gets his items up. A beefy Phantom Lancer with a scepter and heart, or a diffusal assault build will easily crush alot of enemy line ups.
Heroes that can shut him down early-midgame are highly recommended when playing against this hero. Heroes that are quick to nuke and harrass out of lane such as bat, or any support duo that can put him out of the lane well. However when the mid game comes along, these heroes really destroy his ability to play the game properly- Axe, Bristleback, Gyro and sven.
These stated heroes are the ones that will render his most important spell-illusions, useless. They have very high group damage, which allows them to clear anything phantom lancer throws at them, and also shuts down the PL in wars. Overall, just get team control heroes and also early game harassers to take this annoying hero out of the game!