Phantom Assassin, also known as Mortred, is one of the most feared carry heroes in Dota 2. Her deadly critical strikes, coupled with her ability to blink onto enemies, make her a formidable foe. Raised by the Sisters of the Veil, Mortred strikes with lethal precision, picking off targets with calculated strikes. In this guide, we’ll explore her lore, abilities, item builds, and strategies to help you dominate with Phantom Assassin in your games.

Phantom Assassin’s Lore

Mortred is a chosen assassin of the Sisters of the Veil, an order of killers who see assassination as a sacred duty. The Sisters identify targets through meditation and prophecy, eliminating their victims without political or mercenary motivations. Each Phantom Assassin has no identity outside of the order, blending seamlessly into the fabric of their deadly mission. Mortred, however, dares to whisper her name when no one is near—making her a unique and dangerous figure.

Phantom Assassin’s Abilities

Phantom Assassin’s abilities revolve around quickly closing gaps, dealing devastating damage, and evading enemy attacks. Her skills make her a high-risk, high-reward hero capable of wiping out enemies with a single stroke.

Stifling Dagger

Stifling Dagger is Mortred’s initiation tool. She throws a dagger that slows the target while dealing a percentage of her attack damage. It applies item attack effects and has a chance to trigger her Coup de Grace. The dagger is useful for harassing enemies in lane and setting up kills, especially with its long cast range. The ability’s slow can cripple enemy heroes, making it harder for them to escape while Phantom Assassin closes in.

• Effect: 30% to 75% of Phantom Assassin’s attack damage, with a 50% movement slow.
• Range: 700 to 1150 units.
• Cooldown: 6 seconds (with talents reducing it to 4 seconds).

Phantom Strike

Phantom Strike teleports Phantom Assassin to a target, either ally or enemy. If used on an enemy, it grants her bonus attack speed for several seconds. This ability is Mortred’s core mobility tool, allowing her to jump into fights, chase down fleeing enemies, or escape sticky situations by blinking to an ally. In combination with her other abilities, Phantom Strike is pivotal for maximizing her damage output.

• Attack Speed Bonus: 100 to 190, up to 250 with talents.
• Range: 1000 (1250 with talents).
• Cooldown: 11 to 5 seconds, depending on the skill level.

Blur

Blur increases Phantom Assassin’s evasion, making it difficult for enemies to land physical attacks. When activated, Blur hides Phantom Assassin from the minimap and renders her invisible until she’s within a certain range of an enemy hero. This ability is crucial for escaping ganks and surviving dangerous fights. With an Aghanim’s Scepter, Blur refreshes her abilities every time she scores a kill, adding even more survivability.

• Evasion: 20% to 50%, with talent enhancements pushing it to 75%.
• Duration: 30 seconds when activated.
• Cooldown: 45 seconds (reduced by Aghanim’s Scepter).

Fan of Knives

Aghanim’s Shard grants Phantom Assassin the Fan of Knives ability, which unleashes a flurry of blades around her, dealing damage based on the enemy’s maximum health and applying the Break effect. This allows her to disable enemy passives, making it especially potent against heroes who rely on such abilities for survival. This is a vital skill in countering high-health, tanky heroes.

• Damage: 28% of maximum health.
• Radius: 550 units.
• Cooldown: 15 seconds.

Coup de Grace

Coup de Grace is Phantom Assassin’s signature ability. It gives her attacks a chance to deal a massive critical strike, turning ordinary hits into devastating blows. Stifling Dagger also benefits from this critical strike chance, making it an essential component of her arsenal. Coup de Grace turns Phantom Assassin into a late-game powerhouse capable of demolishing enemies in seconds.

• Critical Damage: 200% to 450%.
• Proc Chance: 17%, increased to 24% with talents.

Recommended Items for Phantom Assassin

Building the right items on Phantom Assassin is crucial to maximizing her damage and survivability. Here are some core and situational items that work best for her.

Early Game Items

In the early game, Phantom Assassin needs items that allow her to survive the laning phase and transition into the mid-game.

• Tango and Healing Salve provide essential regeneration to withstand harassment.
• Boots of Speed and Magic Wand help with mobility and survivability.
• Quelling Blade improves her ability to farm efficiently, and Wraith Band boosts her early stats.

Mid Game Items

By the mid-game, Phantom Assassin should focus on items that boost her damage output and give her more mobility in fights.

• Battle Fury is a core item for farming and scaling into the late game. Its cleave ability allows Phantom Assassin to clear waves and jungle camps quickly, accelerating her farm.
• Desolator amplifies her damage output, especially with Coup de Grace, and synergizes well with Stifling Dagger by applying its armor reduction from long range.
• Black King Bar ensures she can fight without being disabled by spells, making it a must-buy in most games.

Late Game Items

As Phantom Assassin moves into the late game, she should invest in items that enhance her survivability and allow her to lock down enemies.

• Abyssal Blade gives her a reliable stun that works even through spell immunity, essential for dealing with elusive enemies.
• Satanic boosts her durability in fights, allowing her to regain health quickly during engagements.
• Butterfly adds evasion and attack speed, making her even harder to kill while increasing her DPS.

Situational Items

• Monkey King Bar is essential when facing enemies with high evasion, as it ensures Phantom Assassin’s attacks don’t miss.
• Nullifier can be used to counter heroes reliant on dispellable buffs or to prevent enemies from escaping.
• Eye of Skadi offers additional stats and a slowing effect, useful for locking down enemies in fights.

Gameplay Strategy

Phantom Assassin’s gameplay is centered around farming efficiently in the early game to become a dominant carry in the late game. Here’s how you should approach different stages of the match.

Early Game

In the early game, focus on last-hitting creeps to build up gold and experience. Stifling Dagger can be used to harass enemies or secure last hits from a distance. Avoid taking unnecessary risks, as Phantom Assassin is relatively weak before she builds key items.

Mid Game

By the mid-game, you should have items like Battle Fury and Desolator. Use Phantom Strike to jump on vulnerable targets and take them out quickly. Don’t hesitate to use Black King Bar to survive team fights and dish out damage without being interrupted.

Late Game

In the late game, Phantom Assassin becomes a force to be reckoned with. Use Blur to avoid detection and jump on enemy backlines with Phantom Strike. Look for opportunities to activate Coup de Grace and eliminate high-priority targets swiftly. Your critical hits can quickly turn the tide of any engagement, making Phantom Assassin one of the most dangerous heroes in the game.