Tusk counter and synergy picks
Pick Tusk with Vengeful Spirit to increase win-rate from 46.9% to 52.9% or against Phantom Assassin to increase win-rate to 54.2% in Patch 7.39b.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
6.0% | |
5.8% | |
3.9% | |
3.6% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.3% | |
3.2% | |
3.2% | |
3.0% | |
2.8% | |
2.5% | |
2.4% | |
2.4% | |
2.4% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Snowballing towards an enemy while Lifestealer has infested you could result in an easy kill with your Walrus PUNCH! and Infest's burst damage followed by Lifestealer's attacks.
You also can trap your enemies with Ice Shards to make them unable to escape from Lifestealer's attacks.
Drow Ranger synergizes well with Tusk primarily because of Tusk’s ability to isolate and control enemies, setting them up perfectly for Drow’s high physical damage. Here's a brief breakdown:
Tusk’s Snowball lets him initiate fights and bring Drow closer to enemies safely.
Ice Shards can trap enemies, making it hard for them to escape Drow’s Frost Arrows and Marksmanship procs.
Tag Team greatly amplifies physical damage, which Drow takes full advantage of with her fast attack speed and high damage output.
Tusk’s frontline presence and crowd control help keep enemies off Drow, allowing her to freely deal damage from a distance.
Tag Team + Meld = Burst Physical Damage: Tusk’s Tag Team applies bonus physical damage per attack, and Meld adds a powerful minus armor debuff and bonus damage. Combined, this creates huge burst potential early on.
Snowball Save: Tusk can use Snowball to save TA or initiate fights, giving her time to charge Refraction or line up a Meld hit.
Ice Shards for Traps: Ice Shards helps control enemy movement, allowing TA to land Psionic Traps more effectively or force enemies into unfavorable spots.
Overall, Tusk and TA form a high tempo, high burst duo that excels at skirmishes and snowballing early leads.
Tusk can use Snowball to bring Legion Commander into range, enabling her to cast Duel. Tag Team amplifies both of their damage, often securing kills
Tusk and Dark Seer synergize well with melee allies in lane. Ion Shell and Tag Team together can dish out heavy damage, while Surge and Snowball help close the distance. Ice Shards further enhances the combo by trapping enemies, maximizing the burst potential
Tusk and Dawnbreaker form a durable and high-damage duo in the early game. Ice Shards can trap enemies, giving Dawnbreaker the opportunity to land her full Celestial Hammer and Starbreaker combo. Tag Team enhances the burst, often resulting in kills during skirmishes
"Tusk synergizes well with Wraith King by enhancing his physical damage through Tag Team. Ice Shards and Snowball provide crowd control, giving Wraith King and his skeletons the time needed to overwhelm and eliminate targets
...core items [7.39b]
A core Boots upgrade that provides HP sustain and great movement speed to roam around the map. You can consider Phase Boots instead if you have a good start.
A core item to quickly close the gap on enemy heroes and lock them down with Walrus Punch!. Gives you more versatility with Snowball usage. Also lets you save an allied hero in trouble by Blinking next to them and taking them under your Snowball.
A core upgrade of Ice Shards to have more AoE damage and control in fights. Also lets you clear creep waves from a distance without having to commit with Snowball.
A core item to reposition and isolate an enemy hero by kicking them into your team after initiating. Has great synergy with Blink Dagger to instantly land Walrus Kick on your target and Snowball yourself to safety afterwards.
A core mobility item to close the gap on enemy heroes and set up kills with Walrus Punch!. Also lets you push yourself or one of your allies away from trouble. Works well to save an allied hero in trouble by pushing yourself next to them and taking them under your Snowball.
A core item that maintains your save potential and kill threat on the map more often by reducing the cooldown of all your spells and items.
A core Boots upgrade to increase your damage and tankiness. Also lets you close the gap on enemy heroes with the Phase active and connect with Walrus Punch! without having to initiate with Snowball every time.
A core item that helps with mana sustain to spam your spells for fighting and farming. Also makes you tanky with armor and HP pool.
A core item to increase your right click damage and apply minus armor on every hit. Massively increases the damage of Walrus Punch! and lets you burst down enemy heroes and Roshan much faster.
A core item to avoid most disables and silences on the enemy team to lock down enemy heroes and hit freely in fights. Also improves your right click damage and tankiness through HP pool and magic resistance.
A core upgrade for Echo Sabre to close the gap on enemy heroes and quickly burst them down with your spells and right clicks.
A core item that boosts your physical damage against enemy heroes and buildings while tanking up with armor to reduce the enemy physical damage. Improves the potential of running at towers as well as Roshan with minus armor. Also gives you attack speed for another Walrus Punch! through right clicks with your level 25 talent.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
7.3% | |
5.7% | |
5.7% | |
5.6% | |
5.1% | |
4.7% | |
4.4% | |
4.3% | |
4.3% | |
4.1% | |
3.9% | |
3.9% | |
3.5% | |
3.4% | |
3.3% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Walrus PUNCH! makes Legion Commander lose Duel easily, especially when she doesn't have Blade Mail. Tusk can also snowball dueled allies, preventing them from taking damage for a large portion of the duel's duration.
Tusk closes the gap easily with Snowball, trapping Sniper with Shards, and bursting him down before he can react.
Fiend’s Grip is channeled which is easily canceled by Snowball or Walrus Punch. Bane is also vulnerable to early aggression.
Tusk is a strong counter to Phantom Assassin thanks to his mix of magical damage from Ice Shards and Snowball. His Walrus Punch always connects through evasion, and when paired with Tag Team, it can severely punish PA. Bitter Chill helps by reducing her attack speed, and Snowball offers a valuable save for allies targeted by her
Invoker’s combo usually takes a moment to set up, giving Tusk a window to react and protect allies using Snowball. On the flip side, Tusk’s quick initiation and gap-closing abilities make him a threat to Invoker, especially if he catches him before spells are cast
Tusk is an effective counter to Batrider. He can use Snowball to save allies caught in Flaming Lasso, breaking Batrider’s initiation. Additionally, Snowball allows Tusk to chase and catch Batrider, even when he’s flying over cliffs with Firefly
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-5.5% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.8% | |
-4.5% | |
-4.5% | |
-4.3% | |
-3.8% | |
-3.7% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.1% | |
-3.0% | |
-2.7% | |
-2.6% | |
-2.5% |
...based on gameplay [7.39b]
Blink allows Queen of Pain to escape from an incoming Snowball and Ice Shards.
Echo Slam is good against Snowball since it bunches everyone up. This can set up some prime opportunities for Blink Echo Slams.
Mana Break is very effective against Tusk, as he has a very low mana pool.
Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from an incoming Snowball.
Timbersaw’s physical damage resistance significantly reduces the effectiveness of Tusk’s Tag Team and Walrus Punch. Additionally, by lowering Strength with Whirling Death, Timbersaw can make even tanky heroes like Tusk vulnerable to his high pure damage output
Underlord’s tankiness makes him hard to bring down, even with Tusk’s full combo. Pit of Malice counters Tusk effectively by rooting him and disabling Snowball, leaving him vulnerable to follow-up damage
...counter items [7.39b]
Gives you movement speed to get out Ice Shards and move to safety before Snowball connects with you. Also counters the movement slow from Tag Team right clicks.
Gives you movement speed to get out Ice Shards and move to safety before Snowball connects with you. Also counters the movement slow from Tag Team right clicks.
Gives you tankiness to take less damage from Walrus PUNCH! and Tusk's right clicks to trade HP more effectively.
Gives you vision of Tusk to spot his rotations and not get caught by Ice Shards and Snowball.
Gives you or an ally armor and a physical damage barrier to significantly reduce the burst potential of Walrus PUNCH! and Tusk's right clicks.
Lets you bring Tusk deeper into your team when targeted by Snowball. Also lets you jump Tusk and possibly delete him at the start of the fight.
Lets you kite Tusk by putting some distance between him and yourself with Hurricane Thrust and hit him from range. Also lets you push yourself out of Ice Shards.
Gives you a repositioning tool to match Tusk's mobility from Snowball as well as push yourself or an ally to safety when caught inside Ice Shards.
Gives you an invisibility tool to save yourself or an ally stuck inside Ice Shards or caught by Tusk's control spells.
Lets you kite Tusk by protecting yourself against his Walrus PUNCH! and Tag Team right clicks in Ethereal form.
Gives armor to your team to take less damage from Tusk's Walrus PUNCH! and Tag Team right clicks to nullify his kill potential.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39b]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-6.6% | |
-6.1% | |
-5.4% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.7% | |
-4.7% | |
-4.6% | |
-4.6% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.4% | |
-3.0% | |
-2.9% |
