Tusk is a melee strength hero. He is versatile and can be played in any position. Tusk shines at the position of soft support because of his high damage and ganking abilities. This article will guide you in picking the Best Tusk Counters in Dota 2 to win all your future games against him.
His various buffs and team fighting potential make Tusk a formidable enemy. He has massive lockdown and slow spells, along with a high nuking ultimate that is sure to certify a kill for the team.
Although Tusk is a hard hero to play, he becomes a force to be reckoned with once mastered. However, a hero like Tusk has weaknesses and can be countered with the right tactic.
Tusk
Tusk is a tanky hero, being strength-based and can overwhelm his enemies in the laning stage. He can be played as a core, or as support, depending on the team’s draft. Tusk has one of the highest kill potentials in the early game.
His move, Ice Shards, is used to cut off mobility and trap enemy heroes, while Snowball is used to initiate and stun. Tag Team is an AOE debuff spell that slows down enemies and gives more physical damage to them. His ultimate, Walrus Punch, guarantees the kill by nuking enemies in a single hit.
Once Blink dagger is made on Tusk, he becomes the main initiator for his team. Spirit vessel and Phase boots are good starting items that give him damage, mobility, and the ability to solo kill enemy heroes. His Aghanim’s Scepter unlocks Walrus Kick, which vastly increases his impact in fights.
Altogether, Tusk is a valuable asset to the team and can turn the tide in any fight. Understanding the technique to counter Tusk is essential, and can save you a lot of MMR.
Counters
Tusk can easily change the pace of the game if played properly and is a threat to play against. With correct positioning and timing, Tusk is surely to find a kill each time. Therefore, you should know these counters to stop him from demolishing your games.
Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage is one of the Best Tusk Counters in Dota 2, as he can dodge his Ice Shards and Snowball by simply blinking away. His high mobility makes it easy for him to chase after the hero or escape from him.
He has Mana Break, which can deplete Tusk’s already low mana pool, which stops him from casting any abilities. Also, Anti-Mage has a Counter spell that works like a Lotus Orb and reflects Tusk’s Snowball back to him.
Manta Style is a must make on Anti-Mage, which also grants him illusions to deplete mana faster, and a dodge from Snowball if timed correctly. Abyssal blade grants Anti-Mage a stun, that allows him to disable and kill tusk with his ultimate.
Disruptor
Disruptor effectively counters Tusk with Glimpse, as he can instantly send Tusk back to where he was before. As a support hero, his role is to shut down Tusk, making it easy for his core carry to claim the kill.
The kinetic field also disables movement for Tusk, so he can’t chase enemies without Snowball or Blink Dagger. Static Storm silences Tusk, so he can’t cast abilities, and also deals a lot of damage in an AOE.
Aghanim’s Scepter gives Static Storm the ability to mute items, so Tusk cannot use blink dagger to run away and is guaranteed to die.
Phantom Lancer
All of Phantom Lancer’s abilities and item builds are natural counter to Tusk. Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge Tusk’s incoming Snowball. It also allows Phantom Lancer to instantly create illusions and confuse Tusk so he can’t use Walrus Punch.
Phantom Lancer’s ultimate, Juxtapose, lets him create a lot of illusions, so they also reduce the chance of an incoming Walrus Punch. Diffusal Blade is a must-have item, as it gives him damage, attack speed, and mana depletion that is very effective against Tusk’s low mana pool. It can also be used to lower the movement speed of Tusk to prevent him from running away.
Manta Style on Phantom Lancer is also bought, which allows him to dodge an incoming snowball, like Doppelganger.
Razor
Razor’s static link is a hard counter to Tusk’s Walrus Punch. Static Link steals Tusk’s base damage, which also reduces Walrus Punch’s critical, removing the one-shot potential of Tusk.
Storm Surge gives Razor a boost in movement speed, making him a hard hero to target. He also has Plasma Field and Eye of the Storm to chase and kill Tusk after he casts Snowball.
Techies
Techies is an innovative counter of Tusk, and that’s because of his mines. After using Snowball, Tusk has no control, so techies can bait him to his mines planted, granting a free kill. Techies can also place his remote mines at common ganking routes, so we kill Tusk whenever he tries to gank your teammates. His static mines can also freeze Tusk in place for an easy kill opportunity with your teammates.
Storm Spirit
Storm Spirit is a hard counter to Snowball and Ice Shards, as he can use Ball Lightning to get far away from Tusk. Electric Vortex is useful to disable Tusk, while Static Remnant and Overload can grant an easy kill on tusk in the early game.
Orchid Malevolence is a must-have item on Storm Spirit and can silence Tusk. Due to this he is unable to use his abilities and can become an easy kill for storm. Linken’s Sphere gives more mana and health region to Storm Spirit, along with a spell shield so Tusk can’t use his Snowball.
Night Stalker
Night Stalker counters Tusk efficiently because of his abilities. Crippling Fear is an AOE silence that can stop an incoming snowball, stopping Tusk from using Walrus Punch. Hunter in the Night grants him movement speed, so he is a hard target for Ice shards. Dark Ascension grants unobstructed movement so he can dodge Snowball and Ice shards.
Heaven’s Halberd is really useful on Night Stalker. It gives him more health and regen, and can also disarm Tusk. Thus stopping Tusk from using Walrus Punch.
Tusk is a frightening foe to be up against and can stomp games if played by an experienced player. Winning the game against him entirely depends on your draft and itemization. Hopefully, this article will help you in choosing the Best Tusk Counters in Dota 2 and win all your future games against him.
