Over the years, Dota has evolved to be a brilliant strategy game with various roles to play, which allows the player to select their favorite role accordingly. Usually, in a teamfight, there are heroes which stand firm on the frontlines, absorbing all the damage while protecting their team from the same. These heroes risk their lives for their teammates to ensure they don’t get in harm's way in any circumstances. Such sacrificial heroes deserve immense credibility for a successful teamfight. Tank heroes are the backbone of a successful team!

To help you pick the best tanker for your pub games, we have compiled a list of the best 15 Tank Heroes which are hard to kill. These heroes are extremely powerful heroes that don't die easily and are ranked tough to TOUGHEST. They are highly relevant to the current meta and they assist your team toward victory without them having to take any damage in teamfights.

15. Dragon Knight

Davion, the Dragon Knight is a classic tank hero, his high strength and high HP nature fit the glove. He does not fall despite enemies trying to gank him, his armor shall never betray him. Dragon Knight is a tough nut to crack, he has natural high armor which is amplified by his Dragon’s Blood passive, which makes him unkillable unless all five enemy heroes rotate and hunt him down, which is of course impractical in most games.

It is quite obvious that his foes will try to counter him in the late game by building items that can cause immense harm to his armor, but Dragon Knight is a highly dominant and resilient hero in the late game. His armor isn’t easily threatened, he can also build items to increase his already gigantic and tough armor. He also transforms into a devastating killing machine as the late game approaches, absorbing all the damage from the frontlines and demolishing his foes within no time.

Why is Dragon Knight a great tank hero? 

• Dragon’s Blood provides immense tank potential, he has increased armor as well as HP regeneration.
• Dragon Knight also relies more on levels as opposed to farm, allowing him to gank lanes as soon as he acquires his ultimate.
• Dragon’s Breath reduces the physical damage dealt by the enemies by a huge margin, making it easy for Dragon Knight to tank his way into the teamfights.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tank hero.
• You need a durable mid-laner who can stand the test of time and can be sustainable into the late game.

Top 5 End Game items on Dragon Knight 

• Blink Dagger - Blink transports Dragon Knight 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and getting on top of enemies and following it up with his stun.
• Black King Bar - It provides DK with spell immunity from all magic damage spells and effects, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is a staple against high lockdown and disabler heroes.
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE, making him tanky in the fights while reducing the enemy's potential to deal damage.
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Grants him the Black Dragon form, which provides him with unobstructed pathing, increased damage as well as movement speed.
• Heaven’s Halberd - It can be useful to disarm enemy carry, making them unable to do physical damage while DK and his teammates can freely attack them. The evasion from Heaven’s Halberd also provides decent survivability.

Dragon Knight is strong against

• Clinkz - Clinkz has too low health to survive a gank. Getting stunned keeps him down long enough for a reaction.
• Templar Assassin - Templar Assassin's Refraction charges also get quickly removed by the damage over time from Dragon Knight's ultimate.
• Witch Doctor - Death Ward does minor damage against Dragon Knight's armor, and Dragon Knight's high health regeneration minimizes damage from Maledict.

Dragon Knight is weak against

• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast ignores Dragon Knight's armor, disables his health regeneration, and kills him prematurely.
• Lich - Lich's constant slows with Frost Blast and Chain Frost will slow Dragon Knight to a crawl, especially in a crowded teamfight.
• Razor - Static Link saps Dragon Knight of his already low base damage, making him even more useless in a fight if he gets kited.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Knight

14. Kunkka

The Admiral almighty himself! Kunkka is known to be a great tank hero, his strength gain, armor, and HP. His physical damage is also naturally high from the early levels. He can effortlessly survive ganks as his high-status resistance and HP pool come to the rescue. His ultimate proves to be of great use as well as it makes sure he and his allies take the least damage in fights, allowing the fight to be in their favor. The tanky nature of Kunkka is only amplified further by high armor and high HP items. 

If Kunkka is let loose in the later stages of the game then there is no way the enemy team recovers from this deficit. Kunkka is an exceptional laner if we theorize a purely 1v1 matchup, he ensures that his enemies are shoved away from the lane, reducing their farm efficiency. Sure, some heroes are highly effective in the late stages but Kunkka can match their farm due to his AoE physical damage which his foes can’t negate easily. 

What makes Kunkka a great tank hero?

• Boat buff reduces the damage Kunkka and his teammates take in a teamfight
• He has naturally high armor, HP, and strength gain
• Along with being tanky, he is also an exceptional damage dealer and spell caster
• Can opt for different item builds depending on the heroes he is facing, allowing him to have the privilege of flexible item builds, something which not all heroes can get.

Choose this hero if

• Your team lacks a durable mid-laner.
• Your team lacks an initiator hero who can also be a tanky frontliner.

Top 5 End Game items on Kunkka

• Daedalus - Provides immense critical damage upon physical attacks. Most Kunkka players prefer purchasing multiple Daedaluses as the crits stack.
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE.
• Armlet of Mordiggian - Provides increased HP and damage, and is toggleable. Kunkka benefits highly from this toggleable HP mechanic.
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Provides a fleet of Ghosthips, allowing Kunkka to continue his onslaught while also controlling the crowd immensely.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight against spell-casting heroes.

Kunkka is strong against

• Broodmother - X Marks the Spot is great for dragging Broodmother back out of her web for Kunkka's team to set up on her.
• Queen of Pain - Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Sonic Wave and Scream of Pain.
• Sand King - Ghostship helps your team soak up damage from Epicenter, especially if he initiates during the battle.

Kunkka is weak against

• Clinkz - Clinkz's high damage output and insane attack speed late-game can take Kunkka out of the fight before it begins.
• Ursa - Enrage can be activated before being hit by Ghostship to prevent most of the damage.
• Silencer - Last Word can mess up Kunkka's ability synergy, silencing him in the middle of his strong combo.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Kunkka

13. Centaur Warrunner

The war chieftain, Centaur Warrunner, has seen many strong enemies in his war adventures, his forces have destroyed empires and defeated great warriors. Centaur is naturally a great counter to melee carries due to his ability to gap close with both his ultimate and the Blink Dagger. He can return some serious damage to him and it is further amplified with the Blade Mail. Even a highly farmed carry hero can not fight alone or target a farmed and fat Centaur. Alongside, Centaur can use ultimate to run away from a teamfight or initiate it, essentially disengaging and saving his allies as well as himself in teamfights.

Most heroes surely deal significant damage in the late game, but they merely poke the mighty and tanky Centaur, making him retaliate with higher damage back at them. Centaur is an effective offlane hero, as he remains powerful throughout the game. His power spikes allow him to both initiate the gank and survive through it with the help of his items. A late-game Centaur can easily catch low-mobility heroes off guard.

What makes Centaur a great tank hero?

• Naturally has high armor and HP, making him tanky right from the initial levels.
• He also builds items that amplify his tanky nature, making it easy for him to stand his ground in teamfights.
• Centaur also has Return, the ability that discourages his foes from hitting him, as it returns a percentage of the damage they deal to him.

Choose this hero if

• Your team lacks an initiator hero who can also be a tanky frontliner.
• Your team lacks mobility

Top 5 End Game items on Centaur Warrunner

• Blink Dagger - Blink transports Centaur 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and get on top of enemies and follow it up with Stomp.
• Blade Mail - Can reflect enemy damage and prevent them from using spells, making Centaur invulnerable in team fights.
• Force Staff - Allows Centaur to force himself or the targeted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing. It is quite essential in catching or escaping from enemies as it does not get disabled on physical attacks like the Blink Dagger.
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Can be used to initiate or save allies from ganks across the map as it makes Stampede Global.
• Pipe of Insight - Provides immense magic damage block on activation, and affects the whole team.

Centaur is strong against

• Pangolier - Pangolier will proc Retaliate several times if he attempts to use Swashbuckle on Centaur Warrunner.
• Arc Warden - Arc Warden cannot take Centaur Warrunner very easily, and his nukes are not strong enough to deal with Centaur Warrunner.
• Doom - Whenever Doom casts his ultimate, Centaur Warrunner can cast Stampede and allow the Doomed hero to run away, wasting Doom's ultimate.

Centaur is weak against

• Clockwerk - Battery Assault easily interrupts Centaur Warrunner due to his poor cast animation.
• Lifestealer - Feast is an effective tool against Centaur Warrunner, who generally has high health and low armor, and compensates the reflected damage of Retaliate.
• Templar Assassin - Centaur has nothing to deal with Refraction that will negate all of his burst damage.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Centaur_Warrunner

12. Pudge

Pudge, the menacing butcher is undoubtedly one of the most picked heroes in the game. His popularity is credited primarily due to his Hook spell, which drags enemies from a significant distance back to the Pudge, for him to mow them down within no time. Most heroes can fare well against Pudge in the laning phase as they can deal immense damage to him or brush off his spells as he does not have any follow-up in the early game. But as we know, most heroes require their ultimate to be strong, and if Pudge is quick enough to acquire his level 6 before his foes, he can go around the map ruining their gameplay and decimating them in no time. 

You don’t have to be the greatest hooker in the game but it does not take a Dendi to hook stationary targets. Pudge can easily save his allies or eat them if they are caught in an unfair teamfight, healing them while they’re inside him. He is also extremely tanky and can be ignored by enemies if he has his Rot spell on. Overall, a good Pudge can do enough damage to make most players abandon the game entirely!

Why is Pudge a great tank hero?

• Immensely tanky hero right from the laning stage due to his high armor and acquired Flesh Heap charges.
• Deals immense AoE damage with Rot, which can also be used for farming and chasing enemies down while slowing them
• Pudge is also highly picked as an initiator, making him a perfect fit in multiple roles regardless of the meta.

Choose this hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky hero who can also farm and stand ground in fights.
• Your team lacks an initiator hero who can also be a tanky frontliner.

Top 5 End Game Items for Pudge 

• Aether Lens - Provides increased cast range on items and spells, and can be used to catch the enemies off-guard with the increased range.
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Can “eat” an ally, basically ingesting them and healing them inside him, it can be used on allies affected by certain enemy spells.
• Blink Dagger - Upon cast, Blink transports Pudge 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage, though Rot damage does not count. Blink is used for closing the gap and to get on top of enemies to follow up with Dismember or Hook, or it can also be used to escape away from them.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all enemy magic damage spells, making Pudge invulnerable in the fight
• Blademail - Reflects enemy damage to them upon activation. This is highly useful in teamfights, making enemies ignore you for the majority of the duration. 

Pudge is strong against

• Drow Ranger - Meat Hook can pull Drow Ranger to Pudge, disabling her Marksmanship.
• Phantom Assassin - If Phantom Assassin jumps on Pudge first with Phantom Strike, she will be a very easy target for Pudge's Meat Hook and Dismember combo.
• Spectre - He can easily tank the damage reflected by Dispersion due to his high strength and the healing from Dismember.

Pudge is weak against

• Anti-Mage - Mana Break can quickly drain Pudge's low supply of mana, which may render Meat Hook and Dismember unusable.
• Bristleback - Bristleback, in combination with his strength gain, high health, common itemization for magic resistance, and damage reduction from Bristleback makes him a poor target for Pudge.
• Doom - Doom disables the toggling of Rot and, if cast at the right time, may leave Pudge with a potentially lethal health drain

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Pudge

 

11. Underlord

Underlord is notorious for being a menacing and resilient hero against most squishy heroes. Squishy and melee carry heroes simply hate laning against Underlord as the latter has high physical damage which is hard to negate in the early game, along with high HP and armor which they find hard to penetrate. The late game is a completely different playing field for Underlord as he can use Fiend’s Gate to transport himself and his allies into a fight, or help them escape from a fight. This relentless global potential is unmatched by most relevant heroes in the current meta. 

Underlord can easily outpace and outfarm the enemy carry throughout the game if he is in the driver’s seat. His impressive skill set is just the cherry on top, allowing his allies to escape and trapping his foes in the Pit of Malice. It’s quite a treat to see a farmed and fat Underlord take no damage from the equally farmed counterpart. This causes the latter to ignore him in teamfights, which eventually ends up costing him his life. Underlord is an essential counterpick if you are looking for an Offlaner that can decimate the enemy carry right from minute 0.

Why is Underlord such a great tank hero?

• Builds items that provide him with resistance and armor
• Naturally high base armor and HP gain, keeping him sustained right from the laning stage
• High base Strength gain which is only amplified by the items he makes
• Immense global presence potential with Fiend’s Gate ultimate

Choose this hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky offlaner.
• You want a fast farming offlaner who relies more on farm to get the job done.
• You want a hero with global mobility potential

Top 5 End Game items on Underlord

• Blademail - Reflects enemy damage to them upon activation
• Lotus Orb - Reflects targeted spells hence can also be used to dodge spells if timed correctly. Lotus Orb also provides a basic dispel upon activation.
• Shiva’s Guard - Can effortlessly push lanes and provides increased armor which is essential against low armor heroes
• Pipe of Insight - Provides immense magic damage block on activation, and affects the whole team. 
• Crimson Guard - Provides immense physical damage block, and also affects the whole team as well as the towers.
• Rod of Atos - Upon usage, Rod of Atos locks enemies down and prevents them from using any spells or moving. This can be used with Pit of Malice to essentially perma-stun enemies for a decent duration.

Underlord is strong against

• Phantom Lancer - Pit of Malice will continuously disrupt many illusions, drastically reducing their damage and potency.
• Phantom Assassin - Pit of Malice prevents Phantom Assassin from either escaping or engaging with Phantom Strike.
• Terrorblade - Atrophy Aura reduces Terrorblade's damage significantly, even during Metamorphosis.

Underlord is weak against

• Necrophos - Reaper's Scythe and Heartstopper Aura deal percentage-based damage, ignoring Underlord's high health.
• Razor - Static Link greatly reduces Underlord damage, while benefiting Razor himself, even when in Atrophy Aura's range.
• Luna - Eclipse can be devastating for Underlord's team when they're grouped up for Dark Rift, it can also be used to intercept arrivals with Dark Rift. And Pit of Malice does not prevent Luna from using it.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Underlord

10. Ogre Magi

Who would’ve thought we would get to see a support hero on the tank list? Ogre is surely an exception to this. He has multiple active abilities but it does not take an Einstien to realize his ease of spells and the potential of his strong base armor. He is just too good to be ignored in this current patch. He is all you need in a support hero, he has high hp and armor, deals immense damage from the early game, and most importantly he has a stun! When Ogre reaches level 6, his ultimate enhances his ability to fight by providing him a chance to multiply the effect of his spells. Most support heroes can’t tank through the damage as they’re naturally not resilient to damage, but Ogre is undoubtedly an exception. 

Support players love Ogre due to his immense scalability in the late game. His Bloodlust buff is highly beneficial to his cores, providing them with increased movement and attack speed. He also can disable people quite easily with his stun and annoy them with his high magical damage which spreads over time. If you’re looking for an easy yet impactful support hero, then Ogre is the right choice for you. His high armor allows him to chase enemies out of the lane while his carry player farms away without any disturbance. Ogre is also one of the few reliable supports who does not fall off well into the late game.

What makes Ogre Magi a great tank hero?

• High base HP and armor, allowing him to the frontline in the early game and shield his carry from physical damage.
• Ogre Magi annoying with his abilities right off the bat, as he deals immense magical damage over time from the laning phase.
• His ungodly magical damage output is further amplified by items that can help him in the middle game.
• Provides Bloodlust buff to his allies, increasing their movement and attack speeds which is essential during a teamfight.
• Ogre is also extremely tanky and can shove enemies off the lane or be the frontliner in the teamfights, which not all supports are capable of doing due to their squishy nature.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky support hero who is durable throughout the game.
• You want an annoying lane partner who can ward enemies off the lane.
• Your team lacks buffs that can amplify their gameplay

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Ogre Magi

• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Immense increased magic damage and reduced Cooldown on ultimate.
• Scythe of Vyse - It can be used to hex enemies, essentially making them unable to use spells or items, along with reducing their movement speed for 3.5 seconds. Highly useful to shut multiple enemies down thanks to Multicast, making them useless in teamfights.
• Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility upon cast, and can be used to escape or set up to gank enemies.
• Kaya and Sange - Increases stats along with increasing mana gain and reducing mana cost, allowing Ogre Magi to cast his spells freely against his foes.
• Octraine Core - Provides increased stats, along with increased cast range and low cooldown on spells.

Ogre Magi is strong against:

• Earthshaker - Ignite can prevent Earthshaker from escaping and/or initiating with Blink Dagger, preventing him from using Echo Slam.
• Templar Assassin - The damage block instances of Refraction can be burned down with Ignite.
• Nature’s Prophet - Nature's Prophet treants can be cleared by Ignite or Multicast Hand of Midas.

Ogre Magi is weak against:

• Lifestealer - Ogre Magi has nothing against Rage and his high health pool amplifies Feast.
• Phantom Lancer - Doppelganger disjoints and dispels Ignite.
• Oracle - Fate's Edict gives full immunity from Ogre Magi's mostly magical damage.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/ogremagi 

9. Necrophos

If there is one thing that squishy heroes hate, then it has to be magic damage. Low magic resistance is often countered by Necrophos with the help of his rancid spells. The plaguemancer has ravaged all battles, ensuring his enemy does not stand a chance against his ungodly damage. Carry heroes can’t fare well against Necrophos in the laning phase as they can’t withstand the insane amounts of magical damage being dished out by him. Necrophos is an exceptional hero when it comes to locking enemies down, courtesy of the Reaper’s Scythe, allowing his allies to beat them down while locked up.

Necrophos is a very annoying laner and also a tanky beast, thanks to his heals and Ghost Shroud, which turns him into ethereal form, making him unable to take any physical damage. His abilities provide him with immense healing while dealing damage to his foes. Surely, in the late game, most carries can outpace Necrophos with magic resistance and immunity, so it is ideal to finish the game whenever you get the chance else things can take a turn for the worst!

What makes Necrophos a great tank hero?

• Immense heals dished out with the help of Death Pulse.
• Ghost Shroud ensures Necro is durable in fights and also amplifies the healing that he takes.
• Reaper’s Scythe is highly beneficial as it locks down the targeted hero as Necrophos and his allies beat him down.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky hero who is durable throughout the game and can also help sustain his allies with heals.
• You want a fast-farming hero who can fit in any lane.
• Your team lacks lockdown spells to control certain enemy heroes,

Top 5 Best End-Game items for Necrophos 

• Radiance - Burn damage prevents enemies from blinking away, and can also be useful in pushing lanes and farming.
• Guardian Greaves - Heals Necrophos and his entire team, along with providing a basic dispel to him.
• Eternal Shroud - Converts magical damage into mana upon usage and passively offers spell lifesteal. This provides Necrophos with immense sustain against enemies.
• Lotus Orb - Reflects targeted spells and hence can also be used to prevent single-targeted spells. It can also be used to dispel certain enemy debuffs.
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Increases Heartstopper aura damage when Ghost Shroud is active. Heroes with low magic resistance, fall prey to increased magic damage from Necrophos.

Necrophos is strong against

• Axe - Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's tankiness and can kill him quickly after initiation if Axe's health is low enough.
• Bristleback - Heartstopper Aura deals with percentage-based damage flagged as HP removal, so it is not reduced by Bristleback, nor does it trigger passive Quill Sprays.
• Huskar - Huskar is often in low health, making him easy prey for Reaper's Scythe.

Necrophos is weak against

• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, or else he is faced with a quick death if focused on.
• Silencer - Arcane Curse punishes Necrophos if tries to spam Death Pulse, increasing the duration of the slow and damage taken over time.
• Oracle - During the laning stage, Oracle's Purifying Flames nullify any damage that Heartstopper Aura might inflict.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Necrophos

 

8. Chaos Knight 

It is no doubt that Chaos Knight is unbearably tanky against heroes with low AoE damage as they can not disperse the illusions, this includes squishy enemies who lack severely in that area. Most heroes shine bright in the early game, while CK prefers playing in the late game. Chaos Knight can eventually accumulate extreme farm to turn the tides in the late game and destroy squishy enemies in no time with his high physical damage along with his illusions.

All Chaos Knight needs is a good early game and a free farm to counter enemies in the late game, where he eventually falters off due to armor corruption and less impact. Although he lacks in the farming department, CK is extremely tanky and is only threatened by multiple heroes at once. CK can snowball easily if he manages to get a few kills in the early game. He can also sustain himself in team fights due to his naturally high armor and HP.

What makes Chaos Knight a powerful pusher?

• Chaos Knight has high base armor and HP regen right from the laning phase.
• He also has a high HP pool, which is amplified by his Armlet purchase which makes it easy for him to sustain himself in fights.
• He also has immense lifesteal from his passive, which makes him durable right from the laning phase.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky carry hero who is durable throughout the game.
• You want a fast-farming hero who can teamfight at any point in the game.

Top 5 Best End-Game items for Chaos Knight

• Armlet of Mordiggian - Provides increased HP and damage, and is toggleable. CK benefits highly from this toggleable HP mechanic against high-damage-dealing heroes due to their high magical burst damage. It also aids CK in surviving through the early game.
• Echo Sabre - It provides insane stats along with increased damage and attack speed. It is an essential item that is built in the early game of Chaos Knight.
• Black King Bar - It provides CK with spell immunity from all magic damage spells and effects, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is not an item you see often on Chaos Knight but it is a staple against high-lockdown heroes.
• Manta Style - On usage, it creates two illusions of Chaos Knight, allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times it right. Can work in tandem with Reality Rift, exceptional to push lanes effortlessly and dispel spells.
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE.
• Eye of Skadi - It reduces HP regen and healing upon physical attacks from CK. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP which is optimal in the later stages of the game for a Chaos Knight. 

Chaos Knight is strong against

• Bane - Phantasm's illusions make it difficult for Bane to target Chaos Knight with Nightmare, Enfeeble, and Fiend's Grip.
• Disruptor - Phantasm removes Glimpse and dispels Thunder Strike. Additionally, the Phantasm illusions make it difficult to use Glimpse and Thunder Strike on the real Chaos Knight.
• Huskar - Huskar's low armor and movement speed make an easy target for Chaos Knight to initiate with Reality Rift and Chaos Bolt.

Chaos Knight is weak against

• Anti-Mage - Anti-Mage commonly builds Battle Fury, which can deal with Phantasm illusions easily.
• Axe - Berserker's Call allows Axe to lock down Chaos Knight and his illusions even through Black King Bar.
• Dragon Knight - Dragon Blood's armor bonus greatly reduces the damage dealt by Phantasm.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Knight

 

7. Mars

The first son of heaven, Mars, is somewhat of a new addition to the game. His impressive and damage-dealing spells rank him very high on this list. Mars is exceptional if you want a great wave clear and someone to tank out all the damage and lead the charge for your team. He synergizes well with most heroes, making him a flexible pick in every game, and can withstand hordes with his flexible and reliable item build. He is also extremely durable due to his Bulwark, making him stand his ground in teamfights.

Mars is often picked in the offlane, but he can also be played in the mid-lane, allowing him to opt for multiple different builds according to the heroes he is facing. He is also an exceptional crowd control hero, courtesy of his ultimate, which prevents people from entering the Arena or dealing damage from outside of it. This way he can shield himself and his allies from enemy onslaught or corner certain enemy heroes and beat them down within no time under its duration,

What makes Mars a great tank hero?

• Bulwark makes it hard for his enemies to attack him, as he takes less damage if attacked from the front
• His Arena doesn’t allow him to get any damage dealt to him if it comes from outside of it.
• Mars naturally has high HP and armor, he also builds high armor items which amplify his durability.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky hero who is durable throughout the game.
• You want a fast-farming hero who can fit in any lane.
• Your team lacks a crowd-control hero who can fend off enemies and stand their ground

Top 5 Best End-Game items for Mars

• Blink Dagger - Blink transports Mars  1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and get on top of enemies and follow it up with Arena.
• Desolator - Provides increased physical damage and armor corruption upon physical attacks. Desolator works in tandem with God’s Rebuke.
• Crimson Guard - Provides immense physical damage block to both Mars and his whole team, and also affects allied towers and buildings.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all enemy magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight
• Shiva’s Guard - Upon activation, it deals damage in an AoE, slowing down the affected targets. It also provides increased armor and reduces enemy armor in an AoE. It is essential if Mars faces other tank heroes.

Mars is strong against

• Juggernaut - Juggernaut's Omnislash switches to opposite directions with each slash, so Mars can mitigate most of its damage since he only takes full damage from one direction: his back.
• Slark - Slark finds it very difficult to have a good early/mid-game when pressured in the early game by Spear of Mars and God's Rebuke.
• Spectre - Spectre cannot have a good game if she is pressured heavily in the lane, which is something Mars can do.

Mars is weak against

• Axe - Berserker's Call forces Mars to face in the direction chosen.
• Lifestealer - Feast does damage and heals based on max health, perfect against high-health strength heroes like Mars.
• Faceless Void - Time Walk allows him to escape or enter Arena Of Blood, and helps him recover from Mars' burst damage.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/mars

6. Primal Beast

The newest addition to the game, the threatening and tanky Primal Beast was one of the most picked heroes of the recent International 10. He was highly picked due to his exceptional damage and crowd control, making him an excellent jungler. He can easily separate the fights with the help of his Onslaught, and deal loads of damage with Trample. He is quite unavoidable if you see his recent pick rate, it has plummeted after finding success at the International. 

The best part about Primal Beast is that he does not rely on items to get his work done, all he needs is a few levels and voila, you have yourself a grumpy mighty dinosaur! Primal Beast can also retreat to the jungle and farm if somehow his early game is sabotaged by the enemies. It is a rare scenario but he fares extremely well at farming due to his high AoE spells which allow him to decimate enemies within no time.

What makes Primal Beast a great tank hero?

• Immense farming capability with AoE damage from his spells.
• Great physical damage right from the get-go, which is only amplified by Uproar.
• Immense base armor and HP.
• High mobile due to Onslaught, can easily farm jungle camps without much hassle.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a mobile and tanky initiator who is durable throughout the game.
• You want a fast farming hero.
• Your team lacks a crowd-control hero who can fend off enemies and stand their ground

Top 5 Best End-Game items for Primal Beast

• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all enemy magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight
• Aghanim’s Scepter - When Primal Beast activates Uproar, he releases 3 waves of 2 projectiles per stack of uproar each in a circle around him. Projectiles deal damage and Break enemies hit. After a short delay, each projectile splinters in two.
• Blink Dagger - Blink transports Primal Beast 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and to get on top of enemies and follow it up with Trample.
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed for Primal Beast while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE.
• Heaven’s Halberd - It can be useful to disarm enemy carry, making them unable to do physical damage while Primal and his teammates can freely attack them. The evasion from Heaven’s Halberd also provides decent survivability.

Primal Beast is strong against

• Razor - Onslaught prevents all of Razor's abilities from being effective against him during the laning stage.
• Juggernaut - Onslaught can be used to cancel Omnislash, and can escape Juggernaut's, Blade Fury.
• Phantom Assassin - Phantom Assassin is famously known to be weak against bursts of magical damage, and Primal Beast does exactly that with the ability to close long distances.

Primal Beast is weak against

• Death Prophet - Silence can be used to interrupt Primal Beast while he is channeling Pulverize.
• Disruptor - Glimpse can simply send Primal Beast back after using Onslaught to close the gap.
• Faceless Void - Chronosphere stops Primal Beast from casting abilities or stopping Faceless Void from damaging allies within.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/primalbeast 

5. Medusa

The stone-cold, serpentine warrior is quite a hard nut to crack, her identity and prowess cement her as one of the most lethal and tanky carry heroes in the game. Medusa is an ultra late-game hero, even if her early game is disastrous, she can bounce back and turn the game around just with one fight. Her tankiness allows her to be the center of the fight without worrying much about her enemies, which she can still crack down on thanks to her immense attack damage. If not ganked, she can perpetually farm and destroy all enemies and win the game even in a 1v5 situation. 

Medusa is known to farm faster than most carry heroes. Agreed, some heroes have higher mobility than her, but Medusa has sustainability and effective damage, making her an ideal hero in the later stages of the game due to how well she fares against multiple heroes. This is something that squishy carry heroes can’t excel at. All the attack modifiers and damage are too hot for the enemy team to handle even in the late game, making most players eventually tap out against this serpentine warrior.

Why is Medusa a great tank hero? 

• Mana Shield absorbs all the damage she takes, which comes at the cost of her mana pool, but she isn’t highly reliant on it as it is evident.
• Medusa also builds tanky items, increasing her HP and her armor.
• She also has naturally high armor gain, making her stand her ground right from the laning phase.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky carry hero who is durable throughout the game.
• You want a fast farming hero.
• Your team lacks a crowd-control hero who can fend off enemies and stand their ground

Top 5 End Game items on Medusa

• Eye of Skadi - It reduces HP regen and healing upon physical attacks from Medusa. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Medusa. 
• Butterfly - Provides increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. It is an essential item that increases Medusa’s survivability in the late game.
• Daedalus - Provides a chance to do decent critical damage upon physical attacks.
• Hurricane Pike - Pushes Medusa and targeted enemy 450 units away from each other, and for 6 seconds, allows her to make 5 attacks against the target without range restrictions and with +100 attack speed. It is an essential team-fighting item on Medusa.
• Satanic - When activated, it allows Medusa to lifesteal 200% upon physical attacks and allows sustain herself in teamfights. This item also dispels any negative buffs, quickly life-stealing from 0 to 100 in no time. 
• Monkey King Bar - Gives increased physical damage and also provides a chance to true strike on physical attacks.

Medusa is strong against

• Enchantress - Enchantress often has a small army of neutral creeps, allowing Medusa to hit her with a later bounce of her Mystic Snake.
• Necrophos - Mana Shield tanks most of the damage from Reaper's Scythe; with sufficient mana, the kill threshold drops significantly.
• Enigma - Medusa's Split Shot can kill Demonic Conversion creeps easier and Mystic Snake bounces off from them.

Medusa is weak against 

• Anti-Mage - Mana Break burns Medusa's mana easily, especially when coupled with a Manta Style.
• Arc Warden - Arc Warden has a farming advantage with double Hand of Midas, and can generally bully Medusa with other items that benefit from duplication.
• Invoker - EMP is a large mana burn nuke that can hit Medusa's Mana shield with enough damage to lose even more mana.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Medusa

 

4. Bristleback

Bristleback is an exceptional tanky hero as he can just keep on disrupting his lane by constantly harassing other heroes without much retaliation due to his high armor and tanky nature thanks to his Bristleback ability. Enemies virtually do zero damage to Bristleback as he has decent HP and armor along with decent armor reduction, while most heroes have low armor as they lane against this grumpy porcupine. He also farms exceptionally and does a great deal of damage to squishy heroes right from the early game, while they need more levels to prove any useful against him.

There are many reasons why Bristleback has quite literally been a thorn in the side of most heroes in the current meta. He takes no damage while dealing quite a ton of damage in return to him. He is an obnoxious laner, he is but he is quite the fun hero to play since all he does is spam his spells without thinking too much, which he can do effortlessly as he is backed by his insanely high armor, which makes him such a delight for new players to pick. He makes them feel invincible!

Why is Bristleback the best hero for tank hero?

• High physical damage output due to his ultimate, Warpath
• Bristleback is extremely tanky right off the bat due to his immense base HP, which allows him to sustain in teamfights.
• Low Cooldown on spells, allowing him to spam them on enemies
• Only has two active abilities, but both are extremely strong in the late game
• High base armor and movement speed right off the bat
• Can mow down towers and squishy heroes easily 

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky offlaner.
• You want a fast farming offlaner who relies more on levels as opposed to farm to get the job done.

Top 5 End Game Items for Bristleback 

• Ethereal Shroud - Converts magical damage into mana upon usage and passively offers spell lifesteal
• Kaya and Sange - Increased mana regen and overall stat gain along with reducing cooldown and mana cost.
• Octraine Core - Provides increased stats along with decent cooldown reduction on both spells and items.
• Blademail - Reflects enemy damage to them upon activation, allowing them to ignore you in teamfights, making you invulnerable.
• Black King Bar - It provides spell immunity from all enemy damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top priority item on Bristleback against magic damage-dealing enemies due to his low magic resistance.

Bristleback is strong against

• Broodmother - Quill Spray destroys spiderlings and hits Broodmother even when she's regenerating in her webs. This makes Bristleback one of her hardest counters in the lane.
• Jakiro - Macropyre's frequent damage ticks cause Bristleback to activate repeatedly, resulting in free damage as long as Bristleback faces away from Jakiro.
• Phantom Lancer - Bristleback's tankiness and damage reduction from the rear makes him very hard for Phantom Lancer to chase and finish off, due to his lack of burst damage.

Bristleback is weak against

• Faceless Void - Chronosphere allows allies to reposition and hit Bristleback from the front, bypassing his defensive bonus from behind.
• Grimstroke - Ink Swell stuns Bristleback and gets allies in position faster with increased movement speed to attack his front, countering his passive ability.
• Lion - Mana Drain is a headache for Bristleback to deal with during the laning stage, as it denies him the ability to get the last hits with Quill Spray.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Bristleback
 

 

3. Tidehunter

The tanky and resilient Tidehunter does exceptionally well against squishy melee heroes as he can simply lower their armor and deal high damage while significantly reducing the damage he takes in return. He deals little to no damage to the former due to Anchor Smash his naturally high Base Armor along with his mighty Kraken Shell which drastically reduces any damage he takes. Tide can simply blink into Ravage and have his team follow up on the enemies, he can also build items like Solar Crest, or Lotus Orb to reduce the amount of damage he takes.

Most players have no choice but to ignore this mighty melon man during teamfights as he can not deal damage due to the heavy Kraken Shell even with the help of their teammates. Tide can simply negate all the damage and tank through the team fight, shielding his cores. Most carry heroes have no way to turn the tides against the Tidehunter in the late game.

Why is Tidehunter a great tank hero?

• In the early game, carry heroes cannot penetrate Kraken Shell and will do almost no damage to Tidehunter even with Medallion of Courage or Solar Crest.
• Anchor Smash's bonus damage has the potential to kill creeps quite effortlessly.
• Tidehunter does not rely heavily on farm and can rotate lanes to hunt enemies quite early on in the game, as soon as his Ravage is available.

Top 5 End Game items against Tidehunter 

• Blink Dagger - On cast, Blink transports Tidehunter 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and get on top of enemies as he is a ranged hero, or it can also be used to escape away from him.
• Shiva’s Guard - Upon activation, it deals damage in an AoE around Tidehunter, slowing down the affected targets. It also provides increased armor and reduces enemy armor in an AoE.
• Lotus Orb - Upon usage, it reflects targeted spells to the caster. It can also be used by Tidehunter to dispel any enemy debuffs. It can hence be used to reflect or dispel both Grave Chill and Soul Assumption.
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - The Scepter makes Gush AoE and the Shard grants him Tendrils of the Deep ability which stuns enemies within his reach. The tentacles are essentially a mini ravage, with 75% of Ravage’s radius, making it easy for Tidehnter to reach Visage.
• Force Staff - Allows Tidehunter to force himself or the targeted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing. It is quite essential in catching or escaping from Visage as it does not get disabled on physical attacks like the Blink Dagger.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky initiator.
• You want a fast farming offlaner who relies more on levels as opposed to farm to get the job done.
• Your team lacks a crowd-control hero.

Tidehunter is strong against

• Batrider - Kraken Shell is very useful against Sticky Napalm and Flamebreak, easily dispelling them regularly.
• Shadow Fiend - Anchor Smash reduces Shadow Fiend's large attack damage, and Kraken Shell makes Tidehunter the last target Shadow Fiend wants to attack.
• Phantom Assassin - The AoE nukes from Ravage, Anchor Smash, and an Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Gush can clear Phantom Lancer's illusions easily.

Tidehunter is weak against

• Anti-Mage - Mana Break quickly burns Tidehunter's mana pool, preventing him from spamming his abilities, and Kraken Shell does not mitigate the bonus damage component.
• Razor - Kraken Shell's dispel does not restore damage stolen by Static Link, and the stolen damage easily offsets Anchor Smash's damage reduction. 
• Nyx  Assassin - Mana Burn can instantly deplete Tidehunter's low mana pool, especially in the early game, potentially preventing Tidehunter from casting Ravage.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/tidehunter

2. Axe

Mogul Khan, the Axe is a lethal and fierce war general. He is an exceptional tank hero and leaves no stone unturned against melee heroes. The latter group of heroes finds it hard to lane against Axe as they are constantly harassed and shoved off the lane with both Battle Hunger and Counter Helix. Just like a typical beginner hero, Axe is also relevant through the late game, but the latter prevails as he has high armor and HP, and does not falter easily. He can always jungle to acquire his Blink if he somehow has a difficult laning phase. Not all heroes can deal ungodly amounts of damage like Axe does, right from the early game.

Even if the enemies manage to hit Axe hard, they may just be susceptible to the Counter Helix spins, which can mow them down within no time if they are reckless! All it takes is one Blink Call for a full HP carry hero to succumb to the pressure of Axe, this is due to the immense damage dished back to him with the help of Blademail and Counter Helix Spins. Most heroes simply can’t do much to Axe when he obtains items like Black King Bar and Blademail, rendering the former quite useless. As the warmonger is tanky, most enemies can’t penetrate his armor, ignoring him largely in teamfights. 

What makes Axe a great tank hero?

• High base attack speed and armor.
• Call gives a bonus of 30 armor, allowing him to deal more damage to the neutral creeps.
• High DPS and movement speed make it easy to farm faster, hence accelerating his farm.
• Counter Helix passive deals massive AoE damage in the later levels.
• Decent talent tree that scales well with the right item build.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks a tanky initiator.
• You want a fast farming offlaner who relies more on levels as opposed to farm to get the job done.
• Your team lacks a crowd-control hero.

Top 5 Best End-Game items for Axe

• Blink Dagger - Blink transports Axe 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to close the gap and to get on top of enemies and follow it up with Call.
• Blademail - Reflects enemy damage to him upon activation. This is a staple item on Axe, as he has enough HP to tank through the damage while reflecting it to the enemy carry, it can make him ignore you in fights.
• Shiva’s Guard - Upon activation, it deals damage in an AoE around Axe, slowing down the affected enemies. It also provides increased armor and reduces enemy armor in an AoE. It is essential if Axe faces other tank heroes.
• Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targeted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to catch or escape from enemies.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity, making Axe invulnerable in the fight.

Axe is strong against 

• Phantom Lancer - Berserker's Call catches Phantom Lancer when he is hidden among his illusions.
• Troll Warlord - Battle Trance does not save Troll Warlord from a Culling Blade.
• Berserker's Call is one of the best ways to lock down Weaver before he has a chance to use Time Lapse. It can also catch Weaver in Shukuchi.

Axe is weak against

• Outworld Dstroyer - Outworld Destroyer's pure and magical damage is particularly effective against Axe.
• Ursa - Enrage reduces the damage from Blade Mail and Counter Helix to a minimum, forcing Axe to play around Ursa's ultimate ability.
• Pugna - Decrepify can be used on allies to prevent them from attacking Axe and triggering Counter Helix during Berserker's eCall. He can also cast it on Axe to prevent anyone from attacking him.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Axe 

1. Timbersaw

The mighty Timbersaw fares extremely well against melee and ranged heroes alike. He is quite a dominating force in the early game as the enemy does not have much resistance to his magical and pure damage. Timbersaw can dictate the pace of the game with his moves, due to him being such a tanky hero. Most enemies can surely hinder Timber’s gameplay but the latter does not rely on attack damage to kill creeps or heroes. His abilities are enough to decimate his enemies.

This forces his foes to jungle early on in the game, which makes him lag in the farm and XP department. Timber can triumph in the late game as well if he is given free rein, he can purchase various items which allow him to maintain control and dominance against his foes, including Eul’s Scepter of Divinity or Heaven’s Halberd. Even if the enemies manage to secure decent farm, Timber’s Reactive armor stops Lone Druid from advancing any further and ignoring him in teamfights.

Why is Timbersaw a great tank hero? 

• High pure damage that pierces and messes up with enemy  strength
• Timbersaw's innate durability is very hard to deal with for enemies
• Most enemies will have a hard time dealing with Timbersaw due to his tankiness and high Armor from Reactive Armor
• Timbersaw's high Pure Damage and low-cooldown AoE nukes can also destroy squishy heroes within no time due to his low magic resistance.

Choose This Hero if

• Your team lacks an efficient and tanky hero.
• You want a flexible hero.
• Your team lacks magical damage.

Top 5 End Game items for Timbersaw

• Eul’s Scepter - Can be used to sweep yourself or the targeted enemy into the air for 2.5 seconds, making them unable to use spells or move. This can be used to lock enemies down or temporarily shut them off from the fights.
• Pipe of Insight -  Provides immense magic damage block on activation, and affects the whole team. 
• Crimson Guard - Provides immense physical damage block, and also affects the whole team. It is extremely useful to prevent enemy heroes from doing significant physical damage. 
• Blade Mail - Can reflect enemy damage and prevent them from using high-damage spells.
• Lotus Orb - Reflects targeted spells and hence can also be used to dodge spells if timed correctly. Lotus Orb also provides a basic dispel upon activation.

Timbersaw is strong against

• Broodmother - Spiderlings deal almost no damage against Reactive Armor. They also die quickly from Timbersaw's AoE abilities.
• Axe - Whirling Death reduces Axe's strength by 15%, which makes him less durable, especially from the early game. It's also stackable.
• Monkey King - Timbersaw can easily cut down the tree that Monkey King is standing on, stunning him for a lengthy period.

Timbersaw is weak against

• Bane - Brain Sap's pure damage ignores stacks of Reactive Armor.
• Doom - Doom shuts down Timbersaw completely, negating his mobility and preventing him from doing any damage. It also breaks Reactive Armor's passive bonuses from Aghanim's Scepter.
• Faceless Void - Time Dilation is similar to a long-duration silence, making Timbersaw useless in team fights, or forcing him to adapt his build.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Timbersaw

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