[Top 15] Dota 2 Best Tank Heroes That Are Hard To Kill

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, some heroes 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. 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. Centaur Warruner

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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 close 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 targetted 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.

14. Pudge

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Pudge, the menacing butcher is undoubtedly one of the most picked tanky 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 his 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

13. Enchantress

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Enchantress is a classic example of deceiving looks. Who would have thought that such a friendly-looking hero can wreak havoc with her damage? Most carry heroes fall prey to this illusion as they find it hard to deal any physical damage to Enchantress due to her Untouchable ability, which reduces the attack speed of heroes trying to attack her, hence making her highly tanky. Although most enemies have some form of magic damage with their spells, it is not quite enough to do the job of neutralizing Enchantress.

The menacing Enchantress can withstand the heavy damage dished out by the enemy cores with the help of her Nature’s Attendants ability which heals her and her allies in a small AoE. She can also deal decent damage with Impetus and slow him down with Enchant or use neutrals to help her swindle the squishy enemy heroes. Ench can work smoothly as a roaming and laning support, making her a very flexible pick.

What makes Enchantress a great tank hero? 

• Enchantress has immense physical damage immunity with Untouchable which makes it hard for enemy heroes to hit her easily
• Enchant dominates a neutral/enemy creeps for up to 120 seconds, making it easy for her to farm the jungle from level 1. 
• Has a decent heal which makes her sustain while jungling.
• Impetus makes it easy for her to farm faster.
• High attack and movement speed.

Choose This Hero if

• You lack a tanky support hero in the game
• You are playing against heroes with high physical damage

Top 5 Best End-Game Items for Enchantress

• Holy Locket - Can be used to heal allies or herself on usage, based on the charges which are granted based on enemy hero casting spells, basically a glorified Magic Stick. This provides the tiny bit of sustain and healing required to withstand enemy damage.
• Glimmer Cape - If enemies initiate you or your allies without any disabling items then you can quickly get away with using Glimmer, it is an essential item on support Enchantress.
• Dragon Lance - Provides increased stats and regen along with increased attack range. Enchantress isn’t a tanky hero, but an early-game Dragon Lance assures she does not get prioritized by enemies in fights. It can further be upgraded into a Hurricane Pike.
• Heaven’s Halberd - It is used to disarm enemies, making them unable to make physical attacks while Ench and others can freely attack him.
• Ghost Scepter - The scepter makes you immune to physical attacks while making you unable to attack at the same time. You also take increased magical damage under its duration. Enemies do virtually zero damage if you have Ghost Scepter.
• Solar Crest - Solar Crest grants armor, attack speed, and movement speed to the targetted ally while reducing the same stats if used upon enemies. This makes them unable to stand firm in teamfights.

Enchantress is strong against 

• Lycan - Lycan relies heavily on right clicks making Untouchable very effective against him.
• Ember Spirit - Impetus will deal huge amounts of damage when he uses a Fire Remnant to escape.
• Ursa - Enchant can dispel Overpower, and Enchant's slow can help kite Ursa in fights and also in the lane.

Enchantress is weak against 

• Broodmother - Enchantress can be easily overwhelmed with Broodmother's spiderlings from Spawn Spiderlings and Enchantress can only control one of them with Enchant and she has no good wave clear (Spawn Spiderlings can also kill creeps controlled with Enchant).
• Juggernaut - Blade Fury dispels the slow from Enchant and can burst Enchantress down during the laning stage.
• Nyx Assassin - Vendetta breaks Untouchable and deals great damage against her.

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

12. Ogre Magi

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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 is 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://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Ogre_Magi

11. Mars

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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 close 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.

10. Morphling

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In the recent meta, Morphling has proved to be quite a lethal hero, which most people find hard to counter. As boring or complex as Morph may appear, he is quite impressive right from the laning phase and stays relevant throughout the late game. Most people shy away from Morphling due to the complex nature of his abilities, but if you can master him, there is no way your enemies can have an upper hand! Morphling is a nuisance to enemy supports due to the infamous “shotgun” combo. Mastering Morphling requires quick decision-making skills, which only come with time and experience. 

Morphling can be an excellent addition to the team if you want a carry that can fight from the get-go and is tanky. His physical damage ensures he can mow down enemies while also staying tanky enough with Attribute Shift. Everyone knows about the infamous Shotgun combo, which takes just two clicks to bring down the venomous beast. In the late game, enemies struggle hard to match Morphling’s pace as their damage simply isn’t enough to cause a dent in Morphling’s health pool (courtesy of Attribute Shift) Morph (the ultimate) can be used to give enemies a taste of their own medicine and have them taken out from teamfights.

What makes Morphling a great tank hero? 

• Can “Shotgun” enemy heroes with the Adaptive Strike ability and Ethereal Blade.
• Morph allows him to turn into enemy heroes (or allies if you purchase the Aghanim Scepter), which can often lead to deadly combos or allow him to escape team fights.
• Can easily survive long team fights with the Attribute Shift ability.
• Attribute Shift ability makes him either gain strength or agility, both can be useful depending on the situation.
• Impressive level 1 attributes and stats, allows him to be extremely sustainable in the laning phase.

Choose This Hero if

• You lack a tanky carry hero who can stand his ground in a teamfight
• You are facing squishy heroes

Top 5 Best Endgame Items for Morphling 

• Ethereal Blade -  Upon usage, it disarms the targeted unit, making them take 40% more magical damage while also slowing them and dealing initial damage based on the enemy’s primary attribute. This combined with Adaptive Strike can devastate the targeted hero.
• Dragon Lance - It increases the attack range for Morphling while increasing his stats, allowing him to deal more damage and increasing his survivability. Morphling benefits heavily from the early-game stats that this item provides, allowing him to withstand long fights.
• Linken’s Sphere - Great spell block which blocks single-targeted spells and items
• Satanic - Allows Morphling to lifesteal on physical attacks upon activation, and also provides basic dispel from the latter. Great to sustain in the ultra-late game as you can be surrounded by multiple enemies at once. 
• Butterfly - Provides Morphling with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.

Morphling is strong against:

• Lifestealer - Lifestealer is a great target for Morphling to use Morph, as he can use Rage to gain spell immunity and a movement speed boost.
• Razor - Morphling can break Static Link with Waveform. Alternatively, Morphling can Morph into Razor and use the same ability against him.
• Phantom Assassin - Morphling's naturally high armor thanks to his high agility makes it hard for Phantom Assassin to take him down with Coup de Grace.

Morphling is weak against:

• Meepo - Earthbind disables Waveform, effectively keeping Morphling in place for an extended time, allowing Meepo to deal considerable damage with Poof.
• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering additional health, and using it will even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
• Anti-Mage - Mana Break combined with Manta Style can quickly burn away Morphling's mana, leaving him unable to use his spells. Black King Bar can no longer be reliably used against Anti mage due to its 50 mana cost.

9. Primal Beast

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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 close 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.

8. Kunkka

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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

7. Underlord

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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 targetted 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.

6. Axe

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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 as 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 targetted 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 Destroyer - 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 Call. He can also cast it on Axe to prevent anyone from attacking him.

5. Tidehunter

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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.

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 close 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 targetted 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 targetted 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://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Tidehunter

4. Dragon Knight

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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.

3. Bristleback

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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 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 make 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.

2. Timbersaw

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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 a 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 targetted 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 targetted spells 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.

1. Medusa

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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 targetted 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

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