This gargantuan elemental entity knows no bounds! Tiny sounds like the least intimidating name for a hero, but as the game progresses, he makes you feel tiny. Not only does Tiny deal heavy damage in the early game, but he can also be a fun-to-play hero since you can toss people. A quickly tossed enemy into allies soon becomes toast, his versatile nature makes him a threat in any lane of the game.
With the rising pick rate of this stone giant, there arises a need to counter his rocky ass. Hence, we have compiled this list of the best 10 Tiny Counters that wreck him hard while being extremely relevant in the current meta.
10. Templar Assassin
The guardian of the temple’s secrets is a lethal force to be reckoned with! Templar Assassin deals some heavy damage while taking barely any in return if she has the Refraction shield on! Laning versus most DoT is quite the task for TA as she has a very short attack range, making it easy for them to spam spells and deny her the farm. Most experienced TA players occasionally disappear into the jungle to stack and farm as soon as they have the levels and farm.
Why is Templar Assassin a great counter to Tiny?
- Refraction is a valuable form of defense against Tiny’s spells and damage.
- Psi Blades deals pure damage and spills over instantly, shattering Tiny’s low absurdly low armor in the early game.
Items to Buy on TA
- Black King Bar - Completely immune from Tiny’s stun toss combo
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Can be used to teleport to anywhere on the map, essentially to split push and pressure the enemy team
- Blink Dagger - Great for initiating and gap closing on Tiny
- Desolator - High physical damage and armor corruption, works in tandem with Meld’s armor reduction
- Daedalus - High critical damage, can eviscerate Tiny
- Bloodthorn - Can silence Tiny and turn him into rubbles in no time
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Templar_Assassin
9. Tinker
The mechanical maniac is also a genius, known to tinker around with gadgets and fry his enemies with lasers. Weak laners stand no chance in the laning phases against a Tinker as he will always be targeted with constant harassment in the form of rockets and lasers. With the addition of the Shield, Tinker can easily escape or otherwise initiate and lock his foes down with his annoying Scythe and Rearm combo!
Why is Tinker a great counter to Tiny?
- Great at disabling Tiny with Scythe and Rearm combo
- Immense nuke magical damage with all of his spells
- Reduced damage with the shield.
Items to buy on Tinker
- Scythe of Vyse - Great disable to completely shut him down and eliminate him from the fight
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range to use laser and other spells and items
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Increased damage and AoE for spells
- Shiva’s Guard - Can effortlessly push lanes and provides increased armor which is essential against Tiny
- Bloodstone - Can quickly heal up if found by Tiny, also provides decent mana again
8. Viper
The venomous Viper knows no bounds and is on the same list when it comes to the most hated heroes in the game. League players can benefit from playing this hero as they get to know about the basic DPS mechanics along with the advantage of having multiple different item builds according to the game. Melee heroes despise him as he makes your presence and impact disappear from the game! The break applied from Nethertoxin quite literally ruins the game for most heroes with strong passives.
Why is Viper great against Tiny?
- Tiny has low movement speed and attack speed, making him vulnerable to Viper's slows.
- Corrosive Skin provides magic resistance to lower Tiny's magic burst damage.
Items to Buy on Viper
- Kaya and Sange - Increased stats and movement speed gain
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Reduces ultimate’s cooldown, allowing him to be more offensive on Tiny, also pierces spell immunity.
- Rod of Atos - Helpful to lock Tiny down, can also be upgraded into Glepnir later on.
- Dragon Lance - Increased stats gain, Hurricane Pike can also be a viable upgrade
- Blade Mail - Reflects back damage to Tiny if used on time
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Viper
7. Sniper
Sniper has made millions of players rage quit all around the world! His voice and gameplay induce fear and disgust even amongst the most experienced players. Sniper is suitable both as a mid and a carry hero due to his space-making and farming abilities. He may be a squishy hero but his incredible physical damage output and range make it impossible for enemies to come close to him. He is often considered to be the counter for squishy heroes or primarily for melee heroes.
What makes Sniper great against Tiny?
- High base attack range and movement speed, which is advantageous against Tiny who needs to close the gap to catch heroes
- AoE spell that accelerates his farm, can easily out farm the Tiny in the early stages of the game.
- Flexible build potential
- Great talents that scale well with items
Items to buy on Sniper
- Maelstorm - Helpful to farm and push lanes quickly
- Dragon Lance - Increased stats gain
- Mask of Madness - Increased attack speed and lifesteal
- Silver Edge - Provides invisibility in chance of Tiny catching him off-guard
- Monkey King Bar - Increased physical damage and true strike
- Daedalus - High critical damage
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Sniper
6. Chaos Knight
Chaos ensues when this veteran of the countless battle of a thousand worlds steps his foot into the battlefield. Chaos Knight is unbearably strong against most heroes due to the lack of AoE damage from them, allowing his phantasms to freely do the job and get some heavy-hitting done. Although he lacks in the farming department, CK is extremely tanky and is only threatened by multiple heroes at once. All he needs is a good early game and free farm to counter his counterparts in the late game!
Why is Chaos Knight a great counter to Tiny?
- Chaos Bolt and Reality Rift make Tiny's low mobility nonexistent.
- Chaos Strike means Chaos Knight will most likely survive longer in a duel between the two because Tiny has a much lower attack speed.
- Chaos Knight has a 3.2 strength growth, making him one of the tankiest heroes and a very difficult target for Tiny to burst.
Items to Buy on CK
- Armlet of Mordiggian - Increased damage and HP, can toggle through Tiny’s damage
- Black King Bar - Spell immunity completely ignores Tiny’s combo
- Manta Style - Can work in tandem with Reality Rift, exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells
- Assault Cuirass - Increased armor gain, while also reducing Tiny’s armor
- Eye of Skadi - Reduced HP gain for Tiny while offering immense stats
- Echo Sabre - Great stat gain along with immense damage and attack speed
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Knight
5. Juggernaut
Juggernaut is a masked Samurai that is better left untamed. It is impossible to contain him if he unleashes his true potential. Juggernaut is considered to be a top-notch counter to Wraith King but only the advanced players understand the true potential and mechanics of this hero. Not only is he great at farming, but he can also control the tempo with his ultimate. He is also known as one of the most flexible heroes in the game in terms of item builds, which explains his pick rate.
Why is Juggernaut a great counter to Tiny?
- Blade Fury protects Juggernaut from all of Tiny's magic burst damage.
- Blade Fury and Omnislash allow Juggernaut to avoid Tiny’s AoE spell entirely.
Items to buy on Juggernaut
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Tiny and burns his mana
- Sange and Yasha - Increased damage and stat gain
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Increased duration on Omnislash with Scepter and a mini slash with Shard
- Butterfly - Increased evasion, agility, and movement speed
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Tiny’s regen while also providing stats. Works with both Omnislash and Swiftslash
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Juggernaut
4. Bristleback
Bristleback has quite literally been a thorn in the side for every other hero in the game in the recent meta. He takes no damage while dealing quite a ton of damage and neutralizing his foes! Often considered to be an obnoxious laner, he is hated with passion by millions of dota players all over the world! He is quite the fun hero to play since all he does is spam his spells, which he can do effortlessly as he is backed by his insanely high armor!
Why is Bristleback a great counter to Tiny?
- Tiny's nonexistent armor in the early game makes him very vulnerable to Quill Spray's large amounts of physical damage.
- Bristleback decreases Tiny's high burst damage against Bristleback.
- Viscous Nasal Goo can slow Tiny to a crawl and allows Bristleback to easily kite him with his high movement speed and Quill Spray's long range
Items to buy on 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
- Octraine Core - Provides spell lifesteal and stats
- Blademail - Reflects back Tiny’s damage upon activation
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Bristleback
3. Lifestealer
The threatening Lifestealer is a deadly force to be reckoned with. His strength ruptures even the strongest of foes and leaves them crippled, and Tiny is no exception! Lifestealer is a carry hero, and he is quite good at carrying the team on his back! Due to the lifesteal, he can fare well in the laning phase and deal decent damage to his foes due to high armor. Lifestealer mainly relies on kills to get gold, making him a fight-oriented hero, as with the right items he can obliterate the enemy team and turn their ashes into dust.
Why is Lifestealer a great counter to Tiny?
- Feast will deal an enormous amount of damage because of Tiny's huge health pool.
- Rage protects Lifestealer from Tiny's magical burst damage.
Items to Buy on Lifestealer
- Armlet of Mordiggian - Increased damage and HP, can toggle through Tiny’s damage
- Desolator - Increased damage and armor corruption
- Skull Basher - Can bash Tiny and prevent him from TP’ing, can later be upgraded into Abyssal Blade
- Sange and Yasha - Provides decent stats and physical damage
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Tiny’s regen while also providing stats.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Lifestealer
2. Lion
This ferocious creature is known to ravage multiple wars and raise hell with his lethal abilities. Ignoring Lion can cost you lethal damage. Lion is a beginner’s favorite, primarily due to his ease of spells and high burst damage potential. He can often rotate and gank other lanes at early levels. He is known for his chain-disable, which makes him a threat to Tiny even in the late game.
What makes Lion a great counter to Tiny?
- Great cast range for spells
- Can chain disable multiple enemies
- High burst damage and magical output that scales well
- Lion can continuously Mana Drain Tiny in the early game, depleting his small mana pool for his abilities.
Items to buy on Lion
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Tiny off-guard
- Blink Dagger - Great for gap closing or initiating
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Tiny
- Aghanim’s Scepter - AoE damage from Finger, also reduces the cooldown
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Tiny and also applies a basic dispel
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Lion
1. Necrophos
Necrophos has plagued Tiny, corrupting his immunity with his rancid spells. He is one of the most hated heroes in the current patch by Tiny mains. Necrophos is a very annoying laner, thanks to his passive. His abilities provide him with immense healing while dealing damage to the giant stone giant. He can ensure he isn't seen on the battlefield for a long time with his ultimate, which drives lots of players to rage quit!
Why is Necrophos a great counter to Tiny?
- Reaper's Scythe will turn Tiny's high health against him.
- Heartstopper Aura does substantial damage to Tiny as a result of his high max health.
- Ghost Shroud protects Necrophos from Tiny's physical damage with Tree Grab and Tree Volley.
Items to buy on Necrophos
- Radiance - Burn damage prevents Tiny from blinking away, can also be useful in pushing lanes
- Guardian Greaves - Provides dispel and heals the entire team
- Eternal Shroud - Converts magical damage into mana upon usage and passively offers spell lifesteal
- Lotus Orb - Reflects targetted spells hence can also be used to prevent the Toss combo
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Reduces CD on Heartstopper Aura
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Necrophos
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