What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
130 buys
2ndSecond most
97 buys
3rdThird most
77 buys
4thFourth most
68 buys
5thFifth most
54 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Tusk
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 48.1%
- Pick share
- 0.6%
- Matches
- 272,750
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsInitiatorDisablerNuker
NeedsCarrySupportFrontlineTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 0–20 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 51.0% over 5,601 matches.
- You are playing around Ancient — its strongest medal, 49.5% over 50,421 picks.
Avoid
- Treant Protector is on their side — this hero wins 32.4% of 179 matches against it.
- Venomancer is on their side — this hero wins 38.8% of 129 matches against it.
- Muerta is on their side — this hero wins 41.0% of 200 matches against it.
130 buys97 buys77 buys68 buys54 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Tusk took at each level.
QIce Shards
Tusk compresses shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies it comes in contact with.
Point Target · Magical damage
WSnowball
Tusk begins rolling into a snowball.
Unit Target · Magical damage
ETag Team
Activate to temporarily apply a negative debuff aura around you, causing enemies that are attacked under it to take bonus physical damage and reduced movement speed.
No Target · Instant Cast · Physical damage
RWalrus PUNCH!
Tusk connects with his mighty Walrus Punch, a critical strike with bonus damage so powerful it launches its victim into the air.
Unit Target · Autocast · Attack ModifierMax Order
QEW
Max Q first, then E, then W. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QIce Shards
- WSnowball
- ETag Team
- RWalrus PUNCH!
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QIce Shards | Q | Q | Q | Q | |||||||||||
| WSnowball | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| ETag Team | E | E | E | E | |||||||||||
| RWalrus PUNCH! | R | R | |||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Tusk performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
118 opponents · public matches40%60%Tusk's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”, “stun”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “barrier”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “critical”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “creep”.
By medal
- Herald45.9%4,394
- Guardian45.9%15,495
- Crusader46.4%29,446
- Archon47.3%46,364
- Legend48.2%59,318
- Ancient49.5%50,421
- Divine49.5%45,579
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min51.0%5,601
- 20–30 min49.3%14,184
- 30–40 min48.2%9,425
- 40–50 min49.8%3,605
- 50 min +46.6%1,379
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Tusk
Abilities
Ice Shards
Point Target · Magical damageTusk compresses shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies it comes in contact with. When the ball reaches its target destination the shards are released, creating a barrier that lasts for 4 seconds.
Snowball
Unit Target · Magical damageTusk begins rolling into a snowball. Allies within a 325 radius can also be added to the snowball by right-clicking on them, even while the snowball is moving. Once launched, any enemies caught in the snowball's path will be stunned and take damage. Each allied Hero in the snowball will add to its damage and stun duration.
Tag Team
No Target · Instant Cast · Physical damageActivate to temporarily apply a negative debuff aura around you, causing enemies that are attacked under it to take bonus physical damage and reduced movement speed. Lasts 6 seconds.
Drinking Buddies
Tusk reaches out to tag an allied unit, pulling them closer. Once tagged, both Tusk and his tagged ally gain movement speed and armor. Can be put on alt-cast to only pull Tusk towards his ally with 50% reduced cast range.
Walrus Kick
Unit Target · Hidden · Magical damageKicks the closest enemy unit in the drawn direction, stunning, damaging, and slowing them. Also deals damage to all heroes within 250 radius of its landing area. Cooldown is reduced by 50% if kicking a creep.
Walrus PUNCH!
Unit Target · Autocast · Attack ModifierTusk connects with his mighty Walrus Punch, a critical strike with bonus damage so powerful it launches its victim into the air.
Bitter Chill
Passive · HiddenPassively slows the attack speed of all enemy heroes within a 350 unit radius.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 23 +3.9
- Agility
- 23 +1.9
- Intelligence
- 18 +1.7
- Move · range
- 310 · 150
Talents
- 4Ice Shards slow by and deal DPSChance Walrus Punch
- 3Snowball CooldownWalrus Punch Crit
- 2+325 HealthSnowball Damage
- 1Tag Team DurationWalrus Punch Stun Duration
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Walrus Kick
Kicks the closest enemy unit in the drawn direction, stunning, damaging, and slowing them. Also deals damage to all heroes within 250 radius of its landing area. Cooldown is reduced by 50% if kicking a creep.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Drinking Buddies
Tusk reaches out to tag an allied unit, pulling them closer. Once tagged, both Tusk and his tagged ally gain movement speed and armor. Can be put on alt-cast to only pull Tusk towards his ally with 50% reduced cast range.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.