https://www.cybersport.ru/dota-2/articles/no-o-ne-nashel-novogo-imbovogo-personazha-na-mid-ego-tusk-s-necronomicon-uzhe-razryvaet-matchmeiking

Tusk in the mid – is it legal?

It seems that Minenko took Tusk’s training seriously, while trying to do it covertly (failed). On the eve of the Major on the main account No[o]ne played in matchmaking mostly on more familiar cores and played 36 games in total. But he visited his Smurf more often – 43 matches, and almost all of them – on the mid Tusk. The character has long been deeply embedded in the meta and is now one of the most popular heroes on the professional scene and in high MMR matchmaking. However, Tusk was previously used exclusively as a support or in third position. No.[o]ne, in fact, became one of the first esports players to retrain the hero as a mid lane in the current meta. Minenko played some of his matches on the off lane, but we will consider the mid lane games, since there were an overwhelming number of them.

Despite the high winrate No[o]ne on Tusk, the hero is unlikely to become a thunderstorm in average MMR matchmaking. The character on the center line has enough cons – for example, Tusk feels very weak directly at the laning stage. Despite the fact that Minenko played on a rating that was lower than that of his main account, he experienced problems in almost any matchup. Often No[o]ne was significantly inferior in terms of finished creeps, both to melee opponents like Void Spirit or Ember Spirit, and to rangers. Due to the fact that Minenko did not take Bottle, he was often forced to bring consumables for himself to replenish mana and health. These expenses and a small number of finished off creeps led to the fact that by the 7th minute he could noticeably lag behind the opponent both in level and in total value.

At the same time, it is difficult for the hero to maintain the pace of the farm during the match. In some meetings, Minenko ranked fifth or sixth in terms of total value, even if his team was leading 5-10 thousand in gold. Questions arise: what then is the point of using a character in the mid lane and why No[o]ne such a high win rate? To begin with, it should be immediately noted that Tusk on the center lane is a utility core, not a killing machine. Although, perhaps, at 3000 MMR, you will be able to gain such an advantage that you will start clicking enemy heroes with one Walrus PUNCH !. However, at a high rank, Tusk is more likely to become an active playmaker who creates space for his carry to farm. In most matches, No[o]ne from a certain moment started to act very aggressively: he shifted to the gangs, went out under Smoke of Deceit to the enemy “three” and constantly split-push. Thanks to this, despite the low net worth of No[o]ne, his carry consistently held the top spot in gold. At the same time, after buying an early BKB, Minenko became a tank that absorbed most of the enemy’s damage and at the same time had the ability to initiate battles himself.

Necronomicon summons are our best friends

The Necronomicon has become one of the most popular items in this patch. He is often taken on many characters, ranging from the familiar Lycan to Enigma. This item also looks effective on Tusk. Firstly, Tag Team significantly increases the damage of summoned creatures, especially from the necronomicon warrior with its attack speed. This greatly increases the hero’s potential for single kills. Secondly, Necronomicon allows Tusk to farm faster – Minenko, right after buying an artifact, went not to ganks, but to ancient creeps in the forest. With “nekrami” No[o]ne immediately cleared the forest, after which he received the Medallion of Courage and after that he went to fight with the team. In addition, Necronomicon gave Tusk the ability to effectively push alone, although usually the character does not pose a threat to the towers.

The Necronomicon was often bought as the first artifact – no boot, Bottle, Bracer, or any other transitional items. However, further Minenko acted in different ways. Sometimes he continued to strengthen the Necronomicon if he saw the potential in the artifact, and the enemy did not have the ability to quickly destroy the summons. In other matches No[o]ne after the early first “necro” I started assembling other items and only then returned to the Necronomicon upgrade. At the same time, there were meetings in which Minenko played with the first Necronomicon until the end of the match, betting on other artifacts.

Do we also need artifacts?

First, let’s turn to the starter purchase. Minenko had two options: in the first he took Belt of Strength and Quelling Blade, and in the second – Quelling Blade, Blight Stone, Faerie Fire and two Iron Branch. In rare cases, instead of fast Necronomicon No[o]ne started out with Medallion of Courage. However, more often the assembly began with the “necro”, followed by the purchase of a boot, which improved to Phase Boots, and the Medallion of Courage. Sometimes Minenko acquired Drum of Endurance as a transitional item.

After the purchase of these artifacts, the Tusk forest farm ended and the phase of active movement around the map and massive battles began, due to which the speed of obtaining new artifacts decreased and directly depended on the kills of opponents. However, often No[o]ne managed to assemble the Black King Bar until the 30th minute. Sometimes before that, Minenko bought Desolator, but this only happened if he had a successful start and the esportsman saw the potential to kill an enemy core due to “fast” damage, for example, Monkey King. In other cases, priority was given to BKB in order to increase survival.

For the most part, the Tusk build was limited to these artifacts. This is primarily due to the fact that many games ended before the 35th minute, as Minenko’s team was crushing opponents. In longer matches No[o]ne sometimes collected Blink Dagger to close the distance, once took Aghanim’s Scepter against Ursa, and on a map that lasted until 50 minutes, he was able to buy Assault Cuirass. There was no other variation in Minenko’s build – he also ignored Aghanim’s Shard.

Priority Tag Team

Mid Tusk’s ability choices are pretty standard. Priority is given to the Tag Team, with the help of which the character exchanges on the central lane with the opponent and finishes off the creeps. Minenko studied the first and second abilities to the sixth level once. He used these skills to protect himself in the event of a gank from an enemy support or when attacking his counterpart in the lane, and in rare cases – to finish off a creep mage. After the laning stage, the Snowball was pumped first to increase the duration of the stun and the speed of the snowball. Only after that Minenko maxed Ice Shards.

The choice of talents is also quite obvious: at the tenth level, Minenko chose +8 to regeneration, at the 15th level – an increase in health by 325 units. These talents made it possible to increase the hero’s survivability even in the absence of a high overall value. On the 20th level No[o]ne favored the left talent, which increased critical damage from Walrus PUNCH! by 80%. Minenko reached the talent at level 25 only once in 31 matches: such a sample can hardly be called indicative, but in that game Minenko chose the right reinforcement, which gives a 12% chance to apply the ultimate during a normal attack.

Mid Tusk is not the kind of hero you can use to drag the ice rink alone. This is, first of all, a team character, whose task is to impose a high tempo of constant battles on the opponent and take the focus of enemies to himself in order to make life easier for the carry. Tusk has the potential for quick single kills on enemy supports at almost any stage of the game. Sometimes the damage is enough even to take away the enemy’s crust. However, due to the peculiarity of the playstyle, the character will almost certainly not get enough gold, unless, of course, from the very first minutes he starts killing everyone on the map, so it is undesirable to delay the match in late. In addition, Tusk can get hurt during the laning stage – for heroes who have an escape, he practically does nothing. But the conditional Shadow Fiend or Invoker, if he gets the coveted sixth level and Necronomicon, will kill pretty quickly. However, if you like active mid laners who fight non-stop on the front lines, and you are ready to give all the farming to your carry with a clear conscience, then you will definitely like Tusk.