Pudge vs Tusk

How this matchup plays

Saving an ally from a Meat Hook with a well-timed Snowball can completely ruin Pudge's initiation. This reactive save is Tusk's main strength in the matchup. However, Pudge has his own ways to punish Tusk. If Tusk uses Snowball aggressively to start a fight, he becomes a very easy target for a follow-up Hook or Dismember. In a straight-up fight, Pudge also tends to have the advantage. Tusk's burst damage often isn't enough to kill a durable Pudge, who can simply stand his ground with Rot and wear Tusk down.

The matchup often comes down to positioning and initiation items. Early on, Tusk can make Pudge's ganks very ineffective. Later, Pudge will often get a Blink Dagger to start fights directly on top of his preferred target, bypassing the need for a long-range hook that can be saved. This forces Tusk onto the back foot, as getting caught by a Blink-Dismember from Pudge is usually a death sentence. For Tusk to succeed, he has to play carefully around Pudge's initiation range and be ready to counter-initiate rather than starting the fight himself.