Tidehunter vs Ursa

How this matchup plays

Stacking up Fury Swipes on Tidehunter is a frustrating job. Ursa's entire kill potential comes from building up that damage, but Kraken Shell gets in the way. Every time Tidehunter takes a certain amount of damage, his passive triggers a strong dispel that removes the Fury Swipes stacks. This forces Ursa to start his damage ramp from zero, often allowing Tidehunter to walk away or turn the fight with an Anchor Smash. The damage block from Kraken Shell also chips away at Ursa's effectiveness, but it's the constant reset of his main damage source that gives Tide the upper hand in early trades.

This dynamic continues throughout the game. Tidehunter wants to soak damage and set up fights with Ravage, and Ursa struggles to burst him down before that happens. The standard plan for Ursa is to eventually buy a Silver Edge. The break from its attack is the most reliable way to disable Kraken Shell and finally kill Tidehunter quickly. Until Ursa has that item, however, he has to be very careful about committing to a fight against Tide, who can often control the engagement and survive long enough for his team to arrive.