Tusk

Ymir the Tusk is a melee Strength hero whose array of icy spells pack great potential to grant the advantage in a gank to do tons of damage. Tusk is both an effective team fight hero and initiator, who has the unique ability to bring along teammates into the fight. Though he is usually played as a support, one can in fact benefit reasonably well from additional attributes and farm, and can be a great semi-carry as well. Equipping damage-boosting items can greatly increase the critical damage brought by Walrus Punch, allowing him to fight on his own in the later stages.

Tips

 * When being pursued by numerous heroes, you can cast toward them to hinder their movement, as the barrier forces them to break up and even come to a slight halt. It is ideal to cast Ice Shards when your pursuers are in a small choke-point, as the barrier will most likely block their way, or at least make it even more difficult for them to move forward.
 * Ice Shards' missile travels at a moderate speed; keep this in mind when you are targeting distant, fleeing heroes.
 * When pushing, defending, or farming, Ice Shards is an effective area-of-effect ability you can use to damage multiple creeps in a straight path.
 * Aid your team's initiator by pairing up with him/her and casting on the group of enemies; the Snowball makes both Tusk and his teammate invulnerable, and any target that is hit by it gets stunned for a brief second, giving the initiator some time to act.
 * Be careful when using, as it gives a large bounty when destroyed. Only direct it toward enemy heroes when they are too busy to pay attention to it (i.e. when being pursued by your allies). It has a relatively fast speed and can catch up to most enemies.
 * Purchase mana boosting items to supplement all of your four active spells, since Tusk is incredibly ability-dependent.
 * If you managed to get quite some gold from ganks early on, you could consider going for armor-reducing items like or : they amplify physical damage for a reasonable price. Just be sure to use your Medallion on the enemy before utilizing your Walrus Punch on them.
 * If you find yourself out of mana too often, you could consider going for or  intelligence-boosting items like  or, which also come with nice abilities. Alternatively, you could buy items that increase your mana regeneration such as Medallion of Courage and Perseverance (which can also be turned into a Battle Fury, should you get other damage-increasing items before finishing the whole item).
 * Ice Shards can be used to trap enemy heroes if used as they run close to impassible terrain such as cliffs or Roshan's pit. Using this while racing to a rune or away from a fight can make the difference.

Trivia

 * In DotA, Tusk's title is Tuskarr. The Tuskarr are a race of humanoid walruses in the Warcraft universe.
 * His response Tusk superpunch attack 53.mp3 "Falcon Punch!" is a reference to Captain Falcon's signature move in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, which has also become a popular internet meme.
 * His response Tusk kill 23.mp3 "Bang! Zoom! To the Mad Moon!" is likely a reference to The Honeymooners character Ralph Kramden, who would frequently say "Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!".
 * His response Tusk death 09.mp3 "Coulda been a contender." is likely a reference to the quote from the movie On the Waterfront.
 * His response Tusk death 11.mp3 "My fight money." is likely a reference to Balrog from Street Fighter who says the same thing whenever he loses a round.
 * His response to missing a Walrus Punch, Tusk failure 03.mp3 "Well there's your problem." is likely a reference to Adam Savage from Mythbusters, who has made it a show catchphrase. Savage often jokes that his co-host Jamie Hyneman looks like a walrus, on account of his mustache.
 * His response Tusk superpunch 79.mp3 "Double Dragon Punch Punch!" is a reference to the game, "Double Dragon".
 * Every time Tusk lands his, a caption in blue text will be displayed depending on the target:
 * When landed on a creep whose health is above 50%, the caption will be "Penguin Punch!" in small letters.
 * When landed on an enemy hero whose health is above 50%, the caption will be "Polar Punch!" in medium letters.
 * When landed on any target whose health is below 50%, it will display "Walrus Punch!" in large letters.
 * As was stealable by, he threw a projectile of himself, spinning toward the target. When targeted on Tusk himself, the caption "Sucker Punch!" was shown, in green-colored text. On heroes or creeps, the caption "Stolen Punch!" was shown, in the same format.
 * In Tusk's lore, the Bristled Bruiser is likely to be, considering in Bristleback's lore, he was defeated In a fight by someone who was offended by his tusks.