Tidehunter/Counters

Bad against...

 * allows Anti-Mage to escape through Anchor Smash and Ravage.
 * reflects Gush and Ravage back on to you (it can, however, be dispelled by Kraken Shell if you take enough damage).
 * quickly burns Tidehunter's mana pool, preventing him from spamming his abilities.


 * Kraken Shell cannot dispel the silence from, preventing him from using Ravage.


 * Both and  are very effective against Tidehunter, and can counter his initiation.


 * Luna often builds, and none of Tidehunter's spells bypasses spell immunity.
 * and deal a lot of magic damage in the early and mid-game, which can bypass Kraken Shell.


 * His and  are perfect against Kraken Shell and Anchor Smash in all stages of the game.
 * also drains Tidehunter's intelligence with each hit, which further reduces his mana pool and prevents him from casting a lot of spells.
 * Tidehunter's low base intelligence and intelligence gain means that he will take a lot of damage from.


 * Kraken Shell can't restore damage stolen by, and the damage stolen can offset Anchor Smash's damage reduction.
 * melts Tidehunter's armor and makes him much less tanky.


 * Ravage is easy to steal, and you'd rather not give it to the enemy team. Be sure to use Anchor Smash immediately after Ravage when playing against a Rubick.


 * can be used when you blink in, denying your initiation and putting you in a bad spot, especially if your opponents have s.


 * dispels debuffs from Gush, Anchor Smash and Ravage.
 * Kraken Shell cannot restore attributes stolen by or break the leash if he gets d.


 * Because Sniper tends to stay in the back, hitting him with any of your spells can be hard.
 * allows Sniper to harass Tidehunter effectively in lane.
 * puts Tidehunter's Blink Dagger on cooldown from a long range.


 * Ursa can be quite a bully in lane because can neither be dispelled by Kraken Shell nor reduced by Anchor Smash.
 * dispels the slow from Gush, and if upgraded with, can even dispel stun from Ravage.


 * Gush doesn't slow with a little trouble.
 * dispels debuffs from Gush and Anchor Smash.
 * Kraken Shell and Anchor Smash can't kill and dispel bugs by.

Others

 * Skills that provides spell immunity, e.g.,.
 * Disables which cannot be removed by Kraken Shell, e.g., ,.
 * 's cannot be dispelled, and the bonus attack speed he gains from  negates some of the protection provided by Kraken Shell.
 * Break disables Kraken Shell, reducing much of Tidehunter's survivability.
 * Percentage-based damage, like, is effective on Tidehunter's high health pool.

Items

 * prevents nearly all of Tidehunter's spells for its entire duration.
 * 's break is one of the only ways to disable Kraken Shell.
 * burns Tidehunter mana pool, however the slow can dispel by Kraken Shell.
 * Armor items like ( and ) lessens the reduction of Gush.

Good against...

 * Tidehunter is probably the worst hero to initiate with, as Kraken Shell will remove it and he is usually tanky enough to survive and cast Ravage in a middle of enemy team. At the same time, if Batrider initiates on his teammate, Tidehunter will have the perfect opportunity to counter-initiate.
 * Kraken Shell is very useful against and  as well.


 * Tidehunter can cancel 's channeling with Ravage, limiting Sand King's potential to initiate and counter-initiate.


 * Kraken Shell dispels the damage amplification stacks of and the damage reduction from  (provided he has taken enough damage).
 * When all of Shadow Fiend's abilities are on cooldown, he relies on physical damage. This can be reduced by Anchor Smash.
 * Ravage can cancel Requiem of Souls if Shadow Fiend isn't protected by.


 * Kraken Shell can remove debuff unless Slardar picks his level 25 talent.
 * Gush's movement speed reduction can somewhat cancel out the movement speed bonus from.


 * Kraken Shell blocks huge amount of damage from, and dispels when enough damage is taken. It is almost impossible for  to solo kill him before she gets her level 18 and an . Add the damage reduction from Anchor Smash on top of that and she shouldn't even scratch you.

Others

 * Most summons and illusions can barely hurt Tidehunter at all, after their attacks get reduced by Anchor Smash and blocked by Kraken Shell.
 * Tidehunter's AoE-based spells can be effective against summons or illusions-based heroes such as or.
 * Heroes with channeled abilities can be cancelled by Ravage from a distance:, , , ,.

Works well with...

 * and are two good spells to combine with ravage.
 * combined with Kraken Shell will make you near immune to physical damage before the enemy carries build up some considerable damage.


 * Ravage can be a good setup for.


 * Ravage allows Elder Titan to follow up with an and  combo.


 * Ravage is a good setup for.

Others

 * Since Kraken Shell blocks a static amount of damage, it becomes proportionately more effective the less the enemy heroes deal through right clicks. Therefore, any ally that can reduce their right click damage though a spell or an aura (such as or a negative ) will turn you progressively tankier and harder to kill.
 * Tidehunter is a dedicated teamfighter thanks to Ravage and will benefit from other big team fight spells to combine with Ravage ( or to name a couple). The triumvirate of dota (5-man beats ganks beats split-push beats 5-man) holds quite true with Tidehunter : he is somewhat ill-suited to deal with split-push, but very hard to take down in a gank by one or two people.

List of heroes that counter Tidehunter, and list of heroes that work well with Tidehunter.

Tidehunter/Противостоящие