Tulen Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Tulen

Mage

Health

Damage

Ability Effects

Difficulty

Heroes That Counter Tulen

Tulen is one of the most mobile mages in the game and can play mid or jungle. His passive Thunderclap adds a Thunderclap mark every time one of his skills hits. At 5 marks, it unleashes 5 lightning bolts on nearby enemies. Skill 1, Ion Blasts , fires 3 lightning bolts forward. Skill 2, Lightning Strike , lets him blink repeatedly with up to 3 charges, dealing damage at both ends and slowing heavily on repeated hits. His ultimate, Thunderbird , can be cast while moving and sends a lightning bird at a chosen target, and its cooldown drops sharply after a hero kill. On the downside, Tulen Tulen has no hard CC or CC immunity, has low HP, deals only magic damage, and other heroes can block his lightning bird. Once Lightning Strike is out of charges, he’s very easy to catch. Tulen’s counters include Zata, Lauriel in mid, Paine, Wukong, Kaine in the jungle, Bolt Baron, Florentino, Zuka in the Dark Slayer Lane, Thane at support and Yorn, Violet in the Abyssal Dragon Lane.

Zata

Zata Zata has a dash that is especially strong against heroes who cast skills nonstop, like Tulen Tulen . If Heaven's Wing passes through the bolts of Ion Blasts or the blink zone of Lightning Strike , Zata gets 3 more seconds to dash with the movement joystick. After 3 dashes he becomes untargetable, so Tulen can’t target you with the lightning bird from Thunderbird during that time. Even if Tulen blinks away, Zata’s dashes let him keep up. Waterspout creates a slowing whirlwind that flies back to where Zata stood when he cast it, and the passive Wind Slash lowers the ultimate’s cooldown every time he deals damage.

Lauriel

Lauriel Lauriel beats Tulen Tulen in skill trades thanks to fast cooldowns and healing. During Great Judgment , Lauriel’s cooldowns recover twice as fast, giving her more Wings of Purity dashes to dodge the 3 bolts of Ion Blasts , and each time her light hits an enemy it reduces cooldowns even further. Every skill that lands applies a Heaven's Punishment mark; at 4 stacks it detonates for area true damage, heals her and applies a decaying slow, enough to offset the magic damage Tulen just dumped. Bait Tulen into using up all his Lightning Strike charges first, because once Lightning Strike is depleted he struggles to escape Path of Repentance .

Jungle Assassins That Counter Tulen

Paine
Wukong
Kaine

Paine

Tulen’s burst is entirely magic, and every lightning strike that hits Paine Paine can turn back into HP for Paine: the skill passive of Elegy Elegy converts 35% of the magic damage Paine takes into HP over 3 seconds. This skill’s soul aura also silences, preventing Tulen Tulen from using Lightning Strike to blink away or casting Thunderbird . To get in range, Acknowledge lets Paine charge up and then dash to a target location with brief damage immunity, while Soul Tidings grants CC immunity when the soul is released, so Lightning Strike’s 90% slow can’t hold you in place.

Wukong

Lightning Strike slows by up to 90% on repeated hits, but Wukong Wukong can get out of it: reactivating Monkey Business within 5 seconds removes slows, grants stealth and boosts movement speed. The first cast swings his staff and stuns enemies around him, holding Tulen Tulen in place so he can’t blink away. Shadow Clone grants instant stealth so you can approach without Tulen seeing you coming. Great Sage boosts armor and magic resist, then dashes forward. The passive God Of War makes the basic attack after each skill instantly close in on the target, and it already has crit chance to take down squishy mages.

Kaine

The passive Manhunt Manhunt makes Kaine Kaine invisible when no enemies are nearby. Kaine can wait on the route Tulen Tulen is taking and strike before Tulen can react. Blood Sword fires a sword wave that marks and slows, and basic attacks against a marked target stun it, holding Tulen in place before he can blink away with Lightning Strike . If Tulen still gets away, Blood Strike dashes after him. During the dash Kaine is immune to CC and can’t be targeted, so the lightning bird from Thunderbird can’t aim at you. Blood Wheel deals bonus damage to the enemy with the lowest HP to finish him off.

Top Lane Fighters That Counter Tulen

Bolt Baron
Florentino
Zuka

Bolt Baron

Tulen Tulen likes to use Lightning Strike to blink through walls and escape, but Bolt Baron can catch him with Gathering Thunder . Bolt Baron transforms for 1.5 seconds with 30% bonus movement speed, passes through walls and is immune to CC, so Lightning Strike’s 90% slow can’t stop him. While he’s flying, 5 thunderbolts prioritize enemy heroes, and each one grants a short shield that absorbs Tulen’s magic damage. Thunder Plunge dashes and gives a shield for 2 seconds, helping you push through the 3 bolts of Ion Blasts . If Tulen is already too strong, consider buying a magic resist item before going in.

Florentino

Florentino has both a stun and max-HP-based damage to deal with a squishy mage like Tulen Tulen . Blossom Blossom throws a flower that stuns, and since Tulen has no CC immunity, he can’t use Lightning Strike while stunned. Picking up the flower also refunds the cooldown of Triple Threat , which adds true damage based on max HP to every slash. When Tulen blinks away, Gentlemen's Duel dashes in and starts a Duel with the first hero hit. For 5 seconds Florentino is immune to all crowd control, which makes Lightning Strike’s slow useless, and he takes no damage from Tulen’s teammates.

Zuka

Zuka Zuka is tanky enough to withstand Tulen Tulen ‘s burst and fast enough to chase him down. Panda Chariot rolls forward, granting a shield for 2.5 seconds that absorbs part of the lightning from Thunderclap and Ion Blasts , and the next basic attack knocks up nearby enemies for 0.5 seconds. Pain on a Stick can dash multiple times within 5 seconds, letting Zuka follow the blinks of Lightning Strike . When Tulen dives in to finish someone with Thunderbird , Sky Fall slams down for a 1-second stun, enough for the whole team to burst a target with no CC immunity.

Support Heroes That Counter Tulen

Thane

Thane

The description of Thunderbird clearly says the lightning bird can be blocked by other enemy heroes, and Thane Thane is very good at this: stand next to your marksman or mage and take the bird in their place. Excalibur gives Thane 20% damage reduction and makes him unstoppable while slashing. It deals true damage plus 15% of the target’s lost HP. When Tulen Tulen blinks in to finish someone off, Avalon's Fury knocks him airborne and slows him. Valiant Charge charges forward with repeated knockbacks and a knock-up at the end, so Tulen can’t keep blinking around. The passive Royal Power heals Thane and grants damage reduction when he’s low on HP.

Dragon Lane Marksmen That Counter Tulen

Yorn
Violet

Yorn

Yorn Yorn has two skills that reveal enemies and a slow, which is enough to track a blink-heavy hero like Tulen Tulen . Explosive Arrow fires an explosive arrow at a target area that slows and reveals the enemies it hits, making it hard for Tulen to slip out of vision even when he uses Lightning Strike to escape. Heart Shot travels a long way, reveals its path and deals bonus magic damage based on missing HP to the first hero hit. It’s ideal for finishing Tulen after he blinks far away on low HP. Heavenly Arrow creates a zone of continuous fire, which makes the spots Tulen wants to blink to dangerous.

Violet

Violet Violet has both long range and an evasive roll, making this hero well suited to handling Tulen Tulen ‘s burst damage. The three lightning bolts of Ion Blasts fire straight ahead, so a sideways roll with Tactical Fire can dodge most of them while also empowering the next attack to pierce in a line with increased range. Fire In The Hole throws a grenade that slows for 1 second onto the spot Tulen just blinked to. When he is low on HP and tries to blink away with Lightning Strike , Concussive Rounds strikes from afar and deals an extra 12% of missing HP, usually enough to finish him off.

Items to Counter Tulen

Tulen’s entire kit, from the 3 bolts of Ion Blasts and the blinks of Lightning Strike to the 5 lightning bolts of Thunderclap and the Thunderbird Thunderbird , deals magic damage. The Protection shield absorbs 460 – 1300 magic damage whenever you leave combat, helping you survive his opening burst, while Inner Strength adds up to 112 magic defense based on level.

After Tulen finishes his lightning combo, the Recovery passive restores 5% max HP over 2 seconds as soon as you take damage (10-second cooldown). Bloodline also increases healing effectiveness by 5% for every 10% of HP lost. This is a good fit for fighters and jungle assassins who have to charge in between the blinks of Lightning Strike .

Seal makes you invulnerable and immobile for 1.5 seconds, then grants a damage-blocking shield for 1 second; 75-second cooldown. Activate it when Tulen sends Thunderbird at you or when the 5 lightning bolts from Thunderclap are about to go off. With the right timing, his burst hits nothing.

Divine intervention blocks a lethal blow, granting 0.75 seconds of invincibility (extended to 1.5 seconds after carrying the item for 4 minutes) plus 25% movement speed and 25% attack speed; 120-second cooldown. Tulen usually finishes targets off with Thunderbird , so this item helps physical assassins and marksmen survive the Thunderbird strike and counterattack once he has used up his skills.

How to Counter Tulen in 1vs1

Count Lightning Strike charges: Lightning Strike stores up to 3 charges, with 2 seconds between consecutive uses. Once Tulen has spent all his charges engaging or escaping, that’s your window to go in.

Dodge the 3 bolts by moving sideways: Ion Blasts fires 3 bolts forward, and targets hit by multiple bolts take reduced damage from the later ones. Moving sideways means you only get hit by one bolt, limiting how many Thunderclap marks stack up.

Watch out when he reaches 5 marks: Thunderclap calls down 5 lightning bolts on nearby enemies as soon as it is fully stacked. Don’t stand close to Tulen right after he has landed several skills in a row.

Don’t get hit by Lightning Strike twice in a row: Taking Lightning Strike repeatedly within 5 seconds slows you by up to 90%, leaving you unable to dodge the next Thunderbird.

How to Counter Tulen in Teamfights

Hard CC on Tulen: He has no CC immunity. The stun from Blossom Blossom stops Tulen from blinking away and turns him into a sitting target, the slow and reveal from Explosive Arrow help you stay on him, and the silence from Elegy Elegy locks out his blink entirely.

Body-block the Thunderbird: Thunderbird can be blocked by other heroes. Supports and tanks should stand between Tulen and a low-HP carry.

Don’t give him the first kill: If Thunderbird kills a hero, Tulen instantly triggers his Thunderclap passive and Thunderbird’s cooldown drops sharply, meaning he can chain-hunt one target after another. Low-HP teammates should fall back before the teamfight starts.

Force him to burn Lightning Strike early: Use fighters and assassins to stick to him so Tulen has to spend all 3 charges of Lightning Strike running away; his damage drops significantly after that.

Tips for Countering Tulen

Strengths to Watch Out For

Lightning Strike stores up to 3 charges, letting Tulen blink repeatedly to engage and escape.
Thunderbird can be cast while moving, and killing a hero greatly reduces its cooldown.
The Thunderclap passive unleashes 5 lightning bolts once enough marks are stacked, bursting magic damage very quickly.
Consecutive Lightning Strike hits slow by up to 90%.

Weaknesses to Exploit

No hard CC or CC immunity, very vulnerable to stuns and silences.
Squishy and easy to catch once Lightning Strike is out of charges.
The lightning bird can be blocked by other heroes.
All of his damage is magic, so magic resist cuts it down easily.