Tulen — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: C | Web: A | Web: S+ | Web: S | Web: A | Web: S | Web: S+] Pro play (RPL 2026): 4 picks, 25.0% WR, 1.4% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked. Ranked A on zathong.com. Ranked S+ on metatierlist.com. Ranked S on pillarofgaming.com. Ranked A on commonsensegamer.com. Ranked S on 1v9.gg. Ranked S+ on richmanshop.com.
Tulen — Mage Guide
Key Insights
- Thunderclap fires on the 5th charge and always snaps to heroes first, so never let Q hit only minions.
- Repeat Thunderclap hits within 1s deal 20% reduced damage, so reposition slightly between procs in teamfights.
- Ion Prisms bonus 30% damage per extra bolt stacks when all three hit the same target, so cast at close range, not max.
- Lightning Strike hits at origin and landing point, double-procing the 90% slow if the same enemy is caught by both within 5s.
- Thunderbird's missing-HP bonus is strongest below 50% HP; on a kill it resets with 80% cooldown reduction, enabling chain executes.
Strengths
Lightning Strike lets him hard-engage and still keep Flicker in reserve.
Thunderclap scales through extended fights and always hits heroes first.
Thunderbird's missing-HP multiplier enables a kill-reset chain through an entire backline.- 0% ban rate at S tier, free first-pick in nearly every Diamond+ draft.
Weaknesses
- Thunderbird is body-blocked by any hero standing between Tulen and his target.
- No hard CC; the 90% slow from Lightning Strike needs two hits within five seconds.
Ion Prisms at max range generates far fewer charges and deals sharply less damage.- Orb of the Magi core delays his power spike, he can be poked out pre-first-back.
Matchups
Abilities
PThunderclap
Whenever Tulen hits an enemy with a skill, he gains a Lightning Charge. After accumulating 5 charges, he attacks nearby enemies with lightning, dealing magic damage. Lightning targets heroes first. If the same enemy is hit multiple times within 1s, subsequent hits deal 20% reduced damage. (Lightning only hits minions if that minion hits Tulen.)
1Ion Prisms
Tulen fires 3 lightning bolts in a cone, dealing magic damage to enemies in the area. Enemies hit by more than 1 bolt take an additional 30% magic damage per bolt. Each bolt that hits an enemy grants Tulen 1 Lightning Charge.
2Lightning Strike
Tulen teleports in a chosen direction, dealing magic damage to enemies at the destination and his starting point. If an enemy takes damage from both hits within 5s (the 2nd hit deals 50% reduced damage), they are slowed by 90% for 3s. Hitting enemies with this skill grants Tulen 1 Lightning Charge. This skill can be stored up to 3 times.
RThunderbird
Tulen locks onto a target and strikes with a lightning spirit, dealing magic damage plus 30% bonus damage equal to HP Tulen has lost. (Grants 1 Lightning Charge.) The lightning spirit can be intercepted by other enemy heroes. If this skill kills an enemy, its cooldown is reduced by 80% and passive ability triggers instantly. (Non-hero enemies take magic damage and are knocked airborne.)
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ion Prisms | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Lightning Strike | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RThunderbird | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Desolate
Spirit
StainStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard All-In
12PROpen with Q at close-to-medium range to stack charges and pre-damage, blink through with W to double-hit and secure the slow, let the Thunderclap passive proc, then finish with R into the now-isolated, slowed target. This is your bread-and-butter kill pattern in lane.
Extended Teamfight Loop
21PRP12Use W to blink past the frontline and land behind the carry, stack charges immediately with Q, proc Thunderclap, execute with R. On a kill the passive fires again and R resets 80%, letting you repeat the loop on the next priority target without retreating.
Flicker Escape Cancel
12RAgainst an enemy who closes the gap on your W animation, cast Q first to generate charges and apply pressure, Flicker out of their engage, then W back in from a safer angle before landing R. Risky, but useful when the enemy has a gap-closer that can interrupt a standard W entry.
Expert Video Guide
RoV : สอนเล่น Tulen ยังไงให้แบกทีมได้ วิธีคิดต่างๆที่ทำให้เราได้เปรียบ - Best Ryouta — Best Ryouta
Gameplan
Tulen's first meaningful spike is Orb of the Magi: the HP and mana let him run his full combo repeatedly in the mid-game without recalling. He hits his first breakpoint around level 4 when W comes online and the charge-stacking rotation opens up. His real power window is levels 8 to 12 with Rhea's Blessing done, where the combo reliably one-shots squishies and the Thunderbird execute is lethal. Late game he needs Staff of Nuul active to cut through tanks, or his damage plateaus. Don't force fights pre-Orb and pre-level-4. Before those thresholds you are a late-laner pretending to be an assassin.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Farm safely to Orb of the Magi, only trading when you can land a full three-bolt Q on the enemy laner at close range. A partial Q into empty air pushes your power spike back by breaking your charge rhythm.
- →Use W primarily as a defensive repositioning tool before level four. Don't burn it on aggressive plays when you have no follow-up damage to secure the kill.
- →Track enemy jungle invades and keep one eye on your flanks. Tulen with no W available and no Flicker is one of the easiest heroes in the game to gank successfully.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →Once Orb of the Magi is complete, rotate to Dragon or tower fights immediately rather than sitting in lane. Your W gives you arrival speed and your passive gives you a sustained damage edge in skirmishes that other mid mages lack.
- →Look for picks on isolated carries with the full Q then W then passive then R combo. The 90% slow means even a flash-heavy carry cannot escape if W double-hits correctly.
- →Coordinate with your team's engage: you want your frontline to initiate first so the enemy frontline is clustered, letting your Thunderclap proc jump between multiple heroes and maximize passive hit count.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →Staff of Nuul activation is mandatory before you R a tank. Without magic pierce you are wasting the missing-HP amplifier on a target that shrugs off your full burst.
- →Never cast R into a clustered enemy frontline. Blink behind with W first, identify the most isolated or lowest-HP carry, and fire Thunderbird from an angle where no body-block is possible.
- →In base-siege scenarios, use W to enter, proc passive on the backline, R the carry, and immediately W out on the cooldown reset. Don't overstay trying to pick up stray kills once the reset window closes.
Pro Tips
- →Cast Q at point-blank range into an enemy hero before blinking with W. The damage from both skills lands before the slow window calculates, so you have dealt most of your pre-R damage before the enemy can react to your blink.
- →In lane, save your fifth Thunderclap charge for the exact moment Q is also off cooldown. Detonating the proc at the same time as a fresh Q cast creates a near-simultaneous burst window that is effectively impossible to heal through.
- →When Thunderbird resets on a kill, fire the second R before recasting W. The 80% cooldown reduction on R is calculated from the moment of the kill, and blinking between kills eats into the window where the reset is active.
- →Track your charge count before a dragon or lord contest. At three or four charges, one Q cast into grouped enemies procs Thunderclap at fight initiation, giving your team a free AoE magic damage burst before either side fully commits.
Tulen is a real solo-carry mage at the top of the Thai server. If you are Diamond-plus and want an S-tier mid with a near-zero ban rate and a high ceiling, he is your pick. The thing to master is charge management: knowing exactly how many Thunderclap bolts you have before every trade, gank, and fight is what separates feeding kills from chaining executes. Practice the Q-before-W entry at close range, and don't let the low aggregate win rate fool you. The data does not reflect what he looks like in good hands.
Tulen — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tulen good in the current ROV patch?+
Tulen is S tier on the Thai server this patch, and the 25% aggregate win rate is a data artifact from cross-bracket experimentation, not a real performance read. At Diamond and above, players running the Orb of the Magi core and the Thunderclap charge loop win at a much higher rate. Pilot the combo consistently and he is one of the strongest mids available.
What is the best build for Tulen?+
Core is Orb of the Magi into Gilded Greaves, Rhea's Blessing, Boomstick, Staff of Nuul, and Hecate's Diadem. Orb first is non-negotiable: the mana sustain and HP let him stack charges through the mid-game without recalling. Staff of Nuul is the most important damage item because it activates before R, so the missing-HP bonus penetrates tank resistances.
How do you counter Tulen?+
Body-block his Thunderbird with any hero standing between him and his target. Supports and tanks should consciously cut the bird's flight path in fights. Mobile junglers like Murad punish his W entry animation with a follow-up engage before Thunderclap procs. At draft, a Baldum pick removes most of his execute reliability in 5v5s.
Is Tulen hard to play / good for beginners?+
Medium difficulty, and that's accurate. The abilities are individually simple, but the charge-stacking rhythm and W double-hit timing take deliberate practice under pressure. Beginners find him frustrating because wasting charges on minions or body-blocking your own R feels awful and tanks your win rate. Players with mobile-mage experience clear the learning curve fast and can carry within a session or two.