Most players would agree that duo queue is the best way to rise through the ranks of hero league. Players are always experimenting to find out which two hero combination can carry them to the highest ranks. Today I want to take a look at a combination that I have been spamming recently with great success. It is not a typical combination and many people probably haven’t considered it before. The combo I’m talking about is a new look at using Abathur to buff an auto attacking hero. That hero is Tychus with his Odin heroic ability. This is a very specific build for both heroes so I will be going over the builds for both. I will also give you general tips on how to play each side of the combination so that you guys can be ready to take this duo into your matches.

Odin Tychus Build

First we have Odin Tychus. If you take a look at the build you see that it is completely auto attack focused with the best talents to maximize the uptime and the damage on his basic attacks. At level one you take Dash. It is the best option now that the resistant talent has been removed. It gives you the best mobility on the ability. Master Assassin is taken at level four because of the attack speed steroid it adds. You might think it is difficult to get this talent stacked, but with th e amount of area of effect damage you will do in team fights makes it so easy to either tag heroes before they are taken down or secure the takedown yourself. At level seven Relentless Soldier is the best choice because it gives you damage reduction. The other talents are based around utility on the grenade. Since this build is based around Odin it is the obvious choice of heroic. This ability is what makes Tychus the only hyper carry in the game. It gives him massive range on his basic attacks and gives him some of the best area of effect in the game. At level thirteen you take That’s the Stuff, because it allows you to heal for insane amounts with all the auto attack buffs Tychus has. His one versus one potential is amazing with this ability. The next talent choice I take with this build is Titan Grenade. This talent gives you more tank killing power and has the added benefit of great wave clear. Level twenty is really a personal choice, but I take Big Red Button. Taking this talent makes your area of effect damage in Odin incredible and allows you to literally nuke squishies from a crazy distance. The build and duo is based around Odin so maximizing the damage of the heroic is the way to go. Sizzlin’ attacks is also good if you want to be stronger outside of Odin and Bob and Weave is also a solid choice if you feel like you need more mobility, but Big Red Button fits the playstyle associated with this build the best.

Hatathur Abathur Build

The Abathur build for this duo is your standard Hatathur build that has been around since the original 1v9 Illidan compositions. At level one, you take regenerative microbes. This allows you to heal targets while your shield is active on them. After the buff to the healing of this ability, it is one of the best talents Abathur has. At level four the obvious choice is Adrenal Overload. Tychus is an auto attack based champion and giving him an attack speed steroid while he is in Odin allows him to decimate entire teams. Level seven is a situational talent tier. This talent should be chosen completely based on the game you are in. Take Needlespine for more damage output, Vile Nest for maps where there are set places that you can predict the enemy will walk through or for just more general utility, Networked Carapace for a more team fight oriented situation (note that it is not a talented version so it will not heal or give movement speed to the extra targets), and Calldown: MULE for situations where you have already taken structure damage or that you can predict guaranteed structure damage by the enemy team (really it is good in any scenario that you are not completely dominating the game). At level ten you have to make a decision. I usually take monstrosity because it gives me split pushing pressure and allows me to always be putting my symbiote on a target, but if your Tychus player seems to be struggling it might be better for you to clone him or someone else for more team fight power. The rest of the build is standard Hatathur, Soma Transference at level thirteen for extra healing, Adrenaline Boost at level sixteen for the extra move speed to help Tychus kite and chase, and Hivemind at level twenty to give you two symbiote targets for double the buffs.

Odin Tychus Playstyle

The playstyle for this Tychus build is pretty simple. The most important thing to remember is to try not to take fights without your heroic. This is a duo that is completely based around Odin so do not waste it and let your team know when it is on cooldown. What you want to do with this build is play as your normal back line carry. Stay away from the enemy team and look for opportunities to hit the squishies with your grenade and your spray and pray. Do not be afraid to hit tanks when your trait is up because you can shred and kill them before the enemy team has time to follow up on the initiation. Just remember that you are basically two different heroes with this build. When you are Tychus your goal is to stay safe and stay alive while tank busting. When you are Odin your job is to nuke the squishes with your abilities and hit as many targets as possible without over-extending with your basic attacks. One thing that drives me crazy when I see players using Odin is when they activate the heroic right in front of the enemy team. Do not, I repeat, do not do that! Find a safe place away from the enemy team to go into Odin and start firing. The range on your basic attacks and on your abilities is insane. Think of yourself as a mobile Sgt. Hammer when you activate it. Keep enemies at your max range so that you can pour damage on them without taking retaliation damage. Remember this and you will have success with this build.

Hatathur Playstyle

The Hatathur playstyle is not too complicated. Symbiote Tychus and do everything you can to keep him alive so that he can carry. Remember to keep doing normal Abathur things like soaking when it is safe and placing mines when there is not a fight going on. Try to spam Carapace as you can to keep Tychus alive and healed up. In between fights try to switch your symbiote around to top your team off and look for opportunities to get in lanes for experience. It may not be a flashy, big-play type of build, but if you have someone that knows how to maximize the potential of Tychus you will win games. Keep Odin alive and watch as he nukes enemy teams and decimates team fights by himself.

Conclusion

Duo queuing is the best way to climb the ranked ladder and finding combinations that you and your duo partner can win games with is critical. The Odin and Hathathur combination is one I stumbled on because I have always been a huge proponent of Odin on Tychus. Carrying games is something that can be extremely difficult in Heroes of the Storm and this is one strategy to doing just that. Perfecting this duo and perfecting your synergy with your Abathur player will definitely lead to more wins. Please give this strategy a try and let me know what you think. If you do try this duo out it would be awesome to see your videos or clips so that I can see why it is working for you or why it is not. Sometimes simple positioning errors can be the difference between a successful Odin game and a disaster of an Odin game. So pay attention to your positioning, find a partner, and go win some games with Odin and Hatathur!

-Caleb “PanDuhChuu” Jones

Where can you contact me?

twitch.tv/panduhchuu

twitter.com/c3_jo

facebook.com/caleb.b.jones

instagram.com/c3_jo