Taara is one of the best tanks in game but also with decent amount of damage. Thanks to the items, Taara can be extremely tanky but still able to target lock on enemies backline, killing them without falling apart. Taaras abilities are very simple and plain and it does what it shows. One of the easiest heroes to play in the battlefield and also fun at the same time. She has a really amazing sustain ultimate that can out-trades against any heroes in the Dark Slayer Lane.

The Iron Mountain Range laid at the northern tip of the land, surrounding the Holy Hall like an iron wall. This renowned mountain range was known for its deposits of metal ore, which served as the main source of income for the Holy Hall.

As a group of people indigenous to the region, the Holy Hall directly governs over all of their faithful followers. The tribe led by Taara achieved many feats in the warring era. Though they lack the necessary crafting skills for fine weapons, they held their crudely-made hammers in valiance and smashed down on the invading Fallen at the foot of the mountains. Bloodbath after bloodbath, Taaras tribe paid dearly. However, even on the verge of losing the entire Iron Mountain Range, surrender never entered Taaras mind.

On the day of the resurgence of light, Taara and her tribesmen held a great festival. They lit the furnace deep in the mountains and celebrated with pillars of raging flames. Thanes messengers came at this time, announcing the order of the new king; due to Taaras valiance in the war, she was conferred a noble title. This meant she now owned a wealthy piece of land in the new kingdom and her tribe was finally able to escape the life of material shortages and hard mining work.

However, before Taara could plan her transition, Gildurs fury had spread to the Iron Mountains. As the Holy Halls financial officer, Gildur knew that population meant production capacity, and he would not allow Thane to destabilize the cornerstones of the Order. Thanes messenger was exiled, and Taara was regarded as a traitor to the faith and imprisoned. In addition, the taxes for her tribe would be doubled for the next ten years as a punishment.

Having the ground collapse beneath her, she fell from heaven straight into hell and endless torment. Veera, who had been spying from the dark, seized the chance to rescue Taara, leaving her with these words: False gods fail you in light; why not embrace true darkness? Disappointed by the Holy Hall, Taara submitted herself to the abyss. She was willing to be baptized by frost fire, and commit her soul to a dark will.

I rely only on the power I can hold in my hands!

Pros

-Decent damage dealer with Leviathan, Mantle of Ra and Frost Cape

-Tanky, hard to die

-Can 1v1 against most heroes

-Great sustain in lane

-Decent split pusher/clearing speed

-Backline killer

Cons

-Doesnt have reliable crowd control

-Cant peel for allies

-Bad in roaming/ganking

Core Items

These items are the "best in slot item" on Taara that scales perfectly well with her abilities and kits. There are no reason not to buy them under any circumstances. With all these items combined, Taara can 1v1 or even 1v2 anyone in the mid game.

Leviathan - Frostbite talent, high amount of HP and makes Taara stealing jungle even quicker. Most importantly, the burn per sec effect on the items. It deals decent amount of damage.

Gilded Greaves - Your first few items would be mostly armors, unless there isnt any magic damage or crowd control at all (which is very unlikely), go for Sonic Boots. 

Mantle of Ra - Has a decent amount of attack damage, armor and the main reason to purchase the item is cause of the burn effect. It stacks with Leviathan and it works very well along with Whirlwind.

Frost Cape - One of the best item in game. Grants Taara health, armor, cooldown speed and a really amazing basic attack buff that can slow the enemies. 

Situational Items

There are no reason to purchase any attack damage items because Taara would have more than enough to destroy the enemy backlines. Buying attack damage items would just sacrificing 1-2 slots for even tanky items to survive longer in the teamfights. The longer you survive, the more damage you deal.

Medallion of Troy - Best item to counter against magic damage. Has cooldown speed which is great for whirlwind

Gaias Standard - Has a small amount of health regeneration whenever taken damage, has a short cooldown. Magic resist, health and movement speed. Choose one between Gaias Standard or Medallion of Troy. Buying both would be too much against magic damage unless there are 2 or more magic damage dealers.

Mail of Pain - High armor and health. Nothing could go possibly wrong. Has a passive that reflects damage back to enemies as magic damage.

Shield of the Lost - Great passive that decreases attack speed, high armor and health.

Not recommended Items

Amulet of Longevity - The HP and health regeneration on the items isnt good enough to fill in a slot. You are better off purchasing other items. There is no armor on this item whatsoever.

Hyogas Edge - Frost Cape is a better version of this.

Hercules Madness - The passive on the item may be good with Fighting Spirit but its still not recommended.

Crimson Banner - The stats are good but the passive is unreliable. Its very risky to count on assists and kills to have regeneration.

There are so many reasons why Taara should always take Punish in the Dark Slayer lane. Taara would be staying in the Dark Slayer most of the time, she is weak in roaming and ganking unless its an Abyssal Dragon competition. 

With Punish:

-Taara is able to secure the Vision Wraith

-Taara can steal the enemy jungle

-Unlocks Frostbite Talent to slow enemies

-Leviathan

-Securing objectives - Dark Slayer, Abyssal Dragon

-Taking Spirit Sentinel

First of all, as Ive said before that Taara is a bad roamer/ganker. Roaming around the map too much looking for ganks would be a waste of time and Taara would fall behind in experience and gold. 

The main purpose of playing Taara is to pressure the Dark Slayer lane as much as possible so your teammates could secure the objectives which is why Punish is so important to have. Start by clearing the minion wave as soon as possible every time. The sooner you clear it, the more time you have to pressure the jungle. Taara can kill the Spirit Sentinel fairly quick whenever she has Leviathan. Its very risky to kill it without Leviathan.

During the early game, start by killing off enemy jungle if you are able to sneak into it without enemy finding you or take the vision wraith instead. Sometimes, you could even hide in bush and run out to steal the enemies Might Golem with Punish when the enemy jungler is clearing. It would be a great advantage for your jungler.

Repeat the same process again and over again - Clear minion wave - Steals enemy jungle - Spirit Sentinel whenever its up

If your enemy laner is roaming for a gank, most of the time its isnt worth to follow up. Push the tower and ping your allies to retreat instead. Whenever an enemies tower is down, you can open up the map for your allies to invade the jungle. The only time you should roam in the early game is when your allies competing the Abyssal Dragon. Otherwise, push the towers and steal the entire enemy jungle camp. Never ever steal your own allies camp.

 IMPORTANT - TAARA CANT USE PUNISH WHILE UNDER WHIRLWIND ANIMATION (if you are having a 50-50 chance of using punish for steal a jungle camp, using whirlwind would be a mistake, they cant be casted together unless punish first, then whirlwind)

In a teamfight, you should always look for the enemies backline to aim. Dont ever use Taaras at full health just to engage or for the bonus movement speed. Save it and use it when you are running low. A bad decision might cause you a death, dont jump in with Colossal Smash knowing that you cant win a fight.