Dota 2

Axe

● Strengthmeleemixed damageInitiatorDurableDisablerCarry

One after another, Axe cuts down his foes. Marching ahead of his team, he locks his enemies in battle then counters their blows with a deadly spin of his weapon. Slamming his culling blade through a weakened enemy, he is always charging onward.

Pos 3 — Offlane
Win rate
50.5%
Pick rate
15.3%
Armor / MS
3.3 / 315
Range
150
Plan matchupRole builds

Abilities

Official ability data from Valve
Berserker's CallQ⏱ 18 / 16 / 14 / 12s◆ 90 / 100 / 110 / 120
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him while he gains bonus armor during the duration.
Battle HungerW⏱ 20 / 15 / 10 / 5s◆ 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. The enemy is slowed as long as they are facing away from Axe.
Mechanics notes (1)
  • • Destroying buildings will also remove the debuff.
Counter HelixE⏱ 0.3s
After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counter attack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies.
Mechanics notes (2)
  • • Counter Helix triggers when the attack hits.
  • • Illusions' counters don't increase when they attack when you have a Scepter.
Culling BladeR⏱ 80 / 75 / 70s◆ 100 / 125 / 150
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, dealing pure damage. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset, and all nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed and armor. Axe permanently drenches his blade every time he kills an enemy Hero with Culling Blade, gaining bonus armor for each stack.
Mechanics notes (1)
  • • Culling Blade death cannot be prevented with other abilities like Shallow Grave.
•
One Man ArmyInnate
Axe gains Strength based on 50% of his Armor as long as there are no allied heroes within 700 distance from Axe. The effect fades over 3s after approaching an ally.
Traits ours:Stuns & disablesInitiationPure damageHigh armorBKB-piercing lockdownStrong passives (Break-able)

Our ratings

0–10, our judgement — every planner uses them
EarlyMidLateLaningWave clearTeamfightPickoffDisableDurabilityMobility

Aghanim's upgrades

Upgrade text from Valve · priority is ours Our recommendation
Aghanim's Scepterlow priority
Counter Helix: Counter Helix now applies a stacking debuff to enemies hit by it that causes them to deal less total attack damage to Axe. Counter Helix no longer has a cooldown and its counter advances when Axe attacks.
Aghanim's Shardlow priority
Berserker's Call: Berserker's Call applies Battle Hunger to affected units.
Battle Hunger: Multiple instances of Battle Hunger can stack on a single target.

Tips & counterplay

Playing as Axe

Initiator. Blink-Call the enemy team and let Counter Helix and Blade Mail do the rest.

Laning: Battle Hunger on the enemy carry; Counter Helix spins when they attack you.

Kill combo: Blink → Berserker's Call → Battle Hunger → Culling Blade.

Staying alive: Call creeps for spins; high armor during Call.

From real games (OpenDota)
  • • Most games are in the off lane (94.1%, 48.2% win rate).
  • • Blink Dagger: usually done by 20 min; finishing it by 10 min wins 62.7%.
  • • Phase Boots: usually done by 8 min; finishing it by 8 min wins 53.6%.
  • • Blade Mail: usually done by 20 min; finishing it by 8 min wins 76.2%.

Playing against Axe

Generated from this hero's traits, counters and real matchups

Stuns & disables Black King Bar, Linken's Sphere or Lotus Orb. Spread out so one stun doesn't catch the whole team.

Initiation Ward their approach paths, hold Black King Bar or Aeon Disk, and stay spread.

Pure damage Pure damage ignores armor and magic resistance. Raw health (Heart) and Aeon Disk are the answers.

High armor Desolator or Blight Stone, or switch to magic damage.

BKB-piercing lockdown Linken's Sphere or Aeon Disk. Stay near allies who can save you.

Strong passives (Break-able) Silver Edge breaks their passives. Plan the fight around the break.

  • • Respect Axe at Blink Dagger: Initiate every fight.
  • • Respect Axe at Blade Mail: Call + Blade Mail punishes focus.
  • • Respect Axe at Lvl 6: Culling Blade executes.

Items that counter it

Aeon Disk Pure damage, BKB-piercing lockdown, InitiationLotus Orb Stuns & disables, BKB-piercing lockdownBlack King Bar Stuns & disables, InitiationLinken's Sphere Stuns & disables, BKB-piercing lockdownOrb of Corrosion High armorGlimmer Cape Stuns & disables

Heroes that beat it

Talents

Current talents (Valve)
+85 Berserker's Call AoE
25
+150 Culling Blade Damage
+15 Strength
20
+40 Counter Helix Damage
+8 Battle Hunger Damage Per Second
15
+10 Berserker's Call Armor
+3s Culling Blade Kill Buff Bonus Duration
10
+8% Movement Speed per active Battle Hunger

Best items

Position 3 build Our recommendation
Starting
Early
››
Core
›››
Luxury

Power spikes

Our recommendation
Blink DaggerInitiate every fight.
Blade MailCall + Blade Mail punishes focus.
Lvl 6Culling Blade executes.

Best skill build

Position 3 Our recommendation
123456789101112131415161718
Q Berserker's CallQQQQ
W Battle HungerWWWW
E Counter HelixEEEE
R Culling BladeRRR
T Talent★★

Counters

Strong against ours

Countered by

Weak against ours

Synergies

Great with ours

Best lane partners

Toughest lane opponents

From our matchup model, adjusted by each opponent's laning rating Our recommendation
Dazzle−24
Necrophos−21
Invoker−15
Witch Doctor−13
Centaur Warrunner−11

Live stats OpenDota · 2026-10-14

Public match stats

Win rate (all ranks)
50.5%
Win rate (Divine+)
48.8%
Pick rate
15.3% of matches
Sample
628,270 picks
Pro
17 picks · 41.2% WR · 7.3% ban

Lane presence

off94.1% · 48.2% WR
mid3.1% · 43% WR
safe2.7% · 41.9% WR

Win rate by rank

Public matches per medal bracket
52.2%Herald51.9%Guardian51.8%Crusader51%Archon50.1%Legend49.6%Ancient48.8%Divine

Win rate by game length

Minutes · OpenDota parsed games
48%0′36.7%10′45.4%20′48.3%30′50.2%40′50.6%50′49.5%60′

Item timings

When the item is finished, and the timing that wins most (≥15 games)
ItemGamesUsualWin %Best timing
Blink Dagger2,56720′48.7%≤10′ · 62.7%
Phase Boots2,4848′48.8%≤8′ · 53.6%
Blade Mail2,36420′49.6%≤8′ · 76.2%
Aghanim's Shard1,36025′56.8%≤20′ · 61.1%
Black King Bar1,20830′58.7%≤25′ · 64.3%
Lotus Orb13630′64.7%≤25′ · 75%
Aghanim's Scepter8430′61.9%≤25′ · 68%
Spirit Vessel7915′53.2%≤12′ · 68.8%
Heart of Tarrasque5530′74.5%≤30′ · 81.8%
Boots of Travel5425′55.6%≤25′ · 47.8%

What players actually buy

Most purchased items by game phase
Start
Early
Mid
Late

Best real matchups

Head-to-head win rate, ≥40 games
Faceless Void56 games62.5%
Bristleback120 games59.2%
Crystal Maiden123 games58.5%
Puck153 games58.2%
Sniper114 games57.9%

Worst real matchups

Head-to-head win rate, ≥40 games
Huskar66 games42.4%
Centaur Warrunner223 games43.5%
Dazzle112 games45.5%
Lion280 games45.7%
Necrophos124 games46%

Recent pro & league games

Most recent league matches featuring this hero
LeagueResultK / D / ALengthDate
1win Streamers League #3Win16 / 3 / 1237′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss7 / 8 / 442′2026-10-13
1win Streamers League #3Win11 / 4 / 1043′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin3 / 8 / 318′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersWin11 / 0 / 723′2026-10-13
奇迹杯Win25 / 7 / 1537′2026-10-13
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss15 / 4 / 2563′2026-10-12
DreamLeague Season 30 QualifiersLoss3 / 5 / 321′2026-10-11

Lore

As a grunt in the Army of Red Mist, Mogul Khan set his sights on the rank of Red Mist General. In battle after battle he proved his worth through gory deed. His rise through the ranks was helped by the fact that he never hesitated to decapitate a superior. Through the seven year Campaign of the Thousand Tarns, he distinguished himself in glorious carnage, his star of fame shining ever brighter, while the number of comrades in arms steadily dwindled. On the night of ultimate victory, Axe declared himself the new Red Mist General, and took on the ultimate title of 'Axe.' But his troops now numbered zero. Of course, many had died in battle, but a significant number had also fallen to Axe's blade. Needless to say, most soldiers now shun his leadership. But this matters not a whit to Axe, who knows that a one-man army is by far the best.