Axe is a formidable foe in Dota 2 regardless of the kind of match-up you’re up against. Being a melee-strength hero with high armor and HP makes him nearly impossible to kill. This article will discuss the Best Axe Counters in Dota 2 to help you win your matches against him.
Ganking comes naturally to Axe due to his area disable, which is capable of piercing spell immunity. Once he builds his Blink Dagger, he can initiate and disable a number of heroes depending on how well he positions himself.
His passive ability taunts enemies is perfect for baiting them into attacking him. This only further adds to his advantage allowing him to fight multiple enemy heroes at the same time while maintaining his edge over them. This also allows him to farm lanes and Jungle Creeps efficiently.
However, his small mana pool does cause him to invest in items and resources to increase his mana regen. Additionally, ranged heroes can have a fun time kiting Axe and forcing his blink dagger to reset every time.Â
Axe
Mogul Khan also known as Axe, is a melee hero who thrives in chaos. He does this by surprising his enemies as he jumps headfirst into battle, forcing them to fight him at an unfair disadvantage. However, this requires him to get close to his enemies if he wants to pull off his abilities and utilize them well.
His first ability is Berserker’s Call. This ability is what makes Axe so popular in Dota 2. This ability forces Axe’s enemies to attack him for 3 seconds. As contradictory as it sounds, it works in Axe’s favor. He gains bonus armor for the time duration and reflects on the damage dealt with him by Counter Helix.
The second ability is Battle Hunger. This works well during the laning phase as it grants Axe additional move speed allows him to chase targets while dealing with them DPS. It also slows down his enemies, helping Axe catch up to them.
Counter Helix is Axe’s passive ability with a 20% proc chance every time he is attacked. It allows him to deal 180 damage in a 275 radius around him every attack. When used with Berserker’s call, this ability alone can take down the entire enemy team.
Lastly, his ultimate ability Culling Blade allows him to kill any hero within a certain threshold instantly. This grants Axe movement and attack speed for a short duration. If this ability enables the kill successfully, then the move does not reset.
Counters
Counters in Dota 2 is precisely what makes this game interesting. Even a powerful and frightening hero such as Axe can be countered if the draft is chosen carefully. Here is the list of the Best Axe Counters in Dota 2.
Necrophos
Necrophos has a lot of Health Regen due to his Death Pulse and Mekansm. It heals him and stops Axe’s Culling Blade from killing him if used at the right time. This works for both Necrophos and his allies.
Additionally, Ghost Shroud helps protect Necrophos against all physical damage-type attacks. The instant cast time ensures that even if initiated by Axe, Necrophos can escape alive. Since turning ethereal does not let Necrophos attack others either, he cannot proc Counter Helix. This makes Ghost Shroud the perfect ability for disengaging from Axe.
Heartstopper Aura is chips away the enemy’s health based on their total HP. This makes it easy for Necrophos to fight against Axe as his relatively high HP regen turns useless against him.
Finally, Reaper’s Scythe goes through Axe’s high durability and can kill him quickly if his health drops too fast after he initiates. All these abilities combined make Necrophos one of the Best Axe Counters in Dota 2.
Shadow Demon
Shadow Demon is a support hero who does well against Axe. This is why he should play as Position 5 support in the Safelane as Axe will most likely go as an offlaner. Using Disruption allows Shadow Demon to save his carry when under attack by Axe. Later on, during team fights, he can use Axe to stop his teammates from being killed by Counter Helix or the Culling Blade.
Axe uses his Blink Dagger to grant him the mobility to initiate and take down enemy heroes. Using Soul Catcher or Shadow Poison lets Shadow Demon reset the cooldown on Axe’s Blink Dagger. This forces him to retreat until the timer ends so he can initiate on the enemy team once again. These abilities are perfect for throwing Axe off his position.
Lastly, Demonic Purge can severely reduce Axe’s movement speed, causing him to slow down even after using Battle Hunger. This lack of mobility on Axe makes him useless during team fights and initiation.
Timbersaw
Timbersaw is also a melee strength hero with a high HP pool. His Whirling Death ability takes the attributes of his enemies. When used against Axe, it takes away his strength by 15%. This makes Axe less durable, especially during the early game.
Reactive armor grants Timbersaw additional durability, making it hard to take him down. This can pose a serious threat for Axe as Timbersaw’s high regen can help him fight against any hero on an equal footing. The high regen also means that Axe cannot use Culling Blade on Timbersaw as he would instantly heal back any HP lost.
Chakram does a lot of damage in the area where it is used. The damage dealt does not hurt Timbersaw as he can use it from a distance and not take any damage by Counter Helix.
Doom
Doom is a powerful hero and a worthy mention in the List of Best Axe Counters. This is because a lot of his abilities are perfect against Axe. Infernal Blade deals damage based on the enemy’s maximum health, which means this ability would deal a lot more damage to Axe than a normal attack.
Using Devour allows Doom to pick up several of the Neutral Creeps abilities. Utilizing them against Axe can make it easy for him to fight, as many of these abilities work well against him. Since Doom also lacks agility, he has a very slow attack speed. However, this only works in his favor as it means that he has a very low chance to Proc Counter Helix.
Finally, his ultimate ability Doom allows him to silence Axe for a long duration. Since Axe will be unable to use his abilities, he will forcibly have to retreat. His absence gives his enemies a massive advantage in any team fight that ensues afterward.
Jakiro
Jakiro is the second support mentioned in the list. His abilities can help his allies stay alive during the initiation from Axe. Using Ice Path helps him freeze Axe and foil his Berserker’s Call attempt. Additionally, since it has a large AoE cast, it can discourage any follow-up attempts at the initiation.
It can also be used to stop Axe from using his high movement speed to pursue enemy heroes. It creates an obstacle for Axe forcing him to let his enemies escape unless he has a Blink Dagger that can cover the area under effect.
However, that too can be countered as many of Jakiro’s spells have DPS. This forces a cooldown on the Blink Dagger, stopping Axe from using that to aid his mobility.
Axe is undoubtedly a powerful hero; however, he can be countered with the right follow-up draft. Being mindful of the abilities that work against him only helps secure your win. Hopefully, this article will help you select the Best Axe Counters in Dota 2 and win your games.
