Axe

Mogul Khan the Axe is a melee strength hero, infamous for creating chaos in battle and thriving off of it.

Axe is commonly played as an initiator with a large semi-carry presence that quickly transitions into a support role later in the game. Axe's fighting style demands that he gets up close and very personal, as he can taunt enemies into targeting him and counters those who try to strike him with a sweeping Counter Helix that slashes all enemies at melee range. By infusing an enemy's soul with his own hunger for war, Axe has a tendency to draw opponents so deep in the fight that they do not have a chance to escape. His ultimate, Culling Blade, bolsters that talent with an attack that unconditionally kills a unit with low health.

Tips

 * Resist using Culling Blade when not roaming or teamfighting. While Axe is powerful early game, he scales poorly later on due to a lack of scaling abilities. It is best to let your carry kill enemies if a culling blade is not necessary.
 * You can type bind "P" "toggle dota_health_per_vertical_marker 250 325 400 550" into the console to easily find the instakill health thresholds for Axe's ultimate. Press 'P' in game to change the corresponding number of the health bars. This sets each bar of health to the value you set, which means when they are under 1 bar of health, you can successfully kill the hero. This can also be applied to other spells such as, , or , but magic resistance should be factored in. For details on enabling the console, see Console.
 * Axe is an excellent counter-pick to heroes with abilities that can greatly increase their attack speed (i.e. Ursa, Troll Warlord), as a combination of Berserker's Call and Blade Mail can be devastating to such heroes, especially if Counter Helix procs numerous times.


 * Soul Ring can provide all of the mana needed through the early and midgame. Use this in conjunction with a form of HP regeneration such as Tranquil Boots or a Vanguard.
 * Because of Counter Helix, attacking the enemy's creep wave when it spawns is an effective strategy for Axe to quickly earn experience. This will keep the enemies in your lane suppressed by your creeps during the early game. However it is not recommended if the opponent has an easy way to farm your incoming creep wave.
 * If snowballing or farm is exceptional, a Bloodstone can provide excellent tankability and more mana to spam axe's spells (especially when charges accumulate). It can be also built up from an early Soul Ring. However, do not purchase if there is a more natural carrier on your team, such as Storm Spirit.

Early game

 * Axe is especially dangerous early game, due to his high starting statistics, the damage from Counter Helix, and the speed from Battle Hunger contributing to his ability to chase and attack enemies.
 * Berserker's Call provides the full armor bonus at level one. It is the primary factor in his ability to survive physical damage without good items.
 * Early-game items such as Vanguard and Hood of Defiance are essential as they help reduce the damage being dealt to Axe while he initiates a battle without a Blink Dagger. With a Blink Dagger, he can safely initiate without taking more damage than necessary.
 * Early-game, Axe and and his laning partner can attempt a technique known as creep cutting. This involves going behind the enemy tower and using Counter Helix to take out the creep waves, eating tangoes to regenerate. While it stops the enemy team from getting last-hits, it's also risky due to being far away from your tower.
 * An alternative skill build is to max out Battle Hunger by Level 7. This enables Axe to constantly deal damage over time in lane, dealing lots of damage and dissuading the enemy from attacking. This meshes well with Axe's capability to tank and keep the enemy at bay while stopping them from last hitting, allowing Battle Hunger deal its full damage. This technique assumes that Axe has a steady supply of mana to cast Battle Hunger.
 * If Axe is going against two weak melee heroes in a lane without sufficient burst damage, do not hesitate to stand between them and their creeps. The enemy won't be able to last hit without taking damage from Counter Helix, which will negate their early-game presence.
 * Instead of using Berserker's Call to draw creep aggro in lane, you can right-click an enemy hero. This applies to any visible hero, meaning you can draw creeps by clicking outside of Axe's attack range.

Trivia

 * Axe's alternate/Fun name was "Mogul Kahnt Touch This", a reference to MC Hammer's famous song U Can't Touch This.
 * Axe,, and are all related as they come from the Oglodi tribe.
 * Axe's phrase Axe respawn 09.mp3 "Better red than dead!" is a reversed reference to an American Cold War slogan stating "Better dead than Red".
 * Several of Axe's deny and killing blow responses (such as Axe deny 15.mp3 "You get nothing. Good day, sir!") are references to Willy Wonka's infamous rage scene in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
 * Axe's name, lore and "one-man army" image may have been inspired by Khan Noonien Singh in the Star Trek series, who was also described as a "one-man army" and killed uncooperative subordinates (along with used-to wearing a red shirt).