Axe/Counters

Bad against...

 * decreases all types of damage, effectively countering and Counter Helix, making Axe take the brunt of the damage. Although you can still provide significant damage and even solo kill Ursa with some creeps nearby and a Blade Mail, Axe will be forced to play around his ultimate in order to avoid bad initiations, or always keep company to ensure Ursa is unable to pop his ultimate before lowering to Culling Blade threshold (Which will still kill Ursa no matter what if his health is low enough).


 * makes Spectre very tanky, as it reduces the amount of damage she receives, while also reflecting some of the damage back. Since it deals more damage to closer enemies, Axe might be at a disadvantage when trading blows with her.


 * reduces Axe's base strength by 15%, making him easier to kill.
 * is stackable up to 3 times, or even more with items, runes or.
 * is ineffective against attribute changes and Rizzrack's mobility with means he might wait out Axe's Blade Mail.
 * Timbersaw has low attack speed and rarely directly attacks, instead relies on his spells. His disarms, making Berserker's Call and Counter Helix less effective.
 * However, as the laning stage ends and late-game approaches and controlling Timbersaw becomes more important, a into Call (which cannot be purged or blocked with magic immunity) can assure he stays in place so your team can kill him.


 * Doom has slow attack speed, but cuts through Axe's health with his attack modifier.
 * Doom can pick up several different abilities from neutral creeps using, some of which can be annoying to Axe. However, creeps are randomly spawned during the laning stage making the tactic less reliable.
 * A Mud Golem, Satyr Mindstealer, Harpy Stormcrafter or Satyr Tormenter are good examples.
 * Doom can make Axe less disruptive in fights with, if there aren't more important targets than Axe. An Aghanim's upgraded Doom also disables Axe's Counter Helix, making him effectively useless for a really long duration.


 * OD's damage is pure type and magical, which is effective against Axe.
 * Axe has mana troubles, and Outworld Devourer's abilities can press this by stealing Intelligence, therefore and depleting his mana pool and mana regeneration.


 * and can slow Axe and put his  on cooldown.
 * makes Axe poisoned.


 * make Axe retake 80% of his own attacks. If Centaur activates his into the Berserker's Call he deals 180% of axe damage. Because Centaur is usually more tanky than Axe, it's more likely that Axe will die against him.
 * can interupt Berserker's Call.

Others

 * and can waste Berserker's Call's duration by using / on an ally or Axe; with an  and  will cause Axe to receive increased damage during his initiation.
 * and can create Barriers which separate Axe from his targets. Also, Clockwerk has a much better initiation range with Hookshot, potentially stealing Axe's initiative.

Items

 * wastes Berserker's Call's duration if used on Axe, and if you are alone, also if used on yourself. The same applies to.
 * or can help dodge a Berserker's Call.
 * breaks Axe's important passive.
 * and depletes Axe's already low mana pool.
 * can be used to disable Axe for a brief period, making him useless in team fights and leaving him Vulnerable. It should however be noted that Counter Helix procs even when Axe is disabled, so one must be careful not to get killed when trying to kill a Hexed Axe.

Good against...

 * Axe can counter very hard if the Broodmother player isn't careful. If Axe can Berserker's Call her and her spiderlings together after she's built a large army he is almost certain to get lots of Counter Helix procs, farming her whole wave and getting the squishy spider low enough for Culling Blade. Though a good Brood player should be able to micro her spiderlings to avoid this, Axe always counters a concerted spiderling push, and gets big farm off it to boot.


 * Culling Blade can still kill the hero affected by, as long as his/her health is low enough.
 * However, Axe needs to be careful not to tank enemy creeps during the laning stage if Dazzle is on the other side, or he would take tremendous amount of damage from.


 * Since Berseker's call is an AOE taunt, it can affect Slark wasting precious times of Shadow Dance
 * Unlike most disables, cannot dispel Berserker's Call, and the output damage would be returned by.


 * Berserker's Call can expose 's unprotected front, allowing Axe and his allies to deal full damage to him.


 * Phantom Assassin's signature ability for engaging is an actual disadvantage against Axe, Not only that procs Counter Helix more often but also makes her an easy target for Berserker's Call and  combo.
 * Most of Axe's skills pierce, which can really make Phantom Assassin's engagements futile.
 * Berserker's Call can cause Phantom Assassin's attacks to tickle Axe and kill herself.


 * Troll Warlord's high attack speed means Counter Helix will proc extremely frequently even without creeps near him. This, combined with a means Axe can easily solo kill Troll Warlord even in later stages of the game.


 * Berserker's Call has a cast range of 300, whereas 's cast range is only 150. The additional range and .4/.5 second cast time allow you to cast Berserker's Call before can cast, trapping  in fight with you. With  you can reflect her massive damage mid and late game and kill her quickly. The bonus armor from Berserker's Call allows you to tank her bonus damage.


 * Illusions are bad against Counter Helix.

Others

 * Melee heroes would be forced to stick close to each other when affected by Berserker's Call, just like, and they are more likely to be struck by Counter Helix.
 * Since Counter Helix procs more times the more hits Axe takes, it can be a counter to basically any hero with large number of summons or illusions, including clones of.
 * Similar to above, attack speed buffs on enemies may backfire and cause them to take more Counter Helix damage.
 * Heroes with low health and high attack damage and/or attack speed can easily kill themselves through the Berserker's Call and combo.
 * Stealth units reveal themselves when affected by Berserker's Call.
 * Berserker's Call bonus armor makes Axe nearly immune to physical damage for a short duration, which can be used to neutralize physical nukes such as and.

Items

 * is nearly useless against Axe.

Works well with...

 * Axe can initiate the fight with Berserker's Call, giving Disruptor the time to set up and  around the area. The Barrier will trap enemies inside and the silence from his ultimate can be especially useful against enemies like, who are notoriously elusive and can otherwise escape his barrier with ease.


 * can help Axe survive the initiation by providing armor, heals and using to save him or prolong his death.


 * 's ultimate,, requires channeling. Axe can start the team fight by jumping in between the enemies and using Berserker's Call. During this time, Sand King can fully channel his ultimate and follow up Axe's initiation and deal massive damage to their enemies.


 * Since has a reasonably big range,  can Toss Axe into the enemies. Axe will not take any damage from the toss, but the enemies will. Axe can then use Berserker's Call, forcing his enemies to attack him. This will give enough time for the rest of Axe's team to follow up on the initiation.


 * Axe's initiation will give Enigma enough time and room to set up and, dealing massive damage to his enemies and disabling them for a very long duration. This also works against magic immune enemies, as ,  and Berserker's Call all pierce spell immunity. This will give Axe's team plenty of time to make short work of their enemies.


 * can set up enemies for a Berserker's Call.
 * helps Axe to deal more damage because he always like to be in the middle of the fight.
 * helps Axe to initiate in early game. Also helpful while escaping.

Others

 * 's, 's and 's  sets up enemies for Berserker's Call.
 * 's helps Axe to initiate.

List of heroes that counter Axe, and list of heroes that work well with Axe.