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 killing blow 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. 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 the combination of Berserker's Call, Blade Mail, and Counter Helix will quickly destroy their health.

Items

 * Axe can utilise many types of boots effectively.
 * are good on a supporting Axe due to his mana-hungry nature, which combined with health regeneration means he will rarely have to go back to base.
 * lets Axe deal more damage during Berserker's Call, as well as letting him chase enemies that attempt to flee.
 * are viable in a semi-carry role, where Axe needs the attack speed to deal as much damage as he can during Berserker's Call.
 * Vanguard can be swapped out for as the first core item if the threat of magical damage outweighs the threat of physical damage. Keep in mind that physical damage generally scales better than magical damage.
 * can provide most of the mana Axe needs during the early game. Paired with health regeneration like, Axe can quickly regain the damage he takes.
 * A can be built from an early Soul Ring, providing lots of mana and health for Axe while benefitting his team when he dies. The buff his team gains on death is useful if Axe is being built as an initiator, as he will be quickly focused by the enemy.
 * Aghanim's Scepter allows Axe to split-push effectively when combined with an escape mechanism, due to Culling Blade providing movement speed for his creeps. If it is cast whenever it is off cooldown, the creeps will rush to the enemy base much faster than normal.
 * Resist the urge to use Blade Mail while the enemy is affected by Berserker's Call if they don't deal enough damage to make use of it. The massive armor bonus will reduce Blade Mail's damage by a lot, unless the target deals exceptional damage. The optimal strategy is to use Blade Mail after the call ends and hope they'll still attack you afterwards.

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, 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).