Bad against...[]
- Infernal Blade's damage is calculated by a percentage of maximum health, meaning that it will hurt Axe more than most normal attacks, negating some of his durability.
- Doom can pick up several different abilities from neutral creeps using Devour, some of which can be annoying to Axe.
- Mud Golem, Dark Troll Summoner, Harpy Stormcrafter, Satyr Mindstealer or Satyr Tormenter are good examples.
- Doom's naturally low attack speed makes Counter Helix less likely to proc, and his high base health allows him to take a few Helixes with no danger.
- Doom makes Axe less disruptive, preventing him from using his skills or items. At level 25, there is a branch of the talent tree that makes Doom apply Break, allowing Doom to disable Counter Helix, making Axe effectively useless for a lengthy duration.
- Ice Path is a great stun for Berserker's Call and with a Eul's Scepter of Divinity can really catch Axe off guard.
- Dual Breath and Liquid Fire can be a devastating combination for Axe (especially if he takes Battle Hunger at level 1) before he has any natural regeneration sustain from items.
- Frequent healing from Death Pulse and Mekansm makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with Culling Blade.
- Ghost Shroud's instant cast time allows Necrophos to turn ethereal before being initiated on by Berserker's Call. This prevents him from attacking Axe while taunted, thus lowering the chance to proc Counter Helix.
- Axe's high health is relatively ineffective against Heartstopper Aura's percentage-based health degeneration.
- Reaper's Scythe stops Axe's game plan of using Berserker's Call multiple times and since he's in the middle of the fight, this spell is very easy to grab kills onto him.
- Crippling Fear makes it so Axe might use Blink Dagger right into an AoE silence in the middle of everyone.
- Void cripples Axe's already bad movement speed and attack speed.
- Hunter in the Night makes it impossible for Axe to catch up to fleeing or escape from Night Stalker during the night.
- Lastly, Dark Ascension gives full vision over Axe before he initiates, making the opponents all recognize his location immediately and allowing Night Stalker to prevent it or vocally tell his team if needed.
- Night Stalker has very high strength gain, even in the lane, so a successful Culling Blade is very unlikely.
- Axe's Blade Mail will likely do nothing to Night Stalker because of his high health and certain requirements for him to do the most damage to be true.
- Outworld Destroyer's pure and magical damage is particularly effective against Axe.
- Astral Imprisonment is an excellent way to defend against an initiating Axe.
- Sanity's Eclipse deals high damage to Axe due to his low mana pool.
- Sun Ray allows Phoenix to heal any allies caught in Berserker's Call while burning away Axe's high HP at the same time.
- Icarus Dive and Fire Spirits puts Axe's Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Axe's slow attack speed makes it difficult for him to destroy Supernova on his own.
- Decrepify can be used on allies to prevent them from attacking Axe and triggering Counter Helix during Berserker's Call. He can also cast it on Axe to prevent anyone from attacking him.
- Life Drain can be used to heal himself or allies caught in Berserker's Call, preventing them from dropping low enough for Axe to kill them with Culling Blade.
- Disruption will save Shadow Demon's teammates from being killed by Counter Helix or Culling Blade.
- Demonic Purge slows Axe to a crawl, making him nearly useless after initiating. If Shadow Demon has Aghanim's Scepter, it will also break Counter Helix.
- Demonic Cleanse clears Battle Hunger and Aghanim's Shard Counter Helix Damage Reduction, both allowing targets to escape and reducing your own survivability.
- Enrage reduces the damage from Blade Mail and Counter Helix to a minimum, forcing Axe to play around Ursa's ultimate ability.
- Overpower and Fury Swipes stacks damage overwhelming for Axe, despite his high health.
- Venomancer's slows and magical damage-over-time work well against Axe's complete lack of mobility.
- Plague Ward is especially useful for slowing down Axe, and revealing him before he initiates, as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Poison Attack and Viper Strike slows Axe significantly, and puts his Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating. Viper Strike can also break from Counter Helix.
Others[]
- Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
- Long lockdown is a great way to deal with Axe to prevent Berserker's Call from being used, heroes such as Legion Commander, Beastmaster and Primal Beast are good examples of this.
- Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Lion.
- Special mention to Timbersaw as he has a way to deal with Axe in the laning stage, but still needs to be careful about Berserker's Call stun, the pure damage from Counter Helix and Culling Blade finishing him off before he can escape or heal from his passive.
Items[]
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity wastes the duration of Berserker's Call when used on Axe (or allies, when upgraded into Wind Waker).
- Vladmir's Offering and Satanic's lifesteal makes it harder for Axe to kill enemies with Culling Blade.
- Force Staff can help dodge a Berserker's Call, or push an ally out of its radius.
- Silver Edge breaks Counter Helix.
- Mekansm keeps allies' health above Culling Blade's threshold, and can be used at the last moment to bait Axe into an overly long initiation.
- Ethereal Blade can be used on an Axe to prevent any allied unit from attacking him.
- Spirit Vessel can be used on Axe to reduce his health regen.
- Eye of Skadi can reduce axe's high health regen gain from the heart of tarrasque and his natural high strength
- Lotus Orb can be dispelled and reflects Battle Hunger.Additionaly, Lotus Orb passes Battle Hunger activated, affects from Battle Hunger can reflects back to Axe and can not use Blink Dagger cooldown.
Good against...[]
- Culling Blade ignores Borrowed Time should Abaddon's health falls under the threshold.
- Aphotic Shield does nothing against Berserkers Call and has to be used constantly to remove the very small mana cost of Battle Hunger in lane.
- Berserker's Call is one of the most reliable ways to lock down Anti-Mage, preventing him from Blinking away.
- Anti-Mage's high attack speed, along with illusions from Manta Style, triggers Counter Helix continuously.
- Axe's low mana pool and high health pool make Mana Void deal very little damage to Axe.
- Berserker's Call can catch Broodmother in her web, as well as groups of spiderlings. This is particularly effective when Broodmother attempts to push towers with her spiderlings.
- Counter Helix destroys spiderlings very quickly and earns Axe a good deal of gold.
- Culling Blade ignores the protection from Shallow Grave and will kill any target whose health is low enough. This makes Axe one of the hardest counters to Dazzle, and he neutralizes one of Dazzle's most important abilities.
- Huskar is often played at low health to maximize the bonuses from Berserker's Blood, and also because his abilities cost health to use. This makes him especially vulnerable to Culling Blade.
- Berserker's Blood gives Huskar no protection against the pure damage of Culling Blade. Its attack speed bonus also means that Counter Helix will proc more often.
- Axe's tankiness and base health regeneration makes it hard for Huskar to take him down with Burning Spears.
- Jumping on Axe with Waveform will make Morphling an easy target for a counter-initiation with Berserker's Call.
- Morphling is often played at low health to maximize the bonuses from Attribute Shift (Agility Gain), and also because his abilities cost health to use. This makes him especially vulnerable to Culling Blade.
- However, Morphling is a common Linken's Sphere carrier to block Culling Blade, which may force Axe to use Battle Hunger to pop the Spell Block first.
- Attribute Shift (Agility Gain) gives Morphling no protection against the pure damage of Culling Blade. Its attack speed bonus also means that Counter Helix will proc more often.
- Berserker's Call and Counter Helix will still hit targets inside of a defensive Sprout.
- Counter Helix clears treants in no time.
- Nature's Prophet's low damage is unlikely to hurt Axe until the very late game.
- Nature's Prophet's low mobility makes him very easy for Axe to chase down or initiate, especially when affected by Battle Hunger.
- A well-timed Berserker's Call can expose Nyx Assassin while he is invisible with Vendetta, and prevent him from using Spiked Carapace.
- Axe can use Battle Hunger's damage over time to minimialize effects of Spiked Carapace.
- Axe's high health also allows him to easily shrug off Nyx Assassin's burst damage and fend him off. Especially since Axe is a common Heart of Tarrasque wielder, which can completely eliminate any chance for Nyx Assassin to kill Axe alone.
- Culling Blade can often kill Nyx Assassin as he is very fragile and vulnerable to damage while Spiked Carapace is on cooldown.
- Phantom Strike's extra attack speed will cause Phantom Assassin to trigger Counter Helix more often, which can be fatal for Phantom Assassin. Jumping on Axe with Phantom Strike is not a good idea for Phantom Assassin at all as it makes her a seriously easy target for a counter-initiation with Berserker's Call and Blade Mail.
- Most of Axe's abilities pierce Black King Bar, allowing him to lock down Phantom Assassin at any time.
- Berserker's Call greatly reduces Phantom Assassin's ability to crit hard against Axe and may cause her to kill herself when used with Blade Mail. Berserker's Call can also affect Phantom Assassin even if she has Black King Bar active as Berserker's Call can fully pierce spell immunity, making Berserker's Call one of the best abilities in the game against heroes like Phantom Assassin who wants to kill opponents quickly without being interrupted.
- Culling Blade can often kill Phantom Assassin before she can do anything due to her low health and strength gain. And every time Culling Blade successfully kills Phantom Assassin or any of her teammates, Axe gains permanent armor from it, which in combination with armor items that Axe often purchases like Blade Mail, Crimson Guard, Assault Cuirass and Shiva's Guard can make Phantom Assassin's attacks only tickle Axe.
- Aghanim's Shard upgraded Counter Helix can weaken Phantom Assassin's damage output, and if her attack damage is weak, Coup de Grace will also suffer from attack damage reduction as well.
- Berserker's Call catches Phantom Lancer when he is hidden among his illusions.
- Counter Helix quickly destroys Phantom Lancer's illusion army. The more illusions there are, the more often Counter Helix is triggered.
- Phantom Lancer's low early game health makes him an easy target for Culling Blade.
- Berseker's Call catches Slark in Shadow Dance, wasting its duration and preventing him from escaping to regenerate.
- Unlike most disables, Dark Pact cannot dispel Berserker's Call and the output damage would be returned by Blade Mail.
- Terrorblade's low base health and lack of mobility make him an easy target for Axe to initiate on, and kill.
- Counter Helix will trigger from, and destroy many of Terrorblade illusions.
- Troll Warlord's high attack speed means Counter Helix will proc extremely frequently even without creeps near him. This, combined with a Blade Mail means Axe can easily solo kill Troll Warlord even in later stages of the game.
- Battle Trance does not save Troll Warlord from a Culling Blade.
- Berserker's Call is one of the best ways to lock down Weaver before he has a chance to use Time Lapse. It can also catch Weaver in Shukuchi.
- Weaver's high attack speed, along with high attack damage from Geminate Attack, triggers Counter Helix continuously and the output damage would be returned by Blade Mail.
Others[]
- Speical mention to Chaos Knight as Berserker's Call can make quick work of Phantasm. However, if Axe doesn't manage to destroy the illusions within the duration of the call, Reality Rift will make very quick work of Axe in the mid and late game.
- Melee heroes who rely on summons, illusions, or clones will trigger Counter Helix more often, thus taking more damage: Meepo, Lycan, Phantom Lancer
- Heroes who rely on fast attack speed will also trigger Counter Helix frequently: Faceless Void, Troll Warlord, Anti-Mage, Juggernaut, Arc Warden, Morphling
- Abilities that provide attack speed bonus: Alacrity, Bloodrage, Inner Beast.
- Heroes with low health and high attack damage can easily kill themselves against the Berserker's Call and Blade Mail combo.
- Heroes with gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Berserker's Call: Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Slark, Chaos Knight, Morphling, Queen of Pain
- Battle Hunger can and should be used to disable a Linken's Sphere due to its low cooldown.
Items[]
- Black King Bar is nearly useless against Axe, as his abilities go through spell immunity.
- Blink Dagger can be put on cooldown by Battle Hunger for a lengthy duration. Alternatively, reckless use of Blink Dagger can make its owner a very easy target for counter-initiation with Berserker's Call.
- Manta Style's illusions will trigger Counter Helix more often.
Works well with...[]
- Ice Blast prevents healing, allowing Axe to easily kill his enemies with Culling Blade. Should Axe fail to cull his enemies, the Shatter may help secure the kill.
- Vacuum sets up enemies for Berserker's Call.
- Ion Shell helps Axe deal more damage when enemies are taunted and attacking him.
- Surge helps Axe chase down enemies during the early game for a Berserker's Call.
- Shallow Grave will prevent the opponent from killing Axe for a set amount of time, unless they also happen to have an Axe on their team.
- Bad Juju's armor bonus makes Axe even bulkier and improves the damage from Battle Hunger.
- Berserker's Call sets up an easy Kinetic Field and Static Storm combo for Disruptor, locking down mobile heroes like Storm Spirit or Anti-Mage.
- Axe's initiation will give Enigma enough time and room to set up Midnight Pulse and Black Hole, dealing massive damage to his enemies and disabling them for a very long duration. This also works against spell immune enemies, as the mentioned abilities all pierce spell immunity.
- Ink Swell helps Axe maneuver into position for Berserker's Call; in return, Berserker's Call holds enemies in place for Ink Swell's damage and stun.
- Stroke of Fate heavily damages enemies grouped up by Berserker's Call.
- Soulbind makes it harder for enemies to split up and get away from Axe, while occasionally letting him kill two enemies with a single Culling Blade to save mana.
- Berserker's Call is a perfect setup for Luna's Eclipse, and multiple heroes affected by Berserker's Call will cause them to suffer great damage from Moon Glaives.
- Lunar Blessing can give Axe bonus attack damage to help him farm during the laning phase.
- Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse can be casted on Axe before and after he initiates with Blink Dagger and Berserker's Call.
- Reverse Polarity puts all affected enemies onto a single point, giving Axe the perfect opportunity to use Berserker's Call.
- Berserker's Call allows Phoenix to easily land all of its abilities, particularly Sun Ray and Supernova.
- Axe is very good at forcing enemies to attack him with Berserker's Call and slow them down with Battle Hunger which makes it easier for Phantom Assassin to pick targets.
- Berserker's Call gives Sand King the time to channel and land Epicenter. Additionally, it keeps enemies in place for Sand Storm.
- Disseminate makes enemies take even more damage from attacking Axe.
- Disruption cast on Axe is excellent for pushing as illusions of Axe have a functional Counter Helix.
- Berserker's Call prevents enemies from moving out of Mystic Flare's small radius, forcing them to take full damage.
- Tiny can Toss Axe into a group of enemies for instant initiation. This is especially useful before Axe has a Blink Dagger.
- Axe's typical initiation with Blink dagger can hold enemies still long enough for a devastating Tree Volley.
- Venomancer's numerous slows and damage over time can turn multiple enemy heroes into vulnerable targets for Culling Blade.
- Berserker's Call makes it much easier to target Maledict's small AoE and usually ensures at least one kill with Death Ward.
Others[]
- Any other hero with high damage spells( Earthshaker, Elder Titan, Invoker etc.) pairs well with Berserker's Call.
