Axe
As a grunt in the Army of Red Mist, Mogul Khan set his sights on the rank of Red Mist General. In battle after battle he proved his worth through gory deed. His rise through the ranks was helped by the fact that he never hesitated to decapitate a superior. Through the seven year Campaign of the Thousand Tarns, he distinguished himself in glorious carnage, his star of fame shining ever brighter, while the number of comrades in arms steadily dwindled. On the night of ultimate victory, Axe declared himself the new Red Mist General, and took on the ultimate title of 'Axe.' But his troops now numbered zero. Of course, many had died in battle, but a significant number had also fallen to Axe's blade. Needless to say, most soldiers now shun his leadership. But this matters not a whit to Axe, who knows that a one-man army is by far the best.
Base STR
25 +2.7
Base AGI
20 +1.7
Base INT
18 +1.6
Move Speed
315
Attack Range
150
Base Armor
0
Attack DMG
31–35
Projectile
900
Innate Abilities
One Man Army
Axe gains Strength based on 50% of his Armor as long as there are no allied heroes within 700 distance from Axe. The effect fades over 3s after approaching an ally.
MAX BONUS STRENGTH:
0
Abilities
Berserker's Call
Cooldown
18 / 16 / 14 / 12s
Mana
90 / 100 / 110 / 120
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him while he gains bonus armor during the duration.
RADIUS:
315
BONUS ARMOR:
12 / 13 / 14 / 15
DURATION:
2.1 / 2.4 / 2.7 / 3
Mogul Khan's warcry taunts opponents into engaging in an unconquerable battle with the Axe.
Battle Hunger
Cooldown
20 / 15 / 10 / 5s
Mana
50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. The enemy is slowed as long as they are facing away from Axe.
DURATION:
12
MOVEMENT SLOW:
18 / 22 / 26 / 30
DAMAGE PER SECOND:
12 / 18 / 24 / 30
- Destroying buildings will also remove the debuff.
Ordinary heroes cannot withstand Mogul Khan's rage for battle, such that it injures them until it is satisfied.
Counter Helix
Cooldown
0.3s
After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counter attack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies.
DAMAGE:
100 / 120 / 140 / 160
RADIUS:
275
ATTACKS TO HELIX:
7 / 6 / 5 / 4
DEBUFF DURATION:
0
ATTACK DAMAGE REDUCTION:
0
MAX STACKS:
0
- Counter Helix triggers when the attack hits.
- Illusions' counters don't increase when they attack when you have a Scepter.
Axe is the only reinforcement this army needs.
Culling Blade
Cooldown
80 / 75 / 70s
Mana
100 / 125 / 150
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, dealing pure damage. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset, and all nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed and armor. Axe permanently drenches his blade every time he kills an enemy Hero with Culling Blade, gaining bonus armor for each stack.
DAMAGE:
275 / 375 / 475
KILL MOVE SPEED BONUS:
20 / 25 / 30
KILL ARMOR BONUS:
10 / 15 / 20
KILL BUFF DURATION:
6
KILL BUFF RADIUS:
900
ARMOR PER STACK:
1 / 1.5 / 2
- Culling Blade death cannot be prevented with other abilities like Shallow Grave.
Mogul Khan is the embodiment of battle and fury, launching into a gruesome fatality against those who dare engage the Axe in combat.
Talents
Aghanim's Scepter
Counter Helix
Counter Helix now applies a stacking debuff to enemies hit by it that causes them to deal less total attack damage to Axe. Counter Helix no longer has a cooldown and its counter advances when Axe attacks.
Aghanim's Shard
Berserker's Call
Berserker's Call applies Battle Hunger to affected units.
Battle Hunger
Multiple instances of Battle Hunger can stack on a single target.
Hero Performance
Median across all public matches · OpenDotaForm
53%
Win rate in recent matches
Performance
100%
KDA ratio (kills + assists / deaths)
Laning
39%
Last hits per minute over full game
Farm
61%
Average gold per minute
Fighting
38%
Average kills + assists per match
Experience
77%
Average XP per minute
Strategy
When to Pick Axe?
Pick Axe as an offlaner when your team needs a strong initiator and tank who can create chaos in the enemy backline. He is very good in 7.41a with the current Berserker’s Call changes—he forces fights, tanks a lot of damage, and punishes right-click carries hard. Great against lineups with multiple physical damage dealers or melee cores that like to group up. He works well when your team has follow-up damage or disables after you jump in.
Avoid him in heavy magic burst lineups or kiting heroes that can stay away from your Call (like Viper, Razor, or ranged carries with strong slows). He also struggles if the enemy has a lot of escape or silence that stops you from landing good calls. In this patch he still needs levels and a few items to be effective, so don’t pick him if your team wants to play very passively or avoid fights early.
Tips & common mistakes
- Use Berserker’s Call to initiate fights or save allies — don’t wait too long or the enemy will just kite you.
- Level Counter Helix early—the passive damage and chance to proc are your main source of damage in lane and fights.
- Don’t jump in alone without backup — Axe is strong but still dies fast if your team doesn’t follow up.
- Build Blink Dagger as your first big item almost every game — it lets you land the perfect Call on multiple heroes.
- Use Taunt on key targets like enemy carries or supports during fights to force bad positioning.
- Stop building pure tank items every time — sometimes Crimson Guard, Blade Mail, or Shiva’s Guard is better depending on the enemy lineup.
- Watch your positioning — stand in the middle of the fight to proc Helix as much as possible without feeding.
- Don’t call random creeps or single heroes — wait for the right moment when multiple enemies are grouped.
Summary
Axe is a strong, tanky initiator who forces the enemy to fight on your terms. Jump in with Blink, land a big Berserker’s Call, and let Counter Helix do the work while your team cleans up. He punishes greedy right-click lineups very well, but you need good timing and team follow-up. Play aggressive but smart—get your levels, hit your Blink timing, and create space for your cores. Just don’t pick him and then play scared or jump without backup.
Popular Items
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Early Game
Core
Late Game
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