Dota 2 - Axe Build Guide

BIO
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.

INTRODUCTION
Axe is a strong melee hero that needs to fight near enemy's crowds. In the crowds, he become a monster, no   one can stop him because he will deal tons of damage from the Counter Helix. He is also a powerful nuker, he have Battle Hunger that deal massive damage per second and is very deadly in the early game, and he also have the powerful nuke to instant-kill the enemy that is on a low HP.

PROS	CONS
A nice melee counter	Need to be near the enemy to reach his maximum potential
A good initiator	His Battle Hunger can be cancelled by last hitting a creep
A good nuker	Culling Blade needs the enemy to be on a low HP to deal maximum impact
A good creep blocker

ROLE

Melee - Durable - Initiator - Disabler - Jungler

STATS

LEVEL	1	15	25
HIT POINTS	625	1,290	2,145	SIGHT RANGE	1800 / 800
MANA	234	525	993	ATTACK RANGE	128
DAMAGE	49-53	84-88	129-133	MISSILE SPEED	N/A
ARMOR	2	6	12

ABILITIES
1. Berserker's Call

Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him, while he gains bonus armor during the duration.

MANA COST: 80/90/100/110	COOLDOWN: 10
ABILITY: NO TARGET	DAMAGE: 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
RADIUS: 275	BONUS ARMOR: 40
DURATION: 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3

Mogul Khan's warcry taunts opponents into engaging in an unconquerable battle with the Axe.
Axe makes all nearby enemy attacks him while he gets extra armor. This increase the chance to do Counter Helix so you can cut all nearby opponents. This will also automatically helps your team to attack the enemy that attacks you.

2. Battle Hunger

Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to be slowed and take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. Axe gains movement speed for each unit affected with Battle Hunger.

MANA COST: 75/85/95/105	COOLDOWN: 20/15/10/5
ABILITY: UNIT TARGET	AFFECTS: ENEMY UNITS
DAMAGE: MAGICAL	DAMAGE: 15 / 21 / 27 / 33
DURATION: 10 / 13 / 16 / 19	MOVEMENT SLOW: 8%
SPEED BONUS: 8%

Ordinary heroes cannot withstand Mogul Khan's rage for battle, such that it injures them until it is satisfied.
This is your main nuking skill. With this skill, your target will be in trouble if he cannot find a creep to get a last hit and cancel this skill. The damage is so great and will come in handy anytime you need it. Be smart and use it if you think your enemy can't find a creep in the next 19 seconds. So good, usually gives the Axe many kills on the early-mid game.

3. Counter Helix

When attacked, Axe performs a helix counter attack, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.

COOLDOWN: 0.65/0.60/0.55/0.50	ABILITY: PASSIVE
DAMAGE: PHYSICAL	DAMAGE: 100 / 135 / 170 / 205
RADIUS: 275	CHANCE TO HELIX: 17%

Axe is the only reinforcement this army needs.
A good skill to make you become a brutal hero. Position yourself in the crowds and start spinning and killing. Very good to block the enemy creeps, and also very good to initiate a teamfight.

4. Culling Blade

Axe spots weakness and strikes, dealing moderate damage but instantly killing an enemy unit with low health. When an enemy unit is killed in this way, Axe and nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed. Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.

MANA COST: 120/160/200	COOLDOWN: 75/65/55
ABILITY: UNIT TARGET	AFFECTS: ENEMY UNITS
DAMAGE: MAGICAL	KILL THRESHOLD: 300 / 450 / 625
DAMAGE: 150 / 250 / 300	SPEED BONUS: 25%
SPEED DURATION: 6	SPEED RADIUS: 600
SCEPTER COOLDOWN: 6 / 6 / 6

Mogul Khan is the embodiment of battle and fury, launching into a gruesome fatality against those who dare engage the Axe in combat.
This skill is your finishing skill. In a certain HP treshold, you will get an instant kill over an enemy. So if you see a low HP-ed enemy walking around, just click this skill on him. And if you cannot met the minimum HP treshold it will still deal some amount of damage.
After you successfully kill a hero, all nearby allies will receive a boost in the movement speed.

SKILLBUILD

Level 1: Counter Helix
Level 2: Berserker's Call
Level 3: Battle Hunger
Level 4: Battle Hunger
Level 5: Battle Hunger
Level 6: Culling Blade
Level 7: Battle Hunger
Level 8: Counter Helix
Level 9 : Berserker's Call
Level 10: Counter Helix
Level 11: Culling Blade
Level 12: Berserker's Call
Level 13: Counter Helix
Level 14: Berserker's Call
Level 15: Stats
Level 16:Culling Blade
Level 17-25: Stats

Why take Counter Helix for level 1? You can use this to block the enemy creeps.

Why maxed Battle Hunger first?  This is your main nuke, you will need this for ganking, farming, and killing on early-mid game.

STRATEGY
Early Game
Axe is a 100% manly hero. Since the beginning, you can block enemy creeps and get some easy Exp. If you want do this, make sure that your friend back you up. And keep harass your enemy using your 2nd skill battle Hunger, it will always drain their HP. Always be brave on every situation. Keep forward and keep smashing opponenents with your axe.

Mid Game
Start roaming around is the best option here. You can find enemies in other lanes and kill them all. First thing to do is casting the Battle Hunger on your target. Then come to him and after you reach him, use the Berserker's Call to him and start spinning around. Keep chasing and cast Battle Hunger again if he don't die yet. And if your enemy Hp is below 30% you can use your ultimate to finish him.

Axe is an initiator. You must come first in every teamfight. Don't hesitate and keep smashing enemies as hard as you can. And then after you successfully initiate a teamfight, just wait your friends to come up and finish the enemy.

Late Game
Your late game part is still the same. That is to lead your partner in a teamfight. Come first on the teamfight, and bound all enemies together so all your friends can easily attack them. Use Blink Dagger for better initiation. And also you can also use Blade Mail to strengthen your immune system.

Late game is the time for a big teamfight. Use all your skill and kill all the opponents.

ITEMS
1. Arcane Boots
Total cost: 1450
Recipe: Boots of Speed + Energy Booster

Active: Replenish Mana - Restores mana in an area around the hero. Flat movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack. + 60 Movement Speed   + 250 Mana MANA RESTORED: 135 Mana Needed: 25    Cooldown: 55

Why Arcane Boots? With Arcana Boots, you can fill your mana for your skills. And also you can helps team to fulfill their mana.

2. Dagger
Cost: 2150

Active: Blink - Teleport to a target point up to 1200 units away. If damage is taken from an enemy hero, Blink Dagger cannot be used for 3 seconds. Manacost: 75   Cooldown: 14

Blink Dagger is a perfect item for Axe for initiating purpose.

3. Aghanim Scepter,

Passive: Ultimate Upgrade - Upgrades the ultimates of certain heroes. + 10 All Attributes   + 200 Health   + 150 Mana

Why Aghanim's Scepter? Decrease the cooldown on your ultimate. Makes you become a decent harasser for your enemy team.

4. Blade Mail
Total cost: 2200
Recipe: Broadsword + Chainmail + Robe of Magi

Active: Damage Return - Returns any damage you take to the unit that dealt the damage. Lasts 4.5 seconds.  + 22 Damage   + 5 Armor   + 10 Intelligence Manacost: 25   Cooldown; 22

Why Blade Mail? After you initiate a teamfight, your opponent is likely to target you because they will hate you. So you can reflect their damege using this item.

5. Black King Bar
Total cost:: 3900
Recipe: Ogre Axe, Mithril Hammer, Recipe

Active: Avatar - Grants magic immunity. Duration and cooldown decrease with each use. Some Ultimate abilities are able to disable through Black King Bar. + 10 Strength + 24 Damage     DURATION: 10/9/8/7/6/5     Cooldown: 80

Why Black King Bar?  It  gives you survivability in a teamfight because you will get magic immunity during teamfight.

6. Shiva's Guard  

Total cost: 4700

Recipe: Plate Mail + Mystic Staff + Recipe                                                  

Active: Arctic Blast - Emits a freezing wave that does 200 damage to enemies and slows their movement by -40% for 4.0 seconds. Passive: Freezing Aura - Reduces attack speed on enemies. Multiple instances of Freezing Aura do not stack. + 30 Intelligence   + 15 Armor    AURA SLOW: 25% Manacost: 100   Cooldown:   30

Why Shiva's? Shiva's Guard, Very good in teamfights, gives:Active: Arctic Blast - Emits a freezing wave that does 200 damage to enemies and slows their movement by -40% for 4.0 seconds.

Passive: Freezing Aura - Reduces attack speed on enemies. Very reliable for an initiator like Sandking.

7. Heart of Tarrasque
Total cost: 5500
Recipe: Reaver + Vitality Booster

Passive: Health Regeneration - Restores a percentage of max health per second. This ability is disabled if damage is taken from an enemy Hero or Roshan within the last 4 seconds if your hero is melee or 6 seconds if your hero is ranged. + 40 Strength   + 300 Health     HEALTH RESTORED: 2%    Cooldown: 6

Why Heart of Tarrasque? Makes you tanky. So good item for Axe.

GOOD ALLIES

1. Carries
(Example: Magine, Void, Luna)

Carries should come after you initiate a teamfight, and they should the right click and use all their skills to the enemies.

2. AoE Combo
(Example: DarkSeer, Magnus, Disruptor)

 You have Berserker's Call + Counter Helix, and combo-ed with their AoE skill, and your team will get a big combo-wombo in your teamfights.