Axe
* 
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.
Additional:
* Ice Path neutralizes initiation attempts with Berserker's Call, and its long area of effect discourages follow-ups from Axe's teammates until Axe buys 
Black King Bar.
* Ice Path serves as a large obstacle to stop Axe from chasing down fleeing stragglers to kill with Culling Blade until Axe buys Black King Bar.
* Jakiro's many damage-per-second skills prevent Axe from initiating with his Blink Dagger. Forcing Axe to buy Black King Bar prematurely to protect himself against Jakiro's abilities and counter-initiaions.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* 
Berserker's Call bonus armor doesn't block Arcane Orb's pure damage.
* Astral Imprisonment can be used to prevent an ally or Outworld Destroyer himself from an Axe initiation.
* Axe's low mana means he's susceptible to a powerful Sanity's Eclipse.
Axe
* Feast makes it impossible to for Lifestealer to be culled with 
Culling Blade and also deals high damage to Axe due to his naturally high health. However, Rage can still be pierced by Berserker's Call and 
Counter Helix.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Frequent healing from Death Pulse makes it difficult for Axe to finish off targets with Culling Blade.
* Reaper's Scythe negates Axe's tankiness, and can kill him quickly after initiation if Axe's health is low enough.
* Heartstopper Aura can be very effective against Axe due to Axe's high strength gain.
* However, bear in mind that Berserker's Call can prevent Necrophos from using his Ghost Shroud to defend his fragile self from physical damages. And Heartstopper Aura can unintentionally help Axe to trigger his Counter Helix more frequently while also hurting Necrophos with 
Blade Mail during activation.
* Nonetheless Heartstopper Aura is not considered as a normal attack, thus it will not trigger Counter Helix, so anyone who wrote the statement above should be awarded with MVP and considered a TI champion purely for the innovation of new mechanics.
Tusk
* 
Echo Slam is good against Snowball since it bunches everyone up. This can set up some prime opportunities for Blink Echo Slams.
Axe
* Omniknight's healing prevents allies from dropping low enough for Culling Blade
* 
Heavenly Grace dispels 
Battle Hunger.
* Axe also tends to get close to allied heroes in order to damage them with his Counter Helix, which can easily be punished by Purification.
Axe
* 
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.
Axe
* 
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.
Tusk
* 
Boulder Smash can return Tusk after his initiation.
* 
Geomagnetic Grip prevents Tusk from using Snowball to escape.
Axe
* 
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.
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Axe alone, Disruption can be used to save your allies from Axe's initiate Berserker's Call, or, if timed correctly, from his Culling Blade.
* Illusions spawned from Axe has the Counter Helix passive, which with deal some nasty damage if an enemy focuses them
* Your upgraded Demonic Purge breaks Axe's primary damage output: Counter Helix, This can be used on him during Berserker's Call to seriously hinder him.
* Demonic Cleanse will clear Battle Hunger, which is Axe's method of catching heroes, and Shard upgraded Counter Helix's Damage Reduction, which is one of Axe's primary survivability abilities.
Tusk
* 
Static Link drains Tusk's base damage, and it also reduces his Walrus PUNCH! crit.
* 
Plasma Field and 
Eye of the Storm allow Razor to chase Tusk after he uses Snowball.
Tusk
* After using Snowball, Tusk can't control where he's going, allowing Techies to make him roll onto mines.
Axe
* 
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.
Additional:
* Infernal Blade deals scaling damage and is useful against high HP targets such as Axe.
* Doom has low attack speed because of his high Base-Attack-Time, poor agility gain and limited attack-speed granting items which are commonly built. This means Doom will trigger Counter Helix less often and thus is an unideal target for initiation.
* Doom has naturally high HP so it takes longer for Doom to be brought down to the killing threshold of Culling Blade.
* Axe is highly reliant on his abilities and items to be effective during a fight. Without the usage of Berserker's Call and 
Blink Dagger due to Doom, Axe offers very little in the way of damage, effectively removing him from a fight.
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: 
Bristleback, 
Crystal Maiden, 
Batrider, 
Arc Warden, 
Winter Wyvern, 
Clockwerk
Tusk
* 
Sticky Napalm makes it difficult for Tusk to hold his own on lane.
* An ill-timed and ill-positioned 
Snowball will give Batrider a free counter-initiation with 
Flaming Lasso if Batrider is far enough to avoid the stun from the Snowball.
Additional:
* Sticky Napalm makes it difficult for Tusk to hold his own on lane.
* An ill-timed and ill-positioned Snowball will give Batrider a free counter-initiation with Flaming Lasso if Batrider is far enough to avoid the stun from the Snowball.
Tusk
* 
Shadow Demon, 
Outworld Destroyer and 
Tusk can all save a Lasso'd teammate with their defensive spells.
Tusk
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: 
Axe, 
Dragon Knight, 
Night Stalker, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Wraith King and more.
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Tusk
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: Axe, Dragon Knight, Night Stalker, Centaur Warrunner, Wraith King and more.
Axe
* Heroes that relies on armor or other type of physical damage negation are easy for Gyrocopter to take down during the early game with his magical damage: Axe, Dragon Knight, 
Sven.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call will be a stun for Primal Beast and not much else due to Trample making him unable to attack.
* Battle Hunger is neglitable because Primal Beast has a much bigger health than Axe, so he does not need to fear being slowed, or his other abilities including Counter Helix or even a Blade Mail.
* Getting Primal Beast low enough to use a successful Culling Blade can be very difficult due to his massive health advantage over most heroes.
* Not ability related but Primal Beast does not need to fear Axe in lane, as Trample, combined with Uproar and Onslaught will do a ton of damage even if Axe has a 
Vanguard.
Axe
* Because Exorcism's damage is not reduce by damage block abilities or items, Death Prophet can be very good against heroes who rely on armor to survive: Axe, 
Terrorblade, 
Morphling, Dragon Knight
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Axe
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: 
Drow Ranger, 
Sniper, 
Lion.
Axe
* 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.
Tusk
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: Axe, Dragon Knight, Night Stalker, Centaur Warrunner, Wraith King and more.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* 
Whirling Death reduces Axe's strength by 15%, which makes him less durable, especially from early game. It's also stackable.
* Blade Mail are not effective against attribute changes, and 
Timber Chain can wait out Blade Mail's duration to wear off.
* 
Reactive Armor makes it harder for Axe to finish off Timbersaw with Culling Blade.
* 
Chakram disarms Timbersaw, which makes Axe's Counter Helix useless against him.
* All Timbersaw skills deal pure damage, which bypass Axe's high armor or bonus armor from Berserker's Call.
Tusk
* 
Glimpse can return Tusk to where he was after using Snowball.
* 
Static Storm prevents Tusk from escaping with Snowball and when upgraded with 
Aghanim's Scepter, it will also prevent him from using items.
Tusk
* Tusk with Snowball
* Heroes that can dodge Glimpse:
* 
Puck with 
Phase Shift
* 
Riki with 
Tricks of the Trade
* 
Phantom Lancer with 
Doppelganger
* 
Ember Spirit with 
Sleight of Fist and 
Activate Fire Remnant
* 
Chaos Knight with 
Phantasm
* 
Naga Siren with 
Mirror Image
* Tusk with Snowball
* 
Juggernaut with 
Omnislash
* 
Brewmaster with 
Primal Split
* 
Lifestealer with 
Infest
* 
Phoenix with Supernova
Axe
* Berserker's Call forces Mars to face in the direction choosen.
* Counter Helix deals pure damage and can go through Bulwark.
Tusk
* Snowball can protect Tusk and his teammates from a Spear of Mars' stun after an Arena of Blood, and with proper targeting, even bring them out of the Arena. This is especially noticeable in the earlier stages of the game before allies buy Black King Bar and rely on this less. Even during the late-game, Tusk can purchase a Blink Dagger to save allies that are caught before Black King Bars can be used by Blinking in and Snowballing out.
* 
Tag Team is a constant threat to Mars in-lane, as it deals significant damage and slow, making Bulwark slightly ineffective.
* It is worth noting that 
Ice Shards can be detrimental to Tusk's own team by creating terrain that Spear of Mars can latch on, though using it conservatively is a good enough solution in most cases.
Axe
* Berserker's Call and Counter Helix allow Axe to kill Shadow Fiend if he stands too close to a creep wave.
* Battle Hunger is can be strong against Shadow Fiend in the early game because Shadow Fiend's low attack damage makes it hard for him to get last hits if he has no mana. However, Shadowraze also makes it very easy for him to get last hits, so use with caution.
* Axe's naturally high strength and health regeneration will be enough to tank a lot of Shadow Fiend's damage in the early game.
Tusk
* Shadow Fiend's lack of mobility and low base health make him an easy target for early ganks.
Axe
* Heroes with other kind of disables that pierce spell immunity can hold Pangolier in place during Rolling Thunder: Axe, Beastmaster, 
Enigma, 
Magnus, 
Pudge, Batrider, 
Bane, Winter Wyvern
Tusk
* Ice Shards can easily interfere with Rolling Thunder, making him stuck inside the arc and wasting his ultimate. Do not panic and use Shield Crash to get out of that position.
* Snowball helps Tusk and his allies follow a fleeing Pangolier, keep in mind that the Pangolier can always counter-initiate with his Rolling Thunder.
* 
Walrus PUNCH! deals heavy damage even during his Rolling Thunder.
Axe
* Heroes with high armor and durability can be exceptionally hard for Bloodseeker to bring down: Dragon Knight, Axe
Tusk
* Snowball negates 
Rupture and protects Tusk allies when Ruptured.
Axe
* Axe can take advantage of Chen jungling and gank him more often with Blink Dagger and Berserker's Call combination.
* Counter Helix can clear waves of Chen's creeps if they are too close to Axe.
* Berserker's Call combined with Blade Mail and Culling Blade can often kill Chen before he can save himself with 
Hand of God.
* However, Hand of God and 
Divine Favor can make it hard for Axe to finish off Chen's allies with Culling Blade when Chen is not target for Axe.
Tusk
* Heroes that can easily bypass Chen's creeps to get to Chen: Riki, Tusk, 
Clinkz, Sniper, 
Slark, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Void Spirit, 
Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, 
Earth Spirit, 
Spirit Breaker.
Axe
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Lion.
Axe
* Berserker's Call forces Drow Ranger to attack Axe up close, disabling her Marksmanship bonus.
* Counter Helix occurs more often with Drow Ranger's high attack speed.
* Culling Blade is a dangerous ability against a low health hero like Drow Ranger.
Tusk
* Snowball and Ice Shards keep Drow Ranger down and preventing her from running away.
* Snowball also lets Tusk get to Drow Ranger and stop her Marksmanship bonus. It can also be to save allies affected by Gust.
* Tag Team allows Tusk to slow her down and land a killing blow on her.
* Walrus PUNCH! slows Drow Ranger and deals a huge amount of damage to her, due to her low health (and low armor without Marksmanship, since Tusk can quickly close the gap to Drow Ranger).
Axe
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Lion.
Axe
* Axe can easily close the distance to Sniper with Blink Dagger.
* With Berserker's Call in combination with Counter Helix and Battle Hunger, Axe can make short work of Sniper, finishing him off easily with Culling Blade due to his low HP & high attack speed in the late game.
Tusk
* Snowball allows Tusk to move himself and allies towards Sniper whilst invulnerable and hidden.
* His Ice Shards may also block pathing for Sniper as he has no means of moving through obstacles. In addition, Tag Team can hinder Sniper's escape.
Additional:
* Tusk alone or with his teammates can close Sniper's long range easily with Snowball, even wasting Shrapnel, ending with a very vulnerable Sniper.
* Walrus PUNCH! damage can easily kill Sniper instantly due to his low health.
Axe
* Axe, Bristleback, Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Pudge, 
Huskar, Wraith King: These heroes are too tanky for Puck to burst down. Also, all of them have spells which can deal with and shut Puck down reliably.
Tusk
* Heroes with spell immunity or pseudo-blinks which provide invulnerability: Lifestealer, Juggernaut, 
Omniknight, Huskar, and Tusk have spells which allow them to easily escape Dream Coil.
Axe
* Heroes that can keep Monkey King stunned for a long time can pose a threat: Axe, Centaur Warrunner.
Tusk
* Tusk can 
Walrus Kick Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
Additional:
* Tusk can Walrus Kick Monkey King from 
Wukong's Command, making his ultimate useless.
Axe
* Heroes who rely on fast attack speed will also trigger Counter Helix frequently: 
Faceless Void, 
Troll Warlord, 
Anti-Mage, Juggernaut, Arc Warden, Morphling
Additional:
* Berserker's Call pierces spell immunity, making a 
Blade Fury teleport escape impossible. It's very useful against Omnislash as well.
* Juggernaut's low base health and high attack speed causes him to take a lot of damage from Counter Helix.
* Axe is a common Blade Mail and Blink Dagger carrier making him a very big potential threat before Juggernaut get his items.
Tusk
* Heroes with abilities that can save teammates are also effective such as Shadow Demon, 
Dazzle, 
Oracle, Bane, 
Pugna, Tusk, Winter Wyvern, 
Io, 
Underlord, 
Treant Protector and 
Keeper of the Light.
Axe
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Axe, 
Death Prophet, Phantom Lancer
Tusk
* Heroes that can easily bypass Io's allies to get to Io: Riki, Tusk, Clinkz, Sniper, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call and Counter Helix together can be devastating to Terrorblade, especially if Terrorblade has a lot of illusions. Their high attack speed will trigger Counter Helix a lot, and the pure damage will quickly slice through Terrorblade's low health and kill his illusions. More importantly, the Berserker's Call can pierce through spell immunity from Black King Bar, Terrorblade's only survival item besides 
Manta Style which cannot be used to dispel Berserker's Call. With enough burst damage by Axe's teammates, Terrorblade can be finished off even before taunt duration runs out and he gets a chance to save himself with 
Sunder.
* Culling Blade can finish off Terrorblade before he has the chance to Sunder due to his low health in the early to mid game. And every time Terrorblade or any of his allies are successfully killed by Culling Blade, Axe permanently gains 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 Terrorblade's attacks only tickle Axe, even during Metamorphosis.
* Terrorblade's low base health and lack of mobility make him an easy target for Axe to initiate on, and kill.
Axe
* Berserker's Call prevents Sven from bursting his targets before Axe can interfere. The worst kind of opponent for Sven is one who can stop him from attacking who he wants to, which is exactly what Axe does.
* Culling Blade may finish off Sven before he has the chance to lifesteal or run with Warcry.
* Axe is a very common Blade Mail carrier which will make very short work of a Sven with God's Strength activated.
Axe
* 
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.
Additional:
* Phantom Strike's extra attack speed will cause Phantom Assassin to trigger Counter Helix more often, which can be fatal for Phantom Assassin in the early game. 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 armour 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.
Tusk
* Tusks damage/stun is enough to obliviate Storm Spirit before he can do anything.
* Tusk is a common Blink Dagger carrier, and once he reaches Level 18, Walrus PUNCH! deals roughly half of Storm Spirit's health alone, It also stuns for a long enough time for Tusk to Snowball Storm Spirit, stunning him even more, If that hasn't finished him off, the damage from Ice Shards probably will. Combined with Tag Team, which adds bonus damage to Tusks attacks, Storm Spirit is unlikely to survive Tusk initiating on him
* Walrus PUNCH is even more potent if he uses a 
Silver Edge instead
* However while Ball Lightning doesn't disjoint Snowball, if used before Tusk hits with Snowball, prevents the stun and damage from being applied
Axe
* 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.
Axe
* Enigma can be a perfect counter-initiator with his ultimate. A perfectly timed Black Hole will turn the tide of any initiation, especially from heroes like; Spirit Breaker, Legion Commander, Axe, Puck, and 
Slardar.
Axe
* Long ranged disables, especially those that pierce spell immunity, cancel Black Hole: Beastmaster's 
Primal Roar, Bane's 
Fiend's Grip, Faceless Void's 
Chronosphere, Magnus's 
Reverse Polarity, Axe's Berserker's Call, Pudge's
Meat Hook.
Tusk
* Walrus PUNCH! can interrupt 
Black Hole and it can pierce spell immunity and neither Black King Bar nor Linken's Sphere can protect Enigma from Walrus PUNCH! as Walrus PUNCH! is an auto-cast ability.
* In pretty much any phase of the game, Tusk's abilities can easily cancel Black Hole and disrupt Enigma's positioning.
Axe
* Berserker's Call forces Dark Willow to attack, cancelling Shadow Realm.
Axe
* 
Windrun does not provide protection against Counter Helix and Berserker's Call. Her fast attack speed with Focus Fire will also quickly trigger Counter Helix multiple times.
Tusk
* Tag Team easily overwhelms pudge,as he has low armor.Combined with heavy physical hitters and Pudge's slow speed, it becomes for Pudge difficult to escape.
* Snowball hides a Dismembered ally and stops his ultimate.
* Walrus PUNCH! removes a big chunk of his health and stuns him.
* Pudge usually can't stand toe to toe against Tusk and his allies in the early game.
Axe
* Axe can force Alchemist to attack him with Berserker's Call. High attack speed from 
Chemical Rage will cause Counter Helix to proc multiple times.
* This can get worse if axe has Blade Mail, which then returns all damage to Alchemist himself.
* Axe's abilities can pierce through Black King Bar, which is a common item for Alchemist.
* Berserker's Call grants Axe a huge bonus armor, which greatly counters Alchemist's physical damage for the most part.
Axe
* Most of the Axe's abilities can affect Muerta during Pierce the Veil, except for Battle Hunger which deals physical damage.
* While Muerta can do much damage to highly armored units, Axe has a larger health pool compared to Muerta and can activate Berserker's Call and Blade Mail to turn Muerta's attack damage against her.
* Counter Helix takes advantage of Muerta's high attack speed from both stats and items.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
* Due to his fast attack speed from Geminate Attack and items that give attack speed, Counter Helix will activate a lot, and the damage would be returned by Blade Mail, which hurts Weaver far more than it hurts Axe.
* Culling Blade can finish off Weaver's low health pool before he escapes with Shukuchi and Time Lapse.
* Battle Hunger is a good tool to pop Weaver's Linken's Sphere due to its low cooldown.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Culling Blade kills any target under the health threshold, even through Shallow Grave.
Axe
* Unleash ensures that Axe's Counter Helix procs many times, even if he is stunned by Dispose.
* Aghanim's Shard allows Counter Helix to reduce the attack damage of anyone it strikes. Combined with Unleash causing to proc frequently, Marci will not be dealing significant damage as she attacks Axe over time.
* Axe doesn't worry about the damage from Unleash if he activates Berserker's Call beforehand. If he had activated Blade Mail or 
Mjollnir (or even both) as Marci attacks him, he will turn Unleash's high attack speed and damage against her.
* Usually, Axe would prefer to jump on his opponent to be more effective. Rebound does Axe a favor, bringing Marci within his most effective range.
Axe
* 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.
Axe
* Axe will destroy her illusions by proccing Counter Helix more often due to him being hit by more attacks.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* 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.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Troll Warlord has significant attack speed due to Fervor and Battle Trance, giving Axe a higher chance to proc Counter Helix and seriously injure Troll Warlord due to his relatively low maximum health.
* Axe often purchases Blade Mail, which can help Axe turn Troll Warlord's farm and high physical damage against him. The bonus armor provided by Berserker's Call means that Troll Warlord will take a lot more damage than Axe.
* Culling Blade is still capable of killing Troll Warlord during Battle Trance if his HP is low enough.
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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call forces Broodmother and her spiderlings to attack, allowing for large amounts of pure damage to be done through Counter Helix.
Axe
* Axe can disable 
Cloak and Dagger's invisibility with Berserker's Call, which forces Riki to attack him at a very bad angle.
* Axe has a very high HP pool, making it hard for you to kill him before you get big items - that is if you survive engaging him. Counter Helix ignores Riki's armor and goes straight for his tiny HP pool, totally ignoring 
Smoke Screen.
* Axe is a natural buyer of Blade Mail and Riki generally does not buy lifesteal items, causing Riki to kill himself when attacking due to your tiny HP pool.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call and Blade Mail can be used immediately after Huskar jumps on Axe with Life Break.
* Huskar's high attack speed procs Counter Helix repeatedly.
* Huskar's health loss from using his abilities make him a frequent target for Culling Blade.
Axe
* Culling Blade's instant kill is not prevented by Borrowed Time should Abaddon's health falls below the threshold.
Additional:
* 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.
Axe
* False Promise will not save an ally from Culling Blade if their health is low enough.
* Fate's Edict, offensively or defensively, does little to protect Oracle's allies from the majority of Axe's damage.
Axe
* Axe can Berserker's Call into a flock of Familiars, proccing Counter Helix and killing them off.
* Familiars' very fast attacks will proc Counter Helix, receiving full damage due to their low attack range.
Tusk
* Heroes that are able to slow Tiny's attack speed, like Tusk and Phoenix, will greatly limit his Physical damage output.
Tusk
* Because Templar Assassin does not have escape potential in lane, any support hero with roaming potential and a 
Dust of Appearance can be great at shutting her down early game: Earth Spirit, Spirit Breaker, Tusk, 
Bounty Hunter, Riki, 
Warlock.
Axe
* Heroes with gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Berserker's Call: Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Slark, Chaos Knight, Morphling, 
Queen of Pain
Additional:
* Berserker's Call prevents Queen of Pain from escaping with Blink and also pierces her Black King Bar.
* Due to her fast attack speed from Mjollnir, it will quickly trigger Counter Helix.
* Culling Blade finishes off Queen of Pain's low health pool before she gets a chance to escape, preventing her from playing the hit-and-run style often associated with Queen of Pain.
Axe
* Heroes with burst damage of their own won't be afraid to go toe to toe with Void Spirit, like 
Ursa, Lifestealer, or Axe.
Axe
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: 
Luna, 
Razor, Axe, Bristleback, 
Leshrac, Death Prophet, 
Jakiro.
Axe
* Heroes with gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Berserker's Call: Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Slark, Chaos Knight, Morphling, Queen of Pain
Tusk
* Heroes with hiding abilities can protect disabled allies: Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter.
Additional:
* Bane has low mobility and health, making him an easy target for Walrus PUNCH!
* Walrus PUNCH! can be used to cancel Fiend's Grip if he is not the target.
Axe
* Pudge, Legion Commander and Axe will make the match a living hell for Shadow Shaman, since they are known for surprise attacks from the fog and quickly killing low HP heroes. They can also interrupt Shadow Shaman's channeling, Legion being especially problematic, as she can use 
Press the Attack on an ally who is hexed as well.
Axe
* Heroes with gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Berserker's Call: Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Slark, Chaos Knight, Morphling, Queen of Pain
Additional:
* Berserker's Call allows Axe to lock down Chaos Knight and his illusions even through Black King Bar.
* Counter Helix combined with Blade Mail clears illusions out in no time.
Axe
* Melee heroes who rely on summons, illusions, or clones will trigger Counter Helix more often, thus taking more damage: 
Meepo, 
Lycan, Phantom Lancer
Additional:
* Berserker's Call can keep Lycan in place during his Shapeshift even through Black King Bar.
* Counter Helix is very effective against Lycan because of his summons.
* Culling Blade will prevent Lycan from running away with Shapeshift when he drops low.
Tusk
* Heroes with long range abilities are also able to touch Zeus, such as Clockwerk, 
Kunkka, Puck, 
Skywrath Mage, Spirit Breaker, Tusk and others.
Axe
* Melee heroes who rely on summons, illusions, or clones will trigger Counter Helix more often, thus taking more damage: Meepo, Lycan, Phantom Lancer
Additional:
* The combination of Counter Helix and Berserker's Call can disable multiple Meepos and deal heavy area damage.
* Axe's natural high survivability makes it difficult to burst him down with Poof or chip away at his health with Ransack.
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Tusk
* Snowball allows Tusk to easily cancel Freezing Field from a safe distance without putting himself in any danger.
* Walrus PUNCH! is most certainly a high enough damage nuke to easily kill off Crystal Maiden.
* Ice Shards can prevent the already immobile Crystal Maiden from escaping, making her an easy kill for either Tusk or a teammate.
Additional:
* Crystal Maiden's low health and armor make her an easy target for Walrus PUNCH!
* Tusk's Snowball can protect allies and cancel 
Freezing Field.
* Snowball and Walrus PUNCH! can interrupt Freezing Field.
Tusk
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Faceless Void, Magnus, 
Mirana, 
Monkey King, Morphling, 
Pangolier, Phantom Assassin, Phoenix, Puck, Queen of Pain, Riki, 
Sand King, Spirit Breaker, Timbersaw, Tusk.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call forces Slark to attack him, even during Shadow Dance.
* Counter Helix will hit Slark in Shadow Dance. It will also trigger frequently against Slark's high attack speed provided by Essence Shift stacks.
* Culling Blade finishes off Slark before he gets a chance to slip away and regenerate his health, preventing him from playing his typical hit-and-run style.
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Axe
* Magnetic Field doesn't provide a protection against Berserker's Call and Counter Helix and his high attack speed together with Tempest Double will often trigger Counter Helix.
* The threat of a blink and Berserker's Call may make the real Arc Warden stay further back, thus effectively halving the team's damage output for a while.
Axe
* Mana Shield reduces the effectiveness of Counter Helix.
* Stone Gaze makes it very difficult for Axe to initiate on Medusa and her allies.
Axe
* Axe can take advantage of Medusa's awfully low HP to insta-kill her with Culling Blade, making it extremely difficult for her to farm for items to compensate for the lack of strength during early and mid-game while Axe is continuously harassing around.
Axe
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Axe
* Axe forces Bristleback to turn around with Berserker's Call, allowing allies to attack him without fear of his passive.
Axe
* 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.
Tusk
* Heroes who can hide the Dueled target (Outworld Destroyer, Shadow Demon, Tusk, Phoenix with Aghanim's Scepter etc).
Additional:
* Walrus PUNCH! makes Legion Commander lose 
Duel easily, especially when she doesn't have Blade Mail. Tusk can also snowball dueled allies, preventing them from taking damage for a large portion of the duel's duration.
Axe
* 
Poison Attack and 
Viper Strike slows Axe significantly, and puts his Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating.
* 
Nethertoxin can break Counter Helix.
Additional:
* Nethertoxin prevents Counter Helix from triggering, which significantly lowers Axe's damage output in the early to mid game.
* Viper's various slows and damage over time prevents Axe from initiating as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
Tusk
* Viper Strike can be countered through Snowball, wasting Viper's mana through his ultimate.
* Nethertoxin is useless against Tusk as he has no passive abilities at all. And to make things worse, Nethertoxin cannot disable Walrus PUNCH! because it's an auto-cast ability.
Axe
* 
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.
Tusk
* Pugna's low health and reliance on channeled abilities make him very vulnerable to Tusk, although Pugna can win in a straight up 1v1 later in the game.
Tusk
* Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to dodge an incoming snowball.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys a 
Diffusal Blade, which is very effective against Tusk's low mana pool.
* Phantom Lancer usually buys Manta Style which can also dodge an incoming snowball, much like Doppelganger.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Berserker's Call helps locking down Phantom Lancer in a group of illusions.
* Counter Helix combined with Blade Mail clears Phantom Lancer's illusions quickly.
* Phantom Lancer's low health in the early game makes him a frequent target for Culling Blade.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Venomancer's slows and magical damage-over-time work well against Axe's complete lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards is especially useful for slowing down Axe, and revealing him before he initiates, as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
* For the same reasons, Venomancer is a good ally for Axe when the situation is reversed.
Tusk
* Snowball can be used to save allies or himself during 
Venomous Gale and 
Poison Nova.
* Venomancer lacks mobility and has low base health, so he can be killed by Walrus PUNCH!
Tusk
* 
Mana Break is very effective against Tusk, as he has a very low mana pool.
* 
Blink allows Anti-Mage to escape from an incoming Snowball.
* 
Counterspell reflects the Snowball back onto Tusk
Axe
* Berserker's Call prevents Anti-Mage from escaping with Blink, and works well with Blade Mail against Anti-Mage's relatively low health.
* Counter Helix often triggers even if Axe's depleted of mana, which will make Anti-Mage take more damage than he's dealing and deals pure damage, ignoring the protection from Counterspell.
* Axe's low mana pool makes him a bad target for using Mana Void.
* Axe's high base health regeneration allows him to dominate the lane against Anti-Mage, especially with a support.
Additional:
* 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.
Axe
*
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.
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.
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.
*
*
* Lastly,
* Night Stalker has very high strength gain, even in the lane, so a successful Culling Blade is very unlikely.
* Axe's
Tusk
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1:
Axe, 
Dragon Knight, 
Night Stalker, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Wraith King and more.