Axe
* 
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.
Additional:
* Viper Strike 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.
Venomancer
* 
Corrosive Skin means Viper can often outlast Venomancer in a battle of attrition.
* Venomancer has no mobility without items, which makes him vulnerable to constant slows.
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.
Venomancer
* 
Press the Attack dispels Venomous Gale and Poison Sting from Legion Commander or her teammates.
* Venomancer is an ideal target for 
Duel due to his lack of mobility and low starting health.
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.
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: 
Arc Warden, 
Chen, 
Clinkz, 
Drow Ranger, 
Lina, 
Mirana, 
Nature's Prophet, 
Pugna and 
Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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.
* 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.
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, 
Berserker's Call and Counter Helix can pierce through the 
Rage, and if Axe has allies with him against Lifestealer, Lifestealer may go down very quickly.
Venomancer
* While 
Reincarnation is off cooldown, Poison Nova poses less of a threat as Wraith King will return with all debuffs cleared.
* 
Vampiric Spirit can out-heal the slow {tooltip:DoT|Damage over Time} from Poison Sting.
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.
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
* 
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer is a low health hero and low range hero who is easy to harass with Ion Shell on a creep in the early game.
* Venomancer depends entirely on all his slows to keep distance or chase, but since Surge ignores slows, it is nearly impossible for Venomancer to hunt or run away from Dark Seer or his surged teammates.
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.
Venomancer
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of 
Poison Nova and 
Poison Sting.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer has low health, which makes him vulnerable to Lina's heavy magic damage.
* Fiery Soul attack speed bonus removes 
Plague Wards easily in all stages of the game.
Venomancer
* All of Venomancer's abilities are decent choices for Rubick's 
Spell Steal. Stealing Plague Wards makes them apply Poison Sting as well.
Additional:
* 
Venomous Gale is a great ganking and farming skill.
* Plague Ward serves as a flexible ability for pushing, ganking, farming and scouting. The innate Poison Sting also works on the stolen Plague Ward with half the damage.
* Poison Nova, if stolen and cast, puts a huge damage-over-time debuff on the enemy team, even greater than Venomancer himself with the help of 
Arcane Supremacy.
* Spell Steal has a greater cast distance than the effect area of Poison Nova, allowing Rubick to steal the spell while staying at the back.
* 
Venomancer suffers from mana pool problems, while Rubick has relatively high intelligence gain and can cast the same set of spells at ease.
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
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
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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:
* 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
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
Venomancer
* Squishy heroes or heroes without hard disables or silences: 
Shadow Demon, 
Shadow Fiend, Venomancer, 
Ancient Apparition etc.
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
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, 
Lion.
Venomancer
* 
Slardar can attack through Plague Wards and gain 
Bash of the Deep charges, and 
Templar Assassin can spill 
Psi Blades through Plague Wards too.
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.
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
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Lion.
Venomancer
* Sniper can easily destroy Plague Ward from long range.
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.
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
* Heroes who can stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Venomancer
* Heroes with damage-over-time abilities easily allow Bristleback to turn his back in order to proc 
Bristleback continuously and to massively reduce to damage dealt to him: Arc Warden, Venomancer, 
Luna.
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.
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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.
Venomancer
* Heroes who can harass Omniknight out of lane will keep him weak in the mid game: 
Viper, Venomancer, Clinkz.
Venomancer
* 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!
Axe
* Durable heroes can stand against Tusk during 1v1: Axe, Dragon Knight, 
Night Stalker, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Wraith King and more.
Axe
* Ranged heroes that can easily harass Axe: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Lion.
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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.
Axe
* Berserker's Call forces Mars to face in the direction choosen.
* Counter Helix deals pure damage and can go through Bulwark.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's poison attacks are all magical damage, ignoring 
Bulwark.
* Venomancer's multiple slows are especially effective against Mars' low mobility.
* Plague Wards can attack through 
Arena of Blood.
Additional:
* Venomancer's spells all deal magical damage, ignoring Bulwark.
* Venomancer's multiple slows are especially effective at kiting Mars.
* Plague Ward can attack through Arena Of Blood.
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.
Venomancer
* Due to lack of magic resistance, Venomancer abilities eats through Windranger's health.
* Venomancer's multiple slows, to an extent, negates Windrun's mobility.
Additional:
* Due to lack of magic resistance, Venomancer poisons eats through Windranger's health.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomous Gale, Poison Sting and Poison Nova deal damage over time and will chip away at Gravekeeper's Cloak in addition to slowing an already sluggish hero.
* Venomancer's normal attacks deal Poison Sting and will chip away at Gravekeeper's Cloak.
Axe
* Heroes that can keep Monkey King stunned for a long time can pose a threat: Axe, Centaur Warrunner.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's magical damage-over-time poisons putting 
Tree Dance on cooldown, greatly diminishing Monkey King's mobility.
* Venomous Gale and Posion Nova will hit Monkey King when he is perched on a tree, or disguised by 
Mischief.
Additional:
* Venomancer's magical damage-over-time poisons will constantly put Tree Dance on cooldown, greatly diminishing Monkey King's mobility.
* Venomous Gale and Poison Nova will hit Monkey King when he is perched on a tree, or disguised with Mischief.
* However, Venomancer is also easily ganked by Monkey King if caught by surprise.
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.
Venomancer
* Heroes that commonly attack ethereal units will not have any problems against Muerta's Pierce The Veil: 
Tinker, 
Jakiro, Lina, Luna, Pugna or 
Ogre Magi, 
Enigma, Batrider, 
Techies, 
Broodmother, 
Dawnbreaker, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Bane, Tinker, Venomancer, Arc Warden.
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.
Venomancer
* Heroes who thrive on teamfights can be a problem, such as Venomancer, 
Necrophos, Centaur Warrunner...
Axe
* Axe, Bristleback, Centaur Warrunner, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Pudge, 
Huskar, Wraith King, 
Doom: 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.
Venomancer
* Unless Puck is facing the direction he wants to blink while in Phase Shift, the Venomous Gale and 
Noxious Plague combo consistently ticks many times over several seconds, making it very difficult to use Blink Dagger towards the other direction. Puck's slow turning rate makes this even worse.
* Venomancer can use Plague Wards to reveal Puck's position before he even gets a chance to initiate.
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.
Venomancer
* Heroes that can apply early pressure before Phantom Assassin has farm are massive threats: Axe, Viper, 
Meepo, Jakiro, Pugna, 
Slark, Venomancer etc.
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.
Venomancer
* Aggressively Poofing and Earthbinding is not going to end well against Venomancer, as he will be an easy target for Noxious Plague.
* Venomancer's constant slows greatly reduce Meepo's mobility.
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.
Venomancer
* Heroes who rely on damage over time as Spiked Carapace can block and reflect only one instance of damage: Jakiro, Viper, Venomancer, Huskar, 
Ember Spirit, 
Dark Seer, 
Sand King, Doom, Dawnbreaker. However, this also means they are easily stunned.
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's damage over time can force Chen to use Hand of God prematurely, potentially wasting a chance to save his allies during a teamfight.
* Venomancer's Poison Nova, Venomous Gale and Plague Ward can easily kill Chen's creeps.
Axe
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna, 
Razor, Axe, Bristleback, 
Leshrac, 
Death Prophet, Jakiro.
Venomancer
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer, Viper, 
Dazzle, Arc Warden, Lion, Huskar, Shadow Shaman, 
Visage, 
Undying, Jakiro.
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.
Venomancer
* Untouchable won't mitigate Venomancer's magical damage, and Enchantress is vulnerable to magic damage.
* Both Venomous Gale and Poison Nova lower the amount of healing received by Enchantress and her allies from Nature's Attendants.
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.
Venomancer
* Plague Wards may reveal a hiding Techies. If there's a sentry nearby, they may also reveal a stack of mines hidden in a juking spot.
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
* Axe will destroy her illusions by proccing Counter Helix more often due to him being hit by more attacks.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's slows and magical damage-over-time works well against Earthshaker's which completes lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards are useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown if Venomancer has vision over Earthshaker.
Additional:
* Earthshaker can be kited by Venomancer's slows, which is lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards is very useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
Venomancer
* Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and putting Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Wards, which makes Magnus real problems to blink and initiate.
Additional:
* Similar to Night Stalker, Venomancer can simultaneously scout Magnus hiding in trees and put Blink Dagger on cooldown with Plague Ward, which gives Magnus problems when trying to blink in and initiate.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's poison damage-over-time are very effective against Spectre, which is lack of magic resistance from early to mid game.
* Venomancer's multiple slows greatly reduces Spectre's low mobility, even through 
Spectral Dagger.
* Plague Wards reveals Spectre while she is hiding on trees.
Additional:
* Venomancer's poison damage over time is very effective against Spectre, who tends to lack magic resistance during the early to mid game.
* Venomancer's multiple slows greatly reduces Spectre's movement speed and mobility.
* Plague Wards can scout out Spectre while she is hiding in trees.
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
* 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.
Axe
* Berserker's Call forces Dark Willow to attack, cancelling Shadow Realm.
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
* 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 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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's magical damage-over-time poisons greatly reduce Bounty Hunter's mobility.
* Venomous Gale, combined with Plague Wards and Poison Nova with True Sight items can allow Venomancer and his teammates to gank Bounty Hunter while he is roaming alone.
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
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
Venomancer
* In general, heroes that can slow down Dragon Knight's movement speed will do well against him. This includes Venomancer and others in addition to the heroes mentioned above.
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
* 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
* 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.
Axe
* Heroes that are hard to gank: Axe, Death Prophet, Phantom Lancer, Slark, Centaur Warrunner, Bristleback, 
Medusa, 
Mars.
Venomancer
* Due to her slow movement speed,heroes with crowd control and slows can shut down Dawnbreaker:Lion, Crystal Maiden ,Venomancer etc.
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.
Axe
* Heroes with high armor and durability can be exceptionally hard for Bloodseeker to bring down: Dragon Knight, Axe
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 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 stop Axe from getting close will severely inhibit his presence in fights: Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Batrider, Arc Warden, Winter Wyvern, Clockwerk
Venomancer
* Plague Wards are very hard for Batrider to play against as they provide a lot of vision as well as disable Blink Dagger for a long duration.
Venomancer
* Any hero that can outrange Plague Ward can neutralize them without putting themselves at risk of receiving Poison Sting: Arc Warden, Chen, Clinkz, Drow Ranger, Lina, Mirana, Nature's Prophet, Pugna and Sniper.
* Special mention to heroes that outrange Plague Ward after obtaining talents that increase attack range.
Additional:
* Teleportation allows Natures Prophet to save himself from the damage over time of Venomous Gale, Poison Sting and Poison Nova.
* Plague Wards can be destroyed with Nature's Prophet's Treants.
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.
Venomancer
* Slardar can attack through Plague Wards and gain Bash of the Deep charges, and Templar Assassin can spill Psi Blades through Plague Wards too.
Venomancer
* Venomous Gale and Plague Wards allow to quickly melt through 
Refraction charges.
* Both Poison Nova and Venomous Gale hit invisible units, so 
Meld cannot be used defensively.
Additional:
* Venomancer's entire arsenal deals lingering damage over a long time and therefore burns through her Refraction very quickly. Not only that, his persistent slow from Poison Sting (it can be re-applied again and again with Plague Ward) allows his team to catch up to her even with the disruption from her Psionic Trap.
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
* Berserker's Call can interrupt Freezing Field, even through Black King Bar and/or 
Glimmer Cape.
* Battle Hunger makes Crystal Maiden's already bad movement speed even worse.
* Axe frequently builds Blade Mail, which can quickly kill Crystal Maiden if her ultimate is used while he is under its effect.
Venomancer
* 
Dark Rift allows Underlord to transport allies from poison damage-over-time to the fountain.
* Underlord usually buys 
Pipe of Insight that gives a magic resistance to allies, inhibiting the damage from Venomancer abilities.
Axe
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damaging and/or disabling abilities will be able to intercept Underlord and his team when they exit from Fiend's Gate: Luna's 
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Eclipse, Dawnbreaker's 
Solar Guardian, Axe's Berserker's Call, Mars's Arena of Blood, Jakiro's 
Macropyre, Dual Breath and Ice Path, 
Naga Siren's 
Song of the Siren, Razor's 
Eye of the Storm and 
Plasma Field, Lina's 
Light Strike Array, Broodmother's 
Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, 
Elder Titan's 
Earth Splitter and 
Echo Stomp, 
Alchemist's 
Unstable Concoction and 
Acid Spray, Queen of Pain's 
Sonic Wave, Dark Seer's 
Wall of Replica and 
Vacuum, Venomancer's Noxious Plague and Poison Nova from Aghanim's Scepter, 
Oracle's 
Fortune's End and 
Rain of Destiny from Aghanim's Shard, 
Bloodseeker's 
Blood Rite, Enigma's 
Black Hole and 
Midnight Pulse, Shadow Fiend's 
Requiem of Souls, Batrider's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded 
Flaming Lasso, 
Firefly, 
Flamebreak and 
Sticky Napalm, Ancient Apparition's 
Ice Blast, Sand King's 
Epicenter, 
Sand Storm and 
Burrowstrike, 
Gyrocopter's 
Call Down, Ember Spirit's 
Sleight of Fist, Death Prophet's 
Exorcism and 
Silence, 
Monkey King's 
Wukong's Command, Crystal Maiden's 
Freezing Field, 
Muerta's 
The Calling, Medusa's 
Stone Gaze, 
Zeus's 
Nimbus from Aghanim's Scepter. 
Dark Willow's 
Bramble Maze, 
Pangolier's 
Swashbuckle, 
Grimstroke's 
Soulbind, 
Ink Swell and 
Stroke of Fate, 
Earthshaker's 
Echo Slam and 
Fissure, 
Puck's 
Dream Coil and 
Waning Rift, Winter Wyvern's 
Winter's Curse, Magnus's 
Reverse Polarity.
Venomancer
* Heroes with strong area-of-effect damaging and/or disabling abilities will be able to intercept Underlord and his team when they exit from Fiend's Gate: Luna's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Eclipse, Dawnbreaker's Solar Guardian, Axe's Berserker's Call, Mars's Arena of Blood, Jakiro's Macropyre, Dual Breath and Ice Path, Naga Siren's Song of the Siren, Razor's Eye of the Storm and Plasma Field, Lina's Light Strike Array, Broodmother's Spinner's Snare from Aghanim's Scepter, Elder Titan's Earth Splitter and Echo Stomp, Alchemist's Unstable Concoction and Acid Spray, Queen of Pain's Sonic Wave, Dark Seer's Wall of Replica and Vacuum, Venomancer's Noxious Plague and Poison Nova from Aghanim's Scepter, Oracle's Fortune's End and Rain of Destiny from Aghanim's Shard, Bloodseeker's Blood Rite, Enigma's Black Hole and Midnight Pulse, Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls, Batrider's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Flaming Lasso, Firefly, Flamebreak and Sticky Napalm, Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast, Sand King's Epicenter, Sand Storm and Burrowstrike, Gyrocopter's Call Down, Ember Spirit's Sleight of Fist, Death Prophet's Exorcism and Silence, Monkey King's Wukong's Command, Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field, Muerta's The Calling, Medusa's Stone Gaze, Zeus's Nimbus from Aghanim's Scepter. Dark Willow's Bramble Maze, Pangolier's Swashbuckle, Grimstroke's Soulbind, Ink Swell and Stroke of Fate, Earthshaker's Echo Slam and Fissure, Puck's Dream Coil and Waning Rift, Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse, Magnus's Reverse Polarity.
Venomancer
* 
Reflection illusion will apply Poison Sting back towards Venomancer.
* 
Conjure Image and 
Metamorphosis will make quick work of Plague Wards.
* While ticking down from Poison Nova, Terrorblade can wait until the last possible moment to 
Sunder a target, either friend or foe.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's damage-over-time abilities are easier to heal through with numerous Shadow Waves than other types of damage, and it's simple to time a Shallow Grave until the last possible second to save a teammate from them.
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.
Venomancer
* 
Dark Pact can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting.
* 
Shadow Dance allows Slark heightened regeneration when out of vision making DoTs effects less threatening.
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.
Venomancer
* Venomancer's damage-over-time abilities do little damage against Counterspell.
* Blink helps Anti-Mage get away from Venomancer's slows.
Additional:
* 
Counterspell provides magic resistance, diminishing the effectiveness of Venomancer's spells.
* Venomancer's lack of hard disable allows Anti-Mage to use 
Blink, circumventing the slows Venomancer depends on.
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.
Venomancer
* Huskar can easily regenerate lost health from DoT spells through 
Berserker's Blood rendering them ineffective
* Venomancer has little armor and mobility, and rarely builds Linken's Sphere, so he is quite vulnerable to 
Life Break.
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
* 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.
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.
Venomancer
* Fortune's End can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting from allies.
* 
Fate's Edict grants 100% magic resistance to target, inhibiting the damage from Venomancer abilities.
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.
Venomancer
* 
Borrowed Time & 
Aphotic Shield can dispel Venomous Gale and Poison Sting.
Axe
* 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.
Additional:
* Culling Blade's instant kill is not prevented by Borrowed Time should Abaddon's health falls below the threshold.
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.
Berserker's Call, or, if timed correctly, from his 
Culling Blade.
Counter Helix, This can be used on him during Berserker's Call to seriously hinder him.
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.
*
*
Additional:
* While it is unwise to encounter Axe alone, Disruption can be used to save your allies from Axe's initiate
* 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:
* Demonic Cleanse will clear
Venomancer
* In the laning stage, making illusions of Venomancer will turn his
Poison Sting back at him, making for an easy gank at level one, and for later when your mid comes for ganks.