Hey, what is up guys? It’s your boy Librarian Husky here, and today we’re going to be going over Axe, specifically Mero’s Axe in patch 7.39.

Understanding Axe in Patch 7.39

We’re going to be covering what this hero does well, how you should be playing it, the items, skill build, and so on and so forth. I think this hero is very stable, stable laning stage, very fast farmer, and scales reasonably well. So, I’m a big fan of Axe. I think it’s a great hero to pick up in the off lane as it kind of gives your team a lot of the things that you’d want from a standard off laner. On top of that, go sign up to the game website, guys. I’m posting new content over There almost every day, and I’ll see you there. Okay.

Now, in terms of starting items, guys, this is a bit off meta. This is mainly a response to the Razor that he’s laning against. It’s not something I’d recommend. Even against Razor, I actually don’t even think that you have to do this. I’ll be real. This hero’s base stats are quite good. You’re reasonably fast at 300 movement speed. The weakness of this hero is has pretty bad damage or just okay damage. Okay armor, not the best. So, generally your starting items are going to be two gauntlets, a circlet, and three branches.

This is the double bracer opening because typically in the laning stage, you’re going to be buying two bracers on this hero. There are some other builds that revolve around ring of protection because you only have three armor. And because of the fact that for every armor you have, you increase the DPS of Battle Hunger by one. So if you buy a ring of protection, it actually increases the damage of Battle Hunger by 24, which is not bad. You know, it’s okay. There’s actually some people who also buy like three rings of protection. And it’s funny because, you know, Battle Hunger does a lot of damage, but it just doesn’t build into anything. And in general, I think it’s just not worth the net worth.

Early Laning Stage Strategy

Now let’s talk about the early laning stage. So, in general, this hero’s got a pretty strong early laning stage, primarily because Battle Hunger is one of the most spammable spells in the game.

Optimizing Ability Usage

It’s only 50 mana, right? That’s the big thing. So, the main thing I recommend, guys, just spam this. Specifically, spam it on the support. If you put it on the carry, there’s a high chance they get a last hit or deny and they dispel it. That’s how the ability works, right? So, mainly you want to put it on the enemy support. He overextends a little bit to use it here, but in general, just be pretty casual about it. You don’t have to force it that hard. Just put it on the enemy sub and try to make sure that they don’t get some casual deny. And that’s going to be huge, right? It’s going to allow your position four to win a lot of auto attacks and kind of get ahead in the trades to hopefully contest the pull camps very effectively.

After that, I wouldn’t say there’s too much to be said. At level two, you’re going to skill counter helix, but you don’t use it that much, honestly. In general, there’s not that many opportunities to really get value out of it. So, you’re primarily waiting for level three and even more so level four when you’re eventually going to take that point in Battle Hunger. However, when you eventually take the point in call, but sometimes you actually do take it to level three. But let’s skip ahead a bit because at this point, guys, basically all you do is spam the Pause five and hopefully that eventually leads into a kill.

The only time you would Battle Hunger the carry is if you’re comfortably going to be able to zone them off the creep wave. Other than that, I just wouldn’t do it. And in terms of items, your first item should be tangos. You should ship them immediately if you’re doing the bracer item build start. Then after that, you’re shipping your two bracers. And you can also ship a stick if it’s good. You can ship one bracer and a stick as well, right? These items are all perfectly fine. You’ll eventually need a wand on this hero.

Okay, so at some point in this lane, it gets really hard. And I do want to make sure you guys understand this concept. In general, Axe won’t really have to leave his lane.

Efficient Farming with Axe

Axe is known for his strong laning presence. The recommended build typically includes two bracers, a magic wand, and phase boots. However, facing a hero like Razor can be challenging, as Razor can counter Axe effectively with his abilities.

One strategy to consider is cutting the wave past the 5:30-minute mark. This tactic involves cutting the wave anywhere, even behind the tier three tower. While this approach is viable, a more common strategy is to drag the wave towards a neutral camp and farm both simultaneously. This method is highly efficient and should be employed even if your lane is going well to maximize your farm potential.

Cutting waves is crucial for Axe’s playstyle, especially in unfavorable situations. Whether your lane is going exceptionally well or poorly, wave cutting remains a key aspect of playing Axe effectively. However, if there is kill potential in your lane, focusing on securing kills takes precedence.

One of Axe’s primary ways to secure kills is by using his call ability during creep waves. The call not only grants bonus armor but also increases the enemy’s attack speed, allowing Axe to trigger his counter Helix more frequently. Utilizing call during engagements can significantly amplify Axe’s damage output, enabling him to take down high-priority targets like Razor efficiently.

What sets Axe apart is his adaptability to different game scenarios. The current map layout provides Axe with convenient access to various camps, including medium and large camps on the side. This accessibility allows Axe to farm efficiently and potentially turn unfavorable situations in his favor, making him a versatile and impactful hero on the battlefield.

Optimizing Farming Efficiency with Axe

So, what he’s going to do, he’s got his phase boots, he’s got his wind lace, but the Razor kicked him out. And so, what you can do is you can conveniently farm these camps, right? It’s very easy. Once you have bracers, you can super easily do this. Also, you’ll probably get a neutral item around this point of the game by jungling as he calls to try to get the stack. Failed it unfortunately. But, you know, you can stack with battle hunger, which he also tried to do on this camp. I think he missed both.

Okay, that was a bit he missed both, but you can stack at least one of them. Then from there, he’s going to come take this camp. It’s stacked. You know, it’s a pro game, so they make a lot of stacks in pro games. And in your pubs, you know, if you’re playing with your friends, you can obviously ask them to stack as well. This hero is one of the best stack clearers in the game, especially the large camp. Ancients can be a little hard unless you’re going vanguard.

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Optimal Itemization and Farming Strategies

And on that note, let’s talk about items real quick. So, if you buy double bracer, I think the best next item tends to be Blademail. I think blink uh is okay, especially if you have like an AA on your team or a skyrath or a ring master who’s going to help you get early game kills. It can be all right. I just think in general it’s better to kind of buy Blademail or buy Vanguard and use it as a way to really ramp up your game.

As you’ll see, a fight is breaking out here, but he’s actually continuing to farm. And the reason why is Axe is more of actually more of a midame skirmisher than an early game skirmisher. Battle Hunger just isn’t that useful at this point in the game. Call is frankly pretty hard to use and counter helix isn’t that useful in open area fights. And so yeah, he buys a vanguard Because I guess this game is a little hard. It also allows you to take the ancient stacks, which is why I love the vanguard. The only problem is even though it’s so good for farming, it does mean that you lack a bit of damage on that blink timing, right? Because blink blademail is just obviously way more damage.

Analysis of Gameplay Decisions

By the way, he got giga blessed with chip vest. He also got mana regen, which this hero does have some mana problems. And typically after my blink dagger, I’ll go back for a magic wand if I haven’t completed it. He didn’t do that this game, which I found a bit surprising, but I think it is very good. But okay, until mid minute 12, he’s primarily farming. Uh, by the way, if you have a good game and you buy Vanguard, you want to go that route. You can dive the enemy carry.

That’s going to be your timing to start diving the tower. If you go vanguard and the game is a bit harder, you can just farm. If you want to go blademail, I still think you Should Generally farm until blink. Basically, can you make moves without blink? Yes. Should you? Generally, no. It’s just risky.

You can see if fight is happening bottom, he’s farming the ancients, right? He’s just playing for his timing, stacking with battle hunger. Blink completed. And now once the blink is fully finished, he’ll eventually make the move. He TPS mid with the blink, gets smoked by his bane. They’re going to move into the jungle. See a really nice call. What a beautiful ward in the jungle. Shanks the ult in classic axe fashion, but the spin comes out and they get a massive double kill. And that’s what you want to look for, guys, right? That’s the huge timing, right? It’s your blink dagger. And again, I don’t recommend rushing blink. I recommend rushing vanguard or blademail. Vanguard to really flash farm, blademail to have just a stronger blink timing.

Axe Itemization and Gameplay

That’s kind of how I view the two items. Vanguard is way better for farming. But um yeah, now he’s going back for the Blademail. This is where I personally like to buy a magic wand. Um even if I have two bracers, you will have some slot issues, but I do find it to be worth it, especially if you’re going blademail with no vanguard. You’ll have some sustain issues as well. So if you do that, please buy a wand. You have mana problems. You have some sustain issues. Uh, so it’s it’s actually quite problematic not to. Now, at this point in the game, you can actually continue to farm until you have blademail. I really dislike that he like holds blademail components over gauntlets. I guess it’s fine. I mean, the chainmail does make your battle hunger much better, but I I don’t know. Um, either way, this is where axe can be a little weird. You really want to hunt on creep waves. If you can’t call someone on a creep wave and you don’t have blademail, you just don’t do damage. And so, you need to be careful. like he calls Centaur here and he makes the really good read to kite out. The reason why you don’t do anything to this guy and it’s actually Ax’s major flaw.

He’s kind of one of those heroes where the matchups are very important. You know, if you don’t counter the enemy hero, it’s pretty hard for you to do anything. But he makes the good read to kind of kite out, wait for the centaur to get chipped by his teammates, and then finishes off the kill. After that, he farms it up a little bit, pushing out the waves. Right. You don’t always have to be hunting on Axe, even though once you have Blademail, you do want to start ramping up your timings. By the way, Axe is a hero that wants followup in the early game. Very rarely should you make solo plays unless you’re killing uh a carry and you have Blademail on a creep wave. Usually, they’ll you’ll reflect enough damage where you’re going to kill them. This was a cool read here.

Analysis of Axe’s Itemization and Team Fights

He didn’t instantly blink call the puck because he was afraid of getting silenced or he was afraid of getting reacted to by phase shift. So, good patience. He also kind of just allowed for his void spirit to get in position and they blow up the puck. And Again, you can see that’s the follow-up coming into play. That’s a sign of these pro teams, right? They’re just on the same page. The wind rangers in position with the axe and they get a very nice clean kill on the puck. Again, I wish he had a magic wand. So, after that, he’s going to buy a BKB. And I can’t stress how important it is to do this. A lot of people, for some reason, just think it’s okay to skip it on axe. This hero is one of the worst kiting heroes in the game. If you don’t get a dunk, you can’t really move on this hero.

You’re just not fast, right? Battle hunger, it’s yes, it gives you movement speed, but it’s just not enough. The ulti, it gives you 25% movement speed, but without BKB, I mean, you’re just still not going to move. The majority of slows in the game are still going to make it very hard for you to kite out. And so, you just have to buy a BKB so that well, you can kite out after your initial call. And so, you can just click your dunk. You know what I mean? Like, a lot of the time, you’re just going to get stunned if you initiate. So, it just really allows you to finish kills and actually allow you to reset after your initial blink. If you’re the type of axe player to be greedy um and not go for BKB, I can’t stress how much I disagree with it. I think it’s a big mistake.

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Okay, but we are going to see a team fight break out here. This one, nothing special. I actually thought he was going to blink call this. Um he makes the read to blink call the razor, which you know, he has Eye of the Storm. It’s actually probably the better play. You know, Mero’s the goat here, but it’s a good read.

Importance of Patience and Decision-Making in Team Fights

In high-stakes games, like those played by professional teams, split-second decision-making can be the difference between victory and defeat. The player’s patience in not instantly blinking to call the puck showcased strategic foresight, anticipating potential counterplays like silences or phase shifts. This patience allowed the void spirit to position effectively, resulting in a successful elimination of the puck. Such coordination exemplifies the synergy found in top-tier teams. The subsequent purchase of a BKB highlighted the critical role of itemization in countering hero weaknesses. Without a BKB, Axe’s vulnerability to kiting becomes a significant liability, hindering his mobility and effectiveness in engagements. The strategic significance of BKB lies in its ability to enable Axe to engage, secure kills, and reset for further actions, ultimately maximizing his impact in team fights.

Axe’s Lack of Tankiness

The guy has Eye of the Storm going. Nice save from the ring master to try to bail him out. It’s obviously not going to be enough, but um yeah, I mean this is the problem with Axe. Usually when you initiate kind of die, this hero actually isn’t tanky at all. Axe is a comically squishy hero. His strength gain is only 2.8. You know, you compare that to something like Centaur that has a four strength gain, you know? I mean, it’s like a 30% difference, you know. So, your HP pool is quite low. Your abilities don’t actually make you tanky. You know, call is like completely fake. And so, that’s why you really need to be kid.

You can see in a fight like that, you go in. Yeah, you do a lot of damage. I mean, he killed the razor almost by himself, but it’s very hard to just live. And so, yeah, I mean even in this sequence, I just want to show this. It’s minute 22. They took the tormentor. I have no clue why he shipped one component of BKB that’s pretty useless, but sure. And he’s just farming some back camps. Uh, obviously in pubs, if your team is just going to go take some team fight, you kind of have to follow them. Uh, I always want to stress that to you guys, like if fights are happening, you should be there. But like in these pro games, they’re obviously communicating and they understand each other’s heroes a lot better and so they get it.

Like Axe needs a BKB. It’s one of those heroes that just really needs this item. And if you’re close to it, you know, you can delay the game a little bit for it as he is here. And Axe farms so fast. I mean, this hero’s farm rate is insanely fast. But a fight breaks out and even though he’s 100 gold off BKB, you know, he’s showing up. And this is this is what I’m talking about.

Fight Strategy and Item Build Optimization

But the fights happen. You should show up. Oh, that’s a juicy two-man call. Oh, barely off. We’ll buy enough time for the TB to finish off the AA though. And by the way, notice how he always has some sort of mana neutral item. He had the mana enchantment tier one with chip vest. Honestly, you can take chip vest. Again, I’m not going to cap. That item is probably better than a lot of tier two and tier three neutral items on axe specifically. You know, I mean, reflecting 30 damage per auto attack is no joke, especially with the call out facet. you’re just getting so much value There. But yeah, BKB online after that. There’s a lot of avenues, honestly. There are so many items you can buy on this hero. We’ll see what he buys, but there’s there are so many different things you can buy on this hero after BKB. Yeah, this play here is super sick and a great example of why this item build is very.

This demonstrates the importance of choosing the right items for your hero based on the situation. Understanding the impact of each item in different scenarios can greatly enhance your Effectiveness in fights. The versatility of item choices after obtaining key items like BKB opens up numerous strategic possibilities, allowing for adaptation to various game conditions. Effective itemization can significantly amplify your hero’s strengths and mitigate weaknesses, leading to more successful engagements on the battlefield. Experimenting with different item builds and adapting them to suit the needs of each match can elevate your gameplay to new heights.

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