Welcome! Let’s not beat around the bush: if you’re not playing Axe in patch 7.39, you are absolutely missing out on one of the most consistent, high-performing, and oppressive offlaners in the current Dota 2 meta. This isn’t just some flavor-of-the-week cheese pick. This is Axe — one of the highest winrate Position 3 heroes in the game right now, and with good reason.
The current patch environment favors heroes that can:
- Win lanes consistently
- Farm rapidly without relying on stacks or help
- Scale into mid-game with real teamfight presence
- Punish greedy cores before they come online
- And Axe checks every single one of these boxes.
Miro, one of the top-tier pro offlaners, is showing us how to fully unlock Axe’s potential in 7.39b — and this guide will walk you through every detail, from lane to late-game.
Why Axe Dominates the Offlane in 7.39
Axe has always been a reliable pick in the offlane, but this patch adds more polish to his already terrifying kit. The introduction of Call Out facet buffs, combined with a farming meta and armor synergy with Battle Hunger, makes him a lane dominator who transitions into a map-controlling monster.
The reason Axe is so effective right now includes:
- Highly spammable Battle Hunger (only 50 mana)
- Great synergy with armor-based itemization
- Early wave-cutting power
- Incredible jungle flash-farming capability
- Powerful power spikes with Vanguard, Blade Mail, and Blink
These characteristics make him one of the most well-rounded offlaners you can play in patch 7.39.
Starting Items & Laning Setup
Axe’s early game is deceptively simple — and brutally effective.
- Standard Starting Items
- 2 × Gauntlets of Strength
- 1 × Circlet
- 3 × Iron Branches
This leads directly into double Bracer, providing huge early stats and regen. If you’re up against high-armor harassers or in a tough lane, a Ring of Protection can boost your survivability and even buff Battle Hunger’s DPS due to its armor-scaling mechanic.
Some creative players experiment with stacking multiple Rings of Protection to maximize early Battle Hunger damage, but it’s a niche strategy best left for fun — not optimal climbing.
Early Laning Phase: Harass, Pressure, Dominate
Spam Battle Hunger — But Be Smart. Battle Hunger is your early tool for control. It costs only 50 mana and applies solid DPS and a movement slow.
Target the support, not the core. If you cast it on a carry who’s last-hitting well, they’ll easily remove it. But supports, who are often focused on zoning or pulling, can’t respond as easily — giving you free chip damage and lane dominance.
Level Progression:
- Level 1: Battle Hunger
- Level 2: Counter Helix
- Level 3: Either Call or another Battle Hunger point
- Level 4+: Max Battle Hunger and Counter Helix, get Call by 5
Your early presence is about being aggressively efficient — forcing bad trades, stealing pulls, and creating constant kill pressure with your support. You win lanes by being relentless.
Wave Cutting and Jungle Farming: Axe’s Core Identity
One of Axe’s greatest strengths is his ability to cut waves and farm multiple camps simultaneously — giving him a farm pattern rivaling mids and carries.
If your lane becomes unplayable — say you’re against Razor or Lifestealer — start cutting waves after minute 5:30. You can even cut behind Tier 3 towers if needed.
Efficient Cut & Farm Strategy:
- Drag the wave behind Tier 1 or 2 tower
- Pull it into a jungle camp (medium/large)
- Use Counter Helix procs to kill everything
This not only keeps your farm up, it pulls enemy attention, disrupts their safe lane, and accelerates your gold/XP lead.
Core Itemization Path: Build for Impact
Axe is flexible, but certain item paths are dominating 7.39 right now.
Item Progression:
- 2x Bracer + Wand (core laning build)
- Phase Boots
- Vanguard or Blade Mail (depends on matchup)
- Blink Dagger
- Black King Bar
- Shard (vs low dispel lineups)
- Aghanim’s Scepter or Utility/Scaling options
Vanguard vs Blade Mail:
Vanguard: Best for farming, sustain, and soaking damage — perfect in games where you want to clear ancient stacks and jungle quickly.
Blade Mail: Great if your team is looking to fight early, especially with magic-heavy or burst-damage teammates like Skywrath or Ancient Apparition.
Why Blink Comes AFTER
Many players rush Blink too early and wonder why their ganks feel weak. Without Blade Mail or Vanguard, you don’t do enough damage or survive the counter-initiation. Farm it up the right way — then strike hard when you hit your blink timing.
Blink Timing: Where Axe Becomes a Killer
Once Blink Dagger is online, you become the fight-starter. But your job isn’t just about pressing R on cooldown — it’s about team coordination and catching key heroes.
Ideal blink targets:
- Glass-cannon cores (PA, Lina, SF)
- Backline casters (Zeus, Lion, Dazzle)
- Supports without defensive items
Team up with heroes that can chain disable or burst follow-up. Skywrath, Windranger, and Void Spirit are excellent partners. In pro games, Miro waits patiently with Bane or Windranger to chain CC targets after Blink Call lands.
Positioning and Teamfights: Axe Is a Mid-Game Skirmisher
Despite being a tanky initiator, Axe is not a frontliner who blindly runs into fights. Your role is about controlled chaos:
- Wait for vision or smoke
- Blink in on 2+ heroes on creep waves
- Use Call + Blade Mail to reflect burst
- Kite back, then blink again after cooldown
Remember: Axe’s Counter Helix only triggers on attacks, and it works best in the middle of creep waves or vs. high attack-speed heroes. You are a mid-fight disrupter, not a solo dive machine.
Addressing Weaknesses and Counters
Axe isn’t unstoppable — he has clear weaknesses.
Problem Matchups:
- Razor: Drains damage, counters Helix efficiency
- Puck: Too elusive to catch without setup
- Centaur/Underlord: Outscale you in teamfights
- Save Supports (Wyvern, Ringmaster): Negate your combo
How to Respond:
- Go for Vanguard over Blade Mail if you’re behind
- Prioritize BKB earlier vs heavy disable/saves
- Consider Nullifier later to cancel glimmers, Ghost Scepters, or saves
- These adjustments keep Axe relevant and punishing in any stage of the game.
Talent Choices That Matter
Here’s the optimal Axe talent path in 7.39:
- Level 10: +2.5s Culling Blade Buff Duration
- Level 15: +15% Battle Hunger Slow
- Level 20: +80 Counter Helix Damage
- Level 25: +0.5x Battle Hunger Armor Multiplier
Why Skip Call Armor at 15?
Because Battle Hunger slow + armor synergy deals meaningful damage, especially in teamfights or when split-pushing supports. Add in the level 25 talent and this ability melts squishies from afar.
Shard and Aghanim’s: When and Why to Buy
- Shard:
- Causes Call to automatically apply Battle Hunger
- Huge value vs. low dispel lineups
- 5-second cooldown Battle Hunger spam creates immense poke pressure and slow stacking
- Aghanim’s:
- Applies a stacking debuff on attackers that reduces their damage
- Great against illusion-based heroes (PL, TB) or high-AS cores (Ursa, Slark)
- Also lets you spin more consistently by removing Helix cooldown and proccing off attacks
- Pick up these upgrades after BKB or if you’re against specific lineups that benefit from them.
Neutral Items and Clarity
Mana issues plague Axe in extended fights. You must plan accordingly.
Preferred Neutral Items:
- Chip Vest: Reflects 30 damage — great with Blade Mail and Call
- Arcane Ring: Fixes early mana issues
- Giant’s Ring / Stormcrafter / Trickster Cloak: Solid lategame picks
- Also: Carry clarities. Don’t rely only on Wand or Regen. Axe’s spells are low cooldown and spammable — you will need mana to keep casting.
Late Game Transitions and Final Build Ideas
By the 35–50 minute mark, Axe should evolve into a hybrid initiator-disabler-tank.
Core Late-Game Items:
- Refresher Orb: Double Call + Double BKB + Double Dunk — fights end here
- Overwhelming Blink: Extra damage, slow, and health
- Octarine Core: Cooldown reduction lets you keep fighting
- Nullifier: Necessary against saves (Ghost Scepter, Glimmer)
- Lotus Orb / Crimson Guard: Utility for team survivability
You are no longer just a dunking machine. You’re a tempo-setting, crowd-controlling war machine.
Final Thoughts: Why Axe Is the Offlane King of 7.39
Axe isn’t flashy. He’s not elusive. But he gets the job done better than almost anyone else in the offlane right now.
- Dominates lanes with efficient harass
- Cuts waves and farms faster than many mids
- Scales into impactful teamfights
- Punishes greedy cores with unmatched mid-game aggression
- Transitions smoothly into late-game disabler or brawler
- Pick him. Learn him. Abuse him — before the meta shifts and this reliable, hard-hitting axe-swinger gets nerfed.
If you want to climb fast, control your games, and start setting the pace instead of reacting, Axe is your hero. This is your patch. Own it.