Axe

The Axe is the best hero in the game to understand what position 3 really does, because he can't fool himself: he doesn't farm well, he doesn't have relevant self-damage, and he doesn't escape. All he does is force the enemy to play where he is. If you understand the Axe, you understand offlane.

The Axe doesn't need to win the lane

The goal of position 3 is not to win the lane. It's to make the opposing carry's lane uncomfortable and come out of it with enough experience to be relevant. Axe does this better than almost everyone else because of Counter Helix: he stays on top of the wave, gets hit, deals damage, and negates last hits for existing.

The error that appears in almost every mid bracket Axe replay is the opposite: the player tries to kill in the lane. He runs after the support, spends Call on an isolated target, dies twice and disappears from the game until the 20th minute. A Axe with 0 kills and 40 last hits denied won the lane. A Axe with 2 kills and 3 kills did not.

Berserker's Call is a zone button, not a kill button

Call has a short range and is essential: he is the hero's only control. The three readings that separate brackets:

1. In lane: Call to deny creep and lock the enemy carry on top of your wave, with your support hitting. Not to kill.
2. In the mid-game: Call on as many heroes as possible, and this almost never happens from the front. It comes from Blink, from behind a tree, from a ramp.
3. In closed brawl: Call after the enemy carry's BKB is on is called thrown away. Wait. The Axe is a second half brawl hero more often than not.

The Blink that arrives late is the losing game

The Axe has a very clear window of strength: from the moment he draws Blink Dagger to the moment enemy carries draw BKB. This window usually lasts 8-12 minutes, and is the hero's entire game.

That's why Axe shouldn't buy defensive items before Blink, even if they get beaten. Blade Mail and Vanguard later; Blink first, almost always. A living Axe without Blink doesn't threaten anything.

Culling Blade and the damage that isn't damage

Culling Blade is not carry execution. It is the button that closes a fight and returns the Axe to the next fight, for the movement it gives to the team. Useful reading: Culling's target is usually the support, not the thickest hero, because killing the support takes away the control that would prevent his team from continuing.

And there is the use that almost no one trains: Culling on a large wave creep to clear pressure on a tower, when the team needs ten seconds.

Where the Axe misses the map

After the 20th minute, the Axe without vision is a hero who waits for someone to pass. He is the position 3 that depends the most on offensive wards, and he is the one who should be asking for (and sometimes buying) this vision, because his Blink is only worth from a place that the enemy does not watch.

What to ask before you press Blink

*If I start now, does my team arrive before the enemy responds?*

The Axe is the hero who tests this question more times per match than anyone else. Getting this reading right eight times instead of four is the difference between the Axe that creates space and the Axe that gives the first kill of each fight.