Head-to-head Dota 2 7.41e win rate from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Dragon Knight wins the Axe vs Dragon Knight matchup: Dragon Knight beats Axe in 51.83% of 10,642 ranked matches.
Seeing Dragon Knight's passive armor and health regen might make you think he can ignore an enemy Axe, but that’s not how it plays out. Axe's pressure isn't about chewing through armor. Battle Hunger deals magic damage, which Dragon's Blood does nothing to stop, making it a constant drain in lane. The core of the matchup is about Culling Blade. It offers a guaranteed kill below a certain health threshold, completely bypassing all the armor and regeneration that makes Dragon Knight feel so durable. It's a direct counter to his main survival mechanic.
Early on, this means Dragon Knight often has to choose between using his mana to secure farm or to survive Axe’s magical harassment. In later teamfights, the threat of a Berserker's Call into a Culling Blade finish forces DK to be more careful. He can't simply stand in the front and soak up damage indefinitely because Axe provides a clear way to execute him once he gets low. Dragon Knight's best response is often an early Black King Bar, but having to build a specific item to counter one hero can slow down his own ideal timing and game plan.
How the matchup shifts across skill brackets — Axe's win rate against Dragon Knight in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Axe win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 54.15% | 855 |
| Crusader & Archon | 48.86% | 1,889 |
| Legend & Ancient | 45.75% | 1,176 |
| Divine & Immortal | 52.52% | 278 |
Axe's win rate against Dragon Knight in each recent balance patch — whether this matchup is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Axe win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 48.17% | ▼ -3.7pp | 10,642 |
| 7.41d | 51.84% | ▼ -0.9pp | 123,506 |
| 7.41c | 52.75% | ▼ -0.0pp | 62,829 |
| 7.41b | 52.79% | — | 63,256 |
Move this data into a draft
Axe starts on Radiant and Dragon Knight on Dire. Add the other eight picks to see whether this head-to-head edge survives the full draft.
Data updated Aug 17, 2026.