Axe vs Lifestealer

How this matchup plays

Trying to land a good Berserker's Call on the enemy carry feels awful when Lifestealer is there. He can simply activate Rage to become spell immune, completely ignoring the taunt and leaving Axe exposed after his blink. This interaction alone warps the entire fight. To make matters worse, Lifestealer's Feast deals more damage the more health a target has, turning Axe's typical tank items into a liability. The very thing Axe does to be effective—building health and jumping in—is directly punished by Lifestealer's kit.

This dynamic forces the Axe player into a difficult position. He either has to bait out Rage before committing his main spell, or he must settle for calling a less important target. Lifestealer doesn't have this problem; he knows Axe's primary teamfight tool doesn't work on him, so he can position aggressively and tear through the frontline. If Axe ever jumps near him, Lifestealer can pop Rage and immediately turn the initiation around, often killing Axe while the rest of his team is free to act.