Axe + Lifestealer

Why this works

An Infested Axe blinking into the enemy team is a classic initiation. Axe provides the lockdown with Berserker's Call, forcing multiple heroes to attack him while Lifestealer gets to emerge and attack freely. This protects Lifestealer from the initial burst of spells and gives him a perfect setup to apply Open Wounds and start dealing damage. Axe's job is to create chaos and hold targets in place, which is exactly what a carry like Lifestealer needs to shred through a team.

This pairing hits a massive power spike once Axe secures a Blink Dagger. From that moment, the duo can proactively hunt for kills across the map, forcing the enemy to play defensively and spread out. The threat of the "Infest bomb" limits how the other team can group up for objectives. Opponents need good vision control and save items like Force Staff to have any chance of surviving the initiation, as Axe's taunt combined with Lifestealer's slow is often a death sentence.