How Axe and Necrophos perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Axe and Necrophos win 51.75% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 3,314 matches.
Catching multiple heroes in a Berserker's Call creates the perfect scenario for Necrophos. With several enemies held in place, Heartstopper Aura and repeated Death Pulses drain their health pools all at once. This continuous damage quickly brings targets into kill range for either Culling Blade or Reaper's Scythe. All the while, Necrophos can use his Death Pulse to sustain Axe through the initial taunt, ensuring the initiation is successful and the fight swings their way from the very start.
This pairing forces the enemy team into a difficult position. Trying to burst down Axe during his call is tough when Necrophos is healing him, but ignoring them means taking massive area damage. Once one hero gets low, they have two different ultimates to worry about. A successful Culling Blade provides a speed buff to Axe and nearby allies, making it simple for the team to run down the next low-health target. The only counterplay is to spread out, which makes it hard to fight as a team at all.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate 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 | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 59.36% | 1,427 |
| Crusader & Archon | 55.89% | 3,700 |
| Legend & Ancient | 54.46% | 2,962 |
| Divine & Immortal | 50.22% | 920 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 51.75% | ▼ -3.9pp | 3,314 |
| 7.41d | 55.60% | ▼ -0.7pp | 318,848 |
| 7.41c | 56.35% | ▲ +0.4pp | 155,739 |
| 7.41b | 55.95% | — | 124,795 |
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Data updated Aug 12, 2026.