Undead Guide

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Heroes:

Death Knight: Usually the best choice when facing Night Elf and Human. A good all around hero for harassing as well as creeping. Death Coil is his bread and butter ability, acting as a healing spell, hero nuke and his best way to harass. Unholy Aura boosts your entire army with increased healing and speed to get around, which is always useful. Death Pact is probably the most underused skill, mainly for the fact that the DK needs his other abilities a bit more rather than sacrificing a unit for health. Finally, Animate Dead which is a interesting ultimate that is underused. Basically, you want to go Coil/Aura/Coil/Aura/Coil/Animate Dead or Aura/Animate Dead or Aura/Pact/Pact/Pact.

Dreadlord: A hero you probably saw a whole lot more in Reign of Chaos. Nowadays you find him mostly used against the Warden and sometimes Orc. Also a good choice in UD mirror for a third hero when massing Gargs. First skill is Sleep, a basic disable that is useful when surrounding units and heroes, as well as putting them out of battle. Vampiric Aura is great for getting that extra edge you need when using melee units (Ghouls, Gargs, Aboms). Carrion Swarm is a cone-shaped AoE nuke that works well against units in a line. His ultimate, Inferno summons an Infernal that does massive chaos damage, sports a magic-immunity and a whole load of health, not to mention his impact damage/stun as well as permanent Immolation. Probably one of the best ultimates in the game, if you get a level 6 Dreadlord then this could decide whether you win or lose. The Dreadlord unfortunately does not have the mana-capacity to go Sleep/Swarm without holding a mana potion, so find yourself picking Sleep or Swarm along with Vampiric Aura.

Lich: This is a hero you'll see very often used first in Undead mirror, and used second in almost all other matchups. Frost Nova is a great AoE spell and Hero nuke that does great damage and slows the targets affected. Dark Ritual is best used with a Rod of Necromancy to provide the Lich with more Novas. Frost Armor is a very situational spell that causes distractions from the Lich's main goal: Frost Nova. Death and Decay is also an interesting spell, that destroys trees and does percentage damage over time, a more situational ultimate. Find yourself picking Nova/Ritual most of the time, though some swear by a level of Frost Armor in between Novas sometimes.

Crypt Lord: The new hero to TFT, used mainly as a 3rd hero, but a good starter when matched against Orc. Carrion Beetles is the spell you want if you go Crypt Lord first. Pop those beetles out straight from corpses, cause they have no timer on them and work great when massed. Impale is an AoE stun with a bit of damage that goes in a line shape, the spell to pick when using the CL as a 3rd hero. Spiked Carapace is a defensive mechanism for the CL that reflects damage and adds armor. His ultimate, Locust Swarm is one you probably won't find yourself using very often. Good spell when your DK has no mana or you need to do damage fast. The CL is usually seen picking Beetle/Carapace or Impale/Carapace, but Beetle/Impale is seeing a bit more light as well.

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Units:

Acolyte: Your basic worker unit that actually does not hold the role of harvesting wood. The Acolyte doesn't really have many special traits like Militia, or Burrows, or Detonate but once you hit Tier 2 and build a Sacrificial Pit, he can turn into a Shade which is discussed later on.

Ghoul: This little guy is quite fragile but does good damage, is cheap and great for surrounds. He harvests wood and recieves a huge boost at Tier 3 with Ghoul Frenzy that allows him to move and attack faster. You'll find yourself using this unit against Medium Armor units (Archers, Riflemen) as well as for hit and runs on Peasant lines.

Crypt Fiend: Your basic anti-air unit that is acts as a Piercing damage ranged attacker. He receives Burrow and Web at Tier 2, both are great skills to have. Burrow makes the Crypt Fiend dig underground where he has the "invisible" state and heals health rapidly. Find yourself smacking the Burrow key when you have a Crypt Fiend on low HP. Web is a disabler that brings air units to the ground so your Ghouls can hit them. The air can still attack but it can't move.

Gargoyle: A great unit that is basically an aerial Ghoul. Cheap, fast and deals good damage but is rather fragile that works as a great harasser. At Tier 3 you can upgrade Stone Form which is basically a way to land to the ground and heal. In this state you can't attack or move but you get a huge armor bonus.

Abomination: Your Tier 3 melee unit does great damage and has high health. Pretty basic really, receives a "Disease Cloud" when researched that acts as a typical poison. Does damage over time but costs quite a bit.

Meat Wagon: This is a nifty little siege unit that hurls huge piles of meat at the enemy. It can also pick up and drop corpses to provide Skeletons and what not. Dies really easily though.

Necromancer: Offensive caster unit that has Raise Dead, Unholy Frenzy and Cripple. Raise Dead creates 2 Skeletons from a corpse (1 can be Ranged if you upgrade the Skeleton Mage from the Temple of the Damned) which works well with Meat Wagons. However, they die to Dispel really easily so make sure the enemy can't dispel them too quick. Unholy Frenzy increases attack speed trading a bit of health per second. Cripple is probably one of the best disablers in the game that slows down and reduces damage.

Banshee: Defensive caster that has Curse, Anti-magic Shell and Possession. Curse is an autocast spell that makes enemy units miss their attacks sometimes. Anti-magic shell absorbs the first 300 points of spell or magic damage dealt to the target. Possession stuns a target unit and Banshee for 4 seconds giving you control of the unit. Really risky since the Banshee takes a lot more damage when using Possession.

Frost Wyrm: Your Tier 3 air unit is an absolute beast. He does magic splash damage to air and ground units which also "chills" units making them run and attack slower. Frost Wyrms also can freeze buildings when you upgrade them which is useful against towers.

Shade: At Tier 2 if you build a Sacrifical Pit you can create Shades by right clicking a nearby Acolyte. This makes them into an invisible unit with no collision that is great for trailing enemy heroes and scouting areas.

Obsidian Statue: Heals health and mana over time using a castable aura that drains a bit of mana every time. Basically works as a toned down fountain that has a little surprise at Tier 3.

Destroyer: If you get the Destroyer upgrade at Tier 3, you can use the Obsidian Statues to morph into Destroyers. This Tier 3 unit is a great anti-caster that does magic damage and has spell-immunity. It also has Devour Magic, which eats up any positive and negative buffs in an area, giving the Destroyer mana. This mana is used for Orb of Annihilation which adds 20- damage to the Destroyer and allows him to do splash damage. His last skill is Absorb Mana which takes the mana from a friendly unit and gives it to the Destroyer.

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Items

At your convenient Tomb of Relics, there are 8 items that you can purchase depending on what Tier you have reached.

Rod of Necromancy: This thing creates 2 Skeletal Warriors that are on a timer from any corpse. This means the corpses generated from your Graveyard, creep corpses, or even those Sheeps that you find walking around. You'll find yourself buying this item almost all the time since it works as a Mana Potion for the Lich, as well as a valuable creeping/harassing tool.

Dust of Appearance: Click it and it coats units around your hero with Appearance Dust, rendering them visible when invisible for a certain amount of time. Great against that pesky Blademaster as well as hiding Archers.

Sacrificial Skull: Summons blight around a large area, meaning use it on suicide hall attacks as well as expanding with towers early on. Also useful for towering, but you probably won't be doing that.

Potion of Healing: Heals heroes for 250 HP, memorize the hotkey or placement of this item on the shop. Sometimes when your hero is being chased at low health you have to pop this baby quick.

Potion of Mana: Heals heroes for 250 Mana, use only when necessary. You'll find that Statues are much more effective for the cost.

Scroll of Town Portal: I'm sure you know what this does, but try to keep one on you at all times so you can defend quickly and efficiently. Also, learn how to aim your TPs to gain advantages over the enemy. If you double click it just TPs you to the bottom-right of your Necropolis.

Orb of Corruption: Adds 5 bonus damage to the attack of a Hero when carried. The Hero's attacks also become ranged when attacking air and reduce the armor (by 5) of enemy units for 5 seconds. Cannot be dispelled.
Best used on Dreadlord or Lich since they will be attacking units much more often. Absolutely rips through everything, you want this nearly every game. Also good for when you have a solo DK but are facing air.

Scroll of Healing: Heals 150 HP to units in an area. These are great when using large amounts of Ghouls because they defend you from mass AoE. If you're lingering around 80 food with a bunch of gold, don't be afraid to pack these because they can determine the outcome of a battle.

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Strategies

UD vs. HU

There are a 3 main options in this match. The first one is to DK harass with a Rod while doing hit and runs on his Peasant line or Creepjack as much as you can. Basically, all you want to do is harass the crap out of the Human until you finally reach Tier 3. At Tier 2 play it safe and add a Lich to your DK, it'll help with AoE. At this point add 2 Statues for healing and keep on pumping Ghouls. Tier 3, you want to add a Crypt Lord, buy an Orb of Corruption for the Lich and continue your delay until you get Destroyers and Aboms, the 2 units you'll find yourself using the most in late game.

As for him, he'll probably be setting up a Riflecaster force to push hard at Tier 2. This is the most impacting battle in the game, because it is very hard to defend against. He'll probably have an AM/MK/Footies/Riflecaster while you're defending with DK/Lich/Ghouls/Statues. You're going to need towers if he does come in to your base, but your main goal is to pick off as many units as you can without hurting yourself too much. If you can get past this and reach Tier 3, the game starts getting a lot easier because Destroyers rip through Casters and Aboms eat Riflemen alive. Watch out for Gryphons and Paladin at this point.

The second option is to go for a suicide Lich/Ghoul rush. This is one of those do-or-die things. Basically, you throw up 2 Crypts and pump Ghouls as hard as you can without teching. Once your Lich comes out, sell your TP (or keep it, if you fail the rush it's going to be hard to recover anyway) buy a Rod and bring as many Ghouls as you can. Hit his Peasants hard, Nova + Ghouls + Skeletons can rip them up if he's not defending too well. Once you hit level 2 start using Dark Ritual on Skeletons or Ghouls that are about to die to keep your Lich Nova-happy. Send all low HP Ghouls back home and reinforce yourself with high HP Ghouls. If you failed and lost a lot of Ghouls or lost your Lich, then you'll have to fight really hard to win because at Tier 2, his push will be really hard to beat.

The third option is Crypt Fiends. Usually accompanied by a Beastmaster (MaDFroG style) or DK in this matchup, you'll find yourself trying to creep as much as you can as fast as you can. You can actually fight battles in this situation unless you find yourself against a LOT of Defend footmen. At Tier 2 the Human will probably get Breakers and Casters, which is where you need to play as defensive as possible. Get 2 Statues and go straight to Tier 3 where you will add Destroyers, a Crypt Lord or Naga and Aboms. However, if you scout and see that he is low on units and that your army can defeat his, then put up another Crypt and break 50 food. DK/Lich or Beastmaster/Naga as well as Fiends/Stats can lead to a quick win.

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UD vs. Orc

The lifelong discussion in this matchup is whether to go Ghouls or Fiends. Basically, Ghouls means that you will be harassing most of the game trying to make sure the Farseer does not get too many levels so that later on you don't get owned in Chainwave. Fiends means that you need to creep as fast as possible while avoiding direct confrontation with the Orc as much as possible. You can't afford to fight against Speed Scrolled Grunts.

Using Ghouls, find yourself resurrecting the Death Knight from the dead early on. He's an excellent way to steal creep kills early on as well as provide healing and mobility for your Ghouls. Pick up a Rod of Necromancy and try to tech to Tier 3 as quick as you can. Bring along a few Ghouls after your tech and creepjack as much as possible but avoid actually fighting him, as Chain Lightning rips through Ghouls. Once Tier 2 comes, he'll most likely go Wind Riders. There are two options you have and they are going for Destroyers really quickly, or a mix of Fiends and Ghouls. Since you started with Ghouls, you don't have the option of straight Fiends because the transition would be really rough.

Fast Destroyers is really hard to do and you're going to need towers if you want a chance against it, as well as putting up your Slaughterhouse near the back. Basically, it means the Orc will waltz over to your base with a FS/TC/Grunts/Wyvern along with maybe a Heal Scroll. This means you will base camp as much as possible until Tier 3 when you can research the Destroyer upgrade. The best second hero in this situation is Lich because the AoE really helps vs. air. In this case you are going to need armour upgrades to survive against Bats, usually 2 is enough.

Fiend/Ghoul is a great strat and there is an excellent replay that demonstrates it here.

MYM]Susiria vs/ mouz.benQ.Romeo
http://www.wcreplays.com/replays.php?get=5583

Basically you start off with Ghouls harassing as much as possible. If he runs away try your best to surround whatever you can. Basically you go straight for Destroyers, but in Tier 2 you put up a second Crypt and a delayed Slaughterhouse. This means less Destroyers at Tier 3 but a stronger Tier 2 army. Research Web and get Fiends out ASAP, delay his Wyverns. If you find yourself in your base with 2 or 3 Fiends while he has 5 or 6 Wyvern, put up a Spirit Tower just in case. Dreadlord works well in this situation because it provides leech for your Ghouls vs. Chainwave and the ability to sleep the TC.

Going straight Fiends also works, and you have 2 hero choices for this. Death Knight, which is the standard works well for Fiends because it provides healing and mobility. Crypt Lord is also a good choice if you go Beetles/Impale since it provides a great way to creep early on as well as the ability to fight battles.

http://www.wcreplays.com/replays.php?get=5394

That's a replay from WCR Showmatch featuring rS.PhilBoT vs. 4K.Grubby where Phil goes for a Beetle/Impale strat adding in a DK second as well as Stats and eventually moving on to Destroyers. Make sure you know how to time Burrow, as that is one of the best unit skills in the game.

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UD vs. NE

Against the Nightelves you have many strategies to use and to counter with. Basically, the Elf will try to hit you early on and mid-game while stopping you from levelling your powerful heroes. The best first hero in this matchup is indeed the Death Knight, who has probably the best spell to creepjack with as well as sniping low HP Archers and DotTs.

Unfortunately for you, the Elf has many heroes to choose from first. Beastmaster, Demon Hunter, and Warden are all very popular first heroes that have high damage output and excellent spells against your army. The Beastmaster is particularly dangerous because your main form of Dispel comes at Tier 3 in the form of Destroyers. This means that if you let your opponent get a high level Beastmaster, you're going to be rushing for Destroyers. There is absolutely no way you can fight off that many summons without Dispel. However, if he chooses Demon Hunter then he will most likely harass you early game. This is where you must learn to hide your DK while creeping and use Ghouls to try and surround the DH. You also have the choice of just mass Coiling the DH, sending it over to heal up in Moon Wells while you creep. Finally, the Warden is a great harasser and has some very powerful AoE against Ghouls and Gargoyles. You have to avoid head on fights unless you are certain you can nuke the Warden to hell, or unless you have a huge amount of heal scrolls. Second heroes are usually Panda, Firelord or KotG. The Panda has been nerfed a bit and is a high-hp AoE spewing hero. Meaning you need mass Heal Scrolls, or Abom/Destroyers to fight against this guy. KotG is useless since all his spells are negated by Destroyers, just nuke him. Firelord works like a Beastmaster but is much more fragile. It boasts potentially dangerous summons that you should try and kill/Dispel first.

Basically, the best strategy against Night Elf is Ghoul/Garg -> Abom/Destroyer. It gives you a high edge on Archers early on and a great harassing unit, the Gargoyle. The main thing you have to remember against Elf is not to fight head on. Early on, you can use Ghouls vs. Archers but against Hunts you'll find yourself suffering. A dual Crypt Ghoul rush works really well in some cases when the enemy only went Archers. AoE and Summons are way too dangerous in most cases unless you have Heal Scrolls or Tier 3. At Tier 2, pump Gargs from 2 Crypts and decide on whether or not you will get yourself a Lich. Solo DK works well vs. NE because level 3 Coil is really dangerous to Archers and DotTs. Watch a few MaDFroG/CantChat. replays and watch how he uses Gargs because they are probably your best chance in living the Tier 2 push.

Fiends also work well but you have to watch for Faerie Fire. If possible, get 2 Destroyers along with your Fiend/Statues so that you can eat up Faerie Fire. Watch Philbot replays if you'd like to know how to use Fiends in this matchup.

Destroyers/Aboms/Orb of Corruption come at Tier 3 and they are what you need to actually be able to fight head on battles without 2 Heal Scrolls and 800 mana worth of Nukes. Grab a Cryptlord or Lich if you want at this stage because that extra AoE really helps against DotTs and Archers. Finally, just remember that if you made it this far through delaying and harassing, then chances are the Elf is completely frustrated and vulnerable. Harass, delay, prevent expansions.

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UD vs. UD

Once again, the age old question of Ghouls vs. Fiends comes up once more. Basically, Ghouls do better early on for harassing and picking off Acos while Fiends will give you the stronger army during Tier 2. In most cases, player pick Ghouls and these battles lead to low HP micro wars as well as EXP denial wars. With Fiends however, players try to creep as much as possible (most likely with CL) and gain a level advantage while fending off an early rush as best as possible. There are pros and cons to both strategies, so let me give you a breakdown.

Ghouls + Lich is the basic strategy for most UD vs. UD matchups, I'll go over what to do when you have an absolute mirror match (Ghouls vs. Ghouls) Basically you want to try and pick off his Acos during his tech to Tier 2, or just fight a battle if you believe your micro is better. Your main goal however, is to make sure your Lich is higher level than his. If you're 3 and he's 2, you will most likely win any battle simply because the game is revolved around the Lich. Ritual units that you know will die, or use your Lich to pick them off. This results in no EXP for the enemy which is crucial in the "race to 3". At Tier 2, switch over to Double Crypt Gargoyles so you can keep a good advantage over Destroyers and Ghouls. He'll most likely do so as well (since the switch over to Fiends at this point is really hard given the amount of Gargs being pumped) and once again you are going to need Frost Nova as it is your best buddy. If you find yourself with a lower level Lich, you may need to pack Heal Scrolls. Just remember your early game is the deciding factor. Against Fiend users just continue to pump Ghouls and push your early armour advantage as much as you can. Pick off Acos during tech, maintain a good advantage. If he doesn't switch from Fiends just keep pumping Ghouls and go for Frenzy early while adding Destroyers.

In Fiend vs. Fiend with CL, your goal is to creep faster. Expansions are also possible but limit it to Tier 2 since you want to get a DK and Statues as fast as you can. The thing about mirror matches is that both people have the same mindset in most cases, meaning whoever slips up first will lose. Scout often, figure out the best time to attack. If you have a bigger army, consider putting up an expansion while camping outside his base. Map control plays a huge factor, especially since you both have the same cards to play. General heroes to use are CL -> DK -> Lich or Dreadlord. Against Ghouls just defend as best as you can, since he does have the early game advantage. Set up towers if you need to, just whatever you need until you can hit him with higher hero levels.

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MAPS

Echo Isles: This map is great for Ghoul users because of how easy it is to harass and creep at the same time. There's a Health Fountain that can be easily crept right under you (great when using Ghouls to creep while your DK harasses) and a Mana Fountain in the middle if you find yourself using a lot of hero nukes (what UD doesn't =P). I'd say Ghouls do have the advantage here but when fighting battles stick to the middle because the tree patches can give you some really bad positioning. Pressure, pressure, pressure.

Bandit Ridge: This map's really weird but basically try to get air as quickly as possible (Gargs vs. NE/UD, Destros vs. HU/Orc) because there is a little plateau in the middle that is a bit slower for ground units. There's some nice places to fight with Fiends though (expansions, tree passages) so don't count them out. But seriously, Gargs own this map hard.

The Two Rivers: Imbalanced map in terms of spawns, but play it just like Echo Isles. Harass as much as you can while creeping with Ghouls, making sure the enemy doesn't expand. If he does, try your best to make him pay for it and utilise the open area in the middle sections to your advantage. If you're running Fiends, bridge camping can be a great way to ensure a victory you'd lose in open space especially against Orc. If he Speed Scrolls on a bridge, it makes no difference because only about 2 or 3 Grunts can be hitting your Fiends at one time.

Lost Temple: People say this is your typical Human map, but recently it has been abused by Night Elves because it is so easy to expand. Scout often and try to prevent expansions while doing hit and runs. There's a lot of creeps in this map and the middle area is really easy for DK/Ghoul users. Fiend users can also creep quickly and your best positions are tight areas such as the inner temple. The downfall of Fiends is that preventing expansions is a lot harder but you have an advantage if the player decides on air.

Turtle Rock: This map is really sweet when using Fiends because of how easy it is to creep as well as the amount of tight spaces. If the enemy spawns beside you, put up an early Nerubian because it can save many Acolytes. Elves tend to expand in red spots, so scout those often. Ghouls creep the green spots easily and have a bit of trouble with the orange corners, just make sure you watch closely. Humans will most likely attack your during Tier 2 (which is the start of your Tier 3 tech if you went Ghouls) and it can lead to disaster if you don't play it right. Try to force a battle in your base with your Nerubian (and maybe Spirit Tower) hitting things. After the battle send Skeletons to scout for expansions in the middle corners.

Twisted Meadows: This map is medium to big featuring one of your favourite units to creep, the Troll Warlord. Find yourself nuking it simply for the nice items it drops, you may even want to run around ganking items from the Warlords and ignoring the other creeps. Unfortunately this map has many areas to expand and if you get bad positioning it could be a huge disadvantage. Elves sometimes fast expand, but most races do expansions at Tier 2. Try to prevent this by attacking with a DK/Lich/Ghouls or DK/Lich/Fiends and nailing down their expo as it goes up. This map is really nice if you split your Ghouls/Hero up because of the green and orange (Gnolls only) spots. The merchants are do-able if you have around 10 Ghouls.

Gnoll Wood: This map is THE map for Gargs for many reasons. Firstly, the middle fountain has a Dragon that can be crept in seconds if you have Gargs. Secondly, the air mobility is a huge advantage because of the amount of trees splitting up the areas of the map. Lastly, the trees behind spawns can be really nice for harassment. Of course, you'll probably only find yourself using Gargs vs. NE but if you suspect Human Air (not likely) then pull those Gargoyles out. Otherwise, the Merchant camps provide good areas to creep with Ghouls and the trees can give good cover for Fiends. Destroyers work the same way as Gargs too =)

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Mass Ghouls Tier 1 Push: Commonly used against NE where you skip your early tech and set up another Crypt pumping Ghouls. Can also be used against Human if you grab a Lich (hurts a crapload if he's fast expanding). CL works with Beetles vs. Human and maybe Orc.

Quick Tech Tier 3 with Ghouls: One of the most popular strats, this involves you going DK/Lich/Crypt Lord (pull out Lich/CL vs. NE if you need a stronger Coil, or CL if you're low on hero levels) and harassing as much as possible with DK while creeping with Ghouls. On Tier 2 all you need is a Slaughterhouse, a Lich and your Tier 3 tech. Frenzy Ghouls/Statues work well when jacking Night Elf Tree of Life or when attacking Peasants. Be prepared to defend your Tier 3 tech to the death.

Fiends: Commonly used vs. Orc, this can be CL/DK/Lich or DK/CL/Lich. Creep creep creep, defend until you have Tier 3. Heroes play a huge role in this as well as your burrow micro, make sure you have good positioning also.

Necrowagon: Probably only used vs. Orc simply because Elf has Wisps and Human has Dispel. Spirit Walkers aren't very common meaning you can just overwhelm them with Skeletons if you play your cards right. DK/Dreadlord or DK/Lich, don't tech to Tier 3 too early.

Mass Gargs: Used commonly vs. Nightelf and UD. Gargs are great for harassing workers as well as being good scouts for expos (and potentially destroying them). This can make your opponent go nuts, just make sure you can defend yourself at home.

Fast Expansion: Don't see this much but it can lead to a Tri-Crypt attack. Fast expansions work best with a Dreadlord using sleep or a DK coiling to minimize damage to your Ghouls. Sleep surrounds are cake thanks to your assload of Ghouls.

Frost Wyrm tech: Don't see this much.. I'd say Frosties are best in FFA or accompanied by Fiends if you have an expo. They cost a LOT to make and if you're opponent scouts it you're pretty much screwed.

Mass Banshees: Well.. it's incredibly hard to pull off but if you can do it then you've pretty much secured the game for yourself depending on what you're Possessing. Otherwise I highly advise against this.

Abomination with Necros: A bit strange but Unholy Frenzied Aboms are really strong, try to avoid Dispel as much as possible because Necros blow vs. Dispel/Wisps.

[I_Mass_Pitlords]

A NECROMANCER GUIDE

Necromancer stats

Usually when people think of the necromancer, they think "100% countered by dispel" or "useless" or "LOL NOOB 4V4 RT". For the most part, dispel will severely weaken necromancers... but it certainly doesn't make them useless. Necromancers are one of the games best casters when their spells go unhindered. Put your dests on the shelf for a minute, and listen as I take you through the subtle art of necromancy.

Necromancers are built at the Temple of the Damned, which also houses FOUR upgrades for them...

Necromancer Adept Training
100 gold, 50 wood, 30 seconds


Necromancer Master Training
100 gold, 150 wood, 45 seconds


Skeletal Longevity
50 gold, 75 wood, 30 seconds


Skeletal Mastery
200 gold, 100 wood, 60 seconds


Necromancers themselves are inherently weak units, with very low damage output. As a caster, their hp isn't too bad, with adept necromancers having 5 more hp than a ghoul. That said, letting a necromancer get focused is generally not something you would want to be doing.

Necromancers upgrade and build quite fast compared to their banshee counterparts, which means it's much easier to churn out more necromancers than it is to get banshees.

The bulk of the necromancers power (obviously) comes from its ability to cast spells... powerful spells. Here's some info on said spells.

RAISE DEAD
Initiate Necromancer Ability, Hotkey = R, Optional Autocast

Raise dead is under much debate over whether it is a good spell or not. The spell will summon two skeleton warriors from a corpse (one warrior and one mage if skeletal mastery has been researched). Both types of skeletons benefit from unholy strength and unholy armor upgrades.
Skeleton warriors have 180hp, so they go down fast, but they deal more direct damage than ghouls, and are FREE (as far as gold is concerned).
Skeletal mages have just over 200hp, deal piercing damage, have normal armor, can attack air, and can survive a single detonate, dispel, abolish, and devour, whereas a skeletal warrior cannot. Skeletal mastery is nice, but there are times when you wouldn't want to get the research (such as when you are facing a primarily normal armour army like riflemen). The research itself is quite costly, and is tier three.
Skeletons last 40 seconds, but that will bump up to 55 seconds when the skeletal longevity upgrade is researched (the upgrade itself being dirt cheap).
Raise dead costs 75 mana and can be set to autocast, but is set to off when a necromancer comes out of the temple. If you intend to use raise dead, know when to turn it on and off!

Some situations where you would want it OFF -
*creeping small creep camps*
*base camping (with no nearby opponent)
*fighting an enemy who has ALOT of dispelling units, such as destroyers, priests, spirit walkers, etc
*when faerie dragons are present (this one is vital)

Some situations where you would want it ON -
*creeping red creep camps
*when attacking an enemy expansion or base
*when defending your own base

There are three sources of corpses for necromancers to raise dead...
1 - Slain units (note that air units, wisps, shades, mechanicals, summoned units and banshees do not leave corpses),
2 - Graveyards, and
3 - Meat wagons
Typically the most useful of these is meat wagons, as with the exhume corpses upgrade, meat wagons will refill by themselves, holding up to 8 corpses (16 skeletons). Graveyards, aside from being immobile, are great for summoning skeletons for defense (and in some cases offense, most notably vs UD). Slain units are the most common source when necromancers are in the field, but be aware that this can interfere with certain abilities, such as Animate Dead (but who gets that, anyway? :P). Also that once a corpse has had skeletons raised from it, it disappears and cannot be used again for raise dead, cannibalize, etc.

Raise dead is a very handy ability to have, but make sure you monitor whether necros are casting it or not. Additionally, when skeletons are summoned, be sure to send them into battle! It's no good to use necrowagon when the skeletons are just chilling at the meat wagons doing nothing while your aboms or fiends are being torn to bits!

It takes time to become good with raise dead, but once you do, you'll see the many applications of the spell.

UNHOLY FRENZY
Adept Necromancer Ability, Hotkey = U

This is the spell that single handedly prevents the necromancer from becoming "worthless" when dispel is present. At 50 mana a pop, unholy frenzy will increase the target units attack speed by a whopping 75%, almost twice as much as bloodlust. This comes at two costs...
1 - The spell is not autocast, and
2 - A unit with unholy frenzy on it will be drained of 4hp/sec.
This drain is actually very negligible for Undead. With several sources of regeneration, such as unholy aura, essence of blight, blight itself, the drain is barely noticable. However, unholy frenzy can actually be used on enemy units to damage them. Unholy frenzy will kill a wisp or a shade in a single casting, which is a handy way to kill someones scouting unit. Essentially, though, unholy frenzy is meant to be put on your own units.

Abominations, frost wyrms, crypt fiends, and heroes are the best choices for unholy frenzy. A severe increase in attack rate is VERY noticable, so clever people will dispel the frenzy once they see that they are taking far too much damage. However, frenzy is a mere 50 mana, and can easily be recast over and over without too much trouble.

Unholy Frenzy lasts 45 seconds,and is probably the most useful spell a necromancer possesses.

NOTE - Unholy frenzy and lvl 2 death coil can kill an ethereal spirit walker

CRIPPLE
Master Necromancer Ability, Hotkey = C

75% move speed decrease, 50% attack speed decrease, and 50% damage reduction are what this master spell has to offer. Cripple has a severe downside, it's insane price of 175 mana (!!). A master necromancer with 400 mana can cast two cripples (although cripple has a noticable cooldown) and be left with 50 mana. If you intend to use cripple effectively, it is VITAL that you make sure it cannot be dispelled, otherwise it's just an expensive debuff that says "OMG DISPEL ME THX".
Cripple actually has alot of uses...
1 - Severely lowering the damage output of heavy air and tier 3 melee,
2 - Slowing down a fleeing unit so you can kill it,
3 - Easy surrounds on a hero

Cripple lasts 60 seconds (which is actually very long considering how much is screws up a unit), but will only last 10 seconds when cast on a hero. Cripple makes hero surrounding very easy, especially with unholy aura involved.

Well, that's pretty much it. Necromancers can be hard to get used to at first, but stick with them, and they'll become second nature. I wish you the best of luck with your necromancing!

By I_MASS_PITLORDS, the NecroDancer

and remember...

[I_Mass_Pitlords]

A BANSHEE GUIDE

Banshee stats

Ah, banshees. These babies have won me so many games it's not funny. One of the most useful casters even in the face of dispel, the impact they can have on a game is far larger than most people think, and yet Undead players refuse to build them because they arent one of the following things...
- Death Knight
- Lich
- Fiends
- Statues
- Destroyers
Bah, tell me, Undead cookie cutters, do you enjoy fighting against orc? Graider and chainwave getting you down? Come, Mannoroth, TaintedSun and I all invite you to partake of some banshee wisdom.

Banshees are built at the Temple of the Damned, which also houses TWO upgrades for them...

Banshee Adept Training
100 gold, 50 wood, 60 seconds


Banshee Master Training
100 gold, 150 wood, 75 seconds


Banshees themselves are inherently weak units, with very low damage output. Their HP is fairly low, with an initiate banshee not even having 300hp to walk around with. Protecting banshees is vital, but thats the best thing about these units, they pretty much do it for you.

Banshees upgrade and build quite slow compared to their necromancer counterparts, which means it's much harder to churn out more banshees than it is to get necromancers. Fortunately, initiate banshees have a far larger effect than initiate necromancers, so you are able to churn out a cluster of banshees BEFORE purchasing the upgrades for them, and still be on top.

Banshees are often referred to as a "defensive" caster, and with good reason. TWO of their three spells are defensive, the third being offensive. Here's some information on the banshee spells.

CURSE
Initiate Banshee Ability, Hotkey = C, Optional Autocast


Easily the most underrated banshee spell, this will be cast upon an enemy unit, causing said unit a 33% chance to miss for a long time of 120 seconds. That can be seen as reducing their damage by a third, or adding a third of hp to your army. The best features of curse are its low mana cost of 40, and its autocast function. A group of 4 banshees can curse an entire enemy army very quickly. With its cheap cost, curse can be spammed without worry, although there are a few situations when turning curse off autocast is preferable...

- When spellbreakers are present (unless you want curse on your own units for some odd reason),
- When faerie dragons are around (unless you want to be using AMS as well, and
- When destroyers are flying around (unless, once again, AMS is also being used).

Only the spellbreakers are the unstoppable threat to curse, AMS solves the other two problem units (more on that later). An initiate banshee can cast up to 5 curses, a master banshee can cast 10. A banshee will usually have enough mana for both curse and AMS, especially when there is at least one obsidian statue nearby using spirit touch. Curse will generally work fine when left to its own autocasting, but there are cases when manual casting is useful, such as...
1 - VS heavy air such as Chimeras
2 - VS Mortar Teams
Keep in mind that Mortar teams are the only ground siege unit able to be cursed - curse CANNOT be cast upon mechanicals.

Using just a few banshees and watching all of the enemy units missing repeatedly by itself justifies making these units. But wait! There's more!!!

ANTI-MAGIC SHIELD
Adept Banshee Ability, Hotkey = N


People generally forget about this spell, most likely because it is not autocast. This spell single handedly counters the human nuke, and can save entire armies from AoE assaults. For 75 mana, a target unit will, for 90 seconds, enjoy immunity to magic damage from both spells and magic based attacks. The magic damage immunity does not factor in armor types, which can be hard to fathom. Here's an example.

A ghoul is attacked by a gryphon rider. The ghoul, with its heavy armor, would take extra damage from the gryphons magic-based attack.

A ghoul, this time with AMS, is attacked by a gryphon rider. The ghoul, with its heavy armor, would be expected to take extra damage from the gryphon riders magic based attack, but the damage is redirected to AMS, and the extra damage is NOT dealt.

AMS can be extremely useful vs heavy air, but its other application is to hero spells. How many times have you groaned as chainwave rips through your army of fiends? How many times have you sworn out loud as a panda breathes fire up on your army of gargs? With AMS, these problems are over!

After absorbing 300 damage, or after 90 seconds run out, AMS will disappear, and the unit can once again be damaged by magic based attacks and spells, this time with armor types factored in. Casting AMS soon becomes second nature in select matchups, such as vs orc.

Perhaps the most underrated banshee spell, start casting AMS on your units, and begin reaping the benefits.

Originally Posted by I_Mass_Pitlords

With its cheap cost, curse can be spammed without worry, although there are a few situations when turning curse off autocast is preferable...

Originally Posted by I_Mass_Pitlords

- ...When faerie dragons are around (unless you want to be using AMS as well, and
- When destroyers are flying around (unless, once again, AMS is also being used).

Explanation time for these cases. AMS, as is already stated, will endure magic attacks, which is exactly what the problem is against these two anti-casters. With AMS, a banshee can cast curse without too much fear of Mana Flare (thanks to curses low mana cost, it's rare a banshee even loses its AMS).
And with AMS, a banshee will take very little damage from destroyers, who WILL devour your curses. But thanks to curses low mana cost, it can be put on their units without too much worry at all. If it were not for AMS, both of these anti-casters would tear a hole through banshees.

Originally Posted by Several misinformed forumers

But IMP, the destroyers can just devour the AMS! And the pitlord sucks!

AMS, you will find, CANNOT be dispelled (the exception to this rule is when AMS is cast upon a summoned unit, where dispel will damage the unit, but be redirected to the AMS, and thus will Damage the AMS). And the pitlord owns, STFU.

I would consider AMS a situational spell... it's not ALWAYS useful. But when you see a situation where you expect to take magic based damage, AMS will NEVER go astray.

POSSESSION
Master Banshee Ability, Hotkey = O


Possession. The main reason banshees are feared, and focused.

Possession, as the name suggests, will use a whopping 250 mana to both kill the banshee and steal the target unit. Possession has a few downsides...
1 - 250 mana is insane.
2 - There is a 4 second channeling period for possession, and during this time, the spell can be interrupted by any spell or ability that cancels channeling. If the spell is cancelled, that's 250 mana down the drain (ouch!)
3 - While channeling, the banshee will take an extra 166% damage, meaning if it gets focused, it will most certainly be killed.
4 - You lose the banshee, meaning less cursing and AMSing.

Once you possess a unit, you gain control of it, and the enemy loses control of it. The unit will possess all armor and damage upgrades you have purchased for them. Note that if you are, say, against a human who has several 3-3 knights, and you possess a knight, the knight will have 0-0, unless you were to possess a human peasant, build a blacksmith, and upgrade the knights upgrades from there.

Some units are better suited for possessing than others, these being, in no particular order...

1 - Mountain giants without resistant skin (2 food for 7, 365 hp for 1600, what's not to like about this trade? Keep in mind that once the enemy researches resistant skin, Mountain giants are no longer able to be possessed.
2 - Druids of the claw (roar, rejuvenation, and an extra heavy melee unit are always handy)
3 - Kodo beasts (kill two enemy units and get a free aura? Yes please!)
4 - Tauren (orc players cry when they lose these behemoths)
5 - Raiders/Druids of the Talon (potential hero killers)
6 - Aboms/Knights (not as valuable as the above units, but still good targets for possessing)

Possessing anything else isn't really worth the trouble, unless you desperately need a certain spell (eg possessing a master witch doctor for healing wards). Note that you CANNOT possess mechanical units.

And thats all there is to it! Using banshees may seem daunting at first, but in practice they are very easy to pick up. I wish you luck, and may these gals bring you many victories against orc (and all other races of course )

By I_MASS_PITLORDS, the NecroDancer

and remember...





http://www.wcreplays.com/forums/show...7&page=1&pp=20

For banshee replays.

[unjugon]

Often left at the altar in favour of the hero nuke, the Dreadlord (DL) possesses one of the best spells in the game, sleep. To quote the mojo stormstout War3 strategy guide: "Good use of sleep can often help determine the outcome of the game".
The true power of sleep comes from its versatility. It could be argued that in big battles with 60-80 food armies, sleep just doesn´t cut it when compared to huge lvl 3 abilities like frost nova or shockwave. However, in every other conceivable game situation, sleep is very useful.
It´s a challenge for me to explain -after 200+ games going DL first- how to use sleep for the best results. If you like the DL but always had better results with hero-nuking, or you are a DL user, stay with me!

Sleep Statistics

Level 1: 100 mana, 20 (5 on hero) second duration
Level 2: 75 mana, 40 (10 on hero) second duration
Level 3: 50 mana, 60 (15 on hero) second duration

Cooldown: 6 seconds at all levels.
Makes the enemy unit invulnerable for 2 seconds after sleep is cast on it.
Dispel gets rid of it even when on the "2 second invulnerability period".
Ghouls required to surround a hero: 5 (with care), 6 for a safe surround.

Classic Sleep Uses

1-As a creeping tool. You sleep tough creeps and it becomes that much safer to creep with ghouls. You´ll need lvl 2 sleep against creeps with hero resistance (lvl 7 turtles at turtle rock for example).
2-Permanent sleep on a hero. This means you sleep the same enemy hero over and over. It requires lvl 2-3 sleep, but it will be useless if that hero gets to be awake for 1 second to cast its powerful area of effect spells, etc.
3-As a counter to hero-harrass.
4-As a counter to summons.
5-As a counter to channeling spells.
6-As a counter to heavy air.

Common Cliches

A) It´s common to see DL users cast sleep just upon entering a battle or skirmish, no matter the mana he´s got left or what is the armies´ composition. It is a mistake.

B) It´s also typical (even in high level replays) to see the UD player attempting a sleep+surround on a hero with a TP or an invulnerability potion in his inventory. This is a good way to lose the game. You will just lose half your ghouls to the enemy army and you won´t even kill the hero.
I can´t count the number of games I have won because the enemy did this on my DL or Panda. One of them would get surrounded, then I would cast drunken haze on the ghouls, eat a heal potion if I had one, and finally I would use a TP (town portal) -if it was the Panda surrounded I could tell the DL to hand him the TP, it works) if necessary.

C) Almost always sleep is used on heroes. Again, no matter the game-situation, people won´t think twice. Sometimes I ask myself whether it is the computer playing instead of a person..."if enemy hero seen then cast sleep on it". Not only is this a mistake, but also the enemy might have 2-3 heroes. Many times the enemy will try his best to wake up his heroes, but not so with units.

The complexity of sleep usage is greater than most people would believe. It is easy to use sleep, it is hard to master sleep. I still use it wrongly countless times, but I have come a long way since my first games with the DL.

Sleep: the mind game

It´s important to use sleep differently with different strategies and depending on the game situation. Either way, there are two ways to use sleep, offensively, and defensively. Offensive would be when it is used as a immobilizer to surround and kill a hero or unit, while defensive would be when it is used for preventing damage and a whole bunch of other purposes.

Offensive sleep should be used against hero-harass, fleeing enemies, and a surprise surround half-way through a battle.
Defensive sleep should be used:
a) As a means to force a TP and stay in the game, in the case you are losing a game-deciding battle.

b) At the start of every decent-sized battle/engagement. The goal of this is to get what I call "a head start": you sleep the enemy hero and he is forced to play defensive micromanagement (micro), resulting in a safer army on your side. Or sleep a tauren or a chimaera to start the battle with +5 food.

c) To counter some unit that WILL cause problems. This is almost a generalization: you should sleep the Tauren Chieftain (TC) to prevent the early shockwave in a big fight, but if you are fleeing you should sleep the raider/Naga on your way out instead of the TC. Many times, at least with my DL+Panda strat, if I am undecided as to whether sleep a hero or unit, I choose a unit. It really depends on the strat and the composition of the opposing army (against archers+talons for instance, just sleep the heroes). I would cast haze on the mass wyverns and a second later I would cast sleep on the spirit walker to prevent the dispel. I know the TC will get to cast the showckwave eventually.
Anyhow, you shouldnt rely on sleep to counter shockwave, get aboms instead of ghouls (hehehe). It´s true, you sleep the TC at the start of the fight to get a "head start", but you are done sleeping the TC (example of my DL+Panda strat).

Another example would be sleeping a kodo beast before an abomination is devoured.

d) As a "jack of all trades". This includes:
-Sleeping a hero when you are winning a battle so the enemy doesn´t TP away and save half his army.
-Sleeping a hero that plans on stealing an item and will get to it before your hero.
-Saving units when you are fleeing (raider for instance) or you got creepjacked.
-Interrupter: stopping ultimates, canceling possession.

e) As a "mind trick" (my favourite). You can fool the enemy with your sleep usage. Most players expect the sleep+surround at the start of fights (let´s say an early-mid game skirmish), and are ready to react to it quickly (moving his units close to the hero, or waking it up as soon as possible). The trick is to cast it on a unit, leaving the impression that you got careless/are not a good player. Your second or third sleep (depending on mana available, situation in battle, etc) is the one you aim at the hero. You will catch the opponent by surprise and pull off a straight forward sleep+surround.

As with most things, you can perfect the "mind trick" with experience. Depending on the "picture of the battle" (I just made this up to refer to the positions of every unit in a battle at a certain moment in time), your sleep+surround might not prosper. Say your DL was close to the enemy hero but not the ghouls, and the enemy just had enough time to react to it. In this situation, you should have MOVED your "surrounding party" towards the hero BEFORE actually casting sleep on it.

f) As a "crowd controller". Sleep can be usedto even the numbers. More than this: you can CHOOSE the unit you want to remove from battle. Thus, you should pick the most buffed unit (a bloodlusted tauren being a prime example) or the least de-buffed unit (all wyvern hazed except for one, which is put to sleep).

g) To "ignore the meatshield". Typical example for this sleep use is when fighting archmage+rifles+casters: the human is relying on the water elementals for the meatshield role. By sleeping them, not only do they stop attacking you, but YOU STOP ATTACKING THEM. This is most of the times more efficient than microing ghouls away from the elementals.

h) To cause "micro nightmares". This is a pretty nifty use. When you see an enemy hero MOVE instead of attack, you know he is trying to get into position to cast its area of effect spell, etc. By sleeping the hero at that point, you are breaking the enemy´s "chain of thoughts". He must rethink what to do next...wait 2 seconds of invulnerability period without microing anything during the time and then wake up his hero? Yes, it is 2 seconds the enemy must wait, since HE WAS MICROING HIS HERO when it was put to sleep. Go micro something else and then back to waking up his hero? What if the hero is no longer into position to cast the spell (the "picture of the battle" has changed)? What if sleep is cast on it AGAIN?

Sometimes I think about how I don´t do much micro with DL+Panda. It is a melee strategy after all: you don´t normally focus fire with abominations. There is another type of micro going on, however: I carefully take 2-3 seconds to see/understand what´s happenning in the battle and then cast sleep accordingly. Many times, I feel that I am "controlling the timing of the battle", as if my knowledge of what´s going on supasses that of the enemy, who is clicking like crazy all over the place. All in all, the idea is simple: the enemy is reacting to your decisions. Sleep grants you the chance of being one step ahead of the enemy.

Sleep quiz

How would you use sleep in different circumstances? Try this quiz.
Memorize or write down your answers to the following questions. Just below the set of questions you can read my answers.

1. There comes the solo-farseer harass. You went DL+ghouls. How would you proceed to drive him away?

2. You noticed a wily NE player went DH (demon hunter) first and comes to harass with mana burn and a staff of teleportation. What to do?

3. In the same circumstances as above, the NE also has a wisp ready to dispel sleep instead of the staff of teleportation. What are the proper steps to follow?

4.You went creeping and realized an archmage and footmen are in your base going after your acolytes while you tech. You decide to TP, but then what?

5.You get rushed by Lich+ghouls. Would you try a sleep+surround on the lich right away?

6-You are playing another DL user. Luckily, he is not as experienced as you with sleep usage. Whats the trick to come out on top in an early-mid game battle?

7.You get creepjacked by a warden+some hunts early game...how to play it?

8.You get creepjacked by a warden+panda+some hunts in early tier 2...how to play it?

9.The Orc is coming in early tier 2 for a tower push with farseer+grunts+just-made second hero since you went DL+ghouls. You know this is game-deciding battle. What is the procedure to follow to stay in the game (you know the Orc will protect the farseer at all costs because he will EXPECT to cast sleep+surround on it)?

10.You see a NE army with a solo warden, archers, talons, and a chimaera. Both armies clash. How do you use sleep?

11.You are winning a battle, and on one side you see the enemy hero completely alone, making a great target for a sleep+surround. Well?

12.An Orc player has taurens, 1-2 spirit walkers for dispelling, a tauren chieftain with shockwave, and the farseer. You went DL+Panda strat. Describe your first 2 sleep uses if both armies encounter.

13.A clever NE player went warden+Naga as heroes. Which one do you cast sleep on while in battle?

14.When playing against the Lich+DK combo, there are only 2 possible ways to use sleep. One of them is by default, and the other one is rare and only used strategically. Try to indentify them.

15.You got lucky and creepjacked a NE player with warden+hunts+Priestess in early tier 2 (before ghoul frenzy upgrade). You attempt a sleep+surround on the low lvl (second hero) PoTM and succeed, but the creeps are already dead. As you had been creeping, the DL´s mana pool cant afford another cast of sleep...what to do next?

Answers to the Quiz 1. The Orc player awaits the sleep+sorround, keeping the wolves close to his hero. Focus on the wolves if you can. The Orc will try to micro the wolves so they don´t die, so now you move towards the farseer, casting sleep just as the enemy becomes aware of the situation and tries to run the hero away.

2. You can only afford one burn, because you will need one sleep to surround him and another one to stop the staff (good players teleport to a wisp close to your base, making it so he can continue with the harass right off...you want to make it TP). If you went creeping and the DH is near, try to not cast sleep on the creeps, and save it for the DH. Either you concede only one burn, or you have to wait until tier 2 and buy a mana potion at the tomb of relics to drive him away.

3. You try to surround the DH without the use of sleep, since the enemy is RELYING on the wisp to counter sleep, not actually microing the DH. If it doesnt work, focus on the wisp. He will run the wisp away, so NOW it is when you go sleep+sorround on the hero.

4. You want to lose as few acolytes as possible. Move the acolytes away, and try a sleep+surround if the archmage isn´t protected. If he is, and you see he actually wants to battle and not just harass, sleep the water elementals and focus on the footmen (this is because you will win that fight, especially if you upgraded a tower to nerubian, given that you are at your base and have more ghouls than he has footmen, blight etc). If you are winning the fight and you sense he will TP home, sleep the archmage but still focus on the footmen.

5. Again, the enemy is expecting you to do this, ready to surround his lich with his own ghouls. If you have no choice but fight off the rush, move the novaed ghoul to wood, and sleep one of his ghouls (not the one you are focusing on). Half-way through the fight, move the ghouls towards the lich and cast sleep on it just as he realizes the trick.

6. Similarly to the prior answer, he will go sleep+surround on your DL as fast as possible. Just wait until this happends and surround your DL with your own ghouls, and be ready to counter attack with a sleep+surround of your own when you see the chance.

7. You should sleep the warden and flee, preventing the shadow strike than can kill off 1-2 ghouls combined with hunts.

8. Sleep the Panda and flee. You can lose more than 2 ghouls to haze+his army, but normally just 1-2 to the warden spells.

9. This type of pushes you should try to hold them off by pure numbers. Both heroes should have rods of necromancy. Sleep a grunt as it probably will last longer on it than on the orcish´s second hero. If you see the chance, try to sleep+surround and kill it half-way through the battle (not the farseer, but the second hero). If the towers are almost done and it doesn´t look like you will hold off the push, do a suicide sleep+surround on the farseer to make it TP, so you can take down the towers.

10. The first sleep is for the warden (the enemy is anxious to cast fan of knives). Then the slow chimaera joins the fight, so it gets the second cast of sleep.

11. You sleep the hero, but leave it alone. The more units you kill, the better. You want to delay the TP.

12. As you see the TC position itself for the shockwave, you sleep it. Once his army is hazed/cursed, you sleep the walker/s to prevent the dispel. From then on, sleep taurens.

13. While in battle, it is the Naga the one that should be sleeping. The Naga does constant damage with the frozen arrow, making it so you can´t micro the focused unit. The warden, on the other hand, just needs one second to cast fan of knives.

14. The default sleep use is to spam it on the Lich (it just needs a second to cast a nova, but it is usually the lich that carries the orb of corruption). The strategic use is focusing on the lich with the army and sleeping the DK so it cannot cast coil to save the lich.

15. You should just flee. This type of battles are in favour of the enemy before you have ghould frenzy researched. You killed the PoTM getting the NE by surprise, but thats it.

Basic Reminders

-If you are sure you are going to kill a hero, go for sleep+surrounding him.
-If you will lose the battle at your base either way, go for sleep+surround to make the enemy flee. You will lose ghouls, but maybe not the game.
-If you are playing a good opponent, he will protect the hero/s. You won´t kill itwith a sleep+surround on normal conditions, so don´t bother. Obviously if he is fleeing go for the surround. A just-made second hero (level 1 hero) is also a good target for a sleep+surround.
-Sleep must be used tactically. By going sleep+surrounding at all times, I am positive you will lose as many games as you win (it gets very predictable as the game unfolds).
-Always try to save mana for a final sleep+surround if you are winning a battle.

Conclusion

There aren´t many good DL users around. However, if you play against one one of these, you sure will notice. You will yell a couple times and punch the wall. I am so-so with sleep, slowly getting the hang of it. Sleep is just great in DL+Panda, and one of the reasons why the strat has given me great results.
A good DL user can be found in the Lordaeron player FanTasizeR[FTR], who sports a lvl 50 in 1v1 using DL first every game.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article.

[unjugon]

In case you have evercraft to view old replays, here´s the best DL user:

http://wcreplays.com/replays.php?get=4871&R=98

Some of his tricks are mind boggling.


Even more impressive. He possesses fiends in lack of anti-air, and also uses sleep to perfection. Also notice the perfect creeping early game.

http://www.wcreplays.com/replays.php?get=3644


I use DL pretty much every game, even in mirrors -but no gargs for me:
http://www.battle.net/war3/ladder/w3...ookinthemirror

For replays, watch some of my DL+Panda games here:
http://www.battle.net/forums/war3/th...p=1#new1335252