NOTE: This page was current as of 2004-01, but I haven't bothered to update it since.

Notes on the Undead race in WarCraft.

* = The Frozen Throne

WarCraft Undead Seal

Build Order

Standard BO

This is tighter than the Lazy Standard BO. You just have to be disciplined and remember to make that 5th aColyte.

  1. Put aColytes on gold, Ghoul on wood.
  2. Make 4th aColyte.
  3. Make Crypt, Altar, Ziggurat.
  4. Make 5th aColyte.

Hero BO

This is the quickest way to get your hero, which is very important on maps like Timbermaw Hold. There is also no delay in the initial Ghoul production with this build.

  1. Make Altar, Ziggurat.
  2. Put aColytes on gold, Ghoul on wood.
  3. Make 4th aColyte
  4. Make Crypt.
  5. Make 5th aColyte.

Lazy Standard BO

This BO is a little easier than the first and you'll have more Ghouls by the time your hero comes out. After this build, you can decide whether to you want to make a graVeyard (for spirit Towers or crypt Fiends) or Upgrade to a halls of the dead or make a 2nd Crypt or expand, etc.

  1. Put aColytes on gold, Ghoul on wood.
  2. Make 4th & 5th aColytes
  3. Make Altar, Crypt, Ziggurat.
  4. Make Ghouls.

Quick Tech BO

This BO is a quick Upgrade to a halls of the dead so that you have a super tower ASAP (often before your enemy can hero harass). This BO provides such an easy path to tier 3 that you might as well go to tier 3, even before expanding or getting 2nd hero. The delayed altar is "tolerable" because undead heroes can't solo creep anyway. This is good for large maps with large creeps at your natural expansion, EG: The Crucible.

  1. Put aColytes on gold.
  2. Make 4th & 5th aColytes, put Ghoul on wood.
  3. Make Crypt, Ziggurat.
  4. Upgrade to halls of the dead. Note if you Upgrade then make that first Ziggurat, you will get a halls of the dead sooner (3/4 day instead of 1 day) but you will have fewer Ghouls around when your hero arrives.
  5. Make Ghouls until you hit 15 supply. You'll need the 5 extra supply for your hero.
  6. Make Altar.

Creature BO

This BO gets crypt Fiends quickly but delays your Altar and assumes that you have fewer Ghouls.

  1. Put aColytes on gold.
  2. Make 4th aColyte.
  3. Make Crypt, graVeyard
  4. Make 5th aColyte
  5. Make Altar, Ziggurat.
  6. Make 2nd Ghoul. Have just the 2 Ghouls are before switching to crypt Fiend production.

Race Notes

Race Influence

Undead strategies are of course based on the strategies that all the other races build their strategies. I have written about that elsewhere. Race specific strategies are often influenced by the following nodes:

Human

Short version: Use a mix of Ghouls, crypt Fiends, and Banshees. Use Abominations and some crypt Fiends if you can cast aNti-magic shell on them with Banshees prior to engagements. Use gArgoyles if they go Gryphon riders.

Night Elf

Short version: Use crypt Fiends + Goblin shredders + just a few Necromancers and/or Banshees if facing Dryads or Chimaeras. Use gArgoyles if facing mass Huntresses.

Orc

Short version: Use mostly crypt Fiends + some Necromancers and/or Banshees + focus on Carrion swarm and frost Nova.

Undead

Short version: Use Ghouls + gArgoyles + wands of negation if available. Otherwise Ghouls + Necromancers + some Banshees.

Unit Combinations

The mix of units depends on multiple factors:

A game may involve just one combination but in more advanced games you may adjust your mix during play. Usually you want a mix of melee and ranged; Some games may never involve air or magic units at all.

Here are the most common undead combinations. My favorites are in bold.

Ghoul Fiend gArg Necro Bansh Meat Abom Frosty hero good vs.
(H,N,O,U)
notes
xxx               VA,UA N scrolls and scrolls. No wood needed. Very fast later. Resists focus fire. Bad v AoE. Run past melee and hit casters. Keep a Zeppelin with your army for a quick getaway. Stay in no upkeep as long as possible while upgrading ghouls and saving money, then quickly get many ghouls.
xxx               CS,FN   pots. Use AoE vs casters/low hp units.
xx     xx             UF heroes. Cripple enemy, esp. air.
xx       xx         H pOssess tier 3 melee. AMS vs spell and AoE.
xx   xx           VA,UA U WoN the skellies.
xx   xx x         VA,UA    
xx         x       O  
xx     xx       x      
x x   x x   x        
  xx   xx           N,O scrolls
  xx     xx         N,O  
  xx   x x         O  
  xx           x      
  xx   x       x      
  xx   x x     x   O  
  xx         x        
  xx xx           FN,DC,CS   Hero sniping. Web not on autocast.
    xxx           VA    
    xx   xx           pOssess air too with Web.
    xxx xx x            
        x   x     H AMS the Aboms.
      x x   x        
      x       x      
      x x     x     UF heroes and Frosties.
              xxx 3   Get rid of all your Ghouls to maximize # of Frosties.

Unit Notes

Abomination

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Abomination

280 gold, 70 wood, 4 food, 1080 hp, large armor type, 2-8 ac,  140-80 sight, 270 speed, 45 build, normal attack type,  normal weapon type, 36-48 ground attack, 0 air attack, 1.9 cool down, melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via slaughterHouse, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Abominations have the hp's of 3.27 Ghouls. Even factoring in piercing damage, an Abomination still has more hp's than 2 Ghouls.
  • Because of their high hp's, Abominations are resistant to Area of Effect spells (thunder Clap, Chain lightning, etc.).
  • If a near Death knight casts even a level 1 dEath pact on a full health Abomination, it will usually bring the Death knight back to full health.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Disease Cloud Disease cloud aura (passive)

  • This ability is available at the slaughterHouse for 225 gold and 125 wood in 45 sec.
  • Damages non-undead enemies by 1hp/sec over 120 sec.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Cannibalize Cannibalize

  • Ability stats:
    • Duration: 33 sec.
    • Cool down: 0 sec.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range: N/A.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: dead, organic.
    • Effect: heals 15 hp/sec with a max of 495 hp.
  • This ability is available at the Crypt for 75 gold in 30 sec.
  • The stats of the Abomination's Cannibalize ability differs from the stats of the Ghoul's Cannibalize ability.
  • When multiple units with the Cannibalize ability are told to Cannibalize, then the most injured units do so first.

aColyte

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Acolyte

90 [75] gold, 0 wood, 1 food, 220 hp, med armor type, 0 ac, 80-60 sight, 220 speed, 15 build, normal attack type, normal weapon type, 9.5 ground attack, 0 air attack, 2.5 cool down, melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Necropolis,  1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • To help counter a hero harass, at the start of the game have ctrl #3 for the workers and the Death knight so you can move or heal aColytes quickly in case of a hero rush. This control group is usually. not needed later.
  • One trick with aColytes that help to survive a hero rush is to move the targeted aColyte to the other side of the mine and then back in, resulting in a "mini-teleport" to his old location.
  • Of all the workers, aColytes do the most damage per hit at 9.5.
  • Bug: A mining acolyte that get entangled and then healed does not automatically go back to mining! You must manually tell him to resume mining.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Restore Restore (autocast)

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Gather Gather

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Summon summon Building

  • Necropolis, Crypt, haunted Goldmine, graVeyard, Ziggurat, Altar of darkness, Temple of the damned, slaughterHouse, Sacrificial pit, Boneyard.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Unsummon Unsummon

  • Returns 50% of the resources spent on summoning the building.
  • haunted Goldmines are automatically Unsommoned when the gold runs out.
  • If gold is low and you can Unsummon some of your buildings for more money, esp. if the enemy will surely destroy them.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Sacrifice saCrifice

  • Makes a shade out of an aColyte at the Sacrificial pit.

Banshee

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Banshee

180 [155] gold, 30 wood, 2 food, 210-360 [285-365] hp, light [unarm] armor type, 0 ac, 140-80 sight, 270 speed, 35 build, pierce [magic] attack type, missle weapon type, 13-19 [11] ground attack, 13-19 [11] air attack, 1.5 cool down, 50 range, 200-400 mana, .5-1 [.667-1.167] mana regeneration, made via Temple of the damned, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Banshees do [did] relatively good damage for a caster.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Curse Curse (autocast)

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: 120 sec.
    • Cool down: 1 sec.
    • Mana cost: 40 [50].
    • Range: 40.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: air, ground, organic.
    • Effect: -33% chance to miss.
  • You may want to set 1-2 of your Banshees in your group to autocast Curse, while the others are saving up mana for pOssession.
  • Curse is underrated. Think of it as giving your troops 25% more hit points. It is half the mana cost of the Sorceresses's Slow spell.
  • Don't make lots of Banshees against Dryads because Curse will not work on Dryads.
  • The mana cost is so cheap that 1 Banshee with her full 400 mana will be able to Curse 8 units, especially since there is only 1 sec cool down.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Anti-Magic Shell aNti-magic shell

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: 90 sec.
    • Cool down: 0 sec.
    • Mana cost: 50.
    • Range 50.
    • Area of effect: unit.
    • Allowed targets: air, ground.
    • Effect: target immune to magic but does not damage summoned units.
  • This spell available with bAnshee adept training at the Temple of the damned for 150 gold in 60 sec.
  • You may want to cast aNti-magic shell on your heroes and big units before a major engagement, esp. if your enemy is good at using spells such as the druid of the Talon's Cyclone, the Sorceress's pOlymorph, and the Banshee's pOssession.
  • Casting aNti-magic "offensively" on a non-paLadin hero so the paLadin cannot heal them with holy lighT.
  • Cast aNti-magic shell so your enemy will use up their wands of negation or the mana for whatever dispel-capable casters they have.
  • Don't forget to use aNti-magic shell to dispel bad spells such as sloW and pOlymorph.
  • aNti-magic shell has a cool down of zero seconds and a mana cost of only 50 so you can very easily cast it repeatedly on a large portion of your army.
  • You may want to consider casting aNti-magic shell on enemy heroes so they can't get healed by a paLadin or a Death knight.
  • Consider casting aNti-magic shield on your units so they can attack in the AoE of your Lich's Death and decay spell. You could even cast AMS on the Lich and have him cast D&D over himself.
  • Although aNti-magic shell can be dispelled, it is usually cheaper than the dispel used against it.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Possession pOsession

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: unlimited.
    • Cool down: 0 sec.
    • Mana cost: 250.
    • Range 25.
    • Area of effect: unit.
    • Allowed targets: ground, organic, neutral, enemy.
    • Effect: converts unit to your side.
  • This spell available with bAnshee master training at the Temple of the damned for 250 gold and 100 wood in 75 sec.
  • This spell takes 1 sec to cast. The Banshee may be killed in that 1 sec.
  • pOsession is one of the most powerful spells in the game because not only does your opponent lose a unit but you've exchanged a 180 gold unit for either a more expensive unit and/or a unit with special abilities.
  • These die so quickly that if I make any, then I keep them off the battlefield until they are ready to use pOsession.
  • On the other hand, it can be argued that if you bring them with you, your opponents may become wary of utilizing tier 3 units lest the Banshees pOsess them.
  • Set the Banshees in a separate control group and pOsess multiple units very quickly by hitting shift+o, shift+o, etc.
  • It may be worthwhile to pOssess creeps with abilities like healing or auras instead of killing them.
  • pOssession can take you over the 90 supply limit.
  • pOsession will not work on Dryads.
  • It may be worth it to pOssess workers of other races in long games like FFA. You could then make towers and such.
  • If you have a crypt Fiend Web an enemy flying unit, then you can pOssess it.
  • If you pOssess a Wisp:
    • You can immediately expand with a Tree of life. The Tree of life can also make more Wisps for you.
    • You can immediately make a Moonwell for healing and mana.
    • You can immediately make an ancient of War.

Carrion beetle*

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Carrion Beetle

0 gold, 0 wood, -1/-2/-3 food, 140/275/410 hp, heavy armor type, 2 ac, 120-80 sight, 270 speed, 0 build, normal attack type, normal weapon type, 8.5/16.5/24.5 ground attack, 0 air attack, 1.5 cool down, melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Crypt lord, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Burrow Burrow

  • When Burrowed, a level 2 or 3 Carrion beetle is unable to attack but it becomes invisible.

crypt Fiend

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Crypt Fiend

250 [215] gold, 40 wood, 3 food, 550 hp, small armor type, 0-6 ac, 140-80 sight, 270 speed, 30 build, pierce attack type, missile weapon type, 30.5-41 [28.5-39] ground attack, 0 air attack, 2 cool down, 55 range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Crypt, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Of the basic ranged units for all the races, the crypt Fiend has the most health with 500 hp.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Burrow Burrow

  • This ability is available at the graVeyard for 100 gold and 50 wood in 45 sec.
  • When Burrowed, a crypt Fiend is unable to attack but it becomes invisible and regenerates at 5 hp/sec.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Web Web (autocast)

  • Ability stats:
    • Duration: 12 (7) sec.
    • Cool down: 12 sec.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range 40.
    • Area of effect: unit.
    • Allowed targets: air, enemy.
    • Effect: traps unit in a web.
  • This ability is available at the graVeyard for 100 gold and 50 wood in 30 sec.
  • Usually you do not mix gArgoyles with crypt Fiends who have the Web spell on autocast because gArgoyles do more damage to units in the air than units on the ground.
  • Webbed air units can be pOssessed by Banshees.
  • NOT dispellable, CAN affect magic immune units, CANNOT affect units with resistant skin, CANNOT affect ethereal units.

desTroyer*

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Destroyer

0 gold, 0 wood, 5 food, 900 hp, light armor type, 4-7 ac, 140-100 sight, 320 speed, 0 build, magic attack type, msplash weapon type, 22.5-30 ground attack, 22.5-30 air attack, 1.35 cool down, 45 range, 400 mana, -3/sec mana regeneration, via Obsidian statue, 0 fit in Zeppelin.

  • The desTroyer is the anti-caster unit for the undead. It flies and has 1000 hp.
  • The desTroyer is created by morphing from an Obsidian statue.
  • Loses 3 mana per sec.
  • Starts out with 0 mana.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Absorb Mana aBsorb mana

  • Ability stats:
    • Duration: instant.
    • Cool down: 0.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range 90.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: player.
    • Effect: Transfers all mana from target unit to the desTroyer.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Devour Magic Devour magic

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: instant.
    • Cool down: 8 sec.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range 60.
    • Area of effect: 20.
    • Allowed targets: air, ground, ward.
    • Effect:
      • Removes all buffs and de-buffs in an area.
      • Gives self 50 hp and 75 mana for each unit that had magic devoured.
      • Damages summoned units by 180 hp.
  • Sadly Devour magic will damage your own summoned units like skeletons although it won't kill them if they are at full health.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Orb of Annihilation Orb of annihilation (autocast)

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: instant.
    • Cool down: 0 sec.
    • Mana cost: 25.
    • Range N/A.
    • Area of effect: unit.
    • Allowed targets: self.
    • Effect: Adds 20 damage to self's attack and makes the attack an AoE. As of now the size of the AoE is not specified.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Spell Immunity spell immunity (passive)

  • Renders this unit immune to negative spells.

Frost wyrm

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Frost Wyrm

450 gold, 120 wood, 7 food, 1100 [1350] hp, heavy [light] armor type, 0-6 [1-7] ac, 160-80 sight, 220 speed, 60 build, pierce attack type, msplash weapon type, 95-113 ground attack, 95-113 air attack, 3 cool down, 30 range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Boneyard, 0 fit in Zeppelin.

  • These are expensive and take a lot of supply, so usually make just a few.
  • Either make a few (1-2) or a lot (7+).
  • If you are going to make a lot, and have lots of money, then consider making 2-3 Boneyards in order to get the Frost wyrms out more quickly.
  • The Frost wyrm does splash damage and slow. Use it to hit different sections of your enemy's army.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Freezing Breath freezing Breath (passive)

  • This ability is available at the Boneyard for 250 gold and 175 wood in 60 sec.
  • Make sure you research the freezing Breath ability. It stops buildings from whatever they are doing, i.e. towers won't attack and barracks won't make units.

gArgoyle

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Gargoyle

220 [185] gold, 30 wood, 2 food, 400 [410] hp, medium [unarmored] armor type, 3-9 (+10) ac, 160-80 sight, 270 speed, 35 build, pierce/normal attack type, missile/normal weapon type, 22.5-30 [19.5-27] ground attack, 57-78 [65.5-82] air attack, 2.2/1.4 cool down, 30/melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Crypt, 0 fit in Zeppelin.

  • These are a good air unit because of their low cost, low supply, high anti-air damage, and decent anti-ground damage. However because their anti-air attack is melee, air units with ranged attacks can fairly easily out-micro gargoyles.
  • gArgoyles require a graVeyard and black citadel. In TFT, a graVeyard and just a halls of the dead is required.
  • The AI will make them target the first unit they encounter that can hit them, so if you want to target the air units, you may have to do it manually. For this reason it is often worth forming a Ctrl group just for your gArgoyles.
  • Do not focus fire with your gArgoyles on enemy air unit if they are good at dancing their units around. Instead just move the gArgoyles into the midst of the enemy air and let them do their thing. In TFT, when "attack-moving", air units now prefer to attack other air units more often than previously.
  • gArgoyles benefit from the drEad lord's Vampiric aura when they are attacking air units.
  • Usually you do not mix gArgoyles with crypt Fiends who have the Web spell on autocast because gArgoyles do more damage to units in the air than units on the ground. However, if you're facing 12 air with 6 crypt Fiends and 6 gArgoyles, then it is more like 6 air v 6 gArgoyles because of Web.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Stone Form stone Form

  • Ability stats:
    • Duration: Unlimited.
    • Cool down: 30 sec.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range: N/A.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: self.
    • Effect: regenerates: 8 hp/sec; armor: +12; spell immunity; gArgoyle cannot attack.
  • This ability is available at the Crypt for 150 gold and 75 wood in 45 sec.
  • If your gArgoyle is webbed or ensnared, that might be a good time to assume stone Form since it's injured and can't do much anyway.
  • If one of your gArgoyle's is being focused fire on, then that might be a good time to assume stone Form since otherwise it might die. If you're lucky they won't notice.
  • If you are going to assume stone Form at your base, you might as well from barricades with the gArgoyles.
  • A gArgoyle can leave stone Form at anytime but the earliest that it can return to stone Form is 30 sec.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Spell Immunity spell immunity (passive)

  • Renders this unit immune to negative spells. Only applies when in stone Form.

Ghoul

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Ghoul

140 gold, 0 wood, 2 food, 330 [340] hp, med armor type, 0-6 ac, 140-80 sight, 270-350 speed, 18 build, normal attack type, normal weapon type, 13-17.5 ground attack, 0 air attack, 1.3-1.05 cool down, melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via Crypt, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Of the tier 1 melee units, Ghouls are the only ones that can heal themselves with Cannibalize.
  • Ghouls can collect wood. Each hit on a tree collects 2 wood. The Ghoul will automatically return the wood to the nearest Necropolis, graVeyard, etc. when he has 20 wood.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Cannibalize Cannibalize

  • Ability stats:
    • Duration: 33 sec.
    • Cool down: 0 sec.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range: N/A.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: dead, organic.
    • Effect: heals 10 hp/sec.
  • This ability is available at the Crypt for 75 gold in 30 sec.
  • The stats of the Abomination's Cannibalize ability differs from the stats of the Ghoul's Cannibalze ability.
  • When multiple units with the Cannibalize ability are told to Cannibalize, then the most injured units do so first.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Ghoul Frenzy ghoul frenZy

  • This ability is available at the Crypt for 150 gold, 100 wood in 60 sec.
  • Increases the Ghoul attack rate by 0.25 and the movement speed by 80, i.e. 270+80=350, the game max.

iNfernal

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Infernal

0 gold, 0 wood, -8 food, 1500 hp, large armor type, 6 ac,  140-80 sight,  320 speed, 0 build, chaos attack type, normal weapon type, 54.5 ground attack, 0 air attack, 1.35 cool, melee range, 0 mana, 0 mana regen, made via drEad lord, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Lasts for 180 sec, i.e. the same as the cool down for the drEad lord's spell.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Permanent Immolation permanent immolation (passive)

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: Unlimited.
    • Cool down: NA.
    • Mana cost: 0.
    • Range: NA.
    • Area of effect: 22.
    • Allowed targets: ground,enemy,neutral.
    • Effect: regenerates: 8 hp/sec; armor: 10 damag/sec.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Spell Immunity spell immunity (passive)

  • Renders this unit immune to negative spells.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Resistant Skin resistant skin (passive)

  • Reduces the duration of negative spells and renders the unit immune to certain spells. EG: Cannot be Devoured.

Meat wagon

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Meat Wagon

270 gold, 65 wood, 4 food, 380 hp, med armor type, 2 ac, 140-80 [140-120] sight, 180 [220] speed, 45 build, siege attack type, artillery weapon type, 79.5-108 ground attack, 0 air attack, 4 cool down, 25-100 [25-115] range, 0 mana, 0 mana regeneration, made via slaughterHouse, 1/4 of Zeppelin.

  • It is nice to attack one place with your main army while 1-3 Meat wagons attack elsewhere. If you attack with your army first, then they might not even notice the Meat wagon attack. If you attack with the Meat wagons first, then they might TP there, leaving your army to attack a town without an enemy army there.
  • It may also be worthwhile to bring Necromancers along with a Meat wagon loaded with corpses. That's a quick 8 corpses or 16 skeletons via Raise dead. This will work particularly well as a Zeppelin drop.
  • Use units like shades to sight for Meat wagons, esp. since Meat wagons have longer range than towers.
  • Use attack Ground to hit targets that are within range but beyond the Meat wagon's sight.
  • Meat wagons can be used to knock down trees.
  • Don't forget that the Meat wagon has an area of effect attack with a minimum range.
  • Meat wagons get healed by the Death knight's Unholy aura. With Unholy Aura at level 3, Meat wagons go faster than regular Dryads.
  • Have some Meat wagons attack a base from a far and put your army on hold. This can draw the enemy army out from the protection of their towers. Or this will prevent your army from being in a position where you are between the enemy towers and the enemy army who had to walk back to the base.
  • Corpses held by a Meat wagon do not need to be dropped in order to be Cannibalized or turned into skeletons.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Disease Cloud3 Disease cloud aura (passive)

  • This ability is available at the slaughterHouse for 225 gold and 125 wood in 45 sec.
  • Damages non-undead enemies by 1 hp/sec over 120 sec.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Get Corpse get Corpse (autocast)

  • If possible, have your Meat wagon load up on corpses at a nearby graVeyard before moving out.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Drop All Corpses Drop all corpses

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Exhume Corpses Exhume corpses

  • This ability is available at the slaughterHouse for 150 gold and 75 wood in 20 sec.
  • Gives the Meat wagon the ability to generate corpses.

Necromancer

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Necromancer

170 [145] gold, 20 wood, 2 food, 230-380 [305-385] hp, light [unarm] armor type, 0 ac, 140-80 sight, 270 speed, 30 build, pierce [magic] attack type, missile weapon type, 10.5-15.5 [8.5] ground attack, 10.5-15.5 [8.5] air attack, 1.8 cool down, 60 range, 200-400 mana, .5-1 [.667-1.167] mana regeneration, made via Temple of the damned, 1/8 of Zeppelin.

  • Even just 1-2 of these can be extremely helpful.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Raise Dead Raise dead (autocast)

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: 40-55 sec.
    • Cool down: 8 sec.
    • Mana cost: 75.
    • Range 60.
    • Area of effect: N/A.
    • Allowed targets: dead.
    • Effect: raises 2 skeletal warriors. Or raises 1 skeletal warrior and 1 skeletal mage when skeletal Mastery has been researched.
  • I don't set Raise dead spell on autocast against humans because the Priest's Dispel magic is an area affect spell that kills skeletons instantly and merely serves to provide your enemy with hero experience.
  • If you use a wand of negation, it will not injure your own summoned units.
  • Against non-humans races the Raise dead spell can be worthwhile in quantity especially on maps without goblin merchants and thus no wands of negation. These ladder maps do not have goblin merchants:
    • Blasted Lands
    • Golems in the Mist
    • Moonglade
    • Petrified Forest
    • Plains of Snow
    • (Swamp of Sorrows) (4 of the buildings are random)
  • If the map has goblin merchants, then use Raise dead when they have no heroes or Priests.
  • It may also be worthwhile to bring along a Meat wagon loaded with corpses. That's a quick 8 corpses or 16 skeletons.
  • It may be worthwhile to keep one Necromancer by your Crypt or with your arm to cast Raise dead so your Death knight can rejuvenate his health with his dEath pact spell and your Lich can rejuvenate his mana with his dark Ritual spell.
  • Don't forget to make skeletons for scouting!
  • Necromancers are the only non-hero standard unit that can summon other units.
  • Skeletons can only be raised from the corpses at the graVeyard or ground corpses from the battlefield. So one counter to an enemy who likes to make skeletons is to make mostly air units.

ICON: WarCraft Undead: Unholy Frenzy Unholy frenzy

  • Spell stats:
    • Duration: 45 sec.
    • Cool down: 1 sec.
    • Mana cost: 50.
    • Range: 50.
    • Area of effect: unit.
    • Allowed targets: air, ground, organic.