Crypt Lord

A hero available to the Undead Scourge in the Frozen Throne, the 2003 expansion set to Warcraft III.

Background: The Crypt Lord is the new Undead hero in The Frozen Throne (TFT). Like the other new heroes, the Crypt Lord fills a hole in his race's arsenal. For the Undead, it happens to be a huge tank Hero like a Tauren Chieftain.

Physical Description: An enormous, beetle-like monster with a human-like torso. Heavily armored, the Crypt Lord wades into battle and attacks with huge claws. (He bears a passing resemblance to the Ultralisk of StarCraft fame, too).

Strengths: The Crypt Lord has the highest strength of any hero in the game (26 starting, 3.2 per level). A level 10 Crypt Lord has 54 strength and 1375 hit points, regardless of items. This makes him one of the biggest "tanks" in TFT. He's also one of the biggest Heroes overall; he's about as big as a Tauren Chieftain. The Crypt Lord has some very cool skills (in my opinion, some of the strongest in TFT) that make him an excellent choice as a second Hero (particularly after the Death Knight). Also, for some reason, nobody can resist attacking him. Really.

Weaknesses: Crypt Lords are big and slow, and they tend to get surrounded. They also attack slowly, and have little mana (only 420 at level 10). Make sure you have plenty of big healing (potions, Death Coil) handy.

Spells and Abilities:

• Impale: Launches a line of enemy ground units into the air; they take (50/80/110) damage and are stunned for (2/3/4) seconds when they hit the ground. Impale's area of effect makes it effective for many purposes: taking the pressure off a fleeing hero, stopping retreating enemies for free experience... Of course, Impale can stop channeling spells like Starstorm; though the Dreadlord's Sleep skill is more useful for this, the Crypt Lord is more likely to survive a battle.
• Spiked Carapace: This is the Crypt Lord's best skill. It gives him (3/5/7) extra armor points. Then, when enemy melee units hit him, he deals (15%/25%/35%) of their attack damage back. This skill makes him a better tank than the Tauren Chieftain, in my opinion. A Crypt Lord with three points in this skill is a force to be reckoned with, even without Death Coil backup.
• Carrion Beetles: Raises a (140/275/410) hit-point beetle from a corpse. Beetles are permanent, but only 5 may be summoned at a time. Level 2 beetles can Burrow. This is a decent skill, although not my favorite. Early on, the 5 free units can be an advantage, but later in the game, they quickly become eclipsed (A level 2 beetle has less hit points than a Ghoul). They make excellent scouts and sentries (particularly with Burrow). Burrow a Beetle next to a Tavern for instant Hero revival.
• Ultimate Skill - Locust Swarm: For 150 mana, the Crypt Lord releases 20 locusts. The locusts automatically attack all nearby enemy units, chewing away their HP. The locusts periodically return to the Crypt Lord, restoring HP to the Hero. This is a decimating skill when used properly. Send the Crypt Lord into the middle of a large battle, then activate Locust Swarm. The skill will give the Crypt Lord all the healing he needs, and eat away at the enemy's army, quickly turning the tide of the battle. This is a very powerful skill that should not be underestimated.

Gameplay: Items really help the Crypt Lord out. A Cloak of Flames is always a good choice, dealing extra damage to surrounding units. Strength-enhancing items will make him more durable, as will a Talisman of Evasion. A Mask of Death and some Claws of Attack would be an excellent choice. Also, the Scourge Bone Chimes and Lion Horn of Stormwind are great items if you don't have a Dreadlord or Paladin around.

The strategy I've had the most success with is this: For your first Hero, get a Death Knight. Get the Crypt Lord second. Max out Spiked Carapace and Impale (Carapace first), and get Locust Swarm at level 6. When you go to battle, send the Crypt Lord in first. If he gets to 2/3 HP, hit him with a Death Coil. In my experience, this works well with mass Ghouls, mass Abominations, and mass Crypt Fiends. Good luck!

• My own experiences playing on Battle.net
• The WarCraft III World Editor