Intro

I’ve recently been playing Undying and loving it. I’m currently on a nine game win streak, the in-client stats page says he is my second best hero after Disruptor (with a 62% win rate), and I play at either the 4 or 5 position. Of course I love him right now. DotaBASED has him in the top ten most played heroes, with a consistent 54/55% winrate. He is played most at Immortal (top 5), and play-rate decreases consistently to Herald (26th). Here is why Undying is strong, and how synergies increase Undying’s power.

What Undying Does: Laning with Winter Wyvern

As Undying I level the first point in Decay, unless a fight at a rune requires Tombstone. Then I alternate Decay and Tombstone. At level 5 I’m either 3-1-1, or 3-0-2. Additional points in Decay increase its damage and significantly reduce the cooldown. Leveling up Tombstone makes it harder to destroy, spawns zombies faster, and slightly reduces its cooldown. My Immortal friend despises this, but I normally start with Orb of Venom, Magic Stick, a Blood Grenade, and tangos or iron branches. Undying’s key lane strength is his endurance. Most supports can’t bully him out of lane. Spamming Decay constantly steals enemy HP, reallocating it to himself. The range on Decay is enough that he can trade with ranged supports. If anyone comes within melee range, Undying strikes hard with the stolen strength. The Orb prevents them from escaping his punishing swings. And if anyone commits on Undying in their weakened state, placing a Tombstone forces them to flee or perish. At low levels most heroes don’t have the attack speed to kill both the Tombstone and Undying. They often can’t kill either, because while they panic in indecision, you kill them.

For items, I look to my allies. One friend of mine has been playing a position three Winter Wyvern. According to DotaBASED, Winter Wyvern is Undying’s 7th best synergy. Alone, Winter Wyvern is supposed to win 47.5%, while Undying is supposed to win 54.5%. Averaging those out, would result in a 51% win rate. Instead, they win 55.5% of their games. DotaBASED says they have a 4.51% Synergy. That’s the difference between expected win rate and actual win rate (55.5 – 51 = 4.5) Why is this combination so powerful?

In lane Undying provides the front line to protect Wyvern. Undying is tanky. If the enemy commits on either, Undying places a Tombstone. If Undying finds himself in trouble, a single point in Cold Embrace from Wyvern protects him against all physical damage. Imagine, Tombstone is out, Wyvern is in the back, casting Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast, while the enemy heroes are hitting Undying as he is completely protected from physical damage by Cold Embrace. The enemy has to retreat while zombies eat them alive. But they can’t retreat. Tombstone, Arctic Burn, and Splinter Blast (along with a Blood Grenade or two), slows them to a crawl (slows = 5% for each zombie attack, 16% level one Arctic Burn, 30% Splinter Blast, 15% Blood Grenade). The enemy can’t retreat. They can’t kill Undying between the Cold Embrace Protection and the multiple Decay stacks he inflicted. So they die fighting, or they die running.

After the Lane: Items and Early Game

Undying flexes to fill the team’s needs. This includes offlane Winter Wyvern. My friend plays a right click build with Aghanim’s Scepter, and either Witchblade or Mage Slayer. Winter Wyvern position three does not want to lead, and does not want to tank. She snipes from the edges of battle, while flying. Undying position four performs the classic tank responsibilities; run in front and absorb enemy spells. Undying builds common position three aura items: Guardian Greaves, Pipe, and Crimson Guard. I also like the idea of Lotus Orb. And for neutral items I prefer Seeds of Serenity, Philosopher’s Stone (to help buy more items), Dandelion Amulet, and Ascetic’s Cap or Martyr’s Plate. Crucially Undying needs his shard. If he doesn’t get it off the first Tormentor, you need to buy it. The shard lets Undying cast Tombstone on an ally. The ally is placed inside the Tombstone. They must stay in for three seconds, but can stay in for the entire duration. If they leave, another allied hero can hide in the Tombstone by clicking on it. If the Tombstone is destroyed, the hero inside reappears. The shard changes Undying’s playstyle. In the early game, Undying should place the Tombstone at the beginning of battle. The spawning zombies provide vision of enemies, their attacks slow, and zombies build up over time. Beware placing it too early, before the enemy has committed to the attack. If placed too early the enemy can disengage, and the long cooldown on Tombstone is wasted. Later, Tombstone becomes a crucial save. It must be held until an ally is in danger. Unless you are crushing the fights, then keep using it offensively.

Later Battles and Other Synergies

In chaotic battles Undying and Winter Wyvern continue to synergize. Undying and Wyvern both enjoy chaos. Their slows prevent the enemy from retreating. Undying’s zombies provide vision. A position three, right clicking Wyvern with Aghs needs that vision. She uses the vision, her flying movement, and long range attacks, to whittle down enemy health with Arctic Burn. The spell increases attack range by 500 units, while inflicting 10% health burn and 40% movement slow.

With Undying leading into the fight, Wyvern is ready to save him with the Cold Embrace. It has an incredible 1,000 unit range at level four (even level one is 850). Protected by Cold Embrace, Undying often lives long enough for the team to reinforce. If Undying can manage to place his Tombstone and activate the Pipe/Crimson Guard, the enemy, having spent their best spells to kill him, are easily mopped up.

A few other points. I’ve talked about playing a tanky four Undying, but he can also be played as a five. He is still a formidable force in lane. He uses his Tombstone to initiate if the enemy offlane is weak, or protect the carry if the foe dives the tower. If Undying’s team has a normal, tanky, initiating position three, Undying is free to build other items while playing a defensive, supportive position. If Undying’s cores already have Guardian Greaves, Pipe, and Crimson, consider a Glimmer Cape, Lotus Orb, Force Staff, Boots of Bearing, or Spirit Vessel as the situation dictates.

A final word on Undying’s top synergies. Undying’s number one ally is Visage (synergy of 6.53%). This seems similar to Winter Wyvern. They both offer overwhelming slow. Slows stack additively. The slower the foe, the harder it is for them to escape Tombstone Zombies. Undying’s slow also makes it easier for Visage’s Familiars to stick on targets and destroy them. Undying’s second best synergy is with Legion Commander. Both of these are top heroes currently, but together they have a win rate of 61.5%! (Synergy 6.5%). While it might seem surprising that Undying enables melee heroes, both are strong in lane. The repeated draining of strength makes it easier for Legion to win a Duel. And finally, the Tombstone can be placed at the start of a Duel, not to inflict significant damage, but to prevent counter initiation or rescue. Finally, Tinker is Undying’s third best Synergy (5.75%). This makes sense because zombies provide vision for Tinker’s Heat-Seeking Missiles. Similarly, the chaos Undying creates makes it easy for Tinker to act without interruption. Zombies cancel Blink Dagger, making it harder for the enemy to get on Tinker.

If you haven’t tried Undying, consider it, especially at lower levels where he isn’t as played as often, but Tombstone will disrupt a poorly coordinated team. Just don’t pick him if I’m in the game.