Crypt Lord (Warcraft III)

These ancient, evil behemoths were once the mighty kings of the subterranean spider kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. Though the Nerubians fell before the wrath of the Lich King during the fabled War of the Spider, the insidious Crypt Lords were swayed over to the Lich King's ranks and granted considerable power and the immortality of undeath. Now the giant, thundering beasts serve as the Lich King's mightiest warriors and the guardians of the Scourge's holdings in Northrend.

Hero names
Thebis-Ra, Typhis-Ahn, Anubiros, Memphis-Ahn, Horus'aman, Nephri'thos, Arak-arahm, Tuten'arak, Pharoh-moth.

Information
Crypt Lords are immensely durable Undead heroes, much more compared to the Death Knight and Dreadlord. They possess high Strength and a respective amount of growth for it but are lacking in Agility and Intelligence.

Impale is a powerful ability for Crypt Lords, essentially being a multi-hitting version of the Mountain King's Storm Bolt in return for less damage and only being able to strike ground units.

Spiked Carapace allows the Crypt Lord to take more punishment by giving him extra armor.

They're essentially notable for wading into the midst of an intense battle and taking heavy amounts of punishment, thanks to their high health and Spiked Carapace providing the Crypt Lord with additional armor to protect him from standard attacks. Crypt Lords will benefit greatly from health and mana boosting items so they can make the most use out of their health and spells.

Despite this, most players generally prefer the Death Knight and Lich because of their versatility, but the Crypt Lord is very effective when given the proper items and training.

Impal

 * Slams the ground with the Crypt Lord's massive claws, shooting spiked tendrils out in a straight line,
 * dealing damage and hurling enemy ground units into the air in their wake.

Impale is a powerful move - while it doesn't do a lot of damage, it temporarily stuns every ground unit it hits on its path. Try to position the Crypt Lord in a position where he can impale the most units to make the most of this spell.

Try to avoid lining up your units in a way the Crypt Lord can incapacitate all of them at once. You should watch out for your Heroes though as most players tend to Impale them and finish them off while they're stunned.
 * Counters

piked Carapace

 * The Crypt Lord forms barbed layers of chitinous armor that increases its defense and returns damage to enemy melee attackers.

Spiked Carapace essentially combines the Ring of Protection items along with a Thorns Aura effect for himself - a perfect set to compliment his high health.

arrion Beetles (Autocast)

 * The Crypt Lord progenerates 1 Carrion Beetle from a target corpse to attack the Crypt Lord's enemies.
 * Beetles are permanent but only 5 can be controlled at a time.

Carrion Beetles are essentially great for early Creeping as they can take damage to allow the Crypt Lord to take less in return. Don't worry about them dying - they cost no food and are permanent until killed, or if another beetle is summoned when the limit is reached. They are also good for Death Knights and Liches to restore their health and mana respectively.

Level 2 and 3 Carrion Beetles can also use Burrow, making them ideal scouts if the enemy doesn't have invisibility detection.

Use dispel units to destroy any Carrion Beetles. Invisibility detection also works if they try to burrow underground.
 * Counters

ocust Swarm (Ultimate)

 * Creates a swarm of angry locusts that bite and tear at nearby enemy units.
 * As they chew the enemy flesh, they convert it into a substance that
 * restores hit points to the Crypt Lord when they return.

Use this ability in a hectic fight - with many enemies around, the Crypt Lord is guaranteed to recover more than he can take in damage if he isn't being focused on.

Focus on the Crypt Lord if he activates the spell - the locusts summoned immediately die off (signified by loud screeching) if he teleports or is killed.
 * Counters

Quotes

 * See Warcraft III Crypt Lord quotes