DK Ghoul Tier 3 Expo vs KotG DH

Harass with the Death Knight and Lich while teching straight to tier 3, then take your own expansion with a Sacrificial Skull and move into Banshees, Fiends and an Abomination for the late game.

By Quberte· Updated 24 September 2026

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About this build

Full guideDK Ghoul Tier 3 Expo vs KotG DH

This build lets you tech tier 3 while harassing. Your aim is to slow the Night Elf creeping, steal experience and hopefully slow their expansion as a result. You reach tier 3 relatively quickly, get the orb and set up a counter expansion, which together with a good harass puts you in position for the late game.

Advanced. You must multitask and micro the Death Knight while harassing and creep with your Ghouls alone.

Build order · 22 steps

#	Food	Instruction
1	5	Queue 2 Acolytes immediately, send Acolytes to gold and your Ghoul to wood.
2	6	Use the starting Acolyte to build an Altar and a Ziggurat.
3	7	Use the 5th Acolyte (the one that just finished training) to build a Crypt.
4	7	Build a 6th Acolyte to build the shop and scout the Ancient of War position and starting hero.
5	15	Start the Death Knight and the 1st Ghoul from your Crypt.
6	15	Make a 2nd Ziggurat and make Ghouls until 23 food, putting all Ghouls on wood.
7	19	When the DK pops out, buy a Rod of Necromancy and head straight to the Night Elf side. Steal creeps when possible, prioritising highest level first.
8	21	Get the Backpack.
9	23	Start the tier 2 tech and use your 6 Ghouls to creep the nearest green camp. Pick up items with your Ghouls.
10	23	Go to 29 food with Ghouls (3 more).
11	25	The DK is likely low on mana and HP from harassing, so grab a Staff of Teleportation to save Acolytes from Keeper harass or to bail out Ghouls.
12	27	Make a Graveyard and then the 3rd Ziggurat.
13	29	With 4 medium-health Ghouls from the first camp and 3 new ones, creep a larger camp (ideally a expo camp such as the one on Last Refuge).
14	29	Get the Lich immediately, tech tier 3, then Slaughterhouse, then 4th Ziggurat in that order.
15	34	Once the Lich is out, buy a Rod of Necromancy and keep harassing with both heroes, prioritising their 2nd hero.
16	34	Make the 1st Fiend and 1st Statue. Get the 2nd Statue immediately after the first.
17	43	The 2nd Statue finishes just before tier 3. Queue Destroyer Form and Ghoul Frenzy. Return to buy the Orb of Corruption and a Sacrificial Skull.
18	43	Use the scouting Acolyte to build a Haunted Gold Mine and a Ziggurat first, then a Necropolis. Use the Skull to get an early Nerubian Tower up.
19	43	Creep defensively, but aim to take the red spot as it is easy to clear now.
20	43	Get another Statue and Fiend. Scout the Night Elf base to see if they tech tier 3.
21	49	If the expansion is secure and the elf is going tier 3, make 2 Temples of the Damned towards Master Banshees.
22	-	Saturate the expansion, mass Banshees (Adept then Master), 1 Abomination and Fiends. Possess Bears and focus Dryads; the Keeper is always a nuke target.