Firelord Fast Expo

HoT's special: Tree of Life planted at the natural at 7 food, a Tavern Firelord whose Lava Spawns creep the expansion, Archers to hold, then a two-base tech to Marksmanship and Mountain Giants.

By HoT· Updated 25 September 2026

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About this build

Full guideHot’s Firelord Fast Expo Build

The Firelord fast expo is HoT's latest special and probably the fastest expansion build in the game from a build start perspective. It takes advantage of being able to sustain early pressure with Lava Spawns: with good control, a Firelord, Archers and some Wisps can hold off most early aggression while the second base pays off.

Advanced. The whole build depends on holding the expansion with very little.

Build order · 25 steps

#	Food	Instruction
1	5	Move all 5 Wisps to wood, but 1 harvests where you will place your Tree of Life (near your natural expansion).
2	5	Build 2 Wisps and send both to gold.
3	7	Once you hit 185 wood build the Tree of Life, move 3 Wisps to gold and keep 1 on wood.
4	6	Queue up 4 more Wisps which all go to lumber.
5	10	Build an Altar at 50 lumber and then an Ancient of War at 60 lumber.
6	9	Build 2 Wisps which go to lumber.
7	10	Do the shop trick for the 2nd Wisp above (start and cancel an Ancient of Wonders while the last Wisp is queued). Send this Wisp to the Tavern.
8	11	Build a Moon Well once you have enough lumber.
9	11	Build a Wisp which goes to lumber.
10	12	Train the Firelord at the Tavern. Uproot the newly made Tree of Life and eat a tree near the expo so it survives the creep damage.
11	17	Build the 2nd Moon Well once the lumber is reached.
12	17	Summon Lava Spawns to help you creep the expansion camp.
13	17	Once the Ancient of War finishes, build an Archer.
14	19	Build 2 Wisps which go to lumber.
15	20	Build an Archer, build a Wisp, and move one Wisp to the expo (for defence and gold mining).
16	23	Around now you have 5 gold Wisps, 11 wood Wisps, 1 hero, two Lava Spawns, one Archer and the expo creep finished (3:16 game marker).
17	23	Build an Archer (or even two if being pressured).
18	25	Tech to tier 2 and move 3-4 lumber Wisps from your main to the expo gold mine, building Wisps at the expo.
19	26	Build an Archer and keep building Wisps to fill the mine and replace lumber Wisps (5-7 depending on scouts and detonates you lost).
20	30	Build an Ancient of Wonders and a Moon Well.
21	39	Get a 2nd hero (Naga or Panda are great choices). Keep building Archers, up to 7.
22	-	Tech tier 3, build a Hunter's Hall and Archers until you are right below 50 food.
23	-	Once the Hunter's Hall finishes, build 2 Ancients of Lore.
24	50	Tier 3 finishes: get Marksmanship.
25	50	Break upkeep with a Shredder if needed, a Priestess of the Moon and 2 Mountain Giants.