Dreadlord ( Warcraft III ) Dreadlords are incredibly powerful demon s who wield the powers of darkness and mental domination . These cunning , malefic beings once served as the demon Kil ' jaeden ' s most trusted lieutenants . Yet , at Kil ' jaeden ' s request , the vampiric Dreadlords were sent to watch over the Lich King Ner ' zhul , and ensure that he carried out his orders to sow chaos in the mortal world . Though Dreadlords have been known to revel in the gore of single combat , they generally prefer to manipulate and beguile their enemies from the shadows . Hero names . Terrordar , Nerothos , Bleakill , Necros , Fearoth , Dethecus , Maldibion , Nochthitus , Balnazzar , Rashgarroth , Aramachus , Zilfallon , Lorthiras , Zenedar , Mullioch , Algammon , Banehallow , Ven ' Gyr . Information . The Dreadlord is a powerful and popular Hero . Typically most Undead players pick the Death Knight as their first Hero followed by the Lich , and Dreadlord is taken as third , because he ' s used as a support hero . All of his abilities are especially useful . The main reason players pick the Dreadlord first is for Sleep , which is useful against enemy Hero rushes and for disabling powerful Creep s for the early Creeping part of the game . The Vampiric Aura also heals Ghouls when they attack the Creeps and enemy units that do not have Spell Immunity . Vampiric Aura is very useful in team games . Carrion Swarm can be used to damage collections of units . Inferno is helpful for clearing trees to create another front for the enemy to deal with if they are in a location protected by trees . It ' s chaos - based damage also allows it to deal decent damage against all armor types . An inferno also stuns enemies that are within its landing zone , preventing enemy heroes ( which are always targeted first most of the time ) from luring your units in , distracting them from their units and defensive towers and stops channeled spells . While the Dreadlord has a melee attack he isn ' t the best melee fighter . It ' s better to keep the Dreadlord away from combat when facing large opposition . Also , be sure to run away if attacked . It ' s best to give caster items to the Dreadlord rather than melee items but melee items can help . Use the Demon Hunter ' s Mana Burn , surround and kill with melee units , or use ranged units with focused fire . Spells and Abilities . Carrion Swarm . Carrion Swarm can cause great damage to enemy units , especially low hit point units such as ranged units and casters . While many players prefer Sleep , Sleep can only put an enemy unit out of action for a limited time . Also enemy players can just wake up their unit that has been slept . Carrion Swarm on the other hand can noticeably take a large chunk out of the enemy . Carrion Swarm is also useful if another allied Dreadlord in the game is using Vampiric Aura . That frees up some points you can place in Carrion Swarm since they already have Vampiric Aura covered . Carrion Swarm does not hit wards . Sleep . Sleep is an incredibly powerful spell . Good use of Sleep can help determine the outcome of the game . Use Sleep on enemy Heroes to put them out of action . Use Sleep on Heroes that are attempting to run away . Surround them with your Ghouls or Abominations then attack them once they are trapped . Cast Sleep on the most powerful enemy units to take them out of the battle . This can often turn the tide of the battle in your favor . Cast Sleep on the most powerful Creep s before attacking them . You can cast Sleep again on the enemy after they have awoken . This is truly one of the most annoying spells to the enemy . This spell is even more powerful with multiple allied Dreadlords . They can put a whole army to sleep ! Use Sleep on Heroes trying to cast spells that must be maintained such as Blizzard , Death and Decay , Tranquility , Starfall , and Earthquake . This will stop the enemy from casting these spells . The most common way to defeat Sleep is to wake up your unit by attacking it with your own unit . Be sure to stop the unit attacking the slept unit as soon as it wakes up . Sleep becomes less powerful when the enemy attacks their own units to wake them up , but this can still cause control nightmares for the enemy . Sometimes they continue to attack their own units after they are awake . This also shifts their control focus away from attacking you and more on waking up their own units which is in your favor . Night Elves can use the Demon Hunter ' s Mana Burn or a Wisp ' s Detonate . Just kill the Dreadlord . Dreadlords are pretty easy to kill if you surround them with units and trap them from escaping . Vampiric Aura . The Vampiric Aura works very well with Ghouls . It is especially useful in large team games with allied Grunts , Footmen , Knights , Tauren , and Bears . Be reminded that Vampiric Aura doesn ' t work with ranged units so it ' s not useful with Crypt Fiends or any other ranged units . Inferno ( Ultimate ) . Inferno is an ability which allows you to summon an Infernal . Infernals have permanent Immolation and do Chaos damage which allows them to do full damage to all armor types including buildings . Although the Infernal can be used to clear trees , it is not recommended if the player has Meat Wagon s instead , because of it ' s large cooldown and only the impact fells trees , not the Infernal itself . Meat Wagons are better suited for this role . Inferno is useful for casting on an enemy army . It ' s a great way to spawn in the Infernal because enemy units in the area of effect take damage and are stunned when Infernal lands . Inferno can be used to interrupt spells that must be channeled . Notes . The Dreadlords cannot attack flying units , but can use Carrion Swarm on them . ( Not usable against creatures immune to magic , such as Golem s . ) Also , The name Gholbine shares name with a Keeper of the Grove . Strategy . Some players typically use the Dreadlord like the Warden . It is a good idea for players to fill the inventory with orbs , thus making him very powerful . The Dreadlord is deadly when you are controlling the Lich and Death Knight . You might use 2 of your heroes so the enemy focuses on them , while you assault an enemy town .