Front line · mana aura · sustain · utility
Enter first, call the target, keep Brilliance on both heroes, and add the counter unit the Huntress shell lacks.
ARRANGED TEAM INTEL
Know your role.
Win the matchup.
Choose the four races and the map. Get the build, expansion call, pivots, counters, heroes, and items that matter for your army.
4 player races15 enemy pairings13 current W3C maps4,200 decision paths
01
SET THE LOBBY
Build your matchup
Your race is remembered on this device
Showing Human + Night Elf vs Orc + Undead · Any / unknown map. Archmage pressure → Mountain King caster support. Fast expansion: Conditional.
YOUR GAME PLAN · ALLIANCE
Archmage pressure → Mountain King caster support
Use Footmen and Water Elementals to own the first fights, reach Keep without going passive, then become the team’s dispel, control, and siege toolbox.
GUIDE TYPEStable mid-game controlReplay-derived reference opening; matchup pivots are mechanics-based synthesis.
Front line for the flank
Your Footmen, Water Elementals, aura, and dispel create the stable center while Night Elf attacks the retreat angle.
Deny the chained pickoff
Grunt/Fiend pressure, Hex/Ensnare/Web with Coil–Nova, Walker/Statue sustain, and Batrider/Destroyer/Wyrm traps.
02 · OPENING SCRIPT
What you should build
Times are order and queue targets, not completion promises. Preserve the priority order when the map, creep route, travel, or pressure changes the clock.
HUMAN BUILD ORDER17 ordered checkpoints
| Time / target | Exact command | Trigger / purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 0:005 Peasants · all touch gold | Queue Peasant #6 immediately. Let all five starting Peasants deliver one gold trip, then begin pulling the opening builders.COREREPLAY TIME | The first gold returns fund the three-building opening without stopping Peasant production. |
| 0:06–0:20Peasants #6–8 assigned | Order Altar first, Farm #1 next, then Barracks. New Peasants refill the mine to five; completed builders go to lumber.COREREPLAY TIME | This is the fast-altar shell: hero, supply, and Footman production all start without an idle queue. |
| 0:55–1:109–11 Peasants · no cap | Order Farm #2 around 0:56 and Archmage around 1:08. Rally the Altar toward the first safe creep route.COREREPLAY TIME | Farm #2 protects the Archmage plus early Footman reservations. |
| 1:20–1:50Archmage queued · Footmen #1–2 | Queue Footman #1 around 1:20, Footman #2 around 1:42, and Farm #3 around 1:47. Skill Water Elemental first.COREREPLAY TIME | Two Footmen plus Water Elemental create the safe first camp and an immediate scouting option. |
| 1:25–2:0512+ Peasants · defense check | Place a Scout Tower around 1:28; upgrade it to Arcane around 2:00 only when the scout shows summons, hero pressure, or a worker rush.SCOUTAPPROX | IF: Summon hero, worker pressure, or a fast two-player lane is confirmed.Buy the defensive tower only when it protects the tech path from a visible threat. |
| 2:10–3:10Footmen #3–5 · 5 gold | Keep Peasant production moving, add Footmen #3–5, and send one Footman or Peasant through both enemy production lines.COREAPPROX | Reach Archmage level 2 without sharing the teammate’s first camp, then identify the first real counter requirement. |
| 2:45–3:455–7 Footmen · 24–30 food | Cap the normal opening at 5–7 Footmen. Add the next Farm before the block and research Defend only against a real piercing commitment.SCOUTGAME STATE | IF: Two ranged production lines or roughly six piercing units are forecast.The Footman shell must be large enough to hold contact but small enough to preserve the Keep timing. |
| 3:50–4:20≈15 Peasants · 5 gold / rest lumber | Order Keep once the first pressure shell is funded. The reference replay command was 4:10; keep the Footmen active instead of retreating to watch the upgrade.COREREPLAY TIME | Keep unlocks the Mountain King, Priests, dispel, and the adaptable counter slot. |
| FIRST CONTACTHuman + Night Elf vs Orc + Undead | Meet after separate level-2 creep routes; Human shows center, Night Elf arrives from the side.MATCHUPGAME STATE | IF: Track both Tier 2 support buildings and buy a save item before the disable chain comes online.Win condition: Keep formation, remove Statues/Walkers, and punish whichever ranged or melee half is left unsupported. |
| 4:20–5:15Teching · 30–38 food | Add Farms before 36/42, build Arcane Vault around 5:00, and replace Town Portal if it was spent. Carry Regeneration and Clarity for the team reset.COREAPPROX | The team stays on the map while the Keep is vulnerable and production is still Tier 1. |
| 5:15–6:25Lumber bank for 2 Sanctums | Preserve Footmen, maintain five on gold, and avoid a speculative Blacksmith or Workshop before the enemy tech is identified.SCOUTGAME STATE | IF: No early air structure or fortified expansion requires a different production building.The double-Sanctum spike fails when its lumber is spent on an unused side branch. |
| 6:25–6:50Tier 2 · leave food for hero/casters | Immediately queue Mountain King and order two Arcane Sanctums. Powerbuild only while the team controls the approach. Skill Storm Bolt first.COREREPLAY TIME | Bolt plus fast Priests turns the first Tier-2 engagement into a controlled focus window. |
| Scout camp + route firstAny / unknown map · Conditional | Fast expansion: Conditional. You expand; your teammate holds the map.MAPGAME STATE | IF: Every green expansion gate remains true and no cancel trigger has fired.Map call: Use the generic gate: vision, ally cover, and no active two-player pressure. |
| 6:45–7:453 Priests · Adept Training | Queue the first Priest from each Sanctum, the third from the first free queue, then research Priest Adept Training.COREAPPROX | Three Priests provide enough healing and Dispel volume to support both living armies without overbuilding casters. |
| 7:45–9:0045–56 food · counter slot | Add 1–2 Spell Breakers only into useful enemy magic. Replace that spend with Mortars versus towers or Rifles/Flying Machines versus air.MATCHUPGAME STATE | IF: Enemy buffs, tower concentration, or air tech has been identified.The last production slot answers the scouted composition instead of repeating a generic build. |
| 8:00–10:00Three builders · map control | Take a delayed Town Hall only when the ally can hold the map. Keep all three builders together and do not fund static defense until the attack route is known.MAPAPPROX | IF: The expansion verdict and every green gate permit the spend.A second base is valuable only if it does not abandon the teammate’s live fight. |
| 9:30+3 Priests/Adept established | Choose one finishing branch: Workshop/Mortars, protected Rifle/air control, Knights, or Gryphons. Add a third hero only after that branch is funded.MATCHUPGAME STATE | Convert the stable caster core into the damage type that ends the selected matchup. |
03 · ECONOMY DECISION
Should your team fast expand?
A fast expansion means committing to a second gold mine before a stable Tier-2 army. The green gates are requirements, not suggestions.
FAST EXPANSIONConditionalPrepare the option, then let scouting decide the final spend.
ANY / UNKNOWN MAP · UNSCOUTED
You expand; your teammate holds the map
Human is the team’s preferred expansion race for this selected pairing.
TARGET ORDER WINDOWScout camp + route firstLow confidence
Unknown layout
Camp not verifiedUnverified. The closest gold mine is not automatically a safe natural.
Protect the rotation
Reveal the spawn pattern, closest enemy lane, and reinforcement path before committing workers.
Do not donate the clear
Scout the camp and its escape route before pulling Militia, Acolytes, Wisps, or an Ancient.
COMMIT ONLY IFall gates green
- ✓Archmage level 2 or equivalent Water Elemental tanking, with enough Militia to clear without crippling lumber.
- ✓Footmen and the teammate are positioned between the enemy route and the new Town Hall.
- ✓Both enemy first heroes and the nearest production wave are accounted for.
- ✓Map gate: Use the generic gate: vision, ally cover, and no active two-player pressure.
CANCEL / DELAY IFone trigger is enough
- ×Coil–Nova/Fiend pressure reaches full mana and your expansion defender lacks a hero save or Town Portal.
- ×Your teammate is forced to Town Portal, loses the front line, or calls that they cannot screen the mine.
- ×Forward tower materials, fast siege, or two early combat-production lines reveal an all-in timing.
- ×Map warning: Scout the camp and its escape route before pulling Militia, Acolytes, Wisps, or an Ancient.
- ×The clear leaves the expanding hero low enough to be killed before the new base can defend itself.
WHY THIS IS LOW CONFIDENCE
No map selected; the verdict is intentionally conservative. The verdict combines current map geometry, race economy mechanics, ally cover, and opponent pressure; it is not a measured expansion win rate. View map source ↗
04 · ARMY PACKAGE
Heroes, units, upgrades, and items
Build the core first. The final production slot comes from scouting—not habit.
SUGGESTED HEROESskill direction
01
Archmage
Water Elemental → Brilliance Aura → Water Elemental → Brilliance AuraEarly tanking, sustained mana, and the safest team aura.
02
Mountain King
Storm Bolt → Thunder Clap → Thunder ClapPickoffs first; area control once enemy ground units clump.
03
Paladin
Holy Light → Devotion AuraThird hero or earlier defensive second when allied living heroes keep getting focused.
Holy Light does not heal Undead allies; use it for Human/Night Elf/Orc units and heroes.04
Blood Mage
Banish → Siphon ManaLate anti-caster control and mana denial.
Use when mana-dependent enemy heroes matter more than raw front-line durability.SUGGESTED UNITScore + counter slot
- Footmen5–7 before tech is the normal shell. Research Defend into heavy piercing focus.
- PriestsYour default first Tier 2 unit versus summons, buffs, and long team fights.
- Spell BreakersAdd for control and stolen buffs; do not mass them into Fiends or other clean physical counters.
- Counter slotMortars vs towers, Rifles/Flying Machines vs air, Knights vs ranged, Gryphons vs exposed heavy melee.
SUGGESTED UPGRADESbuy with purpose
- DefendPrioritize when both opponents lean on piercing units.
- Priest AdeptThe first caster upgrade in most summon/buff matchups.
- Armor before greedA front line that survives keeps your ally’s damage online.
- Fragmentation ShardsOnly with a real Mortar commitment into clustered unarmored targets.
SUGGESTED SHOP ITEMSstock and map permitting
- Town PortalKeep one while armies are split; team games punish isolated deaths.
- Scroll of RegenerationEfficiently resets both living armies after a trade.
- Lesser Clarity PotionSustain Archmage and Mountain King between fights.
- Staff of SanctuaryTier 3 rescue tool for valuable living units and heroes.
- Dust / InvulnerabilityBuy from the appropriate shop when invisibility or hero burst is present.
05 · EXECUTION
How your team takes the fight
One player calls the target. Both armies arrive before either commits.
- 01
Footmen and Water Elementals enter first; the damage dealer approaches from an angle.
- 02
Keep Archmage central so both heroes and casters stay inside Brilliance Aura.
- 03
Use one disable, focus the exposed unit, then chain the next disable as the first ends.
- 04
Priests stay behind the army and manually Dispel the effect that is deciding the fight.
- 05
Do not let your expansion timing split you from a teammate who is already committed.
06 · OPPONENT INTEL
What the enemy pairing changes
Threats are preparations, not claims that every opponent will use the same line.
PAIR THREAT · ORC + UNDEAD
Deny the chained pickoff
Grunt/Fiend pressure, Hex/Ensnare/Web with Coil–Nova, Walker/Statue sustain, and Batrider/Destroyer/Wyrm traps.
OPENING READ
Track both Tier 2 support buildings and buy a save item before the disable chain comes online.
WIN THE MATCHUP
Keep formation, remove Statues/Walkers, and punish whichever ranged or melee half is left unsupported.
O
ENEMY MODULE
Orc
Priests + Sorceress control
Dispel Wolves/Link and Slow the Grunt/Raider engage.
Protected damage
Use Rifles/Gryphons only behind a real front line and with Batrider awareness.
Scout: Find the Tier 2 production split and count Bestiaries, Lodges, Kodos, and Batriders before committing expensive units.
U
ENEMY MODULE
Undead
Paladin / Invulnerability
Protect the Coil–Nova target and Bolt the exposed Lich or Statues.
Mortars/Gryphons
Pressure Statues or heavy ground only after Web and anti-air are controlled.
Scout: Track Graveyard/Crypt count, Slaughterhouse, Sacrificial Pit, and Tier 3 timing; watch hero mana before committing.
07 · SCOUTING DECISIONS
When the default build must change
Scout the trigger, call it out, then change production together.
Enemy air appears
Pause Breakers. Add Rifles, Flying Machines, or Dragonhawks based on scale and armor.
Fortified position
Add a Workshop and 2–3 Mortars; take map control instead of feeding Footmen.
Heavy melee mass
Use Clap and Slow, then move toward Gryphons or a stronger allied front line.
Fast enemy dispel
Stop donating Water Elementals. Win with physical focus, Bolt, and your caster utility.
SCOUT CHECKLIST□ Enemy hero openings□ Second production building□ Early expansion or tower line□ Air-tech structure□ Dispel timing
08 · DO NOT
Mistakes this matchup punishes
Every warning includes the condition that can make the choice valid.
Conditional
Cancel the economy line before it delays the Footman/hero mass needed to keep your teammate alive. Let Night Elf own the first mine only when a Tree is already safely planted or Human must preserve uninterrupted one-base pressure. Do not let both players expand at once unless the opponents have lost an army and cannot punish either base.
Orc + Undead
Do not commit expensive air until Web and Batrider counts are known.
Human + Night Elf
Standing behind the Huntresses or expanding while the Night Elf is already committed.
Respect the counter tools
Do not clump into Chain Lightning/Stomp/Shockwave, chase blindly through Speed Scroll, or ball expensive air into Batriders.
Respect the counter tools
Do not leave wounded heroes in Coil–Nova range, mass unsupported air into Web, or rely on summons/buffs once Destroyers arrive.
Do not mass Riflemen by default
Piercing damage is only 90% into Heavy armor on patch 2.0.4. Use them when air or a protected ranged timing makes sense.
Do not auto-mass Breakers
They are a magic/utility answer, not a universal damage core.
Do not fast-expand through active pressure
Expand after winning space or when the map gives a genuinely safe natural.
09 · METHOD & NOTES
Current, useful, and honest
2.0.4 · reviewed August 28, 2026
The April 21 hotfix contains bug fixes but no later balance pass. Current patch notes override old numeric unit pages.
13 maps · 248 Season 25 matches
The paginated W3Champions snapshot ran June 19–August 27, 2026 with 248 unique IDs. It supports patterns; it does not prove every matchup cell.
4,200 race-and-map selections
Each result combines 300 race states with the 13-map W3Champions Season 25 pool plus a conservative unknown-map fallback.
Read before using exact times.
Standard melee 2v2 guidance for Warcraft III 2.0.4; the map module targets the W3Champions Season 25 pool, which differs from Battle.net. This is a decision aid, not a guaranteed win. Exact timings vary by spawn, route, pressure, and execution. Expansion windows and replay timestamps identify building-order command times—not completion or survival—unless stated otherwise. Random represents an unknown race; select the revealed race as soon as possible. Map verdicts combine current geometry, mechanics, and sparse replay evidence; they are not expansion-specific win rates or proof of universal professional consensus.
Research sources
- Blizzard — Patch 2.0.4 notes
- Blizzard — April 21, 2026 hotfix
- W3Champions — current 2v2 map pool
- W3Champions — Season 25 map changes
- W3Champions — current ladder map binaries
- W3Champions — Season 25 match API
- W3Champions — sample replay endpoint
- w3gjs — replay building-event parser
- W3Champions — mode and race enums
- W3Champions — Human + Night Elf reference replay
- W3Champions — Orc fast-expansion replay (Orc + Human)
- W3Champions — Orc mirror expansion replay
- W3Champions — Undead mirror expansion replay
- W3Champions — Crypt Lord expansion counterexample
- Liquipedia — Human fast-altar build
- Liquipedia — Orc fast-tech build
- Liquipedia — Night Elf fast-Huntress build
- Liquipedia — Undead Fiend build
- WC3 Gym — one-AoW fast Hunts tech
- Blizzard Classic — team strategy fundamentals
- Blizzard Classic — melee map camp thresholds
- Blizzard Classic — creeping fundamentals
- Blizzard Classic — creep-jacking fundamentals
- Blizzard Classic — attack and armor types
- Blizzard Classic — spell and dispel mechanics
Quick glossary
- Creep
- Defeat neutral camps for hero experience, items, and map control.
- Creep-jack
- Attack an opponent while neutral units are also damaging or blocking them.
- Fast expansion
- Commit to a second gold mine before a stable Tier-2 army is established.
- Focus fire
- Both players attack the same reachable target until it is removed.
- Natural
- The expansion gold mine most directly associated with a starting location.
- Dispel
- Remove summons, buffs, or debuffs with the race’s anti-magic tools.
- Front line
- Durable units that take contact and protect ranged damage or casters.
- Tier 2
- Keep, Stronghold, Tree of Ages, or Halls of the Dead tech.
- Pivot
- Change production or upgrades because scouting invalidated the default plan.