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Knights are one of the most dominant mid-game strategies. Their shield (which can stack with itself) gives them 70% magic resistance as well as 35 armor, making them extremely durable against all kinds of lineups. Thanks to the possibility to branch into secondary synergies like Dragons, Trolls, or Undead, they have a lot of late game potential as well!
The
goal is to get to (3) or (6) Knights and to exploit their durability to
dominate the mid game on a winning streak. In the late game, you can branch out
into a secondary synergy that gives you enough damage to secure the victory.
Batrider: The only cheap knight, but also the weakest one.
Often you’ll have him in your opening strat but sell him later in favor of more
powerful units. He is part of the (4) Trolls synergy, so definitely keep him if
you intend to go for that route.
Luna: The damage dealer in the early-mid game Knight
lineup but also a very potent late game carry if you put damage items on her.
Unlike other right-click carries, she deals AoE damage. This is, of course,
great for winning rounds as a whole, but bear in mind that she charges the mana
of multiple enemies at once. Keeping a lvl1
Luna without items in your lineup might be a liability – try to upgrade her to
increase her overall impact.
Chaos Knight: A Demon Knight with great stats. He is tanky, provides some utility from his stun and if he is your only Demon – he deals very decent DPS because of the Demon passive. A key unit for a strong Knight opener.
Omni Knight: Omni has high armor, but low DPS. His main selling point, however, is his ultimate – he not only heals a unit but deals damage to enemy units focusing it in an AoE. This makes him a great frontline hero. Combine him with at least one other Human to benefit from the (2) Silence chance.
Abaddon: Another low DPS tank. In the early-mid game, you want him to be the first unit enemy heroes hit. His ultimate together with the Knight bonus extend his life for quite a while. The most valuable thing about Abaddon is his Undead tribal – it makes it very easy to get the (2) Undead bonus, which is a great way to increase the otherwise low Knight DPS in the early-mid game with the help of Drow Ranger or Necrophos later on.
Dragon Knight: the centerpiece of the Knight lineup thanks to
his Dragon tribal. Once you gather the three Dragons, he transforms instantly,
which makes him one of the most powerful damage-dealers in the game. Keep him
on the frontlines (or on the bench) until you get the three dragons, and then
put him on the backlines to give him as much time as possible to auto-attack.
Upgrading him to two stars is vital, as the two-star transformation deals AoE
damage (and, ofc., increases his stats significantly). Three stars are great, but very hard to obtain because the
Dragon synergy is popular and often multiple people are trying to buy Dragon
Knights even if they are not initially going for a Knight lineup.
You usually start with a Batrider, but he is individually quite weak so be ready to bench him if you have better options (a two-star Bat with the Knight synergy is still better than most one-star units). Remember that you need (3) Knights for the early game synergy.
The key unit who will win you the early rounds is Chaos Knight. With the Knights shield, your lineup will be tanky, and CK will be able to clean-up in the meantime. If you get an early Abaddon, it’s a great idea to buy a Drow Ranger as well for the armor reduction bonus.
Of course, continue buying Knights. Decide if you will stay on (3) Knights or if you will be aiming at (6) – both options are viable. Even though (6) is understandably stronger, it’s relatively hard to get and (3) Knights gives you more lineup flexibility.
Decide which secondary synergies you will go for. Trolls and Dragons should always be in your head as an option when you’re going Knights, but other paths are also possible – Undead + Hunters, even Mages.
Don’t forget about late-game AoE control units like Kunkka, Tide, Medusa, etc. Knights don’t have control units of their own!
Remember that a Knight lineup is relatively expensive to upgrade. In order to be successful, you want to be riding a win streak while also saving gold for interest in the mid game. Refreshing the shop aggressively for upgrades doesn't usually work with Knights.
Frontline: Omni Knight, Chaos Knight, Abaddon, Dragon Knight, Disruptor
Backline: Batrider, Luna, Troll Warlord, Shadow Shaman, Witch Doctor
Synergy: (6) Knights, (4) Trolls, (2) Humans, (2) Shamans, (1) Demon
The (4) Trolls synergy benefits Knights a lot because it increases their otherwise lacking DPS significantly. Luna, for example, with a couple of damage items and the (4) Trolls attack speed buff is one of the best damage dealers in the game.
Keep DK on the frontline but to the sides. This way he will take damage to help him transform, but wouldn’t take too much.
This lineup doesn’t have any good control besides Witch Doctor (which is sub-par late game). Get Tide/Kunkka/Medusa/Disruptor as your 10th unit or even swap-out one or two of your lower level Knights (not Bat) in order to include the AoE disables sooner in your lineup. Put the Knights back in when you hit lvl10 if you can afford to do so.
Frontline: Batrider, Omni Knight, Abaddon, Necrophos, Tide
Backline: Shadow Fiend, Troll Warlord, Dazzle, Witch Doctor
Synergy: (3) Knights, (4) Trolls, (3) Warlocks, (2) Undead, (1) Demon
In this example, you go for (3) Warlocks in the late game in addition to the Trolls. The life steal is very strong combined with the high auto-attack DPS of your lineup. Trolls already have one Warlock (Witch Doctor), so you need two more to make it work. Since you don’t have CK in this lineup, Shadow Fiend is the best DPS option – he also benefits a lot from the Troll attack speed bonus thanks to his high-damage attacks. Necro is also great because he provides the (2) Undead synergy with Abaddon.
Like in the lineup above, you might have to swap out one or two of your Knights to get AoE control units on lvl8 or 9 instead of lvl 10.
P.S. instead of going Warlocks and Shadow Fiend, you can go for Dragons and CK. A lvl2 or 3 DK with the Troll buff is a force to be reckoned with.
Frontline: Batrider, Chaos Knight, Omniknight, Abaddon
Backline: Dragon Knight, Luna, Wyvern, Viper
Synergy: (6) Knights, (3) Dragons, (2) Humans
(6) Knights + (3) Dragons is one of the most-well rounded strategies in the game. The (6) Knights bonus is much stronger than the (3) Knights bonus not only because of the higher shield chance but because it protects all non-knight units as well. This makes it the best defensive synergy in Auto Chess against magic damage.
The 8 units above are the core of the lineup. As your other two luxury units you can decide what you need based on the game. Terrorblade is a good addition if you need more damage - the (6) Knight bonus benefits him a great deal (the downside is that CK + TB will lose their pure damage if you don't include AM as well). A more standard option would be to include control units like Kunkka, Medusa, Tide, Disruptor. Last but not least, you can get 1 additional Undead for the armor reduction (the (2) Undead bonus), which benefits your Dragon Knight a great deal.
Frontline: Chaos Knight, Omni Knight, Kunkka, Lycan
Backline: Dragon Knight, Puck, Wyvern, Lina, Keeper
Synergy: (3) Knights, (3) Dragons, (6) Humans, (3) Mages
The (3) Dragon synergy is the traditional way to make Knights into a strong late game strategy. If you have a high-level Puck, it might be a good idea to think about the (3) Mage synergy as well – starting from max Mana and the low CD of his spell will allow him to cast it multiple times per round. [Alternatively, if your Viper is a high level, you might want to think about (3) Assassins + (3) Elves (with Luna)].
In this example, the other mages are KotL and Lina, which allows you to reach (4) or in this case (6) Humans. The chance to silence shouldn’t be underestimated. Silencing the enemy frontline AoE disables (Tide, Kunkka, Disruptor, Medusa) could win you fights in the late game.
It’s usually worthwhile to try to get Dragon Knight to lvl3. Even if you don’t succeed, you can always use 2 two-star Dragon Knights in your lineup for increased DPS.
Frontline: Chaos Knight, Omni Knight, Abaddon, Medusa,
Backline: Drow Ranger, Sniper, Necro, Lich
Synergy: (4) Knights, (4) Undead, (3) Hunters
The Knights into Abaddon + Drow Ranger or Lich for the (2) Undead synergy is a very standard and reliable Knight opening. By going for it, you make it easy to go for the Hunter or Undead secondary synergies.
In this example, you go for the (3) Hunters and (4) Undead strat. The armor reduction increases significantly the DPS not only of the Hunters but also of your other units – most importantly CK, especially if you manage to get him to lvl3.
(P.S. It is also possible to go for a (6) Hunters strategy with only (2) Undead out of this opening, but it will be harder to get because it requires lvl9 and Tide.)
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this guide useful and enjoyable. If you did, you can check out our other Dota Auto Chess content in our blog or in this Auto Chess guide collection.
