Throneward Blight Guide

Blight playstyle: compound the first infection

Blight is the patient attrition legion. Its cheap Plaguebearer has low direct damage, and its first Carrion Hound begins as a fragile melee fighter. They become dangerous together: Rot drains health, an infected death spreads the plague, and the nearby Hound grows from that death. Defiler increases Rot's impact, Pestilence keeps it applied around the front, and Lich trades accumulated stacks for burst.

That dependence makes Blight more demanding than its cheap prices suggest. Buy enough actual bodies to survive first contact, then invest in the effect that the next wave will let you exploit. Compare its role mix with the other seven armies in the legions guide.

How Rot, Contagion and Virulence work

Rot is a damage-over-time effect, not Inferno's three-crystal detonation. Every application adds stacks up to a cap of ten and refreshes the four-second decay timer. Per stack, the current damage rate is 7 + 0.0018 × the target's maximum HP per second. That flat part handles small creeps; the maximum-HP part keeps the plague relevant on a boss. Unrefreshed stacks disappear after four seconds.

When a rotted enemy dies, Contagion reaches up to its three nearest living allies within 2.5 units. Each takes 10 direct damage and receives half the dead enemy's Rot stacks, rounded down. A one-stack death still makes the 10-damage burst, but passes zero stacks; build at least two stacks on a target to start a true infection chain. This spread can itself finish a weak target and continue the chain.

Defiler's Virulence lasts six seconds. During that window, your Rot ticks 35% harder, and new Rot applications last 40% longer. On casting, it also copies half the stacks, rounded down, from the most-rotted enemy to other enemies within 4.5 units of that enemy. If no target has Rot, the damage window opens but no stacks spread. Place a seeder early enough to give Defiler something to amplify.

All five Blight units and current stats

Tier 5 · 35 gold · DPS

Plaguebearer: the cheap seeder

Pestilent Bolt hits one enemy for 18 direct damage and adds three Rot stacks for 22 mana. Its ordinary attacks add eight mana each, so three can charge the bolt without being hit. At 160 HP it belongs behind a body, where repeated bolts keep the timer refreshed and set up Contagion.

Tier 4 · 110 gold · DPS

Carrion Hound: grow it before it has to carry

Each basic hit applies one Rot stack if its target survives. When a rotted enemy dies within 4.5 units, Devour adds three damage and 14 maximum HP, healing the Hound by 14. It can feed eight times per wave and 50 times over its life. The earned stats persist between waves only while that Hound survives; death and respawn reset them.

Tier 3 · 110 gold · Support

Defiler: make the existing plague matter

Virulence spreads stacks from the most-infected enemy to its nearby pack, increases Rot damage by 35% and lengthens newly applied stacks by 40% for six seconds. It does not heal or protect your frontline. Buy it after you have reliable seeders and a fight long enough for the amplification to pay off.

Tier 2 · 240 gold · Tank

Pestilence: durable infection radius

Pestilence has 1,300 HP and three-unit attack range. Basic hits apply one Rot stack, and its 85-mana Miasma adds one stack to every enemy within six units of itself. Miasma has no direct hit: the damage comes from the Rot that follows. Place this unit where a group must pass, not stranded away from the pack.

Tier 1 · 270 gold · DPS

Lich: turn stacks into a finish

Reap deals 12 damage per Rot stack to infected enemies within 2.5 units of its target, then removes those stacks. If nothing near its target has Rot, Lich holds its charge and continues ordinary attacks rather than wasting the cast. Against a boss, it supplies timely damage; against a swarm, consider whether consuming the stacks costs you a larger Contagion chain.

A formation that keeps Rot near the Hound

Blight cares about where enemies die. Put Pestilence at the front of a developed board to collect contact and apply Miasma across the arriving group. A Carrion Hound should fight just behind or beside it, close enough to feed from rotted deaths without taking every first hit. Plaguebearers and Defiler need clear, protected rear positions; Lich can stand with the backline and target the infected cluster.

This is a later role map, not a starting shopping list. The tested opening starts with just one Plaguebearer in a central rear tile and a Hound toward the incoming side. Do not save for Pestilence while a current wave needs an immediate body. The unit placement guide covers first contact and spacing against area damage.

A tested Blight opening through Wave 5

In 30 seeds of the current solo simulator, this one-Plaguebearer → Hound → second Plaguebearer → two more Plaguebearers → Defiler sequence cleared Waves 1–5 without leaks. The surviving Hound reached 32 Devour feedings after Wave 5 in those runs. That is a solo baseline, not a guarantee against PvP sends, alternate placement or a changed game version; buy an extra early seeder or sturdier contact if your actual clear looks unsafe.

When to buy each part of the plague

Carrion Hound and Lich ask different timing questions. The 110-gold Hound benefits from joining early and surviving many rotted deaths. The 270-gold Lich converts a prepared infection into immediate damage, useful when a boss has too much health for ordinary ticks. A 60-gold worker may build longer-term income, but delaying the Hound can cost several waves of growth; weigh that tradeoff with the economy guide.

Where Blight's timing gets tested

Blight in PvP and arenas

In PvP, sent mercenaries arrive at the tail of the scheduled wave. A late durable send may reach your Hound after the small creeps have already died, leaving fewer nearby rotted deaths to feed it. Check whether your infection sources can reapply Rot to that second threat and whether your front remains intact. The mercenary guide explains send timing and roles.

After Waves 10 and 20, arenas copy the placed formation. Keep the Hound near likely kills and Plaguebearers safely behind the contact line. Pestilence's six-unit Miasma is strongest where both armies meet; Defiler needs a rotted enemy to spread from. Lich can finish an infected, high-health target, but a Reap kill that strips its Rot will not generate Contagion or Devour. Evaluate whether immediate damage or another feed chain wins that particular fight.

Seven Blight mistakes to avoid