Undying

Undying the Almighty Dirge is a melee Strength Hero who serves as a formidable tank and a dangerous spellcaster. His abilities force opponents to either kill him or suffer powerful debuffs in a teamfight. Decay is a spammable ability that steals enemies' Strength in an area, making them more fragile and Undying himself more durable as the fight goes on while also being exceptionally potent during the early laning phase, leaving your opponents with mere scraps of health. Soul Rip can act as both a powerful heal or nuke, redirecting the flow of living energy to a target. By ripping some of the health of his ally or enemy in an area, the target can be healed if an ally, or damaged if an enemy. This is empowered by Tombstone, which acts as a static tank by summoning Zombies to slow Undying's foes while active. With the Zombies summoned, Soul Rip can perform to its fullest, while Decay weakens Undying's foes. Finally, Undying can transform into a horrific Flesh Golem. This transformation increases all allied damage by a significant percentage, and helps keep him alive as his team kills the enemy. Monstrous and truly sadomasochistic, Undying finds great pleasure in keeping himself alive and vital, while his adversaries suffer as he delivers death to the field. With powerful abilities that allow him to perform well in large fights, the Dirge may never cease.

Tips

 * Decay is very useful even if left at level 1. Max it when team battles begin to start: you can spam it even more and make enemies squishier.
 * Undying can be played in many ways: if you're going for a more supportive role, use your Tombstone and your Flesh Golem to slow the enemies while spamming Decay, then let your lane partner get the kill. Otherwise, use Soul Rip to finish a Hero while there are many creeps nearby: this way it will deal more damage.
 * Don't use Soul Rip to harass, but use it to heal a friendly hero or to finish off enemies. This is more effective if there are many units nearby, such as creeps if you're laning, or heroes if you're initiating.
 * Remember that Soul Rip can be used to heal your tombstone.
 * While initiating, use Tombstone and Flesh Golem, then Decay/Soul Rip: this way these abilities will deal more damage.
 * Though his spells are individually quite cheap, you will almost always have mana problems since both Soul Rip and especially Decay are very spammable. Consider getting Arcane Boots during the laning phase, then disassembling it once you have enough to buy the remaining pieces of a Bloodstone. You can then convert your standard boots to Phase Boots allowing you the mobility and chase power to keep Flesh Golem's powerful aura on the right targets during a teamfight.
 * Another good item for Undying in the early game is Soul Ring. After using Soul Ring, you can cast decay for free. If you hit 2 or more Heros with this spell, you make up for the HP cost for Soul Ring.
 * If you don't have enough money to buy a Bloodstone in time or you'd prefer cheaper items, try to make yourself as tanky as possible: if you're initiating, enemies will target you first. That's why you need an early Vanguard and/or a Hood of Defiance if the opposing team has a lot of nukers. Other useful items that increase your HP are Rod of Atos, which will probably solve most of your mana problems too, and Heart of Tarrasque.
 * If a ward spot is nearby at the outset of a fight, remember that you can cast your Tombstone on top of it, making it invisible to enemy heroes (unless they have a ward up there). You can also use the Tombstone as a temporary ward anywhere thanks to it's long duration, but this is not usually advised as it has a lengthy cooldown.
 * Should the enemy team have an Earthshaker, it is unwise to place a tombstone at the beginning of a teamfight. Each zombie will cause the echo to deal extra damage, likely obliterating your entire team (or at the very least severely injuring them).
 * Zombies are magic immune, but will take full damage from AoE physical abilities. Be aware of heroes with these abilities that can easily deal with your Tombstone zombies, such as Gyrocopter's flak cannon, Axe's counter helix or Bristleback's quill spray.
 * If Naga Siren is on your team, be aware that Tombstone will summon zombies even when the enemy targets are sleeping and untargetable. This can be used to your advantage.
 * In a fight, a Broodmother's Spiderlings can be a valuable weapon. The mass amounts of spiderlings will easily bring your Soul Rip to maximum effect in the late-game, making her a powerful partner to gank with.

Trivia

 * In DotA, his hero name was Dirge, and his hero title was Undying.
 * Undying was originally an intelligence hero. His skill set was completely changed upon becoming a strength hero:
 * Raise Dead was his former third ability, in which he can summon five zombies at will. When a zombie dies, Undying rejuvenates a percentage of their health. Because this ability didn't require corpses, it was an excellent tool for jungling, pushing, and overpowering a hero.
 * Heartstopper Aura was originally his second ability when he was an intelligence hero. This aura degenerates the health regeneration of his enemies who stand in his area. When he was changed to a STR hero, this ability was transferred to.
 * Plague, his old ultimate, curses a target to be greatly slowed and take amplified damage. The target is then cursed with a disease that infects his nearby allied units, afflicting them with the same effect. This is a great ultimate for disorienting positions, ganking, as well as pushing.
 * Undying makes several references to the Left 4 Dead series, saying names of special infected, campaign names, and even the title itself in his dialogue.
 * One notable reference is Undying's line, " undying_rare_01.mp3 No dead are safe from Blueheart Bob."; this phrase is highly similar to the famous Left 4 Dead "Chicago Ted" graffiti line ("No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted").
 * Undying also references the Half Life series in a rival line towards Tinker (" undying_rival_09.mp3 For Lamarr."). Dr. Kleiner, who shares his voice actor with Tinker, has a pet headcrab named Lamarr. Headcrabs are small, parasitic creatures that attach themselves to the head of their victims, after which the victims turn into zombies.
 * Undying's taunt against a reference to the famous Parrot Sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus (" undying_rival_05.mp3 Where is your ex-parrot?").
 * Undying's taunt against is a reference to the 6.72's leaked changelog, where Invoker's name "Kael" was mistakenly translated into "Carl". (" undying_ally_10.mp3 Carl? Is that you?")
 * A dirge is a sombre song of mourning or grieving, typically performed at a funeral.
 * Undying's line, " undying_purch_02.mp3 Shop smart." is a reference to the Army of Darkness movie.