Tomb of the Spider Queen

The formation on this map is 4-1: four heroes rotate between middle and top, and one offlaner holds the bottom lane. Middle and top are so close that you rotate on foot; a hero with a speed boost makes the group even more efficient. The four-stack collects gems from two lanes, controls both altars and can collapse on the enemy's top or middle laner. The bottom offlaner needs to survive alone, clear waves and bank gems at the nearby altar without dying with a pocket full of them. Don't split further unless you are winning: a lone hero with 30 gems is the enemy's favorite target.

• 4-1: four rotate middle and top; one offlaner holds bottom.
• No mount needed between middle and top; movement speed effects pay off here.
• The offlaner banks at the altar nearest bottom and never carries a big stack into a duel.

There is no objective timer, so use the fountain on cooldown instead of saving it. At 0:30 your Bruiser camp in the middle lane is up: clear it and capture at 1:05 (5 seconds after a wave spawns) so the knights lead your minions into the enemy middle structures. If you sent a second hero bottom early, you can instead sneak the neutral Siege camp in the bottom lane at 0:30, but then skip the Bruiser camp because the pair may need help. Every wave you clear is gems, so trade efficiently and pick up the drops before the enemy can zone you; the first team to bank 50 sends the first Webweavers. Watch the enemy counter as much as your own and start denying their altar once they are close.

• 0:30: Bruiser camp in middle; capture at 1:05 so it leads the wave.
• Alternative 0:30: two heroes sneak the neutral bottom Siege camp; don't also commit to the Bruiser camp.
• Fountain on cooldown: there's no spawn to save it for.
• Bank at 10+ gems whenever you pass an altar.

When your team has enough gems, prepare the waves so they are even across lanes, then pay with someone giving vision in the bushes next to the altar so the 6-second channel isn't interrupted by a surprise. When the enemy has enough, do the opposite: mess up your waves so their spiders arrive out of sync, and stop the enemy hero carrying the most from reaching the altar, without dying and handing them a numbers advantage while Webweavers are on the way. Your own Webweavers should be escorted: send one hero to each side lane and the rest with the spider in the lane where you want a fort down. Defending, kill the Cryptcrawlers, dodge Death Wave and pick the spider that threatens the weakest structure first. After about 10:00, if you're ahead, pull the Boss while your last gems are being paid so the camp stays in combat and doesn't vanish, then push with the Sand Golem and all three Webweavers at once.

• Paying: even the waves, post a hero in the altar bushes, channel 6 seconds.
• Denying: ruin your waves, poke the top gem carrier off the altar, don't die doing it.
• Spiders spawn 15 seconds after payment; use that window to reposition.
• Death Wave is a 4-second frontal channel on a 7-second cooldown: step to the side, not backward.
• Boss combo: aggro the Sand Golem as the last gems go in so the camp stays active through the summon.

There are four camps: one Boss camp in the top lane, two Bruiser camps in the middle lane (one per side) and one neutral Siege camp in the bottom lane. All of them disappear from the map when Webweavers start spawning, unless their mercenaries are already in combat, and only return once every Webweaver is dead. That rule shapes your timing: take camps right before a summon so they push alongside the spiders, or keep one in combat so it survives the wipe. The Bruiser Wizard shields your wave with Spell Armor, so a knight camp next to a Webweaver is a real threat to a fort. The Siege Giants can be captured without taking damage if you dodge their stones and they hit structures from outside tower range.

• Siege camp (2 Siege Giants, neutral, bottom lane): 0:30, respawns 3:00 after capture. Dodgeable stones; 100% bonus damage to structures.
• Bruiser camp (3 Knights + 1 Wizard, middle lane): 0:30, respawns 4:00 after capture. Capture 5 seconds after a wave to lead the minions.
• Boss camp (Sand Golem, top lane): 5:00, respawns 5:00 after capture. Mega Smash stuns every 10 seconds, Whirling Sands knock back every 15; immune to Bribe.
• Camps vanish while Webweavers live: capture before paying, or keep the camp in combat as you pay.

Games here are won through Webweavers and the Boss, so a strong late game matters more than a fast start. Each summon costs 5 more gems than the last, which means late turn-ins take longer to build and a single lost stack hurts more; keep banking small amounts and never let your best carrier die alone. From about 10:00 the Sand Golem is available: take it when you have a clear advantage or right after your spiders die, ideally combined with the trick of paying the last gems while the boss is aggroed. When you push to end, group behind the spider in one lane while the other two force defenders to split. The core fires a Death Wave every 5 seconds that deals 5% of maximum health and slows by 70% for 1.25 seconds, so bring minions and mercenaries to tank it and don't stand still in front of it.

• Win conditions: Webweavers and the Sand Golem; there is no split-push shortcut here.
• Bait the Golem's Whirling Sands toward the enemy side of the pit so invaders eat the tornadoes.
• Core Death Wave: every 5 seconds, 5% max health and a 70% slow for 1.25 seconds. Tank it with spiders and camps.