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Best way to take full advantage is to build them in a city with access to a Crystal Tree, Lich's Castle, and Dungeon the Crystal Tree adds +2 Defense and +1 Resistence to all armored units, one of which is the shock trooper, the Lich's Castle gives all infantry (and monsters) fear strike enabling them to discourage attackers or break defensive formations, particularly since they have the Guard Breaker and Overbear abilities. By playing with a Shadowborn Adept specialization, they can also gain Life Steal, a valuable ability for any melee unit and if you decide to go for Shadowborn Mastery, you can use the Embraced by Shadows spell to give them an increased attack and resistence. The Orc is pretty much tailor-made for warlord because of the high health and extra melee damage, not to mention their Tier III unit, the Orc Shock Trooper, is one of the most powerful units in the game. Orc Warlord with a specialization in Shadowborn Adept and two levels of either Destruction or Fire. The most effective class builds I've come across are as follows:
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