How Many Dudes Lich Build — Thralls, Relics and Ratios

Direct answer: build Lich as a damage-routing and Revenant-scaling centerpiece. Keep the Lich alive, choose Thralls that can survive both ordinary enemy pressure and the delayed True Damage pulse, and treat roster order as a build decision once Unholy Grail appears. There is no verified universal Lich-to-Thrall ratio: current player reports range from one Lich supporting many durable Thralls to roughly 1:1 or more Liches per Thrall.

Evidence boundary (checked 9 August 2026): mechanic and Relic facts below are Verified against the official Dudex. The Ninja example is from the developer’s guide. Community combinations and ratios are Reported from current full-release discussions, sometimes with conflicting advice. This site has not claimed a firsthand reproduction or a universal “best” Lich build.

How Lich and Enthrall work

The official Lich Dudex entry lists Lich as an Undead Dude with 160 Max HP, 20 DPS, 10 Attack Power, 2 Attack Speed, and 20 Run Speed. Its Enthrall loop is:

1. Lich receives damage. Seventy percent is stored in its Thralls instead of being taken immediately by Lich.
2. The three-second pulse arrives. The stored amount is expelled onto the Thralls as True Damage.
3. A fatal pulse becomes scaling. If that expelled damage is fatal, the Thrall heals for 50% HP and gains a Revenant stack.

This creates two simultaneous survival checks: Lich must live long enough to keep routing damage, while the selected Thralls must survive normal combat well enough for Enthrall—not an unrelated enemy hit—to drive the intended Revenant cycle.

A practical build sequence

1. Choose a Thrall job, not just a name

Use Thralls that cover at least one of these jobs:

• Durable damage reservoir: high survivability gives the build time to pulse repeatedly.
• Revenant carry: a Dude whose damage output benefits from accumulating offensive scaling.
• KO or recovery engine: a Dude whose surrounding Relics and teammates make the fatal-pulse cycle easier to recover from.
• Protected carry: with Unholy Grail, a non-Thrall Dude above Lich can also route part of incoming damage through the Thralls.

The developer’s full-release new-player guide explicitly suggests Ninja Dudes as Lich Thralls, describing a perma-stealth, Crit, Cleave, and Attack Power direction. That is an official starter idea, not a guarantee that Ninja is best in every run.

2. Protect the Lich before chasing the ceiling

Scales of Death and Scythe each give Lich 30% Max HP, while Marrow Leech lets Lich siphon HP from Thralls before the pulse and taunt after it. Those effects address the build’s immediate failure condition: Lich dying before the Enthrall engine has time to work.

If the run has no Lich durability, Thrall recovery, or useful scaling pieces, do not force the final composition simply because Lich appeared. The Relic-pool guide explains why adding more Dude Types and Families can make one required Relic a smaller part of the documented pool.

3. Place Unholy Grail deliberately

Unholy Grail makes the Dude Type directly above Lich on the roster store 30% of damage taken in Lich’s Thralls instead. Before the next battle:

1. identify the one Dude Type that most needs the extra protection;
2. move that Dude Type directly above Lich;
3. confirm Lich still has enough Thrall capacity and personal durability for the added routed damage.

Do not treat Unholy Grail as free team-wide defense. It protects one roster relationship and increases the workload carried by the same Thrall system.

What each Lich Relic changes

This is a functional map, not a universal ranking. Exact wording remains in the official Dudex.

Relic	Verified effect, summarized	Build question it answers
Scales of Death	+30% Lich Max HP; six-enemy Taunt for six seconds at battle start	Can Lich survive and attract enough early pressure to start the loop?
Marrow Leech	At each Enthrall pulse, Lich siphons available HP from Thralls before the damage and then taunts five enemies for five seconds	Can Lich recover and keep routing pressure?
Scythe	+30% Lich Max HP; each Revenant stack also grants 5% Attack Power and 1% Crit Chance	Does the run convert Revenant into a stronger carry?
Soul Chain	A Thrall gaining Revenant has a 30% chance to gain another stack; this is a Chained Effect	Can the build multiply successful Revenant triggers?
Spirit Bomb	A new Revenant stack creates a necrotic explosion worth 300% of that Thrall’s DPS, split among nearby enemies	Can the loop add area damage?
Unholy Grail	The Dude Type directly above Lich also routes 30% of damage taken into Lich’s Thralls	Which additional carry needs protection, and can the Thralls absorb it?
Bag of Bones	Unconscious Thralls get a 50% Ranch-revive chance; each Revenant stack has a 20% Skeledude-summon chance	How does the run recover or add summons after the cycle?

Current reported Thrall cores

These are idea generators, not a tier list. The discussions were posted during the full-release window and checked 9 August 2026.

Reported direction	Why players are trying it	Evidence limit
Knight and Cave Dude reservoirs	A fresh ratio discussion reports one Lich with 30 Knights and 40 Cave Dudes plus Unholy Grail, aiming for Revenant on each pulse	One player’s described setup; exact mode, Tier, patch, and full Relic state are not established
Ninja Thralls	The developer guide proposes Ninjas for stealth and offensive scaling	Official inspiration, but no universal roster or result is promised
Warlock, Zombie, Mummy, or Ghost cores	Players in a “how to use Lich” thread report these as workable Thralls or partners	Community reports differ and do not isolate which component caused success
Medic or healing support	A separate Lich question discusses Medic as a Thrall/support direction	Reported interaction; the page does not claim an optimal healer slot

Sources: current Lich/Thrall ratio discussion, “How are you supposed to use the Lich?”, and Lich question.

How many Liches versus Thralls?

There is no settled ratio. Current reports include all of the following:

• one Lich with many high-HP Thralls;
• approximately one Lich per Thrall;
• roughly 1.5–2 Liches per Thrall.

The conflict is useful: a ratio that works with low-HP Thralls may not fit a high-HP reservoir, and Unholy Grail can add another source of stored damage. Use combat behavior to adjust:

What you observe	What it may mean	Next-run adjustment to test
Lich dies before repeated pulses	Lich durability is too low or too much pressure is routed through the engine	Add Lich HP/recovery or reduce the extra protected load
Thralls die mainly to ordinary enemies	Their normal defense or team support is insufficient	Improve frontline/control/healing before adding more routed damage
Stored damage rarely becomes fatal	Damage may be spread across too much Thrall HP for the desired Revenant cadence	Test fewer or less durable Thralls, or more incoming pressure, one change at a time
Thralls repeatedly gain Revenant but fights still stall	The loop is functioning, but damage conversion or encounter coverage may be weak	Look for Scythe, Spirit Bomb, carry damage, or missing boss coverage

These diagnoses are Derived from the verified mechanic and are hypotheses to test, not hidden game rules.

Early, middle, and late-run checklist

Early run

• Keep enough cash and general survival to avoid forcing an incomplete engine.
• Check whether Lich durability or a viable Thrall relationship is actually appearing.
• Limit unnecessary pool expansion if one Lich Relic is essential.

After the core Relics appear

• Confirm which Dude Types are Thralls and whether they survive normal hits.
• Recheck roster order after gaining Unholy Grail.
• Watch whether the three-second pulse produces Revenant, kills Thralls without recovery, or leaves Lich exposed.

Before a boss or Endless push

• Cover burst survival, movement, control, and boss damage outside the Enthrall loop.
• Record Tier, mode, roster, decisive Relics, round, and game version before sharing a result.
• Use the modes and challenge tiers reference to keep results comparable.

FAQ

Is Lich overpowered?

One current discussion calls it powerful once layered defenses and synergies are assembled, while also noting early-run risk. That remains a Reported opinion, not a verified balance verdict. See the Lich OP discussion.

Is one Lich enough?

Sometimes, according to current reports—but not as a rule. Thrall HP, survivability, routed damage, Relics, mode, and encounter pressure all change the result.

Which Thrall is best?

No single Thrall is established as universally best. Ninja has a developer-authored example; several other cores are current community reports. Pick by the job the roster needs and preserve the conditions when documenting a result.

Does this page prove a best build?

No. It explains verified mechanics and organizes current reported strategies. A claim that this site reproduced or ranked a build would require a separately documented run.

Sources and update triggers

• Primary mechanic source: official Lich Dudex entry, checked 9 August 2026.
• Primary strategy example: developer Top 10 Tips for Newbie Dudes, checked 9 August 2026.
• Community evidence: the three ratio/usage threads linked above plus the Lich OP discussion, checked 9 August 2026.

Recheck this page when the official Dudex changes Lich, Enthrall, Revenant, or any Lich Relic; when an official patch changes the game version; or when a documented current run resolves one of the visible conflicts.

Next steps

• Narrow required Relics with the Relic-pool guide.
• Cover economy and boss preparation with the full-release starter checklist.
• Compare game modes and challenge tiers.
• Check exact definitions in the official Dudex.
• Report a changed mechanic or a documented run through contact and corrections.