Kuldak is different. His mushroom army will quickly overwhelm you unless you adapt your playstyle against him. But with a few, basic principles under your belt, Kuldak will suddenly seem incredibly beatable!
Here are the three paths to victory against Kuldak. Some factions have access to only one of these paths, some to all three.
1. Put beefy units in his face to limit his infects.
Kuldak's engine requires getting infects on enemy units. It's not possible to entirely eliminate his infects, but it is possible to greatly reduce them by avoiding having low health units near Fungal Beasts. Instead, play the highest health commons you have and build magic fast to play as many champions as possible. This will greatly set back Kuldak's engine and make the end game victory much more possible.
2. Keep him at range, taking advantage of his faction’s limited movement
Only factions with good ranged units can reasonably do this, but for those that can it is critical to their victory. Kuldak's engine only exists in the “within 2” diamond around him. If your ranged unit is far away from the diamond, it is inefficient for Kuldak to send a beast after you if that beast is no longer in Blood Bloom range. The closer the diamond gets to your back row, however, the more in danger you are. This is why applying pressure early and then retreating later can work very well. Kuldak's greatest weakness is being limited to three moves: he will build his army around him wherever he is. If you retreat, he will take many turns to move his whole army up, meanwhile you will continue shooting at him and his beasts will suffer their Parasitic ability during this.
3. Assassinate Kuldak
Very few factions have the tools to do this as infects usually provide a great defense. Factions that have ways to consistently get to Kuldak (like shooting through units), however, will find him very vulnerable. Unlike other summoners, retreat is not an option for Kuldak: he cannot win without being at the center of his units on the field. Even a botched assassination that still forces Kuldak to retreat will greatly increase your chances of an end game victory.
Here's a list of the tools every faction has to fend off Kuldak. Almost every faction has a solid if not very strong line to defend against these mushroom monsters!
Tundra Orcs
Beefy units can get in his face and you can pivot to turtling with Targan and Shamans.
They have a very solid champion lineup and can afford to field all three of them.
Phoenix Elves
Kuldak has little ability to punish Mal from getting free shots and then pulling a high health unit, or even now a champion!
Fire Drake and Fanessa are insane here. Burn, Spirit of the Phoenix and Blinding Flare can be big tools in this match up.
Savanna Elves
Can put beefy units in his face, trample everything with rhinos, turtle with Border Archers, and get Chant of Power assassinations.
Miti Kyru's 4 strength can take out beasts or carriers and then retreat to safety.
Fallen Kingdom
You can out-horde the horde! Undead Carrier 2/2 infects are easier to pull off than Fungal Beast 3/3 infects.
Also has the ability to punish Kuldak even if blockers are in the way with Purge which can be truly devastating to the mushroom horde. Good to know, Undead Archer’s Soul Shift or Infect from an Undead Carrier can prevent a Fungal Transformation.
Cave Goblins
One of two really bad matchups against Kuldak as Sneeks can't win the long game.
He has to get in there super quick and shut Kuldak down before he even gets started. Gate destruction is a very valid strategy. Unrelenting and enrage turns are huge especially if they can be used for an early push. One of the few matchups where The Eater might be a consideration.
Breakers
Keep him at a distance/ put on pressure and back off. Deceivers and champions are great.
Especially Kalal is very hard to deal with for Fungal Dwarves. Disrupt the fungal formation and force them to move, make moving hard with Perplexing Tempest and Deceivers. With Mind Control, Mind Capture and Blast, assassination is always possible.
Polar Dwarves
Can win the value game by melee trades with ice axes and choke points with beefy units.
Glacial Shift - Ice Ram combo can clear the board and Parapets are important for not giving Fungal Beasts Infect targets. Jarmund can get huge value in this match up.
Vanguards
Good positioning can make Kuldak pay heavily for every Infect.
Since Kuldak's game is slow, it's easy to have Colleen out the whole game and get crazy value. The economy game is definitely a good win condition for Vanguards and they can outlast Fungal Dwarves in most games.
Cloaks
One of the hardest matchups for Kuldak as he has to move up but it's tricky for him to remain safe and alive.
Cloaks can also keep units out of Infect range very easily. Out of Shadows with a high life Vlox can quickly punish Kuldak and once that happens there are not any good retreat options. Unless Fungal Dwarves has a gate or Release Spores in hand, Kuldak can't get away after Cloaks get a strong jump on him.
Skyspear Avians
Big ranged advantage. Can apply pressure quickly to try and get the assassination with Sky Assaults and big rolls.
Or can keep Fungal Dwarves at bay with ranged attacks and try to kite the faction.
Eternal Council
Edia has all the time she needs to become a Fungal Beast destroying monster and has Katu for the late game.
Ovi is also a strong weapon for taking chunks out of the fungal formation.
Obsidian Dwarves
Balzar can blow up the fungal engine in one fell swoop. Ability to attack with Ember Guards and pull them back so they can't be infected is great.
All 3 champions are very strong in this matchup.
Sand Goblins
Can expose very few units, force Kuldak onto his side of the board, and then get wild.
Super gate can be pretty strong in this match up. Mortar mortar mortar.
Late game with Thrusters and Silts exposes the Fungal Dwarves' biggest weakness: movement.
Shadow Elves
Perhaps the worst matchup for Kuldak, incredibly difficult. He needs to advance, but every tool in Selundar's shadowy book gets easy damage on him: Into Darkness, Glinting Speed, and Sage Rangers. Not to mention the late game strat of sniping with Shadow Mages and picking them up after they've been hit once to prevent infects.
Samara dominates this match up and Truth Seekers can retreat after big attacks.
Wayfarers
The second of two really bad matchups against Kuldak as Celeste's units aren't beefy enough to take the late game.
But she does have tons of tools to get in there early and is probably the best faction at stopping Kuldak before he even gets started! Block those gate spots! Definitely unfavored, but still an enjoyable matchup.
Swamp Orcs
Expose only Mugglug and champions, heal them, one-shot beasts. Fungus killing machine.
Use Emerge and Regenerate when you can and Vinemancers to pull Mugglug and champs back to favorable positions. Force the fungus to try and move formation and take them out as they do.
High Elves
You've got all the time in the world to set up the dream Arbiter of War, Arbiter of Peace, and Cassia setup.
Lock down critical points on the map and force Kuldak into unfavorable trades. Snipe units with Oblige. Easy Law of Liberty value, just make sure to not be in a position where the mushrooms can strike back with Blight Mages.
Mountain Vargath
Use the high health brutes and fighters to disrupt the FD formations taking units out of Kuldak's range.
Quen and Torodin can devastate the fungal grouping while staying relatively safe. Varn, Stronghold, and Marshal Forces can pull units out of the range of the mushroom kingdom creating frustrating turns for the FD player.
Slingers can be used to attack the same target and make sure beasts don't survive. Sunderved can clean up with Battle Leader allowing for horde wipe turns.
Crimson Order
Using the ranged attack from the Baron boosted by priests they can pick off the outskirts of the FD formations.
High health warriors can both take down a beast in one shot without having the chance of getting infected. Convert can steal positions and wreak havoc on their formations.
All three champs are good and you will have the magic for all of them in most games. Be careful putting cultists in the range of beasts as that can be the downfall for CO.
Deepwood Groaks
The Groaks have lots of tools at their disposal to deal with the mushroom horde. From hidden long range sages to high health wardens with protect, it is hard for beasts to infect units. Warriors can one shot beasts and swift, strong, and wither potions make the whole faction hard to deal with. Add in a strong ranged attack with the 4 AV of Hekateia leading the charge and it will be a tough one for Fungal Dwarves to overcome.
The Forged
The Forged have several tools to deal with the high health beasts and get extra damage to destroy the clumped fungus. They have ember cogs and mag cogs to get additional attacks on a single target while being safe from infect. The Inventors forged in flames and blastforge cog can deal additional damage to real trim sections of shrooms. However, with only 10 health the Inventor has to be careful not to get to greedy and watch out for demand turns to heavily punish forward progress.
Shimmersea Fae
The Shimmersea Fae have several tools that make them well equipped to deal with the fungal horde. They multiple attacks on one target with Scouts, Enara, Spearhead, and Swarms to make it easier to take out Beasts, Spores, and hit an exposed Kuldak hard.
Nymiria can brawl among the fungus using Ebb and Flow to take out spores or weaken beasts. Just make sure to protect her with summons or Lyra so she doesn't get overwhelmed. And with Coralis and other spot stealing at they disposal, spores left with boosts aren't a real threat. Rebuking spores especially early can destroy the fungal engine before it is up and running. And High Tide and wade in allow for early and often pressure that Kuldak can't avoid. Higher health Tidebreakers, Swarms, and having extra champs make it harder for beasts to convert.
Storm Goblins
Zap Zap! Seems simple but in reality the Fungal Dwarves formations make it easy. Use circuit as much as possible to hurt Kuldak as much as possible. Voltswappers and kite riders can go over the formation and Brakka and Skizz can clean up any loose ends.
Gust Striders have the health to protect Thrak and Thrak's health will be the only potential weakness for Storm Goblins in this match up. Maximizing overcharge, recharge, and discharge will just be last zap that broke the fungus's back.
