Starcraft 2 Strategy Guide: Zerg Units

The Zerg have had an interesting history. Originally they were controlled by a single massive intelligence called the Overmind. This creature controlled the Zerg hoard throughout the galaxy and used it to crush Terran and Protoss colonies alike. But the Overmind was eliminated in Starcraft, and in the place of the Overmind rose one of the newest and most intelligent creatures added to the Zerg horde - a human psionic named Sarah Kerrigan.

While Kerrigan is now in control, the basics of the Zerg horde remain the same as in Starcraft. The Zerg have cheap units which are easily to lump into massive hoards which can stomp around the map. The Zerg also is very mobile, with many faster units and many ways to harass an opponent. This guide covers Zerg units and provides in-depth information and tactics about the units in the game. If you're a Zerg player who is having trouble with the complexities of the Zerg hoard you've come to the right place.

• Cost: Minerals 150 / Vespene 150 
• Supply: 4
• Build Time: 34
• HP: 225
• Attack: Ground 20
• Special Ability: Spawns Broodlings
• Type: Armored Biological Massive

The Brood Lord is a gigantic flying creature. It has 225 hitpoints, which is decent, and is considered armored. It on the whole a tough unit to take down for the Zerg, since Zerg units do tend to be relatively inexpensive. Of course, that is probably because the Brood Lord isn't relatively inexpensive. The Brood Lord is a tech tier 3 unit which requires that the Zerg build multiple buildings in order to gain access to the Brood Lord, and the Brood Lord itself is morphed from Corruptors, which aren't cheap themselves.

With that said, it is easy to see why the Brood Lord is expensive. Against both Protoss and Terran the Brood Lord is a very nice end game unit. The range on the Brood Lord is extremely long, allowing the Brood Lord to do substantial damage from very far away from the battle. Worse for the Protoss and Terrans, their most direct counters to the Brood Lord are at this point going to be very weak to your own army, assuming that you have decided to include a decent number of Hydras in your army. The Brood Lord is a must have for any siege against a Terran or Protoss late game defense.

• Cost: 150 Minerals / 150 Gas 
• Supply: 2
• Build Time: 40
• HP: 200
• Attack: Air 14 +6 vs. Massive
• Type: Armored Biological

The Corruptor is a Zerg anti-air unit with a pretty unique trait - it does extra damage to massive units. This includes units like the Battlecruiser, and the Mothership. It should also be noted that while the Protoss Colossus is a ground unit, it is so tall that the game considers it aerial, so Corruptors can in fact attack the Colossi as well and enjoy a very nice bonus to damage against them. As if the bonus against massive units wasn't enough, the Corruptor also has a special ability called Corruption. This ability causes an enemy unit to receive 20% more damage. This also can bring down tough enemy units much quicker.

The downside of the Corruptor is its very specific role as an anti-air unit. The Corruptor makes it very easy for a Zerg player to gain air control if his opponent does not spot the fact that the Zerg player is building them, but the Corruptor is not going to be able to make contributions to ground battles. It is rather unique in that, because the Protoss Phoenix can at least disable enemy units while the Terran Viking can transform into a walker.

Of course, if the enemy does have a strong ground army you can morph Corruptors into Brood Lords, which are great against ground targets.