Led by the cunning Queen of Blades, the zerg are set to unleash their alien horrors on the galaxy, threatening to consume all who stand in their way.
When the zerg first arrived in the Koprulu sector, they were unified by their absolute obedience to the zerg collective sentience known as the Overmind. The Overmind directed the actions of every zerg creature in the Swarm, functioning through a hierarchy of lesser sentients.
Although the Overmind was primarily driven by its desire to consume and assimilate the advanced protoss race, it found useful but undeveloped material in humanity. By taking a powerful terran psionic, Sarah Kerrigan, the Overmind evolved a new and unique creature: the Queen of Blades.
After the protoss destroyed the Overmind during the invasion of Aiur, the Queen of Blades eventually came to dominate the Swarm.
The zerg are entirely unlike the terrans and the protoss. They are composed of many different species that were integrated into the Swarm via zerg infestation. Such creatures are rapidly and selectively evolved into ruthless killing machines to further the driving zerg imperative of achieving absolute domination.
The zerg make no use of technology to create their weapons, armor, or starships. Instead, these functions are efficiently fulfilled through biological adaptation and planned mutation of zerg strains. Even zerg structures are in fact specialized organs within the living, growing organism of a zerg nest.
ZERG CHARACTERISTICS
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Left unchecked, the zerg multiply at an alarming rate and spawn large armies quickly. Individual zerg units may not be as strong or as hardy as the other races’ forces, but that doesn’t matter when you’re facing an endless stream of them.
CREEP
Zerg bases spread creep, a biological substance that nourishes and sustains the Swarm’s colonies. Creep nourishes zerg units and provides them with a movement speed bonus.
BURROW
All zerg ground units can gain the ability to burrow underground. Burrowed units lurk unseen, anticipating the right moment to strike. Some zerg units can even move underground while burrowed.
WE HAVE WORM SIGN
One of the Swarm’s particularly devious developments are Nydus worms. These burrowing horrors can form interconnected networks, allowing zerg units to quickly travel vast distances through their intestinal tunnels.
UNITS
Note: the Swarm Host and the Viper require the Heart of the Swarm expansion.
