A Sinister Turn

A Sinister Turn is a Wings of Liberty mission. It is told as a flashback of Zeratul's actions, viewed by Jim Raynor through the ihan crystal.

Background
After much searching, Zeratul discovered the fragments of a prophecy foretelling the end of the xel'naga cycle on Ulaan. The meaning was unclear to him, but he believed the preservers of Zhakul would be able to interpret the prophecy. Aboard Void Seeker, the prelate journeyed to the forbidden archive world of Zhakul to find them.

Darker forces were already at work on Zhakul. A hybrid destroyer, Maar, had imprisoned the three preservers Zeratul sought and was leeching their energies. It had also subverted some protoss facilities and left others abandoned. When Zeratul arrived he found the planet "strangely silent."

Freeing the Preservers
The prelate reactivated an unpowered base and began to investigate. He only sensed the spirits of the three preservers were imprisoned, but not the hybrid Maar's presence or activities. When the hybrid appeared, freeing the preservers took on an even more urgent nature.

The hybrid demonstrated remarkable regenerative abilities. When defeated in the field it restored itself with the preservers' energies. Zeratul finally overcame it by freeing the preservers.

Aftermath

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The preserver triumvirate examined the fragments. The clarification provided prompted Zeratul to depart in search of the Overmind on Aiur.

Raynor's Assessment
Raynor encountered a hybrid previously at a secret Dominion laboratory at Castanar, and experiencing Zeratul's encounter through an ihan crystal put the threat in perspective. The rebel was concerned that even the protoss had difficulty combating the hybrid.

Although Raynor experienced Maar's power second hand, he deduced it was a protoss/zerg hybrid and recognized the threat it posed.

Gameplay
A handful of photon cannons above the ramps will be enough to hold off assaults from enemy protoss. The main danger is from the hybrid Maar, who will regularly attack the player's base and will randomly come from either direction. However, Maar will appear on the map so the player is alerted to where he will strike. Each time the player defeats Maar he respawns at the southern base and regenerates to attack again some time later. The more times he regenerates the higher his stats grow, up to 1200 shields and HP. He also has the ability to temporarily stun units in an area of effect, Blink, and can levitate a unit to disable and damage it.

Once your base is established erect more gateways and quickly secure the robotics facility to the west to add immortals to your army. The dark shrine and templar archives on the east side are protected by the eastern enemy base. This is an easier expansion spot than the western base, which is guarded by archons and. A relatively light force of zealots and stalkers can liberate the base, allowing the player to take it. Once the templar archives is rescued high templar can use Feedback on Maar to drain his energy. Dark templar however as not very useful, as Maar is a detector. Build a larger army and assault the southern base, use stalkers to Blink forward and target air units while zealots slice apart ground forces. Try to attack shortly after stopping of Maar's assaults, to minimize the chance he will regenerate during the attack and the player having to fend him off while their units are disorganized.

On higher difficulty levels void rays appear more often as well as the occasional carrier, so bring stronger stalker reinforcements in preparation if playing on Hard or Brutal.