Scythe of Amon

Scythe of Amon is a Co-op Missions map added in Patch 3.13. It is based off of "The Host" from Legacy of the Void.

Background
Lyrak, a Nerazim scout of Matriarch Vorazun, tracked the operations of Amon's Forces to a xel'naga temple. There they discovered Amon was using void slivers to channel energy into the temple and summon a voidshade hybrid, one of Amon's most powerful weapons. These slivers were protected by void rifts that spawned void shades. Lyrak requested the aid of allied commanders to destroy these slivers before the voidshade hybrid could awaken. During the battle, Lyrak requested that the commanders also help evacuate the local population of the surrounding city who were escaping in warp prisms.

The commanders were successful in destroying the slivers, preventing the manifestation of the voidshade hybrid.

Gameplay
"Scythe of Amon" plays similar to "The Host," there are several void slivers that must be destroyed in a time limit. In addition to the usual randomly generated race of enemies, there will also be void rifts that spawn void shade manifestations of every race to defend the void slivers. Players will need to constantly monitor the remaining time and decide when is the best moment to send forces on the offensive.

Triple Threat
Unlike most Co-op maps, this map will require players to face all three races simultaneously, both in the form of the void shades defending the void slivers and in the various bases scattered throughout the map. While defenses start light on the slivers, they ramp up fast with each sliver destroyed. Slivers can be targeted by ground and air units. Each sliver has void rifts that spawn void shades, which can be destroyed to temporarily stop them from respawning, but they will reappear after a time which decreases with each sliver destroyed. In addition, the later defenses contain death grip crystals, which will stun a number of allied units and, after a short time, instantly destroy them. These crystals need to be focused down as they can cause massive damage to commanders with high value units. These crystals have 250 shield and health. The void slivers themselves will attack the players units with an area of effect lighting attack that deals significant damage, and a stun that impacts a large area round the sliver.

Time is Short
The timer on this map is fairly unforgiving, so the right balance must be struck between building up a sizeable force and not waiting too long to strike. A large failed attack will often mean failure on this map as there won't be enough time to rebuild, and void shades will quickly repopulate around slivers. Attacks should be done with the allied player and with balanced force, as the void shades will have all units from all different tiers. Near the final slivers, units such as void rays and immortals that deal heavy damage to the larger tier 3 units will be invaluable, but beware as the AI will pick off more expensive units with yamato cannons.

Economy is Key
Economy is key on this map, as there are two slivers between the player and their expansion. A small force (supported by a hero unit such as Kerrigan, Nova, or Fenix) should be able to clear out the first two slivers on the way to the next mineral field easily and allow for a quick expansion to be taken. This will be important as defenses ramp up quickly after the first two slivers are destroyed, and enemy attack waves will come much larger much quicker than on other maps. Rapid repositioning abilities (i.e. dark pylons' recall, Kerrigan's Omega worms or Nova's tactical airlift) will aid a lot on this map. There is a lot of ground to cover and these large attack waves have a habit of spawning on the opposite side of the player's push.

Bonus Objective
The bonus objective of this map is to prevent the destruction of warp prisms carrying away civilians. The players will have two chances to keep the evacuation ship from being destroyed. This bonus objective is much harder than on most Co-op maps, so it is recommended that the map be played a few times to learn the timings before it's attempted. The ship will move in a zigzag pattern, first moving north to the base above he first sliver, then to the southwestern corner, then to the northern shard. The ship will always move to a base near the shards, which has to be destroyed before it arrives. With the first base, this means it's necessary to destroy the first two shards quickly then strike the northern base while the player's expansions are building before the ship spawn. Unlike other bonus objectives, if the map is completed before the ship hits all evacuation points the players receive full credit for accomplishing it.

Strategies
So far the most viable strategy for this particular mission is to have hero units spearheading the first attacks on the slivers - and the best army composition is to have one commander producing mass units to soak up damage, while the other deal as much damage per second as possible.

While this strategy is effective in most cases, careful attention to the pairing of commanders is needed. Swann and Karax have armies that reliant on slower and generally more expensive units. Attempting to force one of them to be the meat shield is terribly ineffective due to their armies slow build time and exorbitant cost. Death grip crystals will shred Thors and Immortals in a matter of seconds. This will leave the mech heavy player scrambling to field even a token force for the rest of the game, and all but guarantee the destruction of the evacuation vessel.

On the other hand, Fenix, Artanis, Raynor, Zagara, and Kerrigan have immense advantages on this battlefield. Fenix's variable suits will be critical in the early game, while the other four commanders have a very fast start once they hit level 15. This beginning will enable them to rapidly field an army and seize the offensive early. Zagara, Raynor, and Kerrigan have speedier forces that can allow them to hit areas of the map very quickly, while Artanis' ability to place a power field anywhere he has vision will allow him to warp in warriors for base defense or to protect the evacuation vessel.

Due to the time constraints and the death grip crystals players should not rush their super units. Thors, Ultralisks, Carriers, Wrathwalkers, etc, are all slow to build and slow moving, a combination that makes them far less useful on this map in spite of their high firepower being appealing for shattering the void silvers.

Commanders
Alarak and Nova provide perfect balance. While the Nova commanders focus on shooting down enemies and Void Slivers, Alarak's army of supplicants function as "meat shield" while Alarak himself can hold off attacks with his Destruction Wave. Enemy attacks targeting the commanders' bases can be intercepted using Alarak's Structure Overcharge or with quick reaction from Nova's Tactical Airlift and Griffin Airstrike (though on Brutal, it is recommended that the Heroes and their armies are present to fight alongside base defenses), and if necessary, the Death Fleet itself. Nova can keep her army alive using Defensive Drone while Alarak devastate enemy positions with Empower Me, activated at the most opportune moments.