Dark archon

"Fear not, comrades, for we have archons of our own! Should the dire need arise, all Dark Templar may merge to become Dark Archons. Though we sacrifice our warriors in doing so, only the might of the Dark Archons can match the forces of Aldaris!"

- Zeratul to Artanis

The dark archon is a heavy protoss psionic support unit introduced in StarCraft: Brood War.

Overview
Like their high templar brethren, two dark templar sacrifice themselves in a psionic melding giving rise to the dark archon. The powers of these avatars of psionic might extend well beyond those of the regular archon, more than compensating for their lack of any physical attack capability.

The burning, crimson figure of the dark archon spreads fear across any battlefield. These powerful creatures of living psionic energy embody the eternal wrath of the Dark Templar. In addition to being able to wield psionic powers, dark archons can also wield the energies of the Void.

Under ordinary circumstances, the chaotic and unstable energies of a dark archon will cause it to burn itself out and dissipate after a short period of time. Thus far, only Ulrezaj has found a way to avoid this fate and prolong his own unnatural existence.

History
During their long exile, the Dark Templar have faced many challenges. Struggling and adapting their arsenal of skills and converting their biology to suit their harsh environment has ultimately resulted in the dark archon.

They are so powerful that the Dark Templar have outlawed their creation for a thousand years out of fear.

The creation of dark archons was allowed after the Khalai came to Shakuras, the Dark Templar homeworld. Matriarch Raszagal and Zeratul authorized their use due to Aldaris' rebellion, which included archons fighting on the side of the insurgents. This was the first that the Khalai had ever seen or even heard of a dark archon and considered them to be abominations.

Zamara identified Ulrezaj as the only existing dark archon years after the.

StarCraft
The dark archon is a "spellcaster" with no regular attack, unlike the archon. Like the archon, it is well protected by shields but has few hit points underneath; it is vulnerable to the science vessel's EMP shockwave. It is neither biological or mechanical, and is immune to many abilities, such as Lockdown and Spawn Broodling. It is also a hovering unit and does not trigger spider mines.

Mind Control may be used to instantly deprive the enemy of an expensive unit. It may also be used to enhance the flexibility of the protoss army. Zealots benefit from medics as much as marines. Enemy workers may also be stolen, opening up the terran and zerg tech trees and giving additional supply points as resources allow.

The dark archon may deprive enemy spellcasters of mana and life with Feedback. Zerg are vulnerable to Maelstrom, which disables groups of biological units for a short time.

Known Dark Archons

 * Dark Archon Hero
 * Rastadon/Imrian
 * Ulrezaj (made of seven Dark Templar, significantly different abilities)