Guardian

The Guardian is a Zerg long-range bomber.

Overview
The Guardian is evolved from the Mutalisk and thought to be based on the nesting form of the Mantis Screamer. It possesses a thicker carpace than its counterpart and attacks by lobbing explosive globs of plasma based acid. The Guardian is much slower than the Mutalisk however, and is often regulated to guard Larvae.

StarCraft
The Guardian is converted from an existing Mutalisk. It has an anti-ground attack that outranges almost all anti-air weapons. The main difficulty is its slow speed which can make it difficult to escape pursuers. This is especially problematic against enemy air interceptors which tend to be even faster and are not inhibited by terrain.

Upgrades

 * Flyer Attack
 * Flyer Carapace

StarCraft II
In StarCraft II, the Guardian has been replaced by, or may upgrade to the Swarm Guardian.

Special Guardian Strains

 * Feral Guardians (part of a mercenary Brood led by Frayne the Feral)
 * Gilson the Evil (leader of a mercenary Brood)