Archon

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"While High Templar and Dark Templar are undoubtedly forces to be reckoned with, there is a truly magnificent warrior that stands, quite literally, above them both. When two Templar of any kind combine, they have the ability to form what is known as an Archon. It should come as no surprise that the source of an Archon's overwhelming power, or the nature of its formation, have been a mystery to the public. Now however, as unbelievable as it might seem, we have quite literally had this information fall from the sky and land into our hands. We now understand that an Archon's physical form shapes and anchors the psionic maelstrom swirling around it, and that without this form, the Archon would burn out like a star immediately after merging. We will tell you all about this and more in the full report which you can find here."

- Radio Liberty^(src)

An archon

The archon is a protoss heavy assault warrior formed by merging two high templar. More recently the Nerazim have also learned the technique.

Overview

"In times of great need, two High Templar or Dark Templar can merge into a single entity that radiates overwhelming psionic power and rage. The decision to lay down the lives of valuable Templar is never made lightly. Perhaps their energy was spent. Maybe the warriors themselves chose this final act of sacrifice over succumbing to their injuries. Regardless of its origins, the Archon's presence on the battlefield fills the minds of all beings - psionic or otherwise - with primal fear and awe."

^(src)

An archon during the Great War

Archons are beings of psionic power and rage, and their presence on the battlefield inspires much fear in their foes. The creation of an archon is a serious affair and is never made lightly, for it requires the reluctant sacrifice of valuable templar for a short-term gain. Archons radiate energy like stars and burn out when depleted, and only last for a brief time. The archon is, for the most part, a being of pure energy that hovers above ground by displacing gravity itself. Nonetheless, this embodiment of power has a nigh-intangible physical form with unmistakable protoss features; a remnant of the Templar who sacrificed their lives to bring it into being. Its purpose is to shape and anchor the psionic maelstrom, preventing the archon from burning out like a star as soon as the merging is complete. The merging results in the loss of self for the Templar who create the archon, and those who do so are bequeathed great honor and a place in the templar archives.

An archon newly formed from high templar

The loss of most of the psionic powers of the two merging templar is more than compensated for by the archon's formidable psychic gestalt. Archons can independently erect a resilient shield and direct psionic shockwaves. They may create rifts that draws in nearby matter, removing it and the archons from the battlefield. Emotionally, archons are manifestations of pure rage, though this may be "twisted" should the merging be in error. Archons are much feared by their enemies, and can wade through countless enemy troops; they are strong enough to engage ultralisks in single combat.

An archon battles an ultralisk

Originally, archons were formed through the merging of two high templar. After the Brood War and the reunification of the protoss, archons of a different kind can now be created by merging two Dark Templar or even a Khalai and Nerazim merging.

Other Information

	The following article or section contains lore from the StarCraft RPG, which is not regarded as canon. Elements may be regarded as 'flavor lore' however.

The following section contains information from StarCraft beta that is ambiguously canonical.

A pair of archons

The first archon(s) was/were created unexpectedly and their formation was soon legally sanctioned by Khala. High templar who merge to form archons are said to have reached the final stage of the Warrior's Path.

Game Unit

StarCraft

For StarCraft gameplay information see: Archon (StarCraft).

For StarCraft in-game quotations see: StarCraft Archon Quotations.

StarCraft II

For StarCraft II gameplay information see: Archon (StarCraft II).

For StarCraft II in-game quotations see: StarCraft II Archon Quotations.

Heroes of the Storm

	The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm and is not canon to StarCraft continuity

Archons appear in Heroes of the Storm as one of Tassadar's level 10 abilities. At level 20 can be further augmented to form a Twilight archon.

Known Archons

An archon up-close

• Aedus/Xerxes
• Mertick the Mauler
• Nannoth/Taeradun
• Tassadar/Zeratul (non-canon)
• Zeradar (non-canon)

Variants

	This article or section contains information derived from Co-op Missions, and should not be considered part of the official StarCraft storyline.

• Unbound fanatic

Notes

The Zeradar pet

• The word "archon" derives from the Greek word "άρχων" meaning "ruler."
• A glow in the dark archon superball was available for purchase at BlizzCon 2014.

In Other Games

• An archon pet named Zeradar is available in World of Warcraft for those who purchase the digital deluxe or collector's edition of Legacy of the Void.
• In Hearthstone, the Arcane Devourer card uses quotes from the archon unit. Power overwhelming is also the name of a warlock spell.
• In Diablo, the archon is a being/spell that bears resemblance to its StarCraft counterpart.
• "Power overwhelming" is the name of an achievement in Bolt: The Video Game, alongside "indiscriminate justice" (a reference to the siege tank).
• In Overwatch, Torbjörn sometimes yells "power overwhelming" when using his overload ability. It is also the name of a daily challenge in Overwatch 2.