The Reckoning (Brood War mission)

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	Skirmish on Char The Reckoning (Heart of the Swarm mission)

"Cerebrate, mobilize all of my broods and send them to the surface of Char. I want you to bring both the Matriarch and Zeratul to me alive. Terminate the remaining Protoss with extreme prejudice."

- Sarah Kerrigan^(src)

Previous	To Slay the Beast
Next	Omega or Dark Origin (bonus mission)
The Reckoning
Conflict	Brood War
Date	September-October, 2500
Place	Char
Result	Raszagal dead Zeratul and his warband flee Char
Campaign	The Queen of Blades
Combatants
Zerg Swarm
Zerg Swarm
Zeratul's Warband
Zeratul's Warband
UED Remnants
UED Remnants
Commanders
Sarah Kerrigan The Cerebrate
Sarah Kerrigan The Cerebrate
Dark Prelate Zeratul
Dark Prelate Zeratul
Objectives	Destroy the protoss base within 30 minutes Recover the Matriarch and Zeratul
Optional Objectives	Destroy the protoss base with at least 5 minutes left on the timer to unlock a secret mission

The Reckoning is the ninth and penultimate zerg mission of Episode VI of StarCraft: Brood War.

History

Background

With the death of the Second Overmind, the entire Zerg Swarm fell under the control of Sarah Kerrigan. The remnants of the UED Expeditionary Fleet fled Char, and Kerrigan's primary hive clusters were relocated to Char Aleph, an orbital platform over Char that now served as her base of operations. However, in the aftermath of the battle, Dark Prelate Zeratul rescued Matriarch Raszagal from Kerrigan.

Samir Duran informed Kerrigan that Zeratul had regrouped with a number of protoss survivors on the surface of Char, and they were preparing to return to Shakuras. Raszagal, her mind corrupted by Kerrigan's influence, was being held in a stasis cell. Duran estimated they had thirty minutes before the protoss were ready for dimensional recall. Kerrigan ordered the Cerebrate to mobilize all her broods and descend to Char; she wanted Zeratul and Raszagal captured alive, and the remaining protoss exterminated.

The Cerebrate destroyed Zeratul's base in less than thirty minutes, and Kerrigan and her forces moved in to reclaim Raszagal. Zeratul arrived at the stasis cell before her, and killed Raszagal, choosing her death over letting her live as Kerrigan's slave. Kerrigan was surprised at his actions, and elected to allow Zeratul to go free, letting him live in guilt for what he had done instead of killing him. Zeratul was recalled away and departed.

Walkthrough

The player has 30 minutes on the timer, but the protoss base must be destroyed within 25 minutes to access the hidden mission. The starting base is fully established with all possible buildings, a hive, a hatchery, and several drones. The UED will attack but rarely in force, often sending stray units into the player's base to be killed by the sunken colonies. The protoss will not attack at all, just defend, so all attention can be focused on mutating and upgrading a large attack force to sweep the protoss base.

Once the economy is going strong, research the upgrades for zerglings and hydralisks, and send a force of them south to destroy a small UED base there. Quickly expand to this resource node, and have several hatcheries built here. The attack will take place from the south, as the northern passage is guarded by the UED. A large swarm of zerglings and hydralisks, fully upgraded, will do. Overlords must accompany them to spot for dark templar. Mutalisks and guardians are also helpful, particularly needed to destroy photon cannons on high ground around the stasis cell.

Rally all hatcheries to the south-east corner of the map, and continue to upgrade and expand all forces. Alternatively, you can establish a hatchery southeast of the protoss base and setup a nydus canal there for quicker reinforcement and deployment. With 10 minutes on the time, commence the attack. The protoss will rally all forces to defend the entry chokepoint to their base, but once their defenses here fall the base will quickly be overrun. When all protoss structures are destroyed, the mission ends. If at least five minutes were left on the timer, the player will unlock the secret mission, Dark Origin.

Starcraft Brood War - Zerg Mission 9 The Reckoning

Notes

• In the briefing for this mission, Duran claims that Zeratul secretly bypassed the zerg defenses and abducted Raszagal. Kerrigan is surprised by this development. However, this seemingly contradicts the end of the previous mission, which shows Zeratul warping away with Raszagal while Kerrigan watches.
  • Duran's report and Kerrigan's subsequent surprise may have been in regard to Zeratul successfully smuggling Raszagal past the zerg's immediate defenses, rather than the abduction itself.
• Completing this mission in less than 25 minutes unlocks the secret mission Dark Origin.
• If the time runs out before the protoss base is destroyed, Duran will tell Kerrigan that the cerebrate was too slow and that the protoss are escaping. The protoss are then shown warping away.