The Swarm Grows: Meet the New Zerg Additions

The Swarm Grows

Welcome back, commanders! I wish we could meet in more pleasant circumstances, but our enemies have different plans. Damn those bugs! Reports from battlefields across the whole Koprulu sector speak about new bio-organic terrors within Zerg swarms. Whenever one of those organisms appeared on the battlefield, our usual combat methods proved to be… less than satisfactory. That's where you step in, commanders. Check out those raptors, learn as much as you can, and find a way to effectively fight these beasts. Our boys and girls on the ground are counting on you. Good luck.
 

The Defiler

The Defiler is one of the most iconic and terrifying support units from the original video game. No surprise it found the way to the tabletop so quickly. Placed on a 40mm base, the Defiler serves as a premier support piece that won't stand its ground in any serious brawl, but will shape the battlefield, creating safe zones for fragile zerglings and punishing tightly packed enemy gunlines.
 

The most basic ability of the Defiler is the Dark Swarm. Place a token on the battlefield, making friendly units nearby eligible to make evade rolls against all attacks in the assault phase. What’s more, units of size one gain a plus one modifier to those rolls! Can you imagine how much easier it will be to keep your zerglings alive? No more losing half of them in a single attack. There is another reason why those little ankle-biters should stay close to the defiler. 

Remember Consume? Yes, we have it. Defilers can destroy any nearby friendly model, reducing the biomass cost of its abilities. For obvious reasons, it’s better to sacrifice a zergling than a roach. 

All that extra biomass will be very useful for the Defiler’s most iconic ability: Plague! Use a blast template to deal non-lethal damage to a group of enemies. The more biomass you use, the more damage Plague will deal, so don’t be shy and eat at least a zergling every round!
 

Broodmother Zagara

Zagara is the ultimate force multiplier. While Kerrigan focuses on psionic devastation and individual combat, Zagara thrives on sheer numerical dominance. She is another addition to the Zerg army, which incentivises quantity over quality.
 

First and foremost, Zagara is a queen, she possesses many of their abilities (though not all). What makes her stand out is her Broodmother ability, allowing, once per round, to choose a special bonus for a unit of a specific size. Do you want to improve the impact rolls of all your size one units, or maybe provide all your size three units with TOUGH (1) for every armour roll? Zagara has you covered. Infested Drop is another very useful trick to have in your tool belt. Once per round, Zagara’s base can be used as an entry edge, delivering a new unit directly to the front lines!
 

Zagara's Swarm

Choosing the Zagara's Swarm Faction Card shifts your army into an unstoppable horde. During the Combat Phase, if your active unit outnumbers enemies it is engaged with, you can use the “Scourge Queen” ability to give its close combat weapons INSTANT and PRECISION (4). Surrounding a lone Goliath or Stalker with a 12-model Zergling squad turns the fight into an absolute bloodbath. If you find yourself on the receiving end of a close combat attack, use “Instinctive Reaction” to make an evade roll against it. Poor zealots expecting an easy win against zerglings will be very disappointed.
 

Reactive Creep is a unique Creep Card for Zagara’s Swarm. Any friendly Zerg unit standing ON CREEP gains DODGE (1) against all incoming attacks. This one isn’t super useful for zerglings, but if you want to extend the life of your roches, Reactive Creep is a perfect choice!
 

Bile Launcher

There is one more surprise waiting in Zagara’s box. I hope you like artillery, because the Bile Launcher is targeting your position. Prepare to run.
 

Bile Launcher is the biological structure you can place anywhere on the table within 18’’ from your entry edge. With its amazing range provided by the Bombard ability, it can target almost every spot on the table (line of sight not required!), dealing massive damage to any armoured target and leaving behind a creep tumour. It did require placing a marker in the movement phase, but this is fair, as your opponent needs time to prepare for the incoming bombardment. Did I forget to mention that the Bile Launcher is also the first structure capable of holding objective markers? I bet you can find a way to take advantage of that fact.
 

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them!

Commanders, with this knowledge, you are ready to face and defeat any creature those bugs throw at you! What are you saying? You would rather join them and become part of the swarm?! Well, I don’t blame you. Our chances look grim, so that may be the only option we have left. 

Pre-Order Wave 3 Today: Secure your Zagara Hero Expansion Set, Defiler Expansion Set, and Zerg Custom Dice Set at your local game store or directly from our webstore!

Join the Community: Share your painted miniatures and battle reports with us on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarCraftTMG/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/StudioArchon
Discord: https://discord.gg/7ptgYs7JHG