Mission 9: The Reckoning

Conditions for winning

• Destroy the Protoss base within 30 minutes
• Recover the Matriarch and Zeratul

Conditions for losing

• The 30 minute timer runs out

When you start the mission, start collecting resources right away. You'll have good technology at your disposal as well as a Hive and some troops. Move your Guardians south and destroy the Terran base there along with all your initial force.

Start a Hatchery right away and begin an Extractor as the Hatchery is building. Build more Zerglings and another Hatchery in your main base. If you have the minerals, build another Hatchery in your main base or at the expansion. Start pumping out Zerglings and Hydralisks as soon as you have the minerals. When there's about 12 minutes left, attack full force with all the Hydralisk, Zergling, Ultralisk, Mutalisk and Guardians you can muster.

Send in the Ultralisks first, then the Zerglings, followed up by the Hydralisks. Your Guardians can either serve as an overhead guard or another prong in the attack by having them attack from the western side of the Protoss base. Keep building units at your main base and your expansion and send them in whenever they're built.

You should be able to destroy the Protoss base with 5 minutes or more time remaining. If you did, then you get to do on to the secret mission. An alternate strategy to this mission is to drop units off the west edge, where the Protoss don't expect you as much. This tactic can work well, if the Reavers are giving you too much trouble.