Zealot

My personal favorite unit, the Zealot, is making its second debut in StarCraft 2. All of the features of the zealot seem to be in tact - it is still the heaviest, most powerful, yet most expensive base unit of all the races. The main difference at the moment is that the zealot has a new charge ability which will be upgraded at the War Shrine (a building that has yet to be officially announced). It is not yet known whether this will replace or act in conjunction with the zealot speed upgrade.

Immortal

It is clear with the introduction of the immortal (as well as the zealot charge upgrade) that Blizzard is looking for ways to better balance the Protoss vs Terran matchup. The immortal will be a hard-hitting and very heavily armored ground unit that will be especially good against enemy artillery (tanks etc). Taking the place of the dragoon, the immortal will be a vital component to any Protoss ground force.

High Templar

Although the high templar has yet to be seen in action, it is a confirmed in-game unit. It was announced that the high templar will *not* have the hallucination ability but further information has not yet been released.

Dark Templar

Although little information has been given on the Dark Templar, it is in fact a *confirmed* unit for StarCraft 2.

Twilight Archon

The Twilight Archon is a new Protoss unit that will replace both the archon and the dark archon of the original StarCraft. Although the wording on the StarCraft 2 official website caused some confusion (making it seem as if there would be 3 different types of archons), it is unlikely that there will be more than just the twlight archon floating around in SC2. The twilight archon seems to borrow most of the attributes of the normal archon with its static attack. Gameplay footage seems to suggest, however, that archon splash damage has been dumbed down or completely removed.

The twilight archon can be formed by merging 1 HT 1 DT, 2 HT, or 2 DT.

Stalker

The stalker is similar to the immortal but with what seems to be more of a focus on neutralizing infantry. Gameplay footage shows the stalker smashing marines. What is very interesting about this unit, however, is its Blink ability. The stalker can quickly blink across a short distance to gain and attack on its enemy. It will be great to see how this ability actually works into SC2 strategy and gameplay.

Colossus

The Colossus is one of the more typical alien-type technologies that we often think of - gigantic, laser-shooting, walking robots. Ignoring the cliche, the colossus should actually be a very unique unit with some interesting impact on SC2 strategy.

One of its main features is its ability to walk up and down landscape obstacles such as cliffs or ledges. Because of its long legs the colossus can maneuver what normal units cannot. Its height, however, will make it susceptible to air attacks. The colossus also has a sweeping laser rather than burst shots. This laser can be focused on one spot or order to move in a semi-circle to maximize damage against swarming units. The colossus should be a tide-turner against swarming Zerg units or massive amounts of marauding reapers or marines.

Warp Ray

Warp Rays are the ultimate air-to-air Protoss units. They eat battlecruisers for breakfast and relish in any air combat. They have a streaming attack which increases in damage over time making it the weapon of choice against large enemy air units.

Phoenix

Although the phoenix does not have the high air-to-air damage that the warp ray boasts, it is a more versatile air-to-ground and air-to-air unit with the ability to “overheat” causing significant burst damage. The phoenix replaces both the corsair and scout. I can’t say that I will miss the scout as I can’t think of a single competitive game where I’ve used it, but I hope the phoenix retains some of the attributes of the corsair as it was an amazing unit.

Phase Prism

The phase prism will replace the shuttle from the original StarCraft, but it will also have one very unique (and possibly life-changing) ability: Phasing Mode. As in StarCraft, Protoss buildings in StarCraft 2 require pylons to become “Powered” (otherwise they are “unpowered” and are not active). While in phasing mode, the phase prism acts as a temporary pylon and allows one to build active buildings around it!

The phase prism will be useful if you are attacked and the enemy goes for a pivotal pylon. If it is destroyed your phase prism can buy you just a little more time to continue production or to keep your cannons active until you can replace the pylon. There are other uses for the phase prism as well, but it is mostly theory so I will wait until more gameplay footage of the phase prism is out before going into more detail.

Mothership

The Protoss mothership is the only announced “superunit” - meaning it will hurt you. It has three abilities all of which are designed to annihilate. Screenshots of the mothership in action show it decimating hordes of Terran marines with a single attack. It is so powerful that a Protoss player can only have one mothership active at a time!