StarCraft: Brood War/Protoss Mission 7: The Insurgent


 * Location
 * Shakuras


 * Difficulty
 * 6 out of 10


 * Mission Objective
 * Kill the traitor Aldaris.


 * New Unit
 * Protoss Dark Archon


 * New Enemy Unit
 * None


 * Special Units
 * 2 Hallucination Aldarises (High Templar)
 * Aldaris (High Templar)

Walkthrough
The real Aldaris is at the very top of the map. Attacking the other two will make Aldaris taunt you, but is otherwise useless. Anyway, you start this mission with a decent base and a selection of dark templar and dark archons. However, the high templar have sided with Aldaris, so high templar and archons are unavailable. Enemy attacks are fairly powerful, using archons, zealots, and reavers. However, most of these can be blunted easily with a dark archon's mind control. Claim those archons for yourself and turn the tables! Quickly build up some photon cannons at the entrance, since the few you have won't cut it. Also remember that the computer loves to sneak air units over your walls to wreak havoc, so put a few cannons on each side. Also, while the dragoons on the raised platforms make a nice early warning system, they'll be better at defense if you pull them back.

Build up a small team of zealots and dragoons, any archons you can capture, and a probe, and move northwest. You'll come to a place with two bridges. The one on the left leads straight to an enemy base, so put up a few photon cannons to block it. It'll save you trouble later. Then move your army across the other bridge and clear out the defenses around the mineral fields. Secure it with some photon cannons in case you need the resources.

Now you have two options. Crush Aldaris mercilessly with an overwhelming army, or do a quick but powerful strike to kill only him. The first one involves using your newly captured resources to build up a group of scouts and carriers, and doing the usual smashing through defenses. Launching an attack from the west side by air seems to be the easiest way into his base.

The second one is a variation on the classic "Reaver Drop." Get a pack of shuttles (I did it with 4, but the more, the merrier!), and a pack of Dark Archons. If you have plenty of resources and weren't worn down by enemy attacks, build some scouts for air cover. Load your archons into the shuttles, move as close as you can to Aldaris without alerting the photon cannons, and then order all of your shuttles to unload on his platform. Send your scouts in at the same time to draw fire. As soon as a Dark Archon hits the platform, use Mind Control on Aldaris. Instant win. Enjoy the ensuing cutscene and plot twists.