Archon

Hightlights

• Attack Type: Splash Ranged (3)
• Attack Damage: 25 (+ 9 after max upgrades) Bonus vs Biological 10
• Speed: Attack (1.75) Movement (2.81) Sight (10)

Use of Archon

• Can attack ground and air units.
• Deals +10 damage to biological units.
• The Archon has a very good shield, but be careful, because it has few health points and once the shield is gone, the Archon will be almost instantly killed.
• Doesn’t require minerals or vespene, but you have to sacrifice two High or Dark Templars.
• Very strong against Mutalisk.
• Weak against Thor, Ultralisk and Immortal.

Abilities

 

			Protoss Ground Weapons – Increases the damage of ground units. Has three upgrades.
			Protoss Ground Armor – Increases the armor of ground units. Has three upgrades.
			Protoss Shield – Improves the shield armor of all units and structures. Has three upgrades.

Competitive play with Archon

 

Generally speaking the Archons are a heavy support unit with extremely powerful splash attack to bio units. What’s more their range (3) gives them the opportunity to sit safely behind the Zealots, which absorb the major damage, and deal tons of damage. Another strong point is that the Archon is very durable unit thanks to its shield and you can use it to pull the Archon back and then return it when the shield regenerates.

The downside and the main reason why there not widely used in competitive plays is due to their high gas cost. An Archon can be morphed from a couple of Dark (250 minerals 250 gas ) or High Templars ( 100/300 ) or mixed ( 175/275 ), but these units are also very useful on their own.

 

VS Terran

The Archon is a good addition to your army when fighting Terrans, because after your Dark Templar rush is over you can morph them. The popular Terran strategies feature bio units, so the slash bonus attack of the Archon is very efficient. What’s more, it is a massive unit, which makes it immune to Concussive Shells. Important thing here is to mention that the Ghost’s EMP will drain only 100 shield from the Archon.

VS Protoss

This is where the Archon proves to be most useful. The popular Sentry/Stalker/Colossus strategy is effectively countered by the Archons for several reasons:

• They are massive units, which mean that they will break the Force Fields on contact.
• They are very durable and it takes 36 kits from a Stalker to be destroyed.
• The large size of the Archon minimizes the slash damage of the Colossi and Psionic Storm.

However it is very important to have nice micro control, because pulling Archons near death and them bringing them back in with max shied is crucial here.

VS Zerg

The Archons are a beautiful alternative to the Colossi strategy, because the vast majority of the Zerg’s army is bio. If you open with Zealots/High Templars, you can easily stop the popular Zergling/Baneling rush and in mid game you can make the transition to Zealot/Archon. Use the Zealots as shield so that your Archons don’t get surrounded and unleashed their massive AOE damage. What’s more, they are very effective against Mutalisks, because they are bio and tend to stack up when attacking, which maximizes the AOE effect.

 

Countermeasures

 

VS Terran Use the Thor's 250mm Cannon ability to blast their shield in one strike. The Ghost's EMP round ability is able to shatter the Archon’s shield.
	VS Protoss Send mass Stalkers with the vital Blink ability to deal with the Archon threat. The Immortals will use their Hardened shield to absorb the massive damage of the Archon and minimize it. They are devastating for the Archons. You can use a few Colossus because their can benefit from the terrain’s natural obstacles and use their bigger range to neutralize the Archons.
VS Zerg Use the Infestor's abilities like Mind Control to turn the Archon against his own troops or Fungal Growth to root them to the ground. The fully upgraded Roaches are pretty efficient against the mighty Archon. A massive group of Hydralisks can handle them. Focus-fire is crucial.