New Codex Faction! Feedback Welcomed

Codex
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I am going to start and end with a huge thank you to the few of you that have provided some very valuable and much needed feedback!

I have revisited the drawing board. The faction was originally Zerg (Starcraft, both 1 and 2) inspired. Initially it was named the Zurg Collection. I have changed the first word to Zurk (eg Zurklings)… and am still chewing on “Collection” vs “Collective” vs something else entirely. It is a race/species that assimilates others into its collective hive mind, thus the current name.

I drew upon a lot of the inspiration from @EricF’s post above to almost completely rework the Brown starter deck.

Per @zhavier’s suggestion, I may still consider taking the Zurkling out of the starter deck, but that may have an adverse interaction with the Evolution Tech 1 card, the way it is in the current draft. Zagara can still summon Zurklings, as can the starter deck spell, but if someone were playing multicolor with Evolution, the Tech 1 would be useless if you did not also use either the Swarm spec or use the brown starter deck. Now that I am thinking about it, the Evolution spec in its current iteration is almost married to the Brown starter deck. I guess it could be splashed with 2 other color/specs for Abathur’s spells / hero abilities / tech 2 & 3… it just would be challenging to do well (I feel like that line just triggered someone into wanting to find a way to do just that).

@zhavier If you do me the honor of another review, I would be curious to hear if you still think the Zurkling unit should be removed from the starter deck as it currently is. As far as haste goes, in SC2, the “Zergling Speed” upgrade combined with creep spread from creep tumors allows Lings to get into almost any fight very very quickly (short build time compared to all other units, balanced by them being weak / slow early game without upgrades and creep spread). I kind of think as the current Creep Tumor card (ongoing spell in starter deck) as representing that level-up process.

Addressing the feedback from @Nopethebard, The started deck only had 5 units, which was supported by Zagara’s ability to summon a 1/1 (like Garth). However, the units available were a bit cheap and squishy and the starter deck has been completely revamped. Baneline has been reworked into a Tech 1 within Evolution. I am not 100% sure about the mechanic yet, but I like the idea, especially for the theme of that spec. Lastly, Abathur’s spells were all tuned down slightly. Changelog on page 2 of document.

@feathers Can you share a link to the spec you proposed? I would be interested in perusing.

@charnel_mouse Thanks so much for your interest in wanting to test this out, once we get past some of the obvious balance tweaks needed! Starter deck has been reworked… Abathur’s spells have been reworked… Dehaka as a combat hero has been reworked into a unique place (I am not sure how he will fare as is, but has been tuned down from his previous). I added to the text of spells which I was thinking should be targeted.

The 3 specs are: Evolution, Primal, Swarm

The Evolution hero, Abathur, Genetic Sequencer
Abathur is a spellcaster like Argagarg Garg. He is focused on the evolution of the species and continual enhancement and empowering. I have revisited and toned down the power of his spells slightly. The Symbiote spell likely needs a slight tweak as it is currently just “Rampant Growth”. I have contemplated lowering the cost and keeping the effect, or boosting the effect (more akin to Dinosize).

The Primal hero, Dehaka, Apex Predator
Dehaka is all about aggression and has naturally drawn to his side the most robust and physically impressive specimens. His previous version was a bit too powerful, so I took away swiftstrike completely and changed around his stats. He starts off the game very strong with a 2/4 body like Rook, but as he advances he only grows to a 3/4 then a 4/4. He is an aggressive hero, encouraged to attack through Readiness (mid band) and Overpower (max band), and has the option to make up for his lack of health through his spells, particularly Adapt Mutation (which has been slightly reworked from he previous version).

The Swarm hero, Zagara, Queen Broodmother
Zagara believes that every species plays a role in enhancing the overall power of the collective. She is first and foremost a queen, however she has evolved beyond the majority of her kind and is a paragon of their kind. She too is a caster, but of a different sort. Her spells mimic several of the standard queen abilities, but at an enhanced level. She has a top band ability like Garth to summon 1/1 tokens (same as before), but she starts as a fragile 2/2 that grows to a 2/4 and then a 2/6. My one concern with that currently is that the queen unit in the starter deck is a 1/3. So Zagara should probably be changed to a 1/3 or 2/3. I will need to revisit that before the final version I print to test. The swarm spec contains several of the most powerful spellcasting units from the collective.

Other Stuff:

The new document linked here has 3 pages.

  • Page 1 is the new faction in my standard format. (I have this in an Excel Doc)
  • Page 2 hides some fields to make room for:
    • Comparable Cards (where applicable)
    • Changes from previous version.
  • Page 3 is the original I had shared.

Thank you all so much for feedback! It may not yet be in its current form, but I feel a lot better about it now than in its previous version.

Without further ado, here is the revised Faction: Zurk Collective

(hopefully I got the shareable link right this time)
Edit: 1st try at fixing link

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You linked the first draft again.

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I don’t have the Google drive app. I will fix the link in 1-2 hours and edit this post stating when it has been done. Sorry I am so bad at this.

Edit 1: took a stab at fixing it. LMK <3

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It works now

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It looks really cool. Overseer may need to have something like a “tech 0 or 1 units” phrase so it can’t drop an Ultralisk or something. Either way, I’m eager to Zergling Drop and Nydus Worm in Codex

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I was just watching an SC2 game’s commentary yesterday where the Protoss player (Zest) dropped a Xenostalker (a Colossus) behind enemy lines using its transport unit (Phase Prism) against his Terran opponent (TY) in the Katowice series/event - cast by WinterStarcraft… game 1 or 2 of 4.

Anyway, I don’t know if Overseers can actually lift massive units (Ultralisk). It may or may not.

The more important thing would be the balance impact for codex. I’d be interested to hear a few other opinions about whether the overseer could be tested as is or needs a modification.

Edit: additional response to @Nopethebard
I was always more of a Protoss player in SC1 & SC2. Never was particularly extraordinary, but I enjoyed the series and campaigns. The few Protoss inspired units that made their way into purple were an inspiration to me to bring the morph xenomorphic aliens too. But, I have made Zerg & Protoss additions to other games too. Codex is a perfect medium for it though.

I too am excited to throw around some alien hordes. Swarms of zerglings… powerful Xeno heroes… some unique new spells and mechanics explored.

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I was talking about balance reasons. Giving a unit Unstoppable is really strong. I just used the ultra as a unit that is probably too good if it can be used this way

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It may be fine as-is tho

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I like the ideas, some ideas for cleaning up cards text/flavour:

Banelings: Given you have +armour abilities in the same spec, this can patrol and deal damage to multiple units, which feels unintended for a unit that explodes on dealing damage. Changing the text to “After this deals damage: Sacrifice this unit” also reads more cleanly imo.

Dehaka Statline: 2/4 at level 1 and Zagara 2/6 at lvl 6. Rook is literally made of stone. It is for this reason he always has the most hp at every level. It feels weird to me that other heros have the same toughness at the respictive levels. if Dehaka is an alpha predator / incredible strong either a unique statline of 3/2 at level 1 might be interesting, or if his toughness is super important a 2/2 or 2/3 with Attacks: gain 1 armour until end of turn sound preserve this idea without stepping on Rocks toes (other ideas include halfing damage, or some sort of self regen on upkeep). Given Zagara abilities/spells, a 2/5 at max feels fine.

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Self-regen of some kind seems the most thematic approach IMO

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Getting close to a testable faction!

@Shadow_Night_Black Awesome feedback and thank you for the suggestions (Dehaka, Zagara & Banelines… more below)

I do not want to step on Rook’s toes! I was just trying to use him for inspiration / balance.

Cleanup: (Single-indented)
Balance Questions: (Double-indented)

  • Verbiage - As @EricF mentioned in post 19, I will change Creep Tumor’s wording to eliminate the redundant reference to “… units and tokens”, since it will affect both. (@zhavier also pointed this out in post 18). Similarly, I will get rid of that redundant wording in Evolve Baneline and Broodmother. This was mostly due to a misunderstanding / over-specification on my part.
  • Baneling - As @Shadow_Night_Black suggested, I will change the Baneling to read “… sparkshot and ‘after this deals damage: sacrifice this unit.’” That is more thematic. Will have to test how it plays. I am concerned that “Evolve Baneling” might be a little weak potentially. You should have ample sources of Zurklings (either through the starter deck unit, the starter deck Zurkling Rush spell, Zagara’s top-band ability, Zagara’s Swarm Attack spell, and late-game the Broodmother T3 in the Evolution spec)… however paying 1 gold and sacrificing a unit for a 3/1 seems a pinch on the weak side (Baneling dies to Deteriorate.) After play-testing it, I may consider dropping the gold cost to 0 either originally or the activation cost… or changing the Baneling unit to a 4/1 (still susceptible to counterplay, but more of a threat.) For comparison… The Present unit Sentry is a 3/2 with sparkshot and a prevent 1 damage as a Tech 1. So a 3/1 sparkshot seems a little on the lower end. The advantage of Evolution’s current “Evolve Baneling” is that it is an upgrade (harder to remove/answer) and has potential repeat value.
    • I would love balance feedback on the Baneling (pre-testing thoughts).
  • Dehaka - My first thought with Dehaka was he starts out tough and then evolves to become an aggressive threat as he levels up, especially if he techs in spells to support that. On that basis, I would lean more towards the 2/3 with “Attacks: Gain 1 armor this turn.” to support him having that slightly more-beefy-than-average feel, early on. Given that change:
    • What are your thoughts on his mid-band and max-band statline, ability & cost. Assuming those don’t change, does he seem worthy of testing with just the above change? (At level 4 he becomes a 3/4 with readiness and at level 7 a 4/4 with overpower.)
    • Does that revised Top-band ability / statline too redundant with his “Adapt Mutation” spell? If you think so, any thoughts/suggestions on tweaking that around?
  • Zagara - She is kind of a half-caster and with starting as a 2/2 (with the ability to summon 1/1 tokens like Garth), I think it might be better to send her into testing on the lower end of the power scale. I was firing from the hip when first putting this together. I could see putting her statline at 2/2 > 2/3 > 2/4. She has a little more damage and less health that way.
  • Other:
    • Do the Tech 3’s for each of the 3 specs seem powerful enough to be fun and potentially situationally useful, without being way too powerful? (I really like the thematic representation of the Brutalisk in Primal… if you are familiar with the inspiring unit, hopefully it gives you some nostalgic feels.)
    • Should the Mutalisk be a 2/2?

If I don’t hear anything more from you guys over the next ~week, I will proceed with making a proxy-set of this faction to start testing out.

I am hoping to hear from one of the senior players here (the guys who know this game like the back of their hand) regarding if any of the specific cards in any of the 3 specs have broken combos with existing specs, or if everything feels like it would be at least play-test-able in its current form, with the changes noted in this post.

I very much appreciate all the help you guys have thrown at me so far.

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Banelings seem okay as they are. Baneling as an Upgrade to a unit type that you can mass produce is inherently powerful. You can use them to decimate patrol zones in a way that few Tech 1s can. Please don’t buff them further.

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You are limited in how many Banelings you can generate and they do not have haste. Thus your opponent has the opportunity to respond to them. (1 damage to a patroller or unit to answer.) Additional analysis below regarding their cost.

Sacrificing a Zurkling as part of the cost to summon a Baneling comes with several opportunity costs.

  • Abathur’s top-band ability makes ZLings into 1/2’s instead of 1/1’s.
  • Abathur’s mid-band wants to eat ZLings for potential card draw.
  • Starter deck upgrade Creep Tumor gives ZLings haste and makes them better patrollers.
  • Abathur’s non-ultimate spells synergize well with ZLings.
  • Sequence Morphology (Evolution Tech 2) upgrade gives ZLings +1 armor and does not benefit BLings.
  • Broodmother (Evolution, Tech 3) summons & buffs ZLings. Okay, not super relevant to the above…
  • Dehaka’s ultimate spell = channeling +2 attack to your units. (Useful on BLings, but the cheaper nature of ZLings and potential for haste makes this more impactful on ZLings.)
  • Zagara’s max-band ability gives your units Frenzy 1. (Useful on BLings, but the lack of potential haste makes this more impactful on ZLings.)

Currently, you need to pay 1 to play the upgrade, then tap & pay 1 more to turn a Zurkling into a 3/1 sparkshot (that dies as soon as it deals damage, either from attacking or defending… to prevent Armor abuse with them).

Cost:

  • Scenario 1: The starter deck ZLing costs a card + 0 gold. (0 gold + card)
  • Scenario 2: The starter deck spell costs a card + 2 gold, for 2 ZLings. (1 gold + 1/2 card each)
  • Scenario 3: Zagara costs 2 to summon, then 1 gold for a 1/1 ZLing. (1 gold + hero)
  • Scenario 4: Zagara’s spell costs a card + 5 gold for 4 ZLings. (1.25 gold each + 1/4 card)
  • Scenario 5: Broodmother (not going to address as a source of Lings, because Tier 3)

In each of those scenarios, the upgrade then needs to pay 1 gold for activation and sacrifice the unit, plus tap (max of once per turn, unless you build 2 upgrades).

With the activation cost on Evolve Baneling, the effective cost of the 3/1 sparkshot is:

  • Scenario 1: (1 gold + card)
  • Scenario 2: (2 gold + half a card)
  • Scenario 3: (2 gold + hero)
  • Scenario 4: (2.25 gold + 1/4 card)
  • Scenario 5: does not compute

In each scenario above, the very 1st Baneling produced costs +1 gold, due to the upgrade’s original cost to play. So even in the cheapest scenario, the Baneling is strictly inferior to a Sentry (due to lack of the extra ability.) The compensating value is that the Tech 1 card is an Upgrade, which is harder to remove, and you have control over when to use it. For example, you could get value out of a ZLing by attacking and then sacrificing it for 1 gold to put in a 3/1 blocker instead for one.

All that said… I won’t… for now :wink:
They are probably fine to be tested, as is.
I was just stating I think there is a chance they may be underwhelming in practice.
I am excited to see how this will work out, in play.
Edit 3 Addendum: The more and more I analyze this, the more I think it is probably okay as it.

Thanks!

Edit 1: Added emoji, and Dehaka’s ult to top list.
Edit 2: Adjusted the effective cost on Baneling to account for the upgrade’s cost.
Edit 3: Updated a miscalculation on Scenario 4. Had original referred to Zurklings as Lings, but realized this was not ideal in a post also about Banelings and have updated them to ZLings & BLings.

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Links

========
Testing: vs Green @charnel_mouse Green vs @bolyarich Brown

  • Game 1, P1=Green, Green wins T6 by MOLAC
    • This is a good time to discuss that Brown has virtually no answer currently to ugrades. (Tech 2 Swarm unit “Infestor” can steal an upgrade, if it hits a base. However that unit is only a 2/4 for 3 gold without stealth or haste.)
      • Green has a lot of answers for upgrades (Nature Reclaims, Potent Basilisk, T-rex)
      • White has an answer in Versatile Style
      • Purple has an answer in Assimilate
      • Blue has a preventative measure in Reputable Newsman
      • Black has a quasi-answer in tech 3 from Zarramomde, and additional threat from discard with Carrion Curse.
      • Red has no direct answer, but has overwhelming aggressive pressure to keep opponents from having time to actualize upgrades for value.
        - Brown is currently a little weak in this department. This could be addressed with the cards under consideration for tweaks below.
  • Game 2, P1=Green in progress

Testing: vs Purple @Nopethebard Purple vs @Archon Brown

  • Game 1, P1=Purple in progress

Faction: Zurk Collective

  • Draft 1 in post 1 was scrapped. The starter deck was significantly reworked.
  • Link above is to the most current version.

Open Balance Considerations for discussion:

========

  1. Abathur’s spell "Symbiote

    • This card is currently a copy of rampant Growth, which in most situations is not strong enough to warrant teching in one of the very limited slots.
    • Current idea for a rework: rename to “Adrenaline Infusion” - Cost 1 or 2 - Choose one: Give a unit +3 ATK and ephemeral until end of turn; or Give a unit or hero +2 ATK / +2 armor this turn.

  2. Both evolution tech 1 options feel a little too weak amd slow to use. (Tech them in at the start of T2, maybe see them to play on T3, they don’t start creating potential value until T4 typically.)

    • Current idea for rework: Drop the cost of Evolve Baneling from 1 to 0 to play and gove the upgrade haste. It will still require a 1 gold activation cost and require to exhaust (to limit to 1 per turn). I would consider alternatively making the activation cost 2 but removing the exhaust requirement.
    • Current idea for rework: Leave the cost as is for Evolve Ravager, but add the following text to the upgrade, “Your Roaches gain +1 health.” This keeps Ravagers a little slower to get out (than Banelings) but also makes it a little easier to do by increasing the stat line of your Roaches to a 2/3 for 2. I feel like this may make them viable. Definitely open for discussion.

  3. I am on the fence about Ultimate Evolution (Abathur’s Ultimate spell). It does not feel strong enough. It may need to be revisited.

  4. Dehaka: as discussed in the posts above, so as not to step on Rook’s “Big Body” toes… Dehaka’s health at level 1 dropped to 3, but adding, “Attacks: Gain 1 armor until end of turn.” This gives him a slightly tankier feel and supports using him aggressively. However, this interacts with his spell Adapt Mutation. Worthy of testing.

  5. Primal Power: Dehaka’s current ultimate spell is similar to Drakk, but inferior in potential value. I may tweak it around or scrap it entirely. Another idea I had for an ultimate for Dehaka would be a spell that gives him Indestructible until end of turn or start of next turn. Just a thought.

  6. Sequence Morphology: This card is unique, but I am not sure if it is valuable enough to be playable in most matchups, as it comes online very late. This card may end up getting scrapped.

  7. Hydralisk is currently an inferior version of Huntress or Gunpoint Taxman. It probably needs a very small ability to increase its value ever so slightly. I am not sure what to do with it.

  8. Evolve Husk (primal tech 2): Considering adding heroes instead of just units.

  9. Zagara: Her statline in the most recent version is 2/2, 2/4, 2/6. That has her ending HP in line with Rook’s (though without 2 lives). I could see making her a 2/2, 2/3, 2/4 and reducing her level advancement cost, or making her 2/2, 2/4, 2/5 and tweaking her advancement costs less. Additionally, she is a Hero of the Queen unit, which at the base is a 1/3 with anti-air. I could see maybe putting her stat line more in line with Garth’s but giving her anti-air. However, as she represemts the spec of Swarm, her ability to summon Zurklings is essential. Also, giving her anti-air would take away from the potential scenarios in which you would want to use the Queen from the starter deck. This is all still being wrestled with mentally.

  10. Swarm Attack: This card is currently a slightly inferior version of Murkwood Allies. It has a lot of potential in-faction synergy… but the cost may need to drop by 1. Or an additional effect may need to be added.

  1. I want to see Cerebrate in play. It may need to trigger on arrival (due to its high cost.) It may also need a slight buff to its health.

These are just ideas for discussing, after we have seen a few games play out.

Thank you to all the people contributing to this effort!

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For Abathurs spell, probably worth looking at the power level of Argagarg’s spells, for comparison. Dinosize in particular, which does in fact affect heroes, as a direct upgrade to rampant growth

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My initial balance thoughts:

Starter Deck:

I like the starter deck and hero interactions. It has the opportunity for defense and shenanigans, plus a uniquely Zerg inspired feel.

  • Zurklings
    • I am considering putting text on them like Bluecoat Musketeer where they cannot have more than 3 ATK. (Due to the fact that they can be hasted.) However, thematically, it is fun to imagine what it would look like if Argagarg Garg Dinosized a Zurkling.
  • Hatchery
    • I think this card is fine as is, but one idea I had for tweaking it (so you don’t end up with a ton of buildings if I implement the next change below)… Rename it “Rapid Expansion” and have it be a 2 cost spell that when you play it, the spell becomes a worker rather than going to the discard pile. Would be awkward to word it.
  • Creep Tumor
    • This card is currently a 1 cost ongoing spell. It requires a hero or Queen to cast, but does not have channeling or attach to a unit. Another way this card could be implemented is to make it a 1 HP building for 1 gold, with Invisible and the same other text.
    • An additional thematic element that could then be added, would be to add the following text: “Upkeep: Put a creep spread rune on this card. When the 2nd rune is put on this card, put a copy of this card into play.” That way, if you play a Creep Tumor as P1T1 with a hero & worker, one T3 you will have a 2nd and on T5 you will have a 3rd put in play. This is another mechanical interpretation.
    • As a 1 HP Invisible building, it makes detection more viable as a counter-strategy, but also opens up the possibility for cards like Earthquake, and Death & Decay to do mass creep clears. This is a little less thematic early game, and a little more thematic later in game. It also allows for a different kind of counter-play.
Heroes:
  • Dehaka:
    • As discussed above, in the next version, at Level 1 Dehaka will be a 2/3 with Attacks: Gain 1 armor this turn, instead of being a 2/4. (Makes him slightly less beefy early game, but with stacking Adapt Mutation, has the potential to make him a menace late game.)
  • Zagara
    • Her HP will probably be dropped. Not sure if it will go to a 2,3,4 or 2,4,5 progression. Her attack will stay a 2 to make her more of a threat than other Queens. However, she will not be given Anti-Air like other Queens, otherwise there is almost no situation for using them.
  • Abathur
    • He hasn’t seen playtesting in any of the games yet. However, there is a very silly line you could play with him.
Spells:
  • Symbiote:
    • Currently: 2 gold, give a unit or hero +2 ATK / +2 armor this turn.
    • Idea 1: Rename “Adrenaline Boost”, 3 gold, Boost 3, Choose one: Give a unit +3 ATK & ephemeral this turn; or put a +1/+1 rune on up to two unit and/or heroes. If you boosted, choose both. (The wording may need to be tweaked so Abathur cannot target himself with this.)
    • This is a +1 priced inverse of Orpal’s Sickness, with built in flexibility and aggressive potential (Abathur is not an aggressive hero unless he can get his ultimate off, and even then he’s no Vandy.)
  • Primal Power
    • Dehaka’s ultimate spell is a weaker version in almost all cases of Drakk’s. Maybe this is still okay.
  • Swarm Attack
    • Currently: 5 gold, summon four 1/1 Zurklings with no patrol bonuses. Likely if you are playing this, you have a creep tumor in place to give them haste and patrol bonuses. This is just weaker than Calamandra’s Murkwood Allies.
    • Idea 1: Reduce cost to 4 gold and leave as is.
    • Idea 2: Now summons three 1/1 Zurklings plus a 2/2 Roach.
    • Idea 3: Could be combined with idea 2… Add a 2 gold Boost. If boosted, instead summon two 3/1 Banelings with sparkshot and one 3/4 Ravager. (Originally this card summon 4 1/1 bodies for 5 gold. Idea 1 just reduces the cost. Idea 2 keeps it at 4 bodies, but ups the total stats to 5/5 and reduces the aggressive potential of a full Zurkling swarm and adds a little more defensiveness. Idea 3 allows you to drop it to only 3 bodies ofr 7 gold, but total stats are 9/6.)
Tech I:
  • Evolve Baneling
    • The cost of this upgrade being reduced to 0. This upgrade gains haste.
  • Evolve Ravager
    • The upgrade gets the additional text: Your Roachs gain +1 HP.
  • Infested Human
    • This unit feels a little too weak at the moment. Not sure what to do with it yet.
Tech II:
  • Sequence Morphology
    • May scrap entirely. Open to new ideas.
  • Evolve Husk
    • Considering adding Heroes to it. (Gives -1 ATK to units or heroes that attack your buildings). This comes into play fairly late game and does not feel impactful enough as is.
  • Infestor
    • Feels weak, may tweak.
  • Cerebrate
    • Feels weak, may tweak. Low HP, high cost, no immediate impact. May make it trigger on arrival in addition to on upkeep.
    • If implementing the change to Creep Tumor listed in Starter Deck, could implement something like, "Cerebrate gains 1 armor for each Creep Tumor you control. Cerebrates were kind of late game antagonists in the campaign, that you had to push deep into Zerg territory to get to.
Tech III:

If implementing the change to Creep Tumor listed in Starter Deck…

  • Nydus Worm
    • Costs 1 less for each Creep Tumor you control. Makes creep spread a threat.
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I like the idea of a 1hp invisible building. I don’t think the busywork of tracking counters and making copies of it is worth it for the flavor.

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I still haven’t gotten around to reading the actual PDF yet so no comments on balance for anything, but this bit about the wording is resolved easily enough by borrowing the wording from Boot Camp.

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Going off of the version used in my playtest as Green against bolyarich, my main observation so far is that the starter cards aren’t scary enough. I can look at the starter cards as Green, from experience so far, and think “I’m not scared about any of these”. With the largest body that can attack being 2/2, and no spells that benefit units on the board, Brown has a less scary early game than Blue. I think it could do with some tuning up, and that should take precedence over adjusting Tech I onwards.

Flavour-wise, I don’t think giving haste to the Zerklings so early does what it’s intended to do. From my (very limited) experience of StarCraft I, the scary thing about fast Zurglings early on is one of two things:

  1. Easy surrounding of more vulnerable opposing units;
  2. Easy run-around to attack workers.

Given how the patrol zone and workers are handled in Codex, I don’t think granting Zerklings haste properly conveys either of these reasons that the early speed boost is scary. Maybe something like Rook’s midband would be more on-point.

Archon, you’ve mentioned you might have some ideas for handling the early game against Calamandra, maybe this might change things?

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If you want to convey zerglings tieing up opposing units, how about making them sideline anything they damage?

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