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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kronos182" data-source="post: 9770339" data-attributes="member: 6668634">Fangbrood HistoryThe Fangbrood is a Zerg brood that embodies speed, relentless aggression and adaptability. Although it does limit itself in some ways, as it doesn't rely on high-tier units like the Mutalisks, Lurkers, etc, but instead swarms with overwhelming numbers of Zerglings ang Hydralisks, enhanced by brood-specific mutations. They emphasize coordination: the Zerglings pin down enemies in melee while Hydralisks rain destruction from the rear.After Amon’s defeat, the Zerg are fragmented. Kerrigan has ascended beyond mortality, and the Swarm has no single ruler. Some broods wander aimlessly, others carve out empires, and ambitious broodmothers rise to fill the power vacuum. Amidst this chaos, Ssythara emerges with a radical vision: to rebuild the Swarm from simplicity and discipline, using only the two most fundamental strains — Zerglings and Hydralisks — refined into terrifying perfection. Ssythara's Fangbrood had landed on a distant Terran mining colony in the Koprulu Fring during the End War, and hadn't expanded much upon setting up a small foothold before Amon's defeat within subterranean caverns to additional protection. While building her forces, and sensing Kerrigan's ascension, Ssythara decided her views were the best, and began preparing to prove it. “The Swarm splinters. Its heart has ascended, its claws scatter like carrion birds. But I am no scavenger. I am hunger… endless, perfect hunger.”<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara</li> </ul> To aid Ssythara in her goals, she created a trio of advisors and assistance to help in her goals. Skryth the Mawtender who began developing the new strains for the zerglings that currently made up her forces, and later the hydralisks. Ylyth the Fangseer took to the role of tactical intelligence, guiding Ssythara's forces as they expand and strike. Finally Voryth the Carrion Host, acting as a field commander, particularly through attrition, boosting swarms with expandible spawns. Quickly expanding her holdings, Ssythara struck the Terran mining colony with a force of zerglings, consuming everything in their path. She also learns to create new strains of zerglings, shaderclaw, Ravagerspawn, which overwhelms the colony, taking them by surprise with the unusual new strains. Ylyth is birthed after it is found that Terran ghosts begin striking Ssythara's brood unseen. Ylyth leads attacks to destroy 3 Terran Ghost Command Centers, while fending off waves of ghost attacks on Fangbrood hives. Ssythara shortly moves to an abandoned Protoss jungle world to reclaim ancient spawning pools to expand her hydralisks. There she fights and defeats rogue feral zerg broods, and deal with heavy Protoss automated defenses. Ssythara creates new strains of hydralisks, the Impaler hydra, Venom Hydra and the Brood Hydras, declaring them the "second fang" of her vision, using them to devastating effect to tear through the broods and Protoss defenses.“The second fang awakens. Spines of death, perfected not in form, but in purpose. Together, they shall carve the galaxy clean.”<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara</li> </ul> During this time, Ssythara sends Skryth to Dominion hybrid labs, where they are experimenting with Zerg DNA, creating unstable hybrids, to consume and perfect these flawed experiments. Later it is learned that Protoss Purifiers are dissecting zerg tissue to "cleanse genetic corruption. Skryth demands they be destroyed and their technology reverse-engineered. Three Purifier cleansing arrays are found and destroyed, with Skryth feeding on their psionic cores, which allow Skryth to accelerate evolution research.Protoss deploy Dark Templar and Oracles to conceal a new base after the automated defense systems report increased zerg presence and their systems being destroyed. Ylyth leads forces to destroy the Protoss, granting the Fangbrood forces incredible coordination the Protoss were not expecting and were quickly overrun. During this time Voryth works to destroy Protoss psi-pylons that are powering purifying psi-fields, where Voryth sends swarms of carrion worms to overwhelm the defenses as the psy-field was slowing zergling and hydralisks, but was not affecting the carrion worms.A Dominion fortress is discovered, and is blocking Ssythara's advance off world. Voryth proposes flooding them with endless expendable units, where Voryth takes to the field, spawning carrion worms to assist a force of zerglings and hydralisks. As the Terran forces killed zerglings and hydralisks, they quickly found themselves overwhelmed as from the fallen corpses, more carrion worms would burst from the corpses and quickly overwhelm their defenses.  After solidifying her forces, Ssythara travels to Char to fight for dominance with rival Zerg broodmothers and face Zygmara. Her forces proving that Ssythara's doctrine works against more diverse Zerg forces. Through brutal attrition, this simplicity -perfected - triumphs over excess, and the other broods are consumed. Ssythara learns of a hidden Terran-Protoss research world, where they are experimenting on Zergs, traveling there to destroy and absorb the captive zerg into her brood before they are dissected. Taking to the field herself, she and her new zerg and hydralisk strains fight elite Protoss and Dominion hybrid task forces and orbital strikes from orbiting ships. Eventually, Ssythara consumes the hybrid core, crushing the Terran and Protoss alike, feeding on the hybrids to further refine her visions. “The galaxy will be consumed not by endless diversity, but by endless hunger. Two fangs, sharpened to perfection, shall bite through all.”<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara</li> </ul> After solidifying her position as a powerful brood that isn't going anywhere on Char, Ssythara expands her Fangbrood by absorbing other zerg broods and twisting their iconic strains into zergling/hydralisk hybrids, further refining the perfection of these two core strains, consuming the other broods' strengths, weaving them into her Fangbrood, but never allowing any strain to exist unaltered, reshaping their essence into her brood's core philosophy: only fangs, only.She starts with a brood that favours mutalisks and corruptors, on a Terran mining world that consists of expensive mountain ranges. Fending off flocks of mutalisk and corruptor flocks, the Fangbrood fend off aerial attacks as they roam the mountains and Terran mining operations to find, and consume the rival brood's central hive and spires to obtain the mutalisk essence. From this essence, Skryth developed the Skyfang zerglings capable of gliding leaps, and Wingspine Hydralisks where their spines are capable of ricocheting to damage nearby foes. Shortly after obtaining the Skyfang and Wingspine strains, Ssythara came across a zerg that was impressed in psionic chains by a rival brood. Seeing potential in this tall, eel-like zerg, named Zyrath, she released Xyrath, fighting across a jungle, leading them to safety, where Xyrath swore loyalty to Ssythara. Next Ssythara directs her forces to strike caverns that contain a brood that has a high population of roaches and ravagers, fighting off waves of roach ambushes. Her forces strip them of their shells, gifting resilience to her fangs, with the Burrowfang zerglings that are capable of moving and ambushing from underground; and the Chitinfang Hydralisks, which are covered in heavier armour, although they are slower, capable of shrugging off greater damage. A rival brood is discovered using ultralisks to trample Terran and Protoss fortifications, and she plans to shrink their titanic might into her swarm's jaws. Her forces lure ultralisks into ambushes where they are overwhelmed with massive swarms. Their essence provides the Titanfang zerglings, that are capable of rending thicker armour than before, with each strike greatly compromising enemy armour; while Spinebore Hydralinks attacks are capable of cleaving in a line, mimicking the ultralisks frontal sweep.Xyrath would prove to be exceptionally useful while engaging Protoss airships, immobilizing them long enough for Ssythara's forces to destroy them.  As Ssythara continues to expand a hive on another world, a rival hive denies ground with lurker spines, ambushing her forces. Eventually consuming this brood using a mix of her core units and the new Skyfang and Wingspines, the essence gained provides the spinefang zerglings that upon death launch spines damaging everything around their corpse; while the burrowfang hydralisks are capable of moving while burrowed, and unleashing lurker-like spines, but affect a shorter area. Shortly after her successful consumption of the lurker essence, a brood specializing in infestors, banelings and other plague creatures strikes. Fending off waves of infestors and banelings, this brood's essence provided the venomfang zerglings, which inject venom through claw strikes, ensuring even upon their death, wounded foes will eventually fall to the venom; while blightfang hydralisks leave pools of corrosive acid from those they kill. While travelling between planets, Ssythara's bio-ship was attacked by another brood's leviathan, and she wanted their essence dragged to the ground, binding its might to her fangs. Luring the leviathan to the surface, her forces struck, eventually killing it and consuming its essence, gaining the voidfang zerglings, capable of short range psionic leaps, phasing through terrain; and leviathyr hydralisks, that have void tendrils that lash out, slowing targets. Throughout all these conflicts, Ssythara's forces landed on various planets, and would find some unique lifeforms to draw essence from to create new strains, such as the Volcarapace created from the Pyroclast Behemoth found on the volcanic planet Dravak IV. Major ClashesSsythara, during the time of absorbing essence from other broods, would clash with the advisors of Kerrigan the Queen of Blades, after her accension, where they clash repeatedly.Zagara Broodmother to Swarm Queen, became the effective leader of the Swarm after Kerrigan ascends, believing in unity of the Swarm under one leader, while Ssythara rejects centralized leadership, favouring predatory strength. Zagara sees Ssythara as a dangerous splinter threatening fragile stability, while Ssythara views Zagara as weak, too diplomatic, too unwilling to devour rivals. Ssythara raids the occasional Zagara fringe holdings, but avoids direct conflict, as she gathers new essence. Zaraga sends agents and overseers to "warn" Ssythara.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Zagara: "Your Fangbrood bites recklessly. The Swarm must endure, not tear itself apart.”</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara replies: “Endure? Prey endures. Predators consume. I will not serve.”</li> </ul> Niadra Broodmother of the Leviathan, was left alone on a Protoss world and been growing her own brood, and is fanatically loyal to Kerrigan, seeing Ssythara as a blasphemer, dishonouring Kerrigan's gift. Ssythara considers Kerrigan's ascention as irrelevant, the future is Fang and Claw, with Niadra being delusional, chained to a departed master. They would clash, with Ssythara consuming part of Niadra's Leviathan Spawn.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Niadra: “The Swarm belongs to Kerrigan! I serve her alone!”</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara: “Your queen is gone. You bind yourself to a ghost while I devour the living.”</li> </ul> Ssythara sees Stukov as an aberration, a Terran parasite wearing Zerg flesh, thus he is prey to be consumed. Stukov attempts to subvert her Fangbrood with infestation. Several of their clashes are over derelict Terran installations. Abathur, the Evolution Master, continues crafting strains and preserving Swarm evolution, valuing diversity of strains, perfecting through variety, finding Ssythara's brood.. "inefficient, dangerous philosophy." Ssythara rejects his values, believing two perfected strains are superior to endless variety. She will seek ways to consume or imprison Abathur for his knowledge.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Abathur: “Brood narrow. Focused. Limits adaptation. Risk high. Philosophy flawed.”<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara: “Philosophy? No. Predation. Fangs pierce all.”</li> </ul></li> </ul>  Eventually, Zagara calls a convergence of Broodmothers to Char to deside the future of the Swarm. Ssythara arrives with her Fangbrood, fangs bared. This is not a council - it is a hunt.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Zagara: “The Swarm must endure. We cannot fracture again.”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ssythara: “Endure? No. Prey endures. Predators devour. Today, I bite.”</li> </ul> Ssythara begins striking out at the other broods, with others either waiting to see what happens after her first strike to see if they will fight her, or join in the opening strikes. Eventually Ssythara consumes a brood, causing all the others to become hostile, and she starts striking at the others, switching between consuming and subjugating other broods, eventually coming out on top. The New QueenAfter proving her philosophy is stronger, and consuming or subjugating other broods after Zagara's convergence on Char, she began transcending the role of "Broodmother." Where Kerrigan channeled the Swarm's unity into will and purpose, Ssythara embodied the hunger and endless recursion of Zerg evolution itself. Ssythara doesn't seek to control, she seeks to devour endlessly, birthing infinite variations of the swarm until all other life is subsumed. She undergoes a physical transformation, where her final form dwarfs even Kerrigan's Queen of Blades transformation. Her lower body is serpentine, her arms split into four serrated limbs, two tipped with bladed claws, two elongated into tendrils ending in fanged maws. Her head has grown a fanged jawplate that opens wider than her entire torso, surrounded by a crown of spined, hydralisk-light crests. Massive wings of chitin and membrane trail behind her. She's capable of spawning zerglings and hydralisks from glowing sacs that pulse with embryonic zerg strains in her wings, allowing her to create endless swarms. With her transformation, she also evolved Skryth and Ylyth to aid her in her new form, along with new strains. Her transformation started on a shattered Protoss research world, littered with ruins and imprisoned psionic echoes, where she infested these Protoss Archive sites, where she hears echoes of Amon's corruption and Kerrigan's ascension. After she travels to a Dominion weapons depot on a volcanic planet, where she corrupts Terran Arsenal Forges into mawpits to spawn and test mawspawnlings against entrenched Terran fortresses. Following information from the psionic echoes, Ssythara travels to a long-dead Zerg graveyard planet, where titanic Zerg skeletons form valleys of bone. Here Ssythara awakens and absorbs genetic remnants of colossal Zerg horrors. Her forces fight against ancient feral Zerg guardians. Upon their defeat, she gains the Bonegrinder and Bonepiercer evolutions.Eventually travelling to a Nexus of converging void rifts, infested with Protoss, Terran, and feral Zerg defenders. Here Ssythara begins her transformation into the Infinite Maw. As biomass was channeled into Ssythara at 3 Ritual Maw Pits, her forces defend her against multiple waves of attackers. Finally finishing her transformation, Ssythara rises, no longer broodmother but cosmic horror. Her maw splits the sky, an infinite void wehre biomass spirals inward. Protoss and Terran fleets retreat in terror as her brood floods reality. She whispers "Karrigan sought transcendence… Amon sought dominion… But I seek only to devour."  Brood SymbolA spiraling fang pattern (representing Zergling fangs and Hydralisk spines intertwined). Unique Mutations & TraitsTo make up for their lack of other units, the Fangbrood has brood-specific bonuses:Zerglings<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Razor Claws: Extra damage vs light units.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Pack Instinct: Each additional Zergling in melee grants a stacking micro-damage bonus (snowball effect in swarms).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adaptive Carapace: Slightly higher base armor than normal Zerglings.</li> </ul>Hydralisks<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Split Spines: Hydralisks deal splash damage in a small arc, making them more effective against groups.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chitinous Scales: Minor bonus armor against siege damage, allowing them to survive longer against tanks and colossi.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Burrow Spines: Hydralisks can burrow and attack (weaker damage while burrowed, but great for ambushes).</li> </ul> Brood Leader<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Broodmother Ssythara, the Endless Maw<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A cunning matriarch who rejected reliance on costly or specialized strains. She believes that quantity, ferocity, and precise evolution of two versatile breeds are superior to diversification.</li> </ul></li> </ul> Brood Leader<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Broodmother Ssythara, the Endless Maw<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A cunning matriarch who rejected reliance on costly or specialized strains. She believes that quantity, ferocity, and precise evolution of two versatile breeds are superior to diversification.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skryth the Mawtender<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Calm, analytical, obsessed with perfecting evolution, works to bring Ssythara's vision to reality by creating and perfecting new strains of her breeds.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ylyth the Fangseer<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cold, calculating, eeriee, sees everything. Tactical leader, coordinates and provides vision to guide Ssythara's forces to achieve her goals.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Voryth the Carrion Host<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Grotesque, gluttonous, constantly belching laughter. Loves waste becoming life. Field commander of attrition, embodies Ssythara's hunger to consume as spawns expendable organisms to consume even more.</li> </ul></li> </ul> Gameplay Style<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Zerglings form the frontline shock troops, swarming bases, harassing lines, and pinning down targets.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hydralisks act as the flexible core — anti-air, anti-armor, and sustained DPS.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The brood relies on upgrades, synergy, and numbers to outmaneuver more advanced unit compositions.</li> </ul>   Strengths<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Overwhelming numbers and momentum.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Flexible against ground and air despite unit diversity limits.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Strong early and mid-game dominance.</li> </ul>Weaknesses<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Vulnerable to splash (Siege Tanks, Psionic Storm, Colossi).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lacks heavy armor units (Ultras) or mobility flyers (Mutas, Brood Lords).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Requires constant aggression — stagnation leads to being outscaled.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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