Want some strategy tips for Blizzard's epic RTS, Starcraft II? Today we're covering the Protoss!

Void Ray Rush: Void Rays are another new unit addition to the Protoss in Starcraft II, and they are highly capable of destroying an enemy's base if they are not prepared. Basically, if a Void Ray is allowed to hit a constant target for a few seconds (for example, a building), the Void Ray's beam becomes "upgraded" from 5 damage per attack to a whopping 10 damage per attack. In this way, aggressive Protoss players will sometimes get a Stargate up as fast as possible (often only producing a single zealot and a sentry to defend their base), produce one or two Void Rays, and then try to destroy their enemy's main base in one go. If the Protoss can attack early enough, many Zerg players don't expect Void Rays, and so they sometimes only have a single Queen (who can't kill a single Void Ray in a straight fight) to defend their hatchery. Against Terrans, however, this strategy only works if the marine decides to pump out Marauders and Siege Tanks for an early game push (since both Marauders and Siege Tanks can't hit air). Be warned, however, that if a Void Ray is unable to charge its beam (as in, you try attacking multiple marines with a single Void Ray), you are effectively cutting its potential damage in half.

Dark Templar Drop: Often derided as being a very cheesy strategy, the Dark Templar Rush is a very strong choice against an opponent who doesn't scout well enough. Dark Templars are the same as the Dark Templars in the original Starcraft, meaning they have low health and low armor, but they deal exceptional damage and they are constantly stealthed. This means that a Terran player will need to build a missile turret nearby, or build a Raven or Scanner Sweep the area to find the Dark Templar. Zerg have to either build a Spore Colony or evolve an Overseer from an Overlord, while Protoss have to drop an Orbital Cannon on the area or build an Observer as fast as possible to detect these Dark Templars.

Now, you can obviously build the Dark Templar at your base and then run them over to your opponent's base, but this requires the Dark Templar to make it through the front of the enemy base, which is typically where their army is. The potential of the Dark Templar, however, lies in its ability to one-shot Probes, SCVs and Drones, making them ideal units for destroying your opponent's economy. Thus, Dark Templar "dropping," in this case, stems from the new Warp Gate technology that Protoss have. Basically, you can either build a Pylon in the enemy base (this is dangerous), or, more commonly, you can build a Warp Prism (from the Robotics Bay) and have it fly over to the back side of the enemy base. From there, toggle the "Phase Mode" of your Warp Prism, and it will instantly transform into a mini-pylon for you, thus allowing you to warp in a few Dark Templars (they are stealthed when they warp in), who can then run up to the enemy's mineral line to destroy all of their harvesting units. Be wary of the anger this tactic incites, however!

That's all the space I have today to discuss various Protoss 1v1 strategies. Do note that there are, literally, hundreds of other strategies and variations for Protoss, so that's why I don't give specific "build orders" for you to follow verbatim. Just remember that Starcraft II is really about individual talents and maximizing your strengths! A strategy created and tailored to your abilities will often lead to more success than a recipe you picked up off the internet, so be sure to take advantage of the constant ladder resets, and just try out as many strategies as possible! Tomorrow I'll talk about the Zerg and Terran (unfortunately, it probably won't be as detailed as the Protoss), so stay tuned and see you on Battle.net!