StarCraft/WMG

Humans are a creation of the Xel'Naga and they combine purity of form and essence.
The two major races Protoss and Zergs, are creations of the Xel'Naga. Other alien species have existed in the Starcraft-verse, such as the Tagal, but they mostly exist as obscure things in the fluff. I think it make sense that the three major (and playable) races share a common origin. All three are psionics. Two of them,Terran and Protoss, share a similar body shape. Two of the them, Terran and Zerg, are strong in numbers. Terrans, beign Jack of All Stats combine purity of form and purity of essence. Like the Zergs, they are constantly evolving. However its not their bodies but their tactics and technology that is always evolving, while the Protoss are rather stagnant.

Let's discuss plausible dimensions of Terran units in StarCraft: Broodwar
So it's pretty obvious that units are not to scale in-game. How are they scaled, then? I'd like to present plausible scales for Terran units.

- In the Zerg mission "Amerigo", in which a science vessel is infiltrated, it has a crew consisting of 110 men (according to the stats after finishing said mission). For further argumentation, I will assume that each unit of science vessel literally consists of a single science vessel. Since each science vessel takes up 2 supply units, we can assume that each supply unit provides roughly 50 men.

- Marines, Firebats, and Medics are trained in platoons consisting of 50 men (1 supply).

- Goliaths take up 2 supply, which means each Goliath unit consists of 100 men. Now I think 100 Goliaths might be too many for one unit, but it's possible that it takes one pilot and one co-pilot to handle a single Goliath, hence 1 unit equals 50 Goliaths.

- Siege tanks take up 2 supply, so 1 unit of them would consist of 100 men. If each tank had to be crewed by 4 men, each unit would consist of 25 tanks.

- Dropships and Wraiths take up 2 supply each. With one pilot and one co-pilot for each ship, one unit would consist of 50 spacecraft.

- Assuming Valkyries are crewed by 3 men each, they are built in packs of 50.

- Battlecruisers take up 6 supply, hence each unit consists of 300 men, and this is good enough for me to assume that each unit represents literally one single battlecruiser. 300 may not sound like much as actual battlecruisers had crews of 1000+, but advanced space-age computers might help to reduce the required crews.

This would also explain why battlecruisers could be hijacked by a single unit, as it doesn't seem too ridiculous that each one could be hijacked by a crew of 50.

What do you think?


 * Supply doesn't just cover manpower. It also covers rations, fuel, ammo, spare parts etc. needed to keep that unit running. Basically a single supply depot covers the needs of eight marines or four goliaths. The way I see it, a goliath costing 2 supply against a marine's 1 supply simply means that it costs twice as much in whatever currency is used in the Koprulu sector to maintain a Goliath in the field as it does a marine. As for the science vessel only requiring 2 marine's worth of upkeep, keep in mind that it has no ammo, it's power core is probably self sustaining or requires very infrequent refueling and rations for the crew is probably dirt cheap, as opposed to the marine, who requires a constant source for ammo as well as maintenance for his suit.
 * Good point about how supply isn't only about covering manpower. Still, running a science vessel would cost much more than supplying two marines, since the science vessel (the Amerigo) itself has 48 marines, 10 Ghosts, 10 Firebats, 6 Goliaths, and a Vulture as mere security guards. If units were to scale on the field, they alone would require 82 supply units. There is also a crew consisting of 32 civilians and 3 SCVs. Hence, I think it's safe to assume that units are much, much more than they appear to be in-game. But I see your point that supply isn't just food, water and air for the men.
 * So, to reconsider the original post in terms of "total supplies":

-Marines, firebats, etc. may still come in groups of 50.

-Goliaths also come in groups of 50 or so, maybe less. They are likely piloted by 1 person, possibly 2, but take up more supply per person due to the greater maintenance, fuel, etc. required to power a large walking vehicle with several types of weapons rather than a suit of powered armor.

-Siege tanks may still be crewed as described, or may have smaller crews, or be represented by smaller numbers. They do not need maintenance for powered armor for crews, but do need supplies for the tank itself. Being somewhat complicated with the transforming process, the tank could well consume more supply per person.

-Dropships are somewhat similar to siege tanks. They may be based on well tested designs for non-combat transports, which will provide extra testing an easier maintenance (Though I may just be pulling this out of my ass.)

-Battlecruisers probably represent a single unit, as described.


 * Though I would like to know about the size of the Odin. Seeing as even the Hercules can't carry it (and it can carry three Thors)...
 * I believe it was stated to be the size of a large building (and judging by its Hit Points and Armour...)

-What I like about this unit scale is that it makes the larger units much more powerful than the gameplay would otherwise suggest. The Odin takes out squads of enemies with each shot, a Battlecruiser can hold its own against hundreds of Marines (as opposed to losing against 8-10 Marines), a single Ultralisk can carve through entire armies, etc.

-The scale doesn't really work with the campaign (Even with Plot Armor and Aiming Skills, I doubt Raynor can outdamage 100 Marines) but it does make Multiplayer battles a lot cooler.
 * That could be Raynor and his personal squad of handpicked marines.

We have never seen any Xel'Naga because they have no body.
They Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence. The hybrids will become their body in the physical world.
 * I always thought the Energy Beings from the books were the Xel'naga...
 * Definitely not!
 * Zeratul thinks they are, but it doesn't track with anything in the games like the Xel'Naga ship that was clearly designed for things with a physical body.
 * Jossed by Starcraft 2. Xel'Naga Destroyers have a body.
 * Those are actually called Hybrid destroyers, at least according to the portrait information.
 * They are the same ones Duran made in Brood War.
 * Hybrids are not Xel-Naga. They are created by Duran (and others) on behalf of a single Xel-Naga, referred to as the Fallen One, who perverted the original plan for the merging of the "purity of form/purity of essence" lifeforms.
 * Assuming, of course, that Duran is working for the Fallen One.

The entire series after the part of the first game where you play as the Zerg is a Bodyguard gambit by the Nameless Zerg Cerebrate
"He" was created with the express purpose of serving and protecting Kerrigan, and has done so very well. In fact, he has never had a major tactical defeat. He is manipulating the various events that happen in order to make Kerrigan powerful, just like the Overmind told him to.

On a more personal note, Nameless Zerg Cerebrate was my favorite character in Starcraft. I'd always imagine him to be ridiculously servile and weak willed (because again, the Overmind designed "him" to serve and protect Kerrigan) and Kerrigan as a Deadpan Snarker.


 * Didn't he get killed once (presume it's during the Protoss campaign in first game)? Kerrigan said she resurrected him in Brood War.
 * No, that was another Cerebrate in Episode VI.


 * Maybe the Nameless Zerg Cerebrate in some way controls Duran - or maybe even has reincarnated itself in Duran. Not only does Duran protect Kerrigan by means of tactical aid, but he also, which was the old Overmind's ultimate goal. And remember that Kerrigan, and subsequently also the Nameless Cerebrate, were explicitly only created to achieve this goal. Also, Duran states that , which according to the already revealed parts of the Starcraft II story will be , but judging from the statement alone could as well have been refering to the Overmind.
 * In a kind of unrelated note: Starcraft 2 information has revealed to us that Kerrigan never had a cerebrate serving her during the Brood Wars. That was in game just to give an excuse for the player to be someone at all.
 * Or something even awesomer: You weren't a cerebrate, you were Xel'Naga pretending to be a cerebrate. Or something.
 * StarCraft II never outright says that and the Expanded Universe heavily imply that both cerebrates existed (the first one, used in the vanilla zerg campaign, was killed by the dark templar and the second one, in Brood War, may have simply expended its usefulness by the time of StarCraft II). That being said, Kerrigan appears to be, once fully matured, more than an equal for any cerebrate since.

Alternately, the Non-Entity General you play as during all the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg campaigns are the same person, a Xel'Naga survivor manipulating events.
It would certainly Hand Wave why the side you play as almost always wins, and how Blizzard has to keep retconning out the Non-Entity General into an actual character. I mean, so far they've changed the guy who helps Raynor during Starcraft Vanilla into Raynor himself, the Protoss Executor into Artanis, and IIRC, the Protoss Executor during Starcraft Brood War into that Selendis Protoss chick.
 * It was only implied, not confirmed that Selendis was the Executor in Episode IV of Starcraft.
 * Some of the Terran NEG's roles were taken over by Michael Liberty, if you read Liberty's Crusade.
 * Also, Queen of Blades indicates the Magistrate from "Rebel Yell" did exist, but mysteriously disappeared afterwards. Some fans like to assume that Horner is the Magistrate, though there's no clear-cut evidence for this at all and Blizzard likely didn't intend this to be the case.

Starcraft takes place in the Warcraft universe.
At some point in the past, the Xel'Naga discovered Earth, which was overrun by mystical creatures & people who had the ability to use similar supernatural powers to the Xel'Naga's own Protoss. The 'Nagas didn't want their own creations to be surpassed by a bunch of uppity aliens & they believed that life on Earth was too far along in its evolution for them to bend it to their whims, so they wiped out most of the magic-using species on the planet & did something to the remaining humans to prevent them from using magic, though a few magic-users remained & whose desecndants become the Ghosts.
 * Notably, there is a map stating that Azeroth is within the Koprulu Sector.
 * Notably, that map managed to misspell "Aiur".
 * The map is most definitely a fake. It does not even show Shakuras! Or Braxis...
 * Hell, it doesn't even have Umoja.
 * It's also on the official website. Though on an April Fools page.
 * It may be an April Fools Joke, but there is a Tauren Marine that appears in the campaign level, Zero Hour, and let's not forget the dancing Night Elf holograms. It still is a possibility that they exist in the same universe.
 * The Titans are the Xel'Naga and the Voice in the Darkness is an Old God.
 * That Voice claims, that he "will destroy the Protoss, just like he created them". Assuming this is true, it's more likely that said Voice is Sargeras. Did nobody notice the similarities between Zerglings and Felhunters?
 * There are WMGs all around the web that Warcraft and Starcraft were taken from Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 respectively. Would that make Starcraft "Warcraft 40K"?
 * WMG nothing. Warcraft 1 was to be a Warhammer RTS, but WAR's owners decided against it. Blizzard changed it just enough to be a different game, Warcraft, and games after that took their own route. Starcraft, however, is a bit trickier. Space Marines are most well known in Warhammer 40k, but they have been around for ages. Look at preceding art of Starship Troopers. Space Marines vs Bugs. Early demos have the Zerg as more of an Alien/Aliens Expy than Tyranids who arguably became more Zerglike post Star Craft. The Protoss have some similiarity to the Eldar, but the Eldar are simply Dark and Light Elves In Space. It is telling that WAR 40k created Protoss expies in the Tau on how much the 'Toss came from W40k.
 * Hmm, a race of short lived, ranged-combat favoring blue-skinned noseless, decidedly secular Taoist-Communist alien who suck at close-quarters combat and have no Warp-Signature whatsoever that is actually one of their most notable traits are similar to a race of close-combat loving textbook Proud Warrior Race Guys who have an extensive honour system and who also have psychic abilities? That said, it is obvious the Protoss are shameless Eldar rip offs.

The Dark Templar are responsible for the advent of sentience on Earth.
The original campaign establishes that only the Dark Templar can permanently kill a Cerebrate. But in the Brood War campaign, the UED destroys Cerebrates using conventional Terran weaponry. The only explanation is that, on some level, the Terrans are Dark Templar! More precisely, some Dark Templar, hoping to create a force to oppose the Khalar, seeded primates on Earth with their genetic material, granting them full sentience and latent psionic abilities. Right now, humanity is discovering its latent psionic powers. Also, anything they make and work with is imbued with their latent energies - so an ordinary Protoss could kill a Cerebrate with a human weapon, especially if he had just been handed the weapon by a human. Eventually, every human will become a Ghost.
 * And then they will kick the Xel'Naga's ass.
 * Do we really know that the UED managed to kill Cerebrates permanently? At no other time in the series do they manage it. Presumably, the plan was to disable the Cerebrates, then move in and drug the Overmind before it had a chance to reincarnate them.
 * Given that the overmind was a new one, and probably wasn't quite as good as the original, I could see that the UED could just kick in a few mega larva and then drug the overmind while it was trying get everything working again.
 * It's pretty much stated in the first one that the Overmind is resurrecting them, which is why they wanted a new one. And as he wasn't even sentient yet when the UED attacked he might not be able to resurrect them.
 * The Dark Templar were able to destroy the cerebrates because their psionic energies (that were similar to the Zerg energies) contacted and neutralized the Overmind for a second, eliminating its bond with the cerebrate while it was being killed, so, no resurrection. What the UED force did was to use the Psi Disrupter to DISRUPT the control of the overmind and the cerebrates (and Kerrigan) over the swarms. This also eliminated the bond between the Overmind and the cerebrates.

Dark Templar energies are connected to The Heart of the Tardis.
No evidence, but wouldn't it be awesome?

The (original) Overmind isn't dead, and will come back as the surprise Big Bad of Starcraft 2
After killing off the Xel'Naga, the overmind managed to trancend physical reality to a degree while on its way towards the Protoss. When Tassadar "killed" it, he only destroyed its body, breaking its link to the rest of the Zerg.

Alternatively, it was always non-corporeal from the get go. The manual never states that the Overmind was of the Zerg, just that the Xel'Naga created it to manage them. Maybe it grew resentful of the Xel'Naga and decided to continue their experiments on its own terms.

After "dying", the Overmind lost control of the Zerg and had to find some other way to continue its agenda through its avatar, Samir Duran.


 * It's possible that the Overmind merged with Tasadar and was then sucked into an alternate dimension/plane of existence.


 * If the Overmind remains alive, so must Tassadar. No exceptions, lest it suck.


 * Yes and no

Jossed.

The Xel'Naga are returning because of the advent of humanity
Here's my theory on how this is all going to end up, and why. The Xel'Naga created the Protoss, and then the Zerg, in an attempt to make the perfect life form (like themselves/better). Neither one was perfect, but it was believed that if combined, they could be.

Fast forward to post Broodwar. The Zerg have all but wiped out the Protoss, the Overmind has been defeated by Infested Kerrigan, and SOMEHOW, despite the fact that their only bystanders in a war set up millenia ago by godlike beings, the Terrans are powerful enough to be a threat to both (if they would only get their act together). I think its going to turn out that Humans Are Special and the Xel'Naga are going to recognize this, and possibly be extremely pissed that they were wrong.

The Xel'Naga are responsible for the advent of sentience on Earth
Well, nothing's ever denied this, and we know that they're quite prolific interstellar geneticists that had other experiments before the Protoss and the Zerg. I see no reason why humanity couldn't have been a "failed" experiment of the Xel'Naga that they gave up on before encountering the Protoss and determining them as the perfect form. And then, ironically, their failed experiment that they've left to die becomes stronger on its own, for the reasons given in the previous WMG.
 * I once had the theory that the Terrans were indeed created by the Xel'naga, but after the Protoss and Zerg, since the Terrans are most assuredly the youngest of the three races. After the Overmind revolted against his creators, the Xel'naga gave up the goal of directly creating the perfect species, probably because they realized that they had already created Pure Form as well as Pure Essence and now just had to combine them. However, if they had just let the Zerg search the galaxy for the Protoss, there would have been two possible outcomes. Either the Zerg do find and assimilate the Protoss, thereby creating the union of Pure Form and Pure Essence, but under the control of the Overmind, and the Xel'naga don't want that. Or the Zerg cannot find or cannot defeat the Protoss and nothing is accomplished. So, the Xel'naga had to put a third factor in the equation: One that would be able to lure the Zerg to the sector where they could find the Protoss, would also possess a telepathic ability that would make it attractive to be assimilated into the swarm, possess the will and potential to find ways to tame or defeat the Overmind, and could be used as a buffer between Zerg and Protoss so that no direct one-on-one confrontation between the two species occurs until the time would be right. So, the Xel'naga created the Terrans, and they served their needs perfectly until now.
 * This Troper was always under the impression that was, specifically, what the game itself implied by the series of events described in the original Star Craft's manual. It seems to pretty clearly say "if it's crazy, and psychic, the Xel'Naga made it". Also the nature of the Terran/Xel'Naga agent (his name escapes This Troper) in Brood War, and the hybrids he was working on, seem to imply that the Xel'Naga were directly involved in the events of Brood War and, likely, the first war too. Or at least it seemed rather implicit to me...

StarCraft: Ghost was just a front to keep StarCraft 2 from being leaked
Think about it: By releasing a couple of screenshots every year, maybe a video or a rudimentary demo every now and then, Blizzard could focus attention away from its real surprise product: StarCraft 2. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, StarCraft: Ghost was canceled just a bit before the announcement of StarCraft 2. The problem is, SC:G was never officially canceled...just wait till Christmas!
 * Events from Ghost seem to be canon as well, judging by the content of Nova's cameo.

The Terrans are the descendant of the Xel'Naga
The Xel'Nega's motive for experimenting with races was to create a race with the purity of form and one with the purity of essence and have them join together in a distant future, thus re-creating and saving the Xel'Naga race. Eventually some grew discouraged and when they found Earth, they decided to save their race by mating the with prehistoric hominids and creating offsprings. The offsprings of these matings had psionic abilities or magic as we would call it. They would eventually used Xel'Naga technology to create lost cities and ancient civilizations like Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu and etc. This created a golden age of technology And Man Grew Proud. They eventually caused the destruction of those civilizations. The survivors of these civilizations would in time would lose their psionic abilites and forget their knowledge of Xel'Naga technology eventually becoming what the Terrans are right now. Yet sometimes lost psionic abilities will sometimes manifest within certain individuals because of their ancient ancestors.
 * Or rather its the Protoss who are more descendant from them. Otherwise the Zerg would have gone to Earth instead.
 * No, the Protoss and Zerg are their creations. There wasn't any interbreeding.

The new Zerg Queens are either infested Protoss or the Hybrids.
Yes, I know Word of God says that there are no infested Protoss, but that was more in response to an infestor ability that has now been cut out anyway. Besides, the Protoss immunity is based on their link to the Khala, and not all Protoss (like the Dark Templar) are connected to the Khala. Visually, the new Queen is very similar to the Protoss. No mouth, the head fringe and even "dreads" on the back of their heads that are suspiciously similar to the Protoss. Then there is this piece of art showing a queen contemplating a severed Protoss head. Looks like the devs are trying to tell us something.
 * We actually do see the hybrids in action in Zeratul's memory crystal. They look more Protoss-like than Zerg-like. And Word of God made it abundantly clear that there are no infested protoss. That's the entire reason why the Zerg have been trying to assimilate the Terrans.
 * Not quite. The terrans were a target because they were primitive enough to be an easy target (or so it was thought) but psionically gifted enough to give the zerg a much a needed boost against the protoss. The no infested protoss retcon likely means that terran psionics would have been used to bypass the Khala's protection had Kerrigan not been a unique case (which she was, for reasons revealed in StarCraft II).
 * The queen actually has fundamental similarities (the long abdomen, large tusks, four leggy things, etc.) to the old queen in vanilla StarCraft. It's just that the leg-like membranes have become actual legs, it no longer flies, and it looks considerably more insect-like and less squishy than it used to.
 * That being said, Word of God pretty much confirmed that the new queen uses protoss or terran DNA (possibly even from Kerrigan herself) in its genome. So the theory is sort of confirmed.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara is working with Raynor's Raiders from behind the scenes.
Commander is staying out of the spotlight allowing Jim Raynor to command the organization.
 * Commander is commanding Raynor's Raiders from the shadows.
 * Jim Raynor is puppet and the former Magistrate of Mar Sara is pulling the strings.

Matt from the Hyperion is the former Magistrate of Mar Sara.
Seems like more of a general than most of the main characters in the raiders, and also seems to know what happened in the first game.
 * He isn't

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara left Raynor's Raiders because Jim Raynor is a glory hog.
Commander outright abandoned Raynor's Raiders because Raynor kept intentionally taking credit for victories that weren’t really Raynor's.
 * And formed a splinter faction christened Commander’s Cossacks.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara left Raynor's Raiders for personal reasons
Kerrigan’s suicide mission left such a bitter aftertaste the Commander couldn’t bring him/herself command again.
 * Commander was romantically inclined toward Kerrigan and could not muster the will to fight her.
 * Commander secretly loves Raynor but never brought it up as not to interfere with his developing relationship with Kerrigan. It was too painful for the former Magistrate to stay and watch Jim collapse after losing Kerrigan to the Zerg.
 * Commander intentionally sent Kerrigan to New Gettysburg to die, jealous of Sarah’s relationship with Jim. By the formation Raynor’s Raiders guilt caught up and the Commander who could not stay with the unit in good conscience.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara was named Samir Duran

 * And is also a Time Lord.

The Magistrate has been retconned out of existence

 * Liberty's Crusade states that Jim Raynor WAS the Magistrate.
 * Nope. If you look at Jim Raynor's Marshal badge in Starcraft II, Tychus says "Oh, man. Didn't the Magistrate here know he was hiring an arch-criminal as his Marshal?" Unless you're suggesting that Jim Raynor hired himself, this proves both that the Magistrate existed and that he wasn't Jim.
 * Yes, Jim Raynor wasn't the Magistrate. However, it wasn't the Magistrate in Episode 1 that hired Raynor. Raynor was already Marshall back in 2496; the Episode 1 Magistrate was sent to Mar Sara a few days after the Protoss attacked Chau Sara in 2499.

Elements of Starcraft 2 plot

 * Based off the Ghosts of the Past trailer, I have come up with some speculation. That part where all those Dominion warships are warping in? That's Prince Valerian's battlegroup. All seems lost, but then the Zerg attack the Dominion battlegroup and Raynor uses that opportunity when they're distracted by the Zerg to board the flagship, allowing him to do the scene where he asks "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now." Valerian then offers to help Raynor get to Char and lend him troops to help him kill Kerrigan (which undoubtedly fails since the next Zerg expansion deals with Kerrigan and the swarm. Does that mean Raynor dies...?). He'll also reveal that he's the mysterious employer that Raynor has been working for, the one obsessed with acquiring all those mysterious artifacts. Expect a scene along these lines: "I'll never work for you!" "Ah, but you already are/have." Also, Tychus might have been released from New Folsom prison by agreeing to spy on Raynor on Mengsk's behalf. Not sure how that fits into the plot though.
 * Close. Very close. (Note that the Spoiler Tags are there for a reason. A BIG reason. Read at your own risk.)

Duran from Brood War is the same person as the Duran who sent the Terran colonists out in the first place
I have no evidence except for the name and Duran's nature.

The Duran we know in Brood War may have based his disguise on him.

Everyone is Samir Duran.
Including Kerrigan, Raynor, Mengsk, Findlay, Valerian, Tassadar, Zeratul, and the Overmind.

Barring Samir Duran. He's someone else entirely.

Samir Duran is an emissary of the Dark Voice
It's never really elaborated just who or even what Duran is supposed to be but it's possible that he's affiliated with the Dark Voice since they're both associated with hybrids.
 * Similarly, Ulrezaj is also working for the Dark Voice, whether directly or through Duran. The Dark Templar Saga confirmed that Ulrezaj was involved with creating Hybrids and was working for someone or something else; it seems highly unlikely they're not connected. Ulrezaj will get free of his can during the Protoss campaign, and at least one mission strand will deal with putting him down permanently.

Duran is manipulating Arcturus Mengsk from behind the scenes

 * From the bonus mission we learn  he learned how and got the tech to do so from Duran who is just using Mengsk to build up a hybrid army for the Dark Voice who he is an agent of.
 * It was never outright confirmed that Arcturus was behind the events of the bonus mission; Raynor only assumed that. Rather, Valerian may be the one who is being manipulated by/working for Duran: Emil Narud, the head of the Moebius Foundation, is confirmed to have a connection to Duran. The Moebius Foundation is privately owned by Valerian Mengsk, and this puts a direct line between him and the Dark Voice's minions. Plus, Valerian just seems a little too good to be true.


 * Blizzard themselves gave this theory a bit of credence, stating that
 * So, the universe is doomed?
 * So, the universe is doomed?

The mission "In Utter Darkness" will reappear in the Protoss campaign...with a twist.

 * Seems reasonable... but I'm guessing  I could even see
 * Its probably going to be like the final mission of the original Starcraft, only instead of having two races to build the tech trees with, you have all three. (This is actually pretty common for the 'grand finales' of Starcraft games, Brood War did the same thing, only with the team-up against you.). And on the other side will be the mind-controlled Zerg, hybrids, and corrupted factions of Terrans and Protoss. *crosses fingers*
 * With the corrupted Terran being the Dominion.

is infested in BOTH scenarios, we only see it in one.

 * Alternatively;

It is the Terrans, not the Protoss who posess the Purity of Form that will bring about the new Xel'Naga
Purity of Form was defined as "adaptability to harsh conditions and climates", and psionic abilities or potential. Both of these elements are an integral part of the Terrans and their plotlines. While the Xel'naga initially believed that the Protoss were the race that they needed, they eventually considered them a failure before being driven from Aiur. The Terrans are a young race that has yet to realize it's potential, and the Xel'Naga's foretold second coming is at an opportune time to take advantage of this.
 * Also, Kerrigan is referred to as an "agent of the prophecy" of the Xel'Naga's return. With Kerrigan being one of, if not the most powerful psychic in the galaxy as an Infested Terran, a true hybrid would likely be powerful enough to be the "perfect being" that the Xel'Naga were searching for.

Heart of the Swarm will take place concurrently with (at the same time, chronologically, as) Wings of Liberty
This is basically the only way it can really be done, since Wings of Liberty ended with.
 * Possibly Jossed by the blurb on the single player screen once you've finished the game, which invites the player to in the upcoming expansion.
 * Alternate theory: the campaign does indeed take place immediately after the end of Wings of Liberty, but most of the actual missions are
 * This seems pretty well Jossed after the 2010 Blizzcon. ("It takes place at least 1 hour after Wings of Liberty, but not more than 100 years"). Kind of a joke answer, but still fixes Heart of the Swarm as coming later.
 * Jossed by the fact that Heart of the Swarm will take place two years after wings of Liberty.

Here's an interesting theory, based on the ending of StarCraft II.

Naaah, there's no way the laws of storytelling would let that be true.


 * Sarah herself breaks through for a few seconds during the final battle, so a part of her was there. There definately some humanity left.
 * Nobody ever said this whole story has to have a happy ending.
 * Most of the time, Blizzard settles for Bittersweet Endings.
 * Most of the time, Blizzard settles for Bittersweet Endings.

Duran is
Or at the very least possessed by or an avatar of it.
 * He calls himself "a servant of a far greater power", so he's likely 'just' a high-ranking underling of

Just a hunch...
 * That would have to be quite a  to do what   seems to be capable of; and besides, going by the Dark Templar Saga, another character, Ulrezaj, already has the   niche covered. Seems more likely that the   is either.
 * It's just that looking at the Dark Voice portrait you can win via Achievements in SCII,
 * I'd say it looks more like an Eredar.
 * Isn't it more plausible that he's a power-crazy It doesn't make sense for him to be a  consider that
 * But... but that picture looks so Protoss-y! ...Unless the Xel'Naga looked so startlingly like the Protoss...
 * Which wouldn't be that surprising considering the Xel'Naga created the Protoss and that
 * Xel'Naga created the Protoss to be the Purity of Form, i.e. the most pure form imaginable. Really, think about all the "Pure Forms" humans have depicted over the years. Michaelango's David to less savory "superior races". The Protoss are the marble like statues of perfected physical form. The Zerg were meant to be the perfected mind, but the perfected mind either absolutely rebelled against the entirety of Xel'Naga, or controled by VitD to do so, and assimilated the Xel'Naga over their home world. Zerg would assimilate some Xel'naga biology into itself explaining the Zergish Protos look of the VitD. Essentially the Protoss are the hairless, well built, flawless skinned with perfect teeth idea of Xellies. The Zerg assimilated the mullet wearing, overweight, flabby with racial equivalent of acne scars Xellies.
 * The portrait looks like a Protoss with Zerg mouthparts. It might be A) a hybrid created long ago, before the Brood War; B) a hybrid created recently, after the Brood War; or C) a form the Fallen One chose for his physical manifestation, like how the Overmind chose his own physical form.

How about this then...

The Voice In The Darkness is a Chaos God
Perhaps "created" and empowered by the short Protoss/Xel'Naga War, the following Protoss Aeon of Strife, and the Zerg/Xel'Naga "War".
 * To be more specific, he's Tzeentch. That's why he's coming up with inscrutably complex plans that can take eons to pull off.
 * The plans of the Voice in the Darkness are way too simple and straight forward to be Tzeentch. Now, if Tzeentch was actually manipulating EVERY group from behind the scenes (remember, Tzeentch loves to make plans that counteract his other plans) it would approach his level of insanity.
 * Alternately, the Xel'naga are the Titans, and the Voice (who is also called the Fallen One, you'll recall) is Sargeras.

To add up to the Tzeentch theory above: Warhammer 40,000 is set in the same universe as Starcraft, but in another galaxy, and a few decades (or centuries) later.
The Starcraft galaxy is the origin galaxy of the Tyranids, and they're running away from the Hybrids. Yes, that means that the Tyranids are the Zerg. Alternatively, the Tyranids are the Hybrids, and they're running away either from the combined forces of Protoss, Terrans and Zerg or from something entirely different (the Xel'naga?).

Why there are two planets called Earth and two nearly identical species who both call themselves humans/terrans, in two completely different galaxies is up to debate though. Maybe one or more of the various Eldritch Abominations present in both Verses are responsible for it.
 * Now THAT would be something Tzeentch would totally do. Complicated, inexplicable, and absolutely insane from every angle.

Predictions for the Heart of the Swarm campaign:

 * Kerrigan will rebuild her power and regain control over the entire Swarm (This was already mentioned in interviews).
 * As part of the above, Kerrigan will have to fight rogue Broods, maybe even ones that are still under the control of UED holdouts in the sector.
 * Kerrigan will have to fend off attacks from the Daelaam Protoss (i.e. the main Protoss faction), who will be trying to kill her in her moment of vulnerability
 * Kerrigan will have to find and save Zeratul,  This will be very awkward.
 * Ariel Hanson will return
 * Possible. Blizzard has claimed that for the branching quests, one is non-canon. In Ariel Hanson's quest, Safe Haven is the canon quest. So, she may return, but proved to be infected (if not, they could have her infected within a cutscene anyway).
 * Valerian Mengsk  Kerrigan will get involved in the conflict and gain a chance to take her revenge on Arcturus.
 * Duran will return

Arcturus Mengsk will still be Emperor of the Terran Dominion at the end of Legacy of the Void
Blizzard hates a happy ending. But if the Voice wins or the Swarm eats everything, there's no room for any kind of continuation. So what possible ways are left for Blizzard to make the good guys' (eg, Jim Raynor's) lives miserable? That's right.
 * Alternatively, players will have a choice to destroy the Dominion and unleash all the internal conflicts and strife (of which there's quite a bit) that Mengsk has been sitting on or to keep the terrans united at the cost of maintaining The Empire, either through keeping Arcturus in power or his son, Valerian.

Duran is just trying to make himself look important
Oh, sure he serves Dark Powers That Man Was Not Meant To Wot Of etc etc. But he personally is a 33-year-old ex-Confederate infested-with-free-will special ops trooper doing grunt work for the actual scary bad guys. Everything he tells Zeratul is just him dicking around with the Prelate while he's rattled.
 * Would be one hell of a Red Herring given it set up the whole plot of the StarCraft II trilogy.

Kerrigan was after the artifact because...
She wanted to become human again. She was the whole time, so she needed a very roundabout way to get it. She would have destroyed it, then put it back together using some rationalization to keep from stopping her. Once it was complete, she would have "accidentally" set it off...
 * Interesting. So Raynor's war against Kerrigan in Wings of Liberty was completely pointless?
 * Not necessarily. For one, while that might have been Kerrigan's plans, there are no guarantees she would have pulled it off - the Dark Voice might have seen through her rationalisation for putting the artifact back together, for example.

Protoss medical technology is actually equal to or more primitive than Terran medical technology.
The Protoss are some of the strongest bastards around, being able to run fast, fight for days, live for centuries, and subsist on "sunshine and dew drops." To top it off, they have psychic powers and access to Khaydarin crystals, which power Protoss tech. Due to Protoss physical and technological superiority they, unlike the inferior Terrans, have no field medics or medivac dropships. Zealots can receive cybernetic leg upgrades- like some Terrans get- and can be teleported out of the warzone, but there's no way for Protoss to immediately heal their units. Dragoons and immortals are powerful cyborgs, but that's due to Protoss engineering and weapons technology.

Terrans, meanwhile, have access to field medics, who can heal soldiers in the middle of a fight, and whose technology even works on Protoss and Zerg physiology. Many of the units have cybernetic implants, which, though crude looking, work fine and are easy to install. Most incredible of all, the Terrans have healing lasers which deliver a payload of functional nanobots, which can heal a soldier up to full health in moments. Being without the advantages of the Protoss, Terran troops have had to throw a lot of effort into their medical technology to compensate. This has lead to the Terrans actually outstripping the Protoss in this field.
 * That one might be due to the Protoss' honour shtick.

There will be a Zerg/Protoss/Terran war against the Xel'Naga in the future.
Since we found in StarCraft II that the Zerg weren't evil, something will happen that the three sides will have to work back-to-back in order to defeat "their creators". That, of course, in case Blizzard decides to do a campaign after Legacy Of The Void.
 * I think it will be called "StarCraft III".
 * That's too awesome to pass up. There will also be a metric fuckton of hero units involved - Horner in the Hyperion, Valerian in the Bucephalus, Raynor, Tosh, Nova,, Stettman, Rory, the Odin, Zeratul, Artanis, Selendis, the other heroes from the , a bunch of hero zerg, and all of the mercenaries even if you didn't buy them. The ending will change based on which heroes are alive; only Raynor,  and Zeratul will need to survive for victory.
 * Given that half the Warcraft III final missions and the Wings of Liberty finale are survive for a time limit missions, I think we can guarantee it. I suspect you'll only get the three big heroes, though; otherwise the number of possible ending cutscenes would get a little ridiculous.

Due to being responsible of almost every bad thing which happened since the Zerg campaign in the original Starcraft,  will become The Atoner, and will be in the frontline as much as possible, in order to put an end to  suffering. This, obviously, won't be allowed by either Raynor (who worked so hard to bring back in the past, and  at the end of WoL) or the Protoss. (Because of )

Unfortunately, doesn't say anything about  possible fate after the destruction of the Xel'Naga. is the key, sure, but doesn't say many details about what will happen.

The Xel'Naga (and by extension, the Zerg and the Protoss) were created by the humans, way long before the events of the games
To put it simply, Humans Are the Real Monsters, Complete Monsters, and Mad Scientists. The Xel'Naga may have been the result of nasty experiments, and now, they are seeking revenge towards their creators. Oh, and from the first Starcraft? .
 * And now supported by the secret mission of II, where it's shown that.
 * And what exactly is the timeframe for this?.
 * Remember that the Earth was dumping the "undesireable" humans from it, (namely: criminals, mutants, outlaws, that kind of people) to the outer space. The Terrans were the descendants of those surviving "undesireable" humans in the Koprulu sector. So, yes, the humanity on Earth is still more advanced than the Terrans, despite what they found in Brood War.
 * But the problem is that the protoss civilization is thousands of years old- the Terrans were only exiled a few centuries ago. So unless the Romans, I'm still not seeing it. Seems more likely it's the other way around- the Xel'naga might have observed/done some basic experimenting with primitive humans, but left to work with what they saw as more promising races.

It was all a Xanatos Gambit,.
 * Since Tassadar was described as having "ascended more then the others" there is plenty of reason to believe that he did ascend.
 * Are you an Arcturus or Tychus fan?
 * Either way, will be in SC at some point.

There will be "flashback" missions in the Zerg and Protoss campaigns.
Heart of the Swarm: The flashbacks will be Terran, possibly showing exactly what happened on Tarsonis. Legacy of the Void: The flashbacks will be zerg. Probably showing memories of the Zerg.
 * Alternatively, if there is a Terran mini campaign in "Heart of the Swarm", it will show what Raynor does after having rescued Kerrigan.
 * And it will be "Enslavers"-like, instead of being found in the SP campaign only.
 * Wishful thinking.
 * Jossed as of the trailer of Heart of the Swarm.

Valerian will kill his father.
Think about it: His father is evil, running The Empire, apparently denying him the opportunity to prove himself worthy (and we all now how that turns out with emperor's sons...), and, most important of all; HE'S FRIGGIN' ARTHAS (IN SPACE)!!!! And since Terenas was good, killed by his evil son, Valerian will be even worse than his evil father.
 * Alternatively, the Dark Voice will manipulate Valerian into killing Arcturus if Arcturus ever outlives his usefulness.
 * Valerian will kill his father in an epic sword duel. On the top of the Hyperion, during orbital reentry. Because it would be epic.
 * Another alternative: The situation is a complete reversal of Arthas and Terenas, with the good Valerian killing the evil Arcturus. When your father is that evil, committing patricide doesn't necessarily make you evil yourself. Then again, let's hope that Valerian hit the history books, because He Who Fights Monsters...
 * At least, he won Jim Raynor's confidence, or so we hope. And Jim wants to kill Arcturus for everything he did.

Tychus is still alive.
They don't show his actual corpse, and his behavior just before death is highly suspicious (asking Mengsk out loud for confirmation, using a blatantly obvious Laser Sight on Kerrigan and keeping it there for several seconds...), as if trying to give Raynor time to react without tipping Mengsk off (the suit probably broadcasts everything he says and hears). So what they did was trick the armor into signalling that Tychus was dead (they got a scientist and a mechanic on board, shouldn't be a problem), and what they meant by Tychus Findlay is dead means that a muscular, crew-cut and very much alive man wearing bright orange pants hasn't decided on a new name yet.

Why? Tychus is too damn awesome to die, duh!
 * An alternative to the above could be the same situation as with Alexei Stukov, I mean . And for the record, there was an Stukov, although I'm not sure if it's on the Expanded Universe.
 * Plausible. On one hand, the completion commentary that appears once you completed campaign mode did say Tychus is dead. But then, the Zerg do have technology to reanimate the dead. Or it could all be a gambit to throw Mengsk off his tracks and it would be revealed that they've somehow freed Tychus off Mengsk's control off-screen and did the entire scene just to punk Mengsk.

The surviving Cerebrates have all mutated into different forms.
It is stated that Cerebrates are giant versions of the original Zerg creature, which is closest to Zerg Larvae. Probably some of the cerebrates have used their never-used morphing abilities in an successful attempt to exist without the Overmind. And they will be to scale with the original cerebrate shape as normal zerg are to larvae.

The Zerg specimen in the Hyperion's lab is/will grow up to be a new Overmind.
Stetmann noted in one of his logs that the Zerg specimen had grown an "ocular organ," i.e. an eye. And the creature does have the genetic data of every Zerg in the universe...

Mengsk's dictatorship is more liberal on the core worlds than at the outer rim.
On the one hand, we have mass executions on Mar Sara. On the other hand, there seem to be larger freedoms for people from the core worlds, and for scientists. For example, we learn from the UNN news that authors are even permitted to publish books on the theory that Mengsk was responsible for the Zerg attack on Tarsonis (as long as they don't have evidence), and these books are even discussed on UNN. Also, UNN itself is a relatively free medium if you take into consideration that it's the official television network of Mengsk himself. For example, they still employ Kate Lockwell as a news correspondent, even though it's very apparent that she is critical about Mengsk. This leads to the conclusion that the Dominion's politics on the core worlds is relatively liberal, while it's much more oppressive on rim worlds like Mar Sara.
 * Almost certainly true, especially since it's implied the outer colonies are practically in open revolt half the time. Beyond that, the Dominion on the outer rim is mostly military compared to more developed worlds that have nonmilitary presence.

Warcraft exists as a computer game series in the StarCraft universe.
Sort of implied by the fact that Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain exists as a band in the Starcraft universe. (They have a commercial on UNN.)
 * Not to mention, the dancing hologram in the Hyperion cantina sure looks familiar...

Lemon juice really does help against Zerglings.

 * That would be so awesome.
 * Where in Adun's name did you get that idea?
 * There's a Dominion news broadcast about it, used to cut off one of Kate's reports: "Zerglings weak against Lemon Juice: An old wives' tale or a new superweapon against the Swarm?" It's most likely just part of the Running Gag, but it would be so awesome if it really worked.
 * Lime juice helps against the Zerglings, and Emil Narud has a large supply of limes.

The Voice in The Darkness has had its plan stolen by multiple groups

 * There are too many factions interesting in the Artifact and likely making Hybrids. For all its talk about becoming the Only God and remaking the Universe in it's own image, it'll turn out that whoever controls the Hybrids can pull that off. This is why Duran (Narud) and Ulrezaj (He's in control of the Taldarim) are both competing for the Artifacts, and why Mengsk is making his own Hybrids. They all want to be God.

Zeratul being manipulated.
Prophecy Mission Spoilers follow --



The Dark Voice is the Fallen from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
This is the Dark Voice, and this is the Fallen from Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen. Also, the Dark Voice calls itself the Fallen at the end of the "In Utter Darkness" mission.

There won't be any change of sides at the start of Heart of the Swarm.
Ok, Kerrigan was cured. But the Zerg weren't always evil, and every remaining faction is against the Dominion. (Now including Warfield and Valerian) So, they have to form an alliance. Kerrigan will be at the good guys' side, but since she was cured, she has lost many of her powers. So, she must form a Zerg empire in order to gain new powers and control more types of Zerg. The Terran and the Protoss will assist her in this, as well, but won't take any significant part. And, along with the Dominion as the Terran faction justifying the Zerg vs. Terran battles, there're still the Tal'Darim, whose rivalries are with both the Raiders, Zeratul's faction of Protoss and Kerrigan's Zerg faction. That would justify the Zerg vs. Protoss missions. And to came full-circle, there will be rebel swarms which will continue the obsession with assimilating Protoss and Terran races and will be against Kerrigan, competing with her in order to control the Zerg race as a whole, thus justifying the Zerg vs. Zerg missions.
 * The Protoss of Shakuras are still Anti-Zerg, to the degree of burning Terran colonies just because of signs of infestation. Maybe Zeratul was able to convince some of them that Kerrigan isn't the enemy, but surely not all of them, especially because he is apparently not very popular among them since the time he killed Raszagal. (Also, the Protoss part will be dealt with in "Legacy of the Void".) So we could see a battle between Kerrigan's swarm and Selendis' expedition force. Also, I'm not sure if Valerian is really Anti-Dominion now. Also, we should not forget Gabriel Tosh and his Spectres, or the Umojan Protectorate. Also, there will probably be a competition between Kerrigan and the Dark Voice about who can control the majority of the Zerg broods. Speaking of it, we will probably see more Hybrids in action. Maybe even some new types.
 * Tosh was confirmed not to be in Heart of the Swarm, but Blizzard canonized the branch, so they didn't put him completely on a bus.

The Voice in the Dark is...
... Arcturus Mengsk. If we take at face value the idea that it was the Dominion who created the Zerg/Protoss hybrids, then it would explain why he refers to them as his creation. Somewhere along the way he had himself injected with hybrid DNA (recall Stenmann's notes saying Zerg never die of old age) to aquire both immortality and psionic powers. Since no date was mentioned for when they had started breeding the things, we can also assume that Mengsk, already benefitting from psychic powers, used Duran as his pawn when Zeratul discovered the original hybrid. Finally, it explains the fact that the entire galaxy burns at the end: "I will rule this sector, or see it burnt to ashes around me". With no Terrans or even Protoss left alive for him to rule over, he destroys it all.
 * But if Mengsk is the Voice, then who was messing with the Overmind's "programming"? Seems a lot more likely that Mengsk is just a pawn.
 * Time Travel! Yes, if they were experimenting with time-slowing technology, surely they could develop time travel, allowing Mengsk to power up, go back in time, mess with the Overmind,
 * Also, if Duran was Mengsk's pawn, why did he help the UED to bring him down in Broodwar?

The process to really did work;  It would be just like Blizzard to take the happiest event to have happened in the entire series and make it into a foil that causes the doom of everything.

If the above is true, Heart of the Swarm will be about one of three things:
1.

2.

3.

The Voice in the Darkness is actually Mengsk and the player will kill him in the end.
In the last few missions of LotV, you will fight with Zerg, Terrans and Protoss against the Dominion, which has evolved into Hybrids made from Zerg-DNA, Terran DNA and Protoss DNA. The targets of these missions will be gathering something from the Xel'Naga to weaken the Hybrids' defenses and find a way into the Base of Mengsk.

Then you will follow Mengsk through his huge Palace to his hangar, where he meets with some of his Battlecruisers, which start destroying the hangar. Matt is now going to get another Big Damn Heroes-moment, this time together with Tassadar, who somehow managed to recreate his Ship and merged it with the Hyperion, creating an Uber-Battlecruiser and destroying the normal ones. After that, you get beamed on the Ship, following Mengsk and finally find him on Tarsonis, where he tries to take over the Zerg there with the Psi-emitters. The last mission will be fighting with Mengsk to gain control of 4 Psi-emitters, allowing you to control the Zerg on Tarsonis and Overrun Mengsk. He will again try to flee on his Battlecruiser, but the Uber-Hyperion will destroy it before Mengsk gets there.

Cue to the Cinematic, where the three Heroes will fight Mengsk for 3 Minutes epically, but are only at about the same strength, thus unable to kill him. Mengsk will then his ultimative hybrid powers and while he is floating in the air with rocks floating around him, he will suddenly have a blue light between his eyes.

The Camera now switches to Tychus, who has his cigar in his mouth and a Chainsaw-Gun in his hands pointing at Mengsk head.

Tychus will now say "Hell. It's about time." and shoot him. THE END

I'm done.


 * Now that's indeed a Wild Mass Guessing. Why don't you use that idea for a longer fan fiction story?

Stetman is a descendant of John Dorian.
Except for the hair color, they look somewhat similar.

The Voice in the Dark is...
Tychus Findlay. Because what's the VitD's main characteristic? Its voice. What is Tychus Findlay's main characteristic? His ever-so-awesome voice.

The StarCraft universe is the past of the Metroid universe

 * The founders of the Galactic Federation are the Terrans and the Protoss: Following the defeat of the Zerg at the conclusion of the Koprulu Wars, the remaining Terrans and unified Protoss form a formal alliance known as the “Koprulu Accords”. Eventually their combined technological prowess and resourcefulness allows them to extend their influence to the rest of the Milky Way galaxy, encompassing the Sol System, the former Chozo worlds, and annexes many other advanced worlds in the galaxy. The final product of this union and subsequent expansion is the Galactic Federation: a civil union of space-faring civilizations to prevent the horrors of the Koprulu Wars from ever happening again. As the centuries go by, the Koprulu Wars and the Zerg are forgotten, and the Xel’Naga is eclipsed by the mysteries of the Chozo. Phazon was also an attempt at discovering an alternative to the rapidly depleting vespene gas, but was determined too volatile for profitable use. The Space Pirates disagree. Eventually, one of the more prominent Chozo worlds, “Zebes”, is colonized by a science/mining team to uncover more Chozo artifacts. The Space Pirates are just as interested in the artifacts, and less interested in sharing. As a side note: Federation Marine power-suits look like bulkier, advanced Ghost and Spectre suits (possibly modified with Protoss technology) and Armstrong Houston’s (Houston Barrimonde in some media) power suit is remarkably similar to a modified Terran Marine armor.
 * The Metroid are the last remnant of the Zerg: The Zerg was systematically destroyed following the death of their Queen and the irreversible destruction of their Cerebrates; they began to devour one another, until only one species strong enough to survive remained. In an act of self-preservation, they sought out a world to gestate and evolve without the threat of destruction. The last overlords and overseers carrying the DNA of this infant species found a distant planet with a rich eco-system and a small enclave of Chozo. The Chozo recognized this species as the creations of the Xel’Naga, and quickly abandoned the planet to the alien invaders. The species of Zerg found the planet to be a perfect breeding ground for their further development and used the ensuing centuries to grow and prosper. They developed a method of energy absorption that was at least ten times more efficient than standard metabolic processes and allowed them to become the dominant life form on the planet. The planet: SR-388. Their ability to alter their genetic code as they mature (alpha, gamma, omega, etc.) and their susceptibility to Phazon and other forms of radiation is a genetic artifact of the hyper-evolutionary virus that originally spawned their forerunners.
 * The Chozo and The Xel’Naga are philosophical off-shoots of the same civilization, if not the same species: The Chozo and the Xel’Naga are both highly advanced species, technologically and biologically speaking. It is not unfounded to speculate that they may have developed as civilizations simultaneously. Furthermore, they may have developed on the same home world, as two sapient races sharing the same planet. They may even be the same species, the Xel’Naga having become obsessed with a sort of “transchozoism”, seeking to modify their basic biological structure through technology, psionic manipulation, and genetic experimentation. The Chozo proper may have seen such technological modification to be reckless, and sought to develop them-selves naturally, combining their technology with the organic processes of their environments and developing their psionic abilities slowly and deliberately. Eventually, the Xel’Naga left their planet after some unforgivable schism rent their relations with their planetary cousins, forcing them to wander the universe in their world-ships, continuing their experiments they started on the Chozo home world (foreshadowing the conflict between the Dark Templar and Aiur Protoss). History would show that they would end up destroying themselves with their own creations, the Protoss and the Zerg, becoming a dark shadow of their former selves. The Chozo on the other hand, would continue to colonize world after world, careful to avoid contact with either the Protoss or the Zerg (possibly through the same ways they repelled any Xel’Naga influence), until they too disappeared under mysterious circumstances. (Possible Ing persecution, Metroid (read Zerg) taint, or Phazon corruption? Or a shadow war with some remnant of the Voice in Darkness?)On a similar note, Samus' Morph Ball technique works by temporarily shifting her physical body into a psionic warp-space pocket, similar to what the Protoss use. It makes sense that an equally advanced species such as the Chozo would have similar technology. Her suit then compresses itself into a ball, which Samus controls psychically from the warp-pocket, and explains how she can see where she is going.
 * Ridley’s resurrections are similar in origin to the Cerebrates’ psionic resurrection: The Space Pirates are obsessed with Zerg bio-physiology (see below). They constantly strive to make themselves greater and greater, equally obsessed with the concept of “Purity of Essence and Form.” They continuously modify themselves with ancient technologies and strange xeno-biological processes. Ridley is the culmination of psycho-biological experimentation and meta-cybernetic development. He is essentially a being of pure psionic energy, able to restructure himself as he was from a kind of proto-genetic soup the Pirates manufacture just for him, or implant his psyche into cybernetic duplications of himself. He is essentially a Cerebrate without the need of an Overmind (But see below). (Kraid is a similar subject, but is more of a straight cloning procedure rather than the kind of psychically transcendent being that is Ridley.)
 * The X-Parasite is a semi-sentient, self-sufficient descendant of the original Zerg hyper-evolutionary virus: On SR-388, the last Zerg remnant, called “Metroid” by the Chozo enclave stationed there, continued to develop itself using an evolved form of energy absorption and the hyper-evolutionary virus that spawned them. With time, it became the dominant life-form on the planet and as a side-effect, spread its genetic influence throughout the planet’s eco-system. The Zerg hyper-evolutionary virus therefore integrated itself within the biospheres of the planet, eventually manifesting itself as an autonomous life form. The Metroid kept the life form, eventually referred to as the “X-Parasite” by Federation scientists, in check, but when Samus Aran destroyed the Metroids on the planet, the virus was able to further develop itself, becoming the lethal threat encountered in “Fusion”.
 * The Space Pirates are a group of descendant Protoss fanatics dedicated to combining Zerg biology and Protoss technology, hence their obsession with Metroids (all that’s left of the Zerg) and their predilection for Chozo (read Xel’Naga and therefore Protoss forerunner - see above) technology; this cements their desire to become “perfect” and the most dominant species in the galaxy: “Purity of Essence and Form”. As such…
 * Mother Brain is an attempt at recreating the Overmind: As noted, the Space Pirates are a group of Protoss descendants shameful of their species' integration into the Galactic Federation. They have researched extensively the records of both ancient Xel’Naga and Chozo technology and development, and have come to the conclusion that the Xel’Naga were extremely close to achieving their goal of the “Perfect Life Form”. They then begun to aggressively acquire Xel’Naga and Chozo artifacts to solidify their research, and begin development where the Xel’Naga left off. Such developments are: The Metroids as a weapon; Ridley’s resurrection abilities; their marked differences in appearances amongst each-other and from the original Protoss; and finally, Mother Brain. In their attempt to emulate “Purity of Essence” they sought to unite themselves in the same glorious hive-mind the nearly unstoppable Zerg once had almost a millennia earlier. Through countless experiments and development, they created the first Overmind prototype: Codenamed – Mother Brain. Their experiments finally giving fruit at their research installation on Zebes, they initially used Mother Brain as a massive DNA computing processor to accelerate their research. Unfortunately for them, they did not count on the bounty hunter Samus Aran to destroy the Mother Brain and the Zebes installation. They would later re-inhabit the facility in an attempt at modifying the hyper-evolutionary virus found within the last-surviving Metroid to resurrect the Mother Brain, as well as give it a greater defensive capability. To no avail, however.

The Dark Voice is Sovereign

 * In this world, Humanity never found the cache of prothean tech on Mars, and instead of discovering Mass Effect technology, they developed along a different path. The Protoss and Zerg similarly developed in other ways. need all three of these races destroyed, and are creating the Hybrids to study their tech. The Zerg were originally being controlled through

The Dark Voice is a Stealth Mentor.
The Xel'naga abandoned the Protoss because the Protoss quibbled and fought against each other over trivial differences. They abandoned the Zerg because the Zerg became evil and Turned Against Their Masters.

Blizzard has said that the "Legacy of the Void" campaign will be about Zeratul acting as a diplomat to bring all the divided Protoss tribes together into a single unified race. The ending to "Wings of Liberty" implies "Heart of the Swarm" will be about teaching the Zerg the difference between right and wrong to make them into good guys. In other words, because they now have a common enemy, both races are starting to lose the flaws that made the Xel'naga reject them in the first place.

Perhaps that was the plan of the Xel'naga all along. Have one of their own pretend to be a Card-Carrying Villain who wants to destroy the universe (for no discernible purpose) in order to manipulate both the Protoss and the Zerg into improving themselves. The artifact fragments? Left behind on purpose so the Terrans could find them and, indirectly giving the Zerg a moral leader. That's why Dr. Hanson says they aren't as old as they should be. The prophesy on Ulaan? Written by the Xel'naga themselves, to convince Zeratul that his people won't survive unless they all join together. Everything that's happened so far has happened to make the Protoss and the Zerg into what the Xel'naga originally wanted them to be.

Terran buildings are built so quickly because they are not, in fact, built
Look at those SCV's in StarCraft 2 creating a structure. They are not actually building it from the ground. It looks more like they are "unpacking" some sort of prebuilt package, probably dropped by the Hyperion. This explains how the Terrans can set up bases just as quickly as the protoss (who warp in their buildings) and the zerg (who grow into them in a matter of seconds due to The Rule of Disgusting Alien Evolution).

Kerrigan's Badass Decay was actually a Xanatos Gambit within a larger Elaborate Scheme

 * I approve greatly of this theory; it actually makes sense, especially considering . Regardless of HOTS, this will always be canon in my cold, unbeating heart.

The Koprulu Sector will fall.
The Terrans and Protoss have been badly weakened by war, and Kerrigan is not going to regain control of most of the Swarm. This fact will become apparent in Heart Of The Swarm, and part of Zeratul's problems in Legacy Of The Void will be convincing the Protoss NOT to stand and fight. Their only hope will be to flee to Earth, and use the resources of the UED to make a stand.

The final battle of Legacy Of The Void will be a "stand your ground until everyone is evacuated" mission. The final cinematic will show the combined Terran/Zerg/Protoss fleet arriving at Earth.


 * Very interesting theory.

The KL-2 Entity is Zalgo

 * It was trapped in a planet orbitting a dead star, And it can posess people, causing their eyes to rot. Both are typical Zalgo traits. Blizzard confirmed that it's not the same as the Dark Voice though.

Heart of the Swarm campaign guesses

 * Lurkers and Defilers will return for the campaign (If lurkers aren't already included as an expansion unit). Devourers and Scourge might return as well. Due to the new Queen unit, the starcraft 1 queen won't return, but a similar sort of flying spellcaster might also return. I don't remember any other zerg units that were canceled in Starcraft 2 development, but if I forgot any, or if some units were developed but not released in public, they will be good possibilities as well for extra campaign units. The zerg drop sac mechanic will be included in some form (Whether as an upgrade, building ability, or unit.) Smaller versions of the Brutalisk and Leviathan are also good possibilities.


 * However the upgrade system works, Roaches will get an ability to regenerate really fast above ground as well as burrowed. Lurkers will get the range upgrade, possibly a splash upgrade as well, or a stun/slowing attack. I could also vaguely see Lurkers getting a "move while burrowed" upgrade, but this might create balance issues and not fit with the siege mode like mechanic of burrowing to attack. Corrupters will gain the stationary air turret ability that was canceled.


 * One of the campaign missions will involve sneaking around while burrowed (with roaches and/or infestors, plus perhaps other units using campaign specific upgrades.). Another will involve having to rapidly spread creep and capture territory and bases, using Overlords and Queens. Another will involve an enemy with lots of anti-air, or some other limit on air units, which requires Ultralisks or some other ground unit to defeat the enemy. If Defilers are included, this might be a Dark Swarm-based mission instead, or as well. I could see island transport missions and base defense missions as possibilities, but these may be too similar to Terran missions to be repeated.

Why Selendis was not angry at Raynor in the Safe Haven mission
Selendis was originally sent to destroy the colony to prevent a zerg invasion. When Raynor shows up, however, she realizes that she may not have ot do the work herself, since she knows of Raynor being a skilled fighter who can probably handle an infestation himself. However, for bureaucratic reasons, Selendis can't simply report back without having attempted to destroy the colony, so she sends a token force to the surface to threaten the colony, and ensure that Raynor does in fact have strong enough forces to deal with the zerg, than leaves when this proves to be the case. If the infestation flares up, Raynor is in contact with the colonists, and as a terran himself will better know how to surgically destroy infested areas without damaging the rest of the planet as much.

The Adjutant didn't speak to Raynor because he called her (it?) a piece of junk a bit before
The "status: criminal" was simply the adjutant being annoying/a wiseass (you get the idea).

The Dark Voice is Satan
The Xel'Naga are constantly stated to be divine. However, they built temples. If they were gods themselves, what were their temples for?

My answer: The Xel'Naga were angels, and the temples they built were dedicated to God. So what does that make the one bad Xel'Naga--the one who refers to himself as "Fallen One?"

The Dark Voice is Diablo
And the Xel'Naga are angels.
 * Maybe jossed by the fact that you could find Diablo in The Devil's Playground... And I think he was dancing?

Raynor thinks that his revolution, in one way or the other, will have to "eat its own children".
That's the implication of his statement that there will be the new world Horner hopes for, but there won't be a place in it for guys like himself and Tosh.

At least in the time of Wings of Liberty, Horner is the secret true leader of Raynor's Raiders.
Raynor is just the guy who motivates the soldiers and provides military and political strategy. Horner is the guy with the vision. Of course, since Horner doesn't appear in Starcraft and Broodwar, this either wasn't yet the case in that time or it just didn't really become visible until Wings of Liberty.

The Dark Voice will turn out to be a much more sympathetic entity than the cartoonishly evil portrayal we've seen of him in Wings of Liberty.

 * Maybe it's the last survivor of the Xel'naga, and is very pissed about the protoss turning away from them and the zerg turning against them. I sure hope so, since improving the new big bad's is one of the many things that needs to be done to salvage the story of Starcraft II.

The Dark Voice will "steal Raynor's kill" by killing Arcturus Mengsk
Exactly What It Says on the Tin

The Player character is in fact an "Anti-Duran" who takes on various roles throughout the story to stop the Dark Voice
The Non Entity Generals in the starcraft universe did in fact exist; they were just different forms of the entity that the player character represents. This entity was constantly changing sides in a complicated plan to ensure that the Dark Voice does not succeed in its plan. Here's how the story plays out with this assumption:


 * Terran campaign, StarCraft original: The player character has established itself on the colony or Mar Sara as a magistrate. Similar to Duran on Braxis, this places this entity in a position to observe events, and become involved if necessary, but also lay low if needed. The character already knows about the upcoming zerg attack, and has some understanding of the protoss. The character joins the sons of Korhal willingly, both to help them overthrow the Confederacy and bring in a more organized government, better able to handle upcoming challenges, and to determine what the zerg want with terrans. Unfortunately, Mengsk's personality turned out to be a bit different than expected, and thus the character decided to help Raynor survive, as a leader likely to assist any future plans, and perhaps overthrow Mengsk and possibly create a better Terran government. However, the character can't help much beyond this, because it's now time to join the zerg…


 * Zerg campaign, StarCraft original: When the terrans just assumed Kerrigan was killed, the character has now figured out, both from psi emitters, and from the zerg targeting Kerrigan, what they really want. After helping Raynor escape from Mengsk, the character probably fakes a heart attack, than joins the zerg Swarm as a cerebrate protecting Kerrigan. Here, the character has a chance to observe the overmind up close, and see the Dark Voice's interference with the Overmind, its urges to assimilate, and its worries about the future of the zerg. This is when the player character comes up with the plan to use Kerrigan to free the swarm from the Voice's influence, reunify the High and Dark Templar, and use these forces to defeat the Dark Voice. To carry out this plan, the character subtly influences the overmind over time into coming up with the same plan, while protecting Kerrigan, and preparing for the invasion of Aiur. Once the overmind is established however, it has to die, and the protoss survive, so time to join the protoss…


 * Protoss campaign, StarCraft original: At this point, the protoss don't have a lot of solders, and are thus a bit desparate for new commanders. The character worms its way into the protoss military hierarchy, and after proving itself quite skilled at commanding, gets itself the job of going back to Char and recovering Tassadar. This gives the character the opportunity to recruit the Dark Templar, and set the stage for the reunification of the protoss. After returning to Aiur, the character protects the Dark Templar and Tassadar, as well as Raynor, who it was quite happy to discover was willing to help the protoss and could fight against the overmind. This part of the plan eventually succeeds, and the Overmind is killed. However, the zerg had been running wild, and threatened the survival of the protoss, so the character stayed for some time afterwards to clear up the mess…


 * Protoss campaign, Brood War: The character ensures the survival and unification of the different protoss factions by helping the move to Shakuras, recovering the crystals, and cleansing the zerg from Shakuras. Curing this time, however, the character discovers the UED and learns of the new Overmind, which still contains influences of the Dark Voice (through the regular cerebrates), and, if it takes over the Swarm, would prevent Kerrigan from taking control as planned. After protoss survival is secured, the character joins the UED, to learn of their plans…


 * Terran Campaign, Brood War: The character joins the UED, both because the UED offers a chance to organize the terrans more effectively than the Dominion can, and to learn more about their purpose in the sector. While in the UED, the character leanrs of plans to enslave the Overmind and decides that this enslavement will be a good way to ensure that the Overmind does not become too powerful too quickly. During the campaign, however, the captain comes into contact with Duran, detects something unusual about him, and becomes suspicious. However, the character lays low for the time being, observing Duran but not drawing any suspicion in return from him. The UED succeeds in taking over the terrans in the sector, and controlling the Overmind, but comes into conflict with Kerrigan in the process. Because Kerrigan's survival is a higher priority than anything with the terrans, the character switches allegiance to Kerrigan's zerg…

(I have to say that this version of the story seems to work a lot better without the UED, some extra contortions are needed to stick them into it.)


 * Zerg Campaign, Brood War: The character takes on the role of a cerebrate, ensuring Kerrigan's survival by defeating the UED and the new Overmind. At the same time, the character watches Duran. Though largely obeying orders and otherwise avoiding drawing extra attention, moreso that Duran, the character does push subtly on Kerrigan, to ensure that she allows the Protoss, and groups like Raynor's raiders and the Dominion, to survive. When Duran disappears, the character is able to follow somewhat, and gets Zeratul to follow as well (somehow, possibly through psychic suggestion, possibly by having zerg chase him in a certain direction), revealing Duran's actual hybrid creation plan.


 * After Brood War: Kerrigan "kills" the cerebrate, though she only thinks she has actually killed anything. Instead, the character takes on various guises, mostly terran, occasionally Protoss, to watch and prepare for Duran and the Dark Voice's return. One of these roles is as an occasional mercenary for Raynor's Raiders, which is where the character happens to be when some artifacts are revealed, and Kerrigan begins her attacks again…

(At this point I assume that the character sticks with Raynor's Raiders for some time, in order to either prevent Kerrigan being killed and/or use the artifact to change her personality to something more suitable for universe saving. Without knowing what will happen in Heart of the Swarm, it will be difficult to tell what the terrain role for this character would be. The protoss and zerg roles would, most likely, once again be for unifying the protoss and ensuring Kerrigan's survival, though the actual details are of course sketchy until the games come out.

Alternatively, the character may switch to other random terran and protoss roles, and the campaign is exactly as shown, with the player taking the role of Raynor, Kerrigan, and Zeratul.)


 * Wasn't it canon that the Executor from Episode III is Artanis? Or perhaps the Anti-Duran influenced Artanis, then shifted to another Executor in Episode IV, then to the Captain in the UED at Episode V?

Arcturus Mengsk will still be in power by Legacy of the Void.
So as to justify Protoss vs. Terran missions.
 * Keep in mind there are other Terran powers besides the Dominion.
 * This is possibly jossed with a leaked (though unfinished and as of yet unofficial) animation that may or may not be the ending of Heart Of The Swarm, wherein Mengsk is killed by Raynor and Kerrigan.

Legacy of the Void will see Valerian take the throne by the end of things
Probably granting on official pardon to Raynor's Raiders when he does, and working to unite humanity against the Dark Voice.

Dark Voice is The Raven.
Let's see... "Black... thing with red eyes?

Captures a good guy lady and Mind Rape and invokes a Painful Transformation to turn the lady into an evil evil evil puppet?

Uses mindless drones. This one differs a little since the soul-raped victims are pretty much used exclusively by The Raven (crows) while the Dark Voice's Zerg can make some (Infected ____) but don't have to.

Drones tend to Zerg Rush."

Mengsk made a deal that got out of hand.

 * Wings of Liberty seems to indicate that Mengsk is in a situation somewhat like Nute Gunray and the Trade Federation, in that he's made a deal with an unknown being who turned out to be a lot more powerful than he expected and now he had no choice but to go along with them.

Warhammer 40K is Starcraft after In Utter Darkness.
Zeratul was incorrect when he said that the terrans had been consumed by the Dark Voice. The Emperor instead took it upon himself to shield humanity - that is, Earth - by hiding them from the Dark Voice, which also resulted in their being hidden from the protoss, who thus assumed that they were consumed. The protoss thus made their last stand, successfully hiding the Archive. The Overmind, in addition to Kerrigan, also sent out a fairly small zerg brood that disappeared...or did it?

Thus the universe plunges into darkness, exactly as the Dark Voice intended. However, it didn't count on the Warp, and hence was faced with the three Chaos Gods of the time. The clash resulted in the seeds of a fourth Chaos God being sown in the Warp, so to speak, and the Dark Voice falling silent.

Time passes. The hybrids fade, and a young species finds the planet where the protoss died. They find the Archive and all of its knowledge, and make use of it. The integration is so complete that they actually think they are far older than they are. The stories of dead warriors striding the land and of weapons that hurled the power of the sun at their enemies enter the species' mythology, and they take their new name: Eldar.

On another planet, a hybrid dies among a lot of vegetation, most of it fungus. However, something strange occurs, and a vaguely humanoid shape stomps away from the place after some time. Its skin is green.

It so happens that the zerg brood that left never disappeared. Instead, they managed to get to a nearby galaxy. The native species were no match for the zerg and were consumed. The evolution of the zerg continues.

On Earth, humanity manages to recover. Among the many measures the Emperor took was to force humanity's regression to a lower base of technology and slow its advance; he willingly made the sacrifice so as to prolong their survival. As the millennia pass, they reach out into the galaxy again.

Humanity's hubris, however, strikes, and the Warp heaves, causing storms all across the galaxy. Humanity writhes in pain, and the Emperor knows that it is time to return. He does so, and begins crafting his greatest soldiers, his Angels of Death. He visualizes their appearance based on some images that managed to survive the long millennia, and designs their armor and weapons to be similar. So do the Adeptus Astartes - the Space Marines - come into existence, and the Emperor decrees that, like those Marines who stood before the tide in times long past, they shall know no fear.

The Eldar fall, and the manner of their fall influences the Warp, and the vague familiarity awakens the Dark Voice, so that his nature, rendered mutable by the Warp, changes and he takes his new name: Slaanesh.

Millennia later, the zerg return to the galaxy they came from. But their evolution has continued such that they no longer resemble their progenitors - but their nature is still the same, and the Tyranids come to consume all.


 * And the Necrons?

Tosh is a Spectre working for the Citadel Council.
He isn't just there randomly. He's fighting to save the galaxy from the threat of the Hybrids. Unfortunately for him... "Protoss Councilor: Ah yes, the "Hybrids" (airquotes). We have dismissed that claim."

Matt Horner is the Player Character from the original StarCraft campaign.
He was a captain who supported Mengsk's rebellion against the corrupt Confederacy, but was disgusted with Mengsk's attacks on civilian targets and joined up with Raynor when he defected. Makes sense, no?
 * Jossed. Matt was with the Sons of Korhal before the Magistrate joined them.

The different sides of the game are vague allegories for different groups in the Korean War
Works as follows:


 * Terrans: Noncommunist forces. Use a lot of artillery, machinery in general, can hold positions well.


 * Zerg: Chinese forces. Rely on larger numbers of soldiers, good at moving without being seen as easily (Chinese moving at night with relatively few supplies, zerg using burrow and dark swarm), go for surrounds, etc. Obviously, things like ultralisks and guardians don't really have equivalents, but are added later for balance reasons.


 * Protoss: Wish fulfilment for various Korean groups. Instead of being stuck in a proxy war between several more powerful countries, they get the strongest, smartest, most advanced, and otherwise most powerful of everything. (Notice how protoss seem to have close equivalents to a lot of the less specialized units of other races) Of course, costs are increased to balance everything for multiplayer.

Because of the terrazine, Spectres are part-Protoss, including Tosh himself.

 * The Protoss call Terrazine "the breath of creation". The resource is said to have psychiatric effects on those who use it, which means Spectres undergo mental transformation as a result. They become eccentric and carry totems. It doesn't take a while for a campaign enthusiast to understand the purpose of Pylons as a "totem" for psionic prowess among the Protoss, thus why the Protoss instructor tells you "You must construct additional Pylons" so much.
 * Tosh exhibits more traits of a Protoss than those of a Terran. Outside of combat, especially against Mengsk, no irrational or unruly behavior is observed. In fact, Tosh displays more aid to Raynor than Hanson, Tychus, or even Matt Horner when it comes to the map! Furthermore, grandiose plans such as are hard to properly execute. Tosh seems to be more intelligent than a majority of other Terrans as such.
 * Tosh is generally calmer than everyone else on the Hyperion. When the UNN, all he does is stare at the screen blankly. When Raynor looks at him, he smiles serenely, probably to assure Raynor that he isn't harmful...most of the time. He wasn't scared of
 * Tosh spooks Tychus and Swann with his playing of dolls and presentment of the schematics for Spectres, respectively. In fact, Tosh's dolls are his totem. He intimidates Matt Horner to the point of being annoying in Horner's eyes.
 * If Tosh's psychic powers actually bring forth accurate statements, who knows if his part-Protoss nature will catch wind with Selendis and Zeratul, among others?

There are now two Kerrigans.

 * Remember when Zeratul cut off Kerrigan's wing in the first Protoss cut-scene? It turns out Zerg healing abilities work both ways: Kerrigan not only grew another wing, the wing grew another Kerrigan. This theory allows the Queen of Blades to be the main character of Heart of the Swarm without negating the Terran campaign's ending.

Raynor's revolution will result in the Terran Federation
According to Plato tyranny is followed by Timocracy, a form of government that emphasizes personal honor, such as that gained by serving in the military.
 * Not to mention that if he continues to refuse the use of neural resocialization and Conscription he'll need some way to recruit enough volunteers.
 * And Marauders are one of the new infantry units.

StarCraft takes place in the same universe as Star Fox
No proof really. This Troper has just always thought that they do.

In Heart of the Swarm, the Zerg will go by the path of the Horde as the latter did in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.
After all, the Overmind's plan was to free the Zerg from control of the Dark Void (and hoping Kerrigan would do just that). And perhaps with Egon Stetmann's research (eg the Hive Mind emulator) that could happen, and the Zerg will develop conscience, some of whom would ascent to true hero/protagonist status (eg a Hydralisk/Hunter-killer becoming an Expy of Thrall).
 * Might be Jossed according to this Heart of the Swarm preview by IGN, which hints that

The head of Spartan Company is the Non-Entity General of Brood War.
Let's face it, it's doubtful someone as successful as you would die so easily.
 * Which entity, the Executor, the UED Captain, or perhaps the Cerebrate?

All starcraft protoss players are investigated and fired offscreen after multiplayer games
A couple reasons for this, mostly related to the cannon foddery nature of units in RTS games:
 * In the manual/backstory, turning into an Archon is considered a huge sacrifice for high Templar. Players, on the other hand, "waste" their High Templar for 1-2 storms or so, than change them to Archons rather than regenerate energy.
 * Immortals (in StarCraft II) are supposed to be the last remaining Dragoons, and mostly irreplacable, yet any player that uses Immortals will probably go through a bunch in a game.

Terran and Protoss multiplayer commanders, in this WMG, are much more respected than their Protoss counterparts, thanks to the relative expendability of terran infantry (unless multiplayer games are theoretically fought from a mercenary or rebel point of view), and Zerg units are similarly expendable.

Humans are the Xel'naga
]
 * The terran colony ships travelled 30 years... via onboard time. They were travelling at .999c and actually took several thousand years to get to the Koprulu sector.
 * After the colony ships were lost, the humans tried one more time.
 * Meanwhile, humans on Earth developed, within another hundred years or so, actual FTL technology.
 * They explore space, but never actually find the terran ships (which are still in transit in the middle of deep space).
 * The excessive space-travel has made the human race very aware of how limited their bodies are, and they decide to create the Protoss, Zerg, etc, and fail miserably.
 * Thousands of years later: the one extra colony ship sent afterwards lands and establishes a colony outside the Koprulu sector. They have a much more organized society and uphold Earth's UED government and culture, even though that's thousands of years in the past.
 * a hundred years or so after that: the original colony ships crash land, the Terran race is established. Starcraft begins.

Tychus was trying to warn Jim about his plan without actually saying it
And hey, a little luck he survives the bullet assuming Jim didn't aim for the head, allowing one of the Raider's medics (maybe one Tychus had his eye on...) patch him up well enough. We can even say Jim slotted the transmitter. Wishful thinking, probably, but it could make a lot of sense.
 * Think about it; all the hints that Tychus drops. He changes his tune about the artefacts like a flute tries to do the opposite, all to get Jim's attention. He knew that he couldn't tell Jim directly because Mengsk would then hit the kill button if it was compromised, so he goes for indirect. Notably is after "the Brawl", he comments that he felt just what freedom is. And in "The Showdown", he hesitates. He may of been under Mengsk by the suit, but he was loyal to Jim a lot more than he was to Mengsk.
 * Seconded wishful thinking. He's too awesome to die. Assuming the commentary presented upon completion of campaign mode is a red herring to throw players off course.

The Magistrate is dead.
He was in the Command Center during the fourth Zerg mission - you know, the one you had to infest or destroy.
 * IIRC, from the Starcraft books I've read, The Magistrate left some time after Raynor's Raiders was formed.

The Nameless Zerg Cerebrate from Brood War will return as a major NPC.
After Kerrigan becomes human, the Swarm splits into multiple Broods under different Cerebrates. The NZC, however, is personally loyal to Kerrigan, and seeks her out. He ends up playing a role similar to Matt Horner.

That sun going supernova in "Supernova" was not a coincidence
The timing is just too perfect, and stars don't die every day. Something, probably the Dark Voice, was trying to keep the artifact from being completed, and blowing up the whole star system would be a pretty good way to thwart its recovery.
 * My personal guess is that the Tal'darim did it (Wrote this as a possibility in the headscratchers page as well.) I can't really explain in a fully logical way why this seems to work, but it does seem to fit something the somewhat nutty Tl'darim would do, given the over the top, flowery threats they were making in the past.

Zerg unit upgrades in Heart of the Swarm from July 2011
We've seen a version for roaches, zerglings, and banelings at the moment. Assumimg the general system remains at release, here are some guesses for other units:
 * Hydralisks: Upgrades to Hunter Killer or Viper. Hunter Killers gain splash damage and armor, Vipers gain a passive Acid Spore like effect (attacks cause the target to take increased damage for some time)
 * Lurkers: A Dustin Browder interview mentioned they would almost certainly be added, and the unit was in the game for awhile in beta, and is liked, so will almost certainly be in single player. Upgrades to either Tremors or Moles. Tremors gain the long range attack that lurkers had at one point in beta, Moles can move slowly while burrowed. ("Moles" isn't the best name, though the name will be something related to a digging creature, but a more threatening sounding one.)
 * Mutalisks: Will become Wasps or buzzards. Wasps can fire on the move, buzzards produce broodlings when they kill units.
 * Corruptors: Become infectors or Kraken. Infectors produce the stationary air units seen at one point in the beta. Kraken have greatly increased armor and range.
 * Scourge: They are also in the game, so I can see them pretty easily being in Heart of the Swarm. Can be upgraded to mosquitoes or digesters. Mosquitoes either slow enemy units (if this is not just a regular upgrade) or do small area splash damage, digesters turn killed targets into resources, similar to gorgelings.
 * Ultralisks: Upgrade to behemoths or Ceratalisk. Behemoths gain defensive bonuses and have an immortality protocal like ability, Ceratalisks deal damage to surrounding enemy units. (artwork for the ceratalisk would show claws all over its body, that are presumably attacking the nearby enemies.)
 * Brood Lords: Upgrade to Bane Lords and Pteradons. Bane Lords attack using banelings (most likely the second or third level splitterling spawns), effectively gaining splash damage at the cost of distraction. Pteradons have a chance to create eggs when they attack, and a greater chance when they kill a unit. the eggs spawn broodlings when they hatch ofter a bit of time.

The Tal'Darim will continue to be Annoying Macguffin obstacles right through Legacy of the Void, and into the next game in the series
They will not join Zeratul or be eliminated, instead remaining as a separate protoss group all the way through.

The last shot of the game will be Raynor giving the Bar owner a new TV
Or paying the bar owner back with money. There may be a discussion about Raynor running up some bills as well.

Why Kerrigan behaves the way she does in the Starcraft 2 Terran Campaign
This is a WMG based on some Headscratchers for starcraft 2.


 * Searching for the artifact: Kerrigan at the end of Brood War felt that some mysterious threat was coming, so pulled back during the 4 years afterwards. During this time, in addition to improving the zerg abilities, she searched for information and tools that could help defeat the threat. Shortly before or during the terran campaign, Kerrigan found some information about the prophecy, and/or found out some other way that these artifacts might exist. The actual effect of the artifacts would not be known to Kerrigan, but she would know that they were powerful, and that alone would be good enough reason for kerrigan to try and capture them.


 * The storyline is useless because Kerrigan would simply use the artifacts to turn herself back: for me, this doesn't matter much, since Raynor doesn't know this, and his actions make sense even if Kerrigan were to do that. More likely, though, Kerrigan would not use the artifact, but instead try to draw power from it, figure out how to use it as a weapon, or simply wing it and try to use it as a weapon during the future attack. In these cases, it is highly likely that Kerrigan would either turn herself human at a bad moment for the universe, getting killed by hybrids/dark voice, rebel zerg, etc. She also might use it as a weapon while not nearby, being uneffected.


 * Kerrigan "embracing oblivion": Kerrigan was already somewhat nuts in Brood war (Though focused enough to pull a few betrayals and shifting alliances, did seem to randomly kill/piss off people without any solid purpose), and her lines to Zeratul seem more like taunts than like honest feelings. Kerrigan may also by somewhat high off her own power, and not actually absorbing the words of the prophecy, in her subconscious expecting to power her way out as she has before.

Kerrigan was not after the Artifacts because she feared them, but because she wanted to prevent her Villain Decay
I got this idea from watching the heart of the swarm trailers.

In her infested form, Kerrigan, while powerful is losing the proper thought processes to come up with the complex plans she did while in Brood Wars. To combat this, she feels that the best corse of action is to bring herself down to a given level of normal to regain those abilities. Her Villainous Breakdown can in the final mission can though this lens can be given a huge reinterpretaion: Raynor is doing exactly what Kerrigan wants but ultamately he is a threat and should be treated as such.

Starcraft shares the same universe with Star Wars.
Does it look familiar to you?

There will be a Downer Ending in Heart of the Swarm.
Let's face it, Blizzard Entertainment is known for making games with sad endings. I just heard this game would be Darker and Edgier than the others. Here are the points for this ending:


 * Based on the latest Heat of the Swarm Trailer the latter guess seems to be Jossed

The Tal'Darim are pawns of the Dark Voice.
It would explain why they're always at odd with their own kind, not that its anything new to the Protoss. Or the DV simply has agents in the sect, and manipulates them into attacking everyone. Whether its part of his Evil Plan, or he simply get them to kill more Protoss, and Terrans.

The swarm host in single player will have a mutation that has it spawn baneling like creatures

 * It definitely sounds like a somewhat cool idea, and would fit the role of a zerg artillery unit. Brood Lords are another possibility for this type of upgrade, although since the broodlings seem more distraction oriented than damage oriented, this seems less likely.

Warhounds are a creation of Swann's, further optimizing the Thor

 * Swann wasn't completely happy with the Thor, noticing that Thors were quite bulky and not effective compared to the campaign siege tanks and Goliaths with science vessels and vanadium plating, so decided to further scale down the Thor as an engineering project after the battles on Char.

Kerrigan is fully aware of the Overmind's vision
Remember, it was the protoss prophecy she was unaware of, not the vision itself which the prophecy led Zaratul to learning. If the Overmind truely intended Kerrigan to lead this would be the best motivation for her. It would explain why she's so driven to lead the Swarm, she knows what will happen if she doesn't. It would also expplain why she was seeking the artifacts, she wanted to use it as a weapon against the hybrids.

Duran underestimated Kerrigan
And not just her ability to survive the final mission after he abandons her. He never believed she'd be able to kill the Overmind as she lacked Dark Templar abilities.It would explain why he's helping her so much and then abandons her when he does, he wanted her to destroy the UED and free the young Overmind from their control so the Dark Voice could retain it's control over the Swarm. She blindsided him with using the Matriarch to force the Dark Templar into killing the Overmind and uses Zeratul's attempt to free the Matriarch as a distraction to take off. With the Psi Disrupter destroyed, the Overmind dead and the UED's destruction soon to follow Kerrigan's attention would soon be undivided and might notice her control over him wasn't as total as she belived.
 * One problem though: In the Broodwar Zerg campaign, Duran is still with Kerrigan in the mission where you capture Raszhagal. He even actively helps you in this mission. He only departs after that mission.
 * He didn't seem fully aware of why Kerrigan wanted the Matriarch until the next mission (In the briefing before the mission, Kerrigan has to show him when her plan was with Razagal). In the spirit of this WMG, it may mean that Duran did not expect Kerrigan to take this route, so had no reason to interfere with the Matriarch's capture. (It would have further angered the protoss, feeding the "kill Kerrigan afterwards" plan he had, so he would have a reason to see it be successful.)

StarCraft takes place in the Star Wars universe.
Just place the koprulu sector in the unknown regions. They haven't exactly been explored, so this possibly could work.

The fly Tychus crushes in the first cutscene he appears in is actually a zerg scout
Kerrigan, as part of the development of the swarm, adapted flies brought by the UED or original colonists into an extremely hardy creature that can handle deep space, enter an atmosphere on its own, survive a great deal of time without air, can squeeze into small spaces, and is extremely cheap to hatch, all while looking like a regular pest that terrans would not notice. Unfortunately, all these changes can at the cost of the fly's reflexes, allowing Tychus to crush it without it being able to fly away. Kerrigan was obviously scouting the nearby artifact with it.

There will be two choices at the end of Heart of the Swarm: Kill Mengsk, or Spare him

 * If you kill him, you end up going evil, if you spare him, the hero stays good. Valerian may also be a potential death.