Three of the most storied characters in StarCraft are now heading to the tabletop. Archon Studio has opened pre-orders for Wave 3 of StarCraft: Tabletop Miniatures Game, led by the Protoss Executor Tassadar, the Zerg Broodmother Zagara, and the Terran Ghost Nova Terra. Each faction also gets a new support unit in the Raven, the High Templar, and the Defiler, giving all three armies of the Koprulu Sector fresh reinforcements for the next chapter of the war.
Archon summed up the wave in its newsletter by inviting players to "dictate the next chapter of conflict across the Koprulu Sector." The studio has also released an official trailer that shows the new miniatures in action, complete with some familiar unit lines from the games. Check it out below:
Tassadar, The Executor Who Saved Aiur
For many longtime fans, Tassadar is the heart of the original StarCraft story, and his box carries his famous line, "Faith before fear, friend." Archon's own description of the character leans fully into that legacy. As Executor of the Protoss fleet, he was the first of his kind to embrace both the ways of the Khala and the shadow powers of the Dark Templar, and he defied the Conclave to save his people. His sacrifice to destroy the Overmind on Aiur made him a legend among the Protoss, and his name is still spoken as a salute to honor and courage.
The Tassadar Hero Expansion Set costs $49 (45 euros, 35 pounds). Alongside the Tassadar miniature, it includes two Force Wall tokens, a Tassadar unit card, a Twilight Templar unit card based on the High Templar, and the Templar Caste tactical card.
Zagara, The First Of The Broodmothers
On the Zerg side, Zagara arrives with the line "This world shall fall." Archon describes her as the first of the broodmothers, a Zerg who rose through the ranks of the Swarm to become one of Kerrigan's most trusted lieutenants and eventually its leader. She is ambitious, cunning, and always eager to prove her strength, and on the tabletop she plays the part by spawning waves of units to overwhelm her enemies.
Her box costs $49 (45 euros, 35 pounds) and comes with Zagara, a Bile Launcher on a large 100mm base, a burrow token, a bile bomb token, and unit cards for Zagara, the Bile Launcher, and Vilelings, a Zergling variant. It also includes two tactical cards, Reactive Tissue Creep and Zagara's Swarm. Archon calls her the ultimate force multiplier. While Kerrigan focuses on psionic devastation, Zagara is built around sheer numbers, with a Broodmother ability that grants a special bonus once per round to all units of a chosen size and an Infested Drop ability that lets her base act as an entry edge for fresh units. The Bile Launcher is also the first structure in the game that can hold objective markers, and it can bombard almost any spot on the table without needing line of sight.
Nova Terra, The Dominion's Finest Ghost
Nova Terra rounds out the heroes with the simple line "Strictly business." Born into one of the most powerful families in the Confederacy and gifted with immense psionic potential, she became the finest Ghost operative the Dominion has ever produced. Archon notes that she now roams the sector with her own band of vigilante operatives, which is reflected in the Nova Covert Ops tactical card included in her box.
The Nova Terra Hero Expansion Set is the most affordable box in the wave at $39 (35 euros, 29 pounds). It includes Nova, her Sabotage Drone, and a Holo Decoy miniature, plus separate unit cards for her Stealth Mode and Assault Mode, a Holo Decoy unit card, a Sabotage Drone unit card, and a Marauder Commando unit card. All three hero boxes also share the Fire in the Sky mission card and the One Bridge to Close deployment card.
Reinforcements For Every Army
Each faction is also getting a support unit pulled straight from the games. The High Templar, who arrive with the battle cry "Khassar de Templari!", are masters of the Khala whose Psionic Storm can wipe out entire squads of infantry, while Feedback stops enemy spellcasters in their tracks. The Raven, the successor to the Science Vessel, is a high-tech Terran support craft that reveals cloaked and burrowed threats and deploys auto-turrets mid-battle. The Defiler returns from the days of Brood War with Dark Swarm, Consume, and Plague, letting it shield nearby Zerg from attacks and sacrifice smaller creatures to fuel its powers.
Here is what each support box costs and includes:
- High Templar (Protoss): $54 (49 euros, 39 pounds), with four High Templar miniatures, a Psi Storm blast template and token, a unit card, and the Templar Archives tactical card
- Raven (Terran): $69 (59 euros, 49 pounds), with the Raven and an Auto-Turret miniature, their unit cards, and the Vanadium Plating tactical card
- Defiler (Zerg): $49 (45 euros, 35 pounds), with the Defiler, a burrow token, a Plague blast template, a Dark Swarm token, a unit card, and the Defiler Mound tactical card
For The Hobbyists
Painters and builders have a few things to look forward to in this wave. The Raven flies above the table on a clear flight stand, and the High Templar can be built with four different assembly options, so a squad does not have to look identical. Every model comes unpainted and unassembled, ready for players to give their armies their own colors. Archon is also releasing its first custom dice sets for the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg, with each pack holding 20 dice in colors and insignia that match the faction for $20 (17.50 euros, 15 pounds).
Shipping And The Road So Far
Pre-orders opened on October 12 through the official store and local game stores. Shipping begins on November 2 for Europe and the UK and on November 9 for the rest of the world, rolling out over several weeks from those dates. Orders that mix pre-order and in-stock items will ship together once everything is available.
The game is officially licensed by Blizzard Entertainment and first launched earlier this year with Founders Edition starter sets led by Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, and Artanis. Wave 2 followed with pre-orders on August 28, adding Zeratul as a playable hero alongside the Ravager, the Immortal, the Siege Tank, the Lost Temple Ramp terrain pack, and new Starter Sets for each faction. Archon plans to keep releasing a new wave every two to three months, and new factions such as the Tal'darim or the Dominion are expected further down the line.
Would you rather lead the Protoss into battle with Tassadar, or let Zagara and the Swarm consume everything in their path?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.