The artifact was guarded by "protoss fanatics" who refused to turn it over to Raynor, a terran with notable protoss connections. The operation was made more urgent by the zerg; the Swarm was on the planet and sought the artifact for themselves.[2]
The protoss quickly discovered the Raiders; the terrans' newly acquired marauders were quickly engaged by encroaching Tal'darim.
The Raiders beat the zerg to the artifact, even though the latter were constantly reinforced by sacs. The terrans awakened and defeated the three stone guardians and a dropship took the artifact away.
Infested Kerrigan contacted Raynor and voiced her annoyance at his success. She would not forget his penchant for resourcefulness a second time.[2]
Afterward, Tychus Findlay hacked into Hyperion's database in search of information on Infested Kerrigan. He was caught by Matt Horner. Findlay was unaware of Kerrigan's past relationship with Jim Raynor, and was amused when Horner told him in contrast to Horner's more sympathetic and concerned feeling.[3]
Raynor's Raiders receive marauders starting this mission; they are excellent for taking out stalkers and are better at soaking up fire than marines. Using a good mix of marauders, marines and medics is a good way to beat the mission. Kerrigan takes quite some time to reach the artifact, so there's no rush. A force of 24 units, a mix of marines, medics and marauders, will be plenty to fight their way to the artifact and destroy the stone guardians that awaken when it is taken.
There are four protoss research points available on the map. The first is located directly in front of the ramp leading out of the Raiders' home base. The second is to the west of the starting point, where Raynor's men will need to fight through a small zerg outpost and then some stalkers and photon cannons. The third is in between the two bridges on the way to the protoss base, defended by three proton cannons. The last is tucked away in a narrow peninsula behind the protoss base, where the player must pass by two pylons to reach it.
The zerg must defeat the stone guardians on their side to secure the artifact; an overlord flies across the map to pick it up.
Complete mission on normal difficulty without losing any units to the Protoss Stone Guardians
Notes
Clear out the main southern protoss base. Use two groups of marauder/medic teams in this open area. Draw out the stone guardians one by one, when the zealot turns for one marauder team, pull it back and have the other attack, alternating attack forces to mitigate damage. There's no time limit so full armour and weapon upgrades will help.
Hit & Run
Points
10 (Artifact Missions)
Criteria
Complete the "Smash and Grab" mission on Hard difficulty in less than 15 minutes.
Notes
Build a strong economy and a marauder/marinebunker defense. Attack the protoss early, using marauders to hit pylons to disable the photon cannons. Draw units out of photon cannon range. Continually reinforce with marines, medics and marauders.
Edit
Added by CleverNoob
Smash and Grab
