A brood is a zerg formation.

Great War BroodsEdit

The first broods were formed by the Overmind, with the direction of each brood being delegated to a cerebrate. A brood was engineered for a specific function, which impacted its numerical strength and the diversity of its strains. The terrans gave the Great War broods reporting names based on beasts found in Earth mythology.^[1]

Command WingEdit

The Command Wing broods were responsible for defending the Overmind and searching for new species for assimilation. These broods did not engage in front-line combat unless necessary.^[1]

The Command Wing included the Tiamat Brood, Baelrog Brood, and Fenris Brood.^[1]

Attack WingEdit

The Attack Wing broods were the Swarm's front-line forces, meant to conquer and occupy worlds. The wing's primary broods were amongst the largest in the Swarm.^[1]

The Attack Wing included the Garm Brood, Jormungand Brood, and Surtur Brood.^[1]

Renegade BroodsEdit

A brood depended on a nexus creature to direct it. In the pre-Brood War Swarm, this position was filled by cerebrates. However, supplanting the cerebrate with another entity could allow broods, or other large groups of zerg, to be controlled by non-Swarm agents.

During the Brood War, the UED Expeditionary Fleet took control of the zerg unaligned with Infested Kerrigan by controlling the second Overmind. The enslaved broods played a critical role in ensuring the UED's temporary dominance of the sector.^[2]

Alan Schezar used a khaydarin crystal to control a cerebrate and its brood.^[3] Ulrezaj also used khaydarin crystals to achieve similar results.^[4]

"Independent" broods appeared after the turmoil resulting from the Overmind's death. Some were employed as mercenaries.^[5][6]

Post-Brood War BroodsEdit

The Swarm was reunited under Infested Kerrigan at the end of the Brood War.^[7] The cerebrates were eliminated from the Swarm^[8] but broods such as the Char Brood remained.^[9]

Between the end of the Brood War and Kerrigan's defeat on Char, Infested Kerrigan created numerous broodmothers, powerful queens, each of which would lead a brood.

The queens were ordered to evolve and only submit to the will of the strongest leader, which became a problem upon Kerrigan's defeat. The brood mothers scattered their broods. Kerrigan was forced to follow and attempt to subdue them.^[10]

ReferencesEdit