Zergling

A zergling is a weak and basic Zerg unit in the real time strategy game, Starcraft, made by Blizzard Entertainment. The zergling is quick, agile, small, and is most effective when produced en masse. The zergling only requires one zerg building to create, has a very low mineral cost, and is produced in packs of two, so it is the ideal unit for early game Zerg.

The design of the zergling varies from cinematics to in-game, and it changes again for its cameo in Warcraft 3--this design is also used in SC: Ghost. They also cameo in WoW, with another new design.

In SC, they are bipedal creatures with Velociraptor-like legs. They have three webbed toes on the end of each. Protruding from behind and below their head are two arms ending in scythes. When zerglings stand still these scythes fold down against their stomachs. They have large shield-like projections from the back of their heads, and two twin-clawed arms protrude from it. Zerglings run by hopping on all four lower limbs, and attack by lunging forward with their scythe arms. When upgraded with the "Adrenal Glands" ability, they follow this attack with a quick jab from the upper claws, resulting in much faster attacks.

In SC's cinematics they look very similar. However, they're much thinner, their head is more separate from the body, and they lack the upper arms. Their scythe-arms are more agile and do not tuck below the stomach, and they stand more upright. They hop the same way, and attack with quick alternating slashes from each claws. Their heads have less details in this form, and their chests have very visible ribcages.

In Warcraft 3, they look like dogs with chitonous silver armor on their backs. Scythes protrude diagonally AbOUT halfway between each set of limbs. Massive mandibles are found on their seemingly eyeless heads. They attack by slashing inward their scissorlike claws--a strange mix of the normal and adrenal attacks of SC's version.

In Ghost they look similar, but have sleeker armor, a more catlike form, and longer scythes. They attack with a sort of 1-2 punch motion with their claws, and can also do a jumping double-slash.

In World of Warcraft, they look much like in Warcraft 3 but are shorter, fatter, lack the spiked tail, are solid brown, and have wider mouths. They just look GeneRally cartoony, and very few players think they look good in any way. They're also much larger than normal zerglings.

Zerglings are a modified form of the Zz'gashi Dune Runner, an early form assimilated into the Zerg Horde. They are approximately 1 meter long, although they have been reported to have grown up to three long and one high. Zerglings are the most numerous zerg mutation, as their DNA structure allows two 'lings to spawn from a single larva. They require a 'spawning pool' to be formed, and this coupled with their webbed feet hint that they May Be partially aquatic. They are, after all, quite froglike--at least in their original design.