Starcraft 2 Zerg Units and Structures

When it comes to Starcraft 2 Zerg units and structures, there are a lot of unique things that should be mentioned.

For ease of looking at the Starcraft 2 Zerg Units and Structures, I have broken them down into the following categories:

Starcraft 2 Zerg Ground Units

Starcraft 2 Zerg Air Units

Starcraft 2 Zerg Support Units

Starcraft 2 Zerg Basic Buildings

Starcraft 2 Zerg Advanced Buildings

Below you will find some overarching strategies that will help you play the Zerg race better.

Zerg Units

Zerg units tend to be underpowered and overpriced when compared to other races' units. This makes Zerg a tough race to play for beginner players.

Zerg makes up for this by being able to produce many units in short order. By using the Queen's spawn Larva ability repeatedly, a single Hatchery can hold many Larva, all of which can morph into units at the same time.

Due to this, the Zerg win games by macroing rather than microing. Good macroing refers to coordinating large amounts of units effectively in battle. Good micro involves controlling individual units in the heat of battle.

A Terran player might use a few Reapers to harass an enemy's expansion and simultaneously avoid units. This is considered micro. A Zerg player might send a pack of speed-enhanced Zerglings to rush down a Nexus before the opponent can respond or kill them off. This is macro.

Macro also refers to overall strategy. If you are playing a Protoss player who is massing Tier 1 and Tier 2 infantry, you can mass Hydralisks in very large amounts. This is also considered macro.

If you are good at macro but bad at micro, Zerg might be a good choice for you.
However, since Zerg units are all around worse than other race's units, you will have to build more of them. This requires more money! Prepare to control the map as a Zerg player when playing in the Diamond league.

I have won many Diamond league matches as a Zerg by expanding the map and literally swarming the enemy with units with practically no microing.

A fast expansion is even more effective when you are random; usually when a top-tier opponent sees a Zerg player, he will build offensive units early to stop the early expansion. However, when the opponent is random, they have to use their normal build order until they can scout the map.

Zerg Structures

Zerg structures are highly unusual when compared to other races. All buildings except for the Hatchery and extensions of the Nydus Worm must be built on Creep.
Creep is the purplish sludge that emanates from Hatcheries. In addition to surrounding Hatcheries, Creep can be generated by Overlords and Creep Tumors (Queen ability).

Spreading Creep around with Creep Tumors is advantageous because Zerg units move faster on creep. It also allows you to see enemy movement near Creep Tumors.

Unlike the original Starcraft, there are no Creep Colonies and defensive structures do not expand Creep. Defensive structures are built directly rather than upgraded (in the original Starcraft, Zerg players had to build a Creep Colony which was then upgraded to automated buildings).

Another thing about the Zerg is that buildings consume a Drone when building them. The Drone morphs into the building and is gone permanently.

As a result, many buildings are slow to build and more expensive than other races. For example, the Spawning Pool costs 200 minerals plus a Drone.

The problem with this is that it makes building things quite slow. The upside is that Hatcheries are slightly cheaper than other races and can produce offensive units, making it easy to expand as Zerg.

You can think of building a Hatchery as not being nearly as expensive as with another race, because your Hatchery is like building another Gateway or Barracks. It's like they really only cost 200 minerals compared to another race.