Ask any Protoss or Zerg player, what’s more terrifying than a massive Marauder, Marine, Medivac ball making its way across the map towards your base? Well one answer, at least, is the same group of units with a couple of Thors thrown in for good measure.
Armed with a pair of “Thor’s Hammer” particle accelerators to take care of ground units and buildings, as well as Javelin Missile launchers which do splash damage against air units, the Thor is one of the most potentially devastating weapons in the Terran armoury.
Vital Statistics
Cost: 300 minerals, 200 gas, 6 supplies
Requires: Factory with attached Tech Lab as well as an Armory
Abilities: Attack ground, splash damage against air, upgradable 250mm cannons for special attack
Build time: 60 seconds
Speed: 1.875
Hit points: 400
Armour type: Mechanical, heavy
Damage: 30×2 attacks against ground, 6×4 attacks against air with splash damage (+6 damage for each attack against light air).
Range: 7 (ground), 10 (air)
How to use it
The Thor is a top tier Terran mech unit. It is diverse, and can can be very effective against ground as well as air adversaries. Its massive number of hit-points coupled with armour upgrades make it the ultimate Terran tanking machine.
As dangerous as it is, it can easily be overwhelmed when outnumbered by smaller units, such as the Protoss Zealot. Thors hate being surrounded by Zealots, and even Zerglings can become a problem for these lumbering behemoths. For this reason, it is essential to support Thors with other unit types. A popular build is the 3 pronged Terran mech assault, consisting of Hellions for their strength against light units, Siege tanks for their amazing ranged cover, and Thors for their firepower, tanking ability and dominance over light air units.
Thors are ideally supported by light infantry and SCV’s
Another fun combination is the infamous MMM ball (Marauders, Marines and Medivacs) with a few Thors added to bolster their ranks. The lighter units keep other light units off the Thors, while the Thors and Marauders melt through ground units in general. The Marines and Thors also combine very nicely to wipe out any air counter attacks, doing particularly well against Mutalisks and Banshees (provided you can spot them). This can be a particularly devastating unit composition against Zerg, as it effectively neutralizes most Zerg units. The addition of Thors to the MMM ball can also dilute the effect which Banelings can have on infantry thanks to their massive size and HP.
While Thors are a popular choice when playing Zerg, they are rarely used against Protoss as they are considered to be too slow for many Protoss ground and air units. They are effectively countered by massed Zealots as well as Immortals. When attacking the Colossus, they use their ground attack instead of air, which means they are outranged. Furthermore, the lack of any Hydralisk/Banshee equivalent in the Protoss armoury detracts from their value proposition.
Despite the Thor’s massive size, a single Medivac is able to transport it. This results in one of StarCraft II’s quirkiest animations, which has the Thor folding itself into a cube before being lifted into the air by its head. It takes up the entire cargo space however, which means that you will need additional Medivacs to carry much needed support units.
The Thor has one special ability, which is unlocked by researching the 250mm Strike Cannons upgrade. This is a channeling ability, whereby players must choose a single unit to target. The targeted unit is paralyzed for 6 seconds and receives 500 damage during this time. This is a powerful ability when used against massive ground units, such as the Zerg Ultralisk or Protoss Immortal.
One of the most common uses for the Thor is to counter amassed light air units. Thors have extremely long range against air, and their splash damage coupled with their bonus damage to light air units makes them powerful counters to mobs of Banshees or Mutalisks. Five or 6 Thors will wipe out an approaching group of Mutalisks before they even get close enough to do any damage, so if you see Zerg moving towards air – Thors may be your best bet.
Finally, one of the most complementary units to the Thor’s brute strength and firepower, is the peace loving SCV. The more SCVs the better, as they are able to heal the Thor on the field. This also makes the Thor a handy unit to keep close to your mineral lines, as it can defend against air and ground attacks, and there are always SCVs nearby to repair the unit while it is fighting of enemy attacks. A single Thor aided by enough SCVs can hold off numerous powerful adversaries.
Thors are often used alongside Hellions for an effective mid-game mech push
What to do against Thors
There are a number of units which are strong against Thors.
Protoss units which best counter the Thor are Zealots and Immortals. These are fairly common units, and will be the backbone of many Protoss attack forces anyways, hence Thors are an unpopular choice against this race.
Zerg is probably the weakest race when it comes to dealing with Thors. Amassing Zerglings can be effective, especially if combined with Roaches, but the Infestor’s Neural Parasite is a more creative solution. The Thor’s biggest weakness is that it struggles on its own. Using Banelings to wipeout infantry support will leave the Thor vulnerable to Zerglings.
For Terrans, there are a few decent counters for the Thor. First and foremost is the Battlecruiser, which negates the Thor’s bonus damage to light air, and shrugs off the plash damage. However, the Yamato cannon is what really allows the Battlecruiser to do so well against Thors. A group of Marines will also do well against Thors due to its slow rate of fire. A Thor will one-shot a Marine, but it will have to make its way through the group one at a time. Therefore, using the stim-pack ability is extremely effective as the marines die instantly anyways – negating the stim-pack damage. Even better than Marines are Mauraders, thanks to their bonus damage to Armoured units.
Conclusion
A well rounded powerhouse of a unit, the Thor is particularly good against Zerg. In any matchup it should be accompanied by lighter support units, and at critical mass, they absolutely lambaste light air units – which again makes them popular against Zerg. Think twice before investing too much into Thors when going up against Protoss or Terran, as both races posses numerous counters for the unit.
More StarCraft II unit features
Loading ...
