"Sometimes I miss being human…
…until I see how easily they die."
– Kerrigan, Queen of Blades
Once a terran ghost with formidable psionic abilities, Kerrigan was betrayed by her allies and transformed by the zerg into the Queen of Blades. Now freed of the dark one's corruption, Kerrigan faces a threat that could destroy the galaxy itself, but in the meantime, the Nexus calls!
Sarah Kerrigan hails from the depths of the StarCraft universe, and in Heroes of the Storm, Kerrigan takes on the role of an Assassin who is a heavy-hitting, combo-based Hero who specializes in initiating fights and forcing her will onto her opponents. The cunning Queen of Blades is definitely a strong ally that you’ll want by your side as you seek to control the Nexus!
For an even more in-depth look into this iconic StarCraft Hero and her abilities, make sure to check out Kerrigan’s Hero Page!
- Use Kerrigan’s “Primal Grasp” [E] to pull siege giants into tower range.
- “Impaling Blades” [W] can be combo-ed with “Primal Grasp” [E] to stun multiple enemies. To perform the combo, place Impaling Blades in front of Kerrigan and follow up immediately with Primal Grasp. Any enemy hit by the blades will be stunned.
- Auto attacks and abilities proc Kerrigan’s Trait, “Assimilation” which gives you a temporary shield when you attacking enemies. Use this to your advantage in team fights!
- Kerrigan’s Heroic: “Summon Ultralisk” [R] is great for singling out Assassins. Click and unleash the beast (It’s totally fine to giggle as they run in terror)!
"All is fair in love and Swarm."
Potent psionic abilities, unmatched courage, sharp tactical instincts, and lethal training have made Kerrigan a formidable opponent. Her starting skin in Heroes of the Storm ensures that you’ll be looking your best when you take your place as the Queen of Blades and leader of the zerg Swarm!
Kerrigan is known for her telepathic mastery as well we her prowess in battle, but this alternative skin shows off a very different, crueler side of her.
- Succubus Kerrigan – Kerrigan, the Queen of Suffering, rules over her brood of succubi with a fel iron fist. Warlocks foolish enough to summon her will incur a wrath more terrible than any have ever known.
Eager to show off your mastery of Kerrigan in-game? Once you reach Level 10, you’ll be able to purchase Kerrigan’s Master Skin with Gold and take your rightful place as Queen of the Nexus!
- Master Kerrigan – The primal zerg essences within Kerrigan are incapable of holding any one shape for too long. With every kill they incorporate their foe's strengths becoming increasingly deadly… and spikey.
Craving a skin that shows off your darker, but more cultured side? We have just a thing. A new skin for Kerrigan is currently under development, so feast your eyes on this sneak peek at Countess Kerrigan!
- Countess Kerrigan
The original concept art for the Countess Kerrigan!
"If you were telepathic, you would prefer the company of zerg over humans too."
– Kerrigan, Queen of Blades
- Sarah Louise Kerrigan is a former ghost agent, former rebel, and the current leader of the zerg Swarm, known as the Queen of Blades.
- Kerrigan first appeared in StarCraft in 1998.
- Her psionic powers have always separated her from others. They are so powerful that at 8 years of age, in an innocent flash of childish anger, she accidentally unleashed her undiscovered psionic powers and horrifically killed her mother.
- In the ensuing years, her father would only repeat one thing over and over: “I saw her head come apart.”
- The Confederacy had to change the scoring system to measure her power. She has a “Class twelve psi-pattern.”
- Kerrigan was sent to a Confederate research facility to gauge her abilities. Due to her uncooperative nature, neural inhibiters were applied and she was sent to ghost training.
- As Ghost 24601, Kerrigan participated in the assassination of the Mengsk family for the Confederacy. Kerrigan's memories of the operation were erased, a standard procedure for ghosts
- Kerrigan later met James Raynor on a mission on Antiga Prime. In time, she would come to fall in love with him.
- At the battle on Tarsonis, Mengsk once again deployed psi-emitters, summoning the zerg. Kerrigan called for evac, but Mengsk ordered his forces away, abandoning Kerrigan and betraying her.
- Kerrigan was left for dead on Tarsonis, but the zerg had captured her. The zerg Overmind changed her in a chrysalis and transported the chrysalis to Char.
- Bringing all of the evolutionary strength of its genetic skill to bear upon the one-time ghost, the Overmind transformed Sarah Kerrigan into an unstoppable combination of psychic ability and biological deadliness: the Queen of Blades was born.
"Armies will be shattered. Worlds will burn." –Kerrigan
"Soon all will serve the swarm!" –Kerrigan
- Zeratul revealed a prophecy to Raynor regarding Kerrigan. He tells Raynor that the Overmind created the Queen of Blades to escape the control of the xel'naga. They discover Kerrigan is the key to stopping a dark future.
- Raynor delivered a strange, alien artifact to Char, and with the aid of Valerian Mengsk, they "de-zerg"ed Kerrigan.
- Arcturus Mengsk had a sleeper agent waiting to kill Kerrigan, but they failed.
- Kerrigan put up with Valerian's experiments for a time, but wanted revenge on Arcturus most.
- Raynor tried hard to convince her that revenge wasn't the way.
- When Dominion forces attacked the base, Raynor and Kerrigan were separated.
- Arcturus claimed that he had killed Raynor, which prompted Kerrigan to directly seek out revenge against him. To do so, she sought ought the strength of the zerg Swarm in order to rally them to her cause. To this end, she again took up the mantle of leader of the zerg Swarm, and remerged as the Queen of Blades.
- While Kerrigan later found and freed Raynor, he was upset that she was the Queen of Blades once again.
- Later, Kerrigan attacked Korhal to finally take her revenge on Arcturus Mengsk.
"You made us all into monsters." – Kerrigan
- Kerrigan was the only one outside of the Overmind powerful enough to command Abathur.
- Like Abathur, Kerrigan can spin zerg sequences.
- More information about Kerrigan can be found on her StarCraft Character Page.
"The past is dead, and buried." –Kerrigan
"Once again I stand atop the broken bodies of my enemies… Victorious but not unscarred." – Kerrigan
"My forces are without number, and yours are dwindling by the minute." – Kerrigan
"I love zerg. I love every kind of zerg. I think about how cute they are, and how the mandibles… and the claws… and the tentacles… I just wanna hug all of them… but I can't hug every zerg." – Kerrigan
Since the first appearance of Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft, many talented artists have sought to illustrate her in her time as a human, as well as her evolution into the Queen of Blades. Below are fifteen astounding pieces of fan art featuring Kerrigan and her zerg Swarm, which were submitted by incredibly talented artists from around the globe.
"Kerrigan" by Alexey-Konev |
"Kerrigan" by Drake Tsui (Quirkilicious) | "Kerrigan" by jiguo liu (ofwoo) |
"Kerrigan and Jim Raynor" by Kim Tae Kyeong (SiaKim) |
"Kerrigan" by zlh | "Sarah Kerrigan" by Unco | "Sarah Kerrigan" by Jerome E. Jagonia | "Pieta" by jang ju hyeon (Dopey) |
"Queen of Blades" by Yanglei (Sim) |
"The Call of the Swarm" by Sara Forlenza (Marea) | "Kerrigan" by Jason lee (Dalsik) |
"Battle" by liuhao (10z) |
"Smile! For the Swarm" by Lucinda Wong | "Queen of Blades" by yangkun feng (jedi43) |
"Sarah Kerrigan" by ZhangBo |
No single human being has been more inseparably tied to the twisted destinies of the terran, protoss, and zerg races than Sarah Kerrigan. Her legacy has had a long and lasting impact on the StarCraft universe, and while certain aspects of her past remain shrouded in mystery, there is quite a bit of content available to anyone interested in finding out more about Kerrigan’s journey from an innocent child beset by strong psionic powers, through to her time in the Confederacy, her time alongside the rebel Jim Raynor, and the events that led to her eventual transformation, and retransformation, into the notorious Queen of Blades.
If you’re interested in learning more about Kerrigan’s evolution, make sure to check out the following related content:
- StarCraft (Game – 1998)
- StarCraft: Brood War (Game – 1998)
- Revelations (Short Story – 1999)
- Hybrid (Short Story – 2000)
- Liberty’s Crusade (Novel –2001)
- Queen of Blades (Novel – 2006)
- Shadow Hunters (Novel – 2007)
- StarCraft: Frontline Vol .1, Why We Fight (Graphic Novel – 2008)
- Twilight (Novel – 2009)
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Game – 2010)
- RISK: StarCraft (Board Game – 2012)
- Hope and Vengeance (Comic – 2013)
- StarCraft II: Flashpoint (Novel – 2013)
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Game – 2013)
- Kerrigan (StarCraft Character Page)
You can check out some official art featuring Kerrigan and her Swarm below:
Kerrigan’s in-game unit, as seen in StarCraft | An illustration of Kerrigan and other key players in StarCraft: Brood War | A mission screen, as seen in StarCraft |
A cinematic from StarCraft: Brood War |
Kerrigan facing off against enemy forces in the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Campaign |
An early concept of Kerrigan by Chris Metzen |
"This is going to hurt you more than it hurts me… at least until you join the Swarm. Just ask Stukov."
We hope you’re enjoying our psi-empowered Kerrigan Hero Week! What’s been your favorite part so far, and what other things would you like to know about the notorious Queen of Blades? Let us know in the comments below!
Previous Hero Week Blogs:
Stitches | Rehgar | Zagara |
Muradin | Murky | Li Li |
Brightwing | Pajamathur | Tyrael | Tychus |