Starcraft 2 Protoss Counters
The Protoss lives and dies by its counters. More than any other race, the
Protoss depend upon counter enemy units. In this Starcraft 2 Protoss Counters list, I will be discussing the
best units to build in order to defeat your enemies based off what units they have built.
In particular, Protoss specializes in anti-ground. They have two great units, the Immortal and Colossus, which
collectively shred ground units. Immortals counter literally every armored ground unit in the game while Colossi
counter every light ground unit in the game.
While this might make Protoss seem like a great race, the problem is that neither of these units can attack air
units. Protoss are particularly weak versus some air units because they have no true unit which is both anti-air
and anti-armored. The Stalker fulfills this to an extent, but does not do this duty as well as the Zerg's Corruptor
or Terran's Viking.
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As a result, many of the units on this Starcraft 2 Protoss counters list tend to be air units. Below, you will
find two charts. The first chart describes Starcraft 2 Protoss counters (Protoss Unit Weaknesses).
In this chart, all of the units on the left side of the column are weak against the units in the right side of the
column.
Note: If the word "soft" appears next to a unit, it means that this is a soft counter. This means that the
counter is not a landslide victory but that one unit is slightly favored over the other.
Note #2: All counters are relative and fluid. For example, a single Colossus will die easily to 12 Zerglings if
caught in the open field. However if your Colossi have force field support and Zealots to tank for them, then
Colossi can quickly melt away Zerglings. This is just one of many examples, so take the charts with a grain of
salt.
As another example, early in the game, a single Stalker will man-handle 2 Marines. Late in the game, post
combat-shields and Stim-pack, Marines will dominate a Stalker. Upgrades can change list as well.
| Protoss Unit |
Protoss Counter |
Terran Counter |
Zerg Counter |
| Zealot |
Colossus
Sentry
Void Ray
|
Marauder (early)
Hellion
Marine (with CS +
stim + medivac) |
Roach
Mutalisk
Brood Lord |
| Sentry |
Colossus |
Hellion
Banshee
Siege Tank |
Brood Lord
Ultralisk |
| Stalker |
Immortal
Zealot (soft) |
Marauder
Siege Tank |
Roach
Hydralisk |
| Immortal |
Zealot
Sentry |
Marine
Ghost |
Hydralisk
Zergling |
| Colossus |
Immortal
Void Ray |
Siege Tank
Viking
|
Corruptor |
|
Void Ray
|
Stalker (soft)
|
Viking
Thor (in mass) |
Hydralisk |
| Phoenix |
Stalker |
Marine
Thor |
Hydralisk
Corruptor (soft) |
| Carrier |
Stalker |
Viking |
Corruptor |
| Mothership |
Stalker |
Viking |
Corruptor |
| Warp Prism |
Any anti-air unit |
Any anti-air unit |
Any anti-air unit |
| High Templar |
Colossus
|
Siege Tank
Ghost |
Ultralisk
|
| Dark Templar |
Void Ray
Immortal |
Banshee
|
Mutalisk
Brood Lord |
In the table below, I have put together a list of what Protoss units counter units of other races. In other
words, the units in the left column are strong against the other units in the same row. This table details
Protoss Unit Strengths.
| Protoss Unit |
Counters Protoss |
Counters Terran |
Counters Zerg |
| Zealot |
Stalker (soft)
Immortal
|
Thor |
Zergling (need
+1 weapons)
|
| Sentry |
Used with other
units for maximal
effect |
Used with other
units for maximal
effect |
Used with other
units for maximal
effect |
| Stalker |
Void Ray (soft)
Carrier |
Hellion
Reaper
Marine (early) |
Mutalisk (soft)
Brood Lord (soft) |
| Immortal |
Stalker
Colossus |
Marauder
Thor |
Roach
Ultralisk |
| Colossus |
Zealot
Sentry |
Marine
Hellion
|
Hydralisk
Zergling (needs
Force Field
protection) |
|
Void Ray
|
Immortal
Colossus
|
Marauder
Siege Tank |
Roach
Ultralisk |
| Phoenix |
Zealot |
Banshee |
Mutalisk |
| Carrier |
Immortal
Colossus |
Siege Tank
Marauder |
Ultralisk
Roach |
| Mothership |
Immortal
Colossus |
Marauder
Siege Tank |
Roach
Zergling |
| Warpship |
none |
none |
none |
| High Templar |
Sentry |
Ghost
Marine |
Hydralisk
Infestor |
| Dark Templar* |
Zealot
Stalker |
Marine |
Zergling
Hydralisk |
*Dark Templar not nearly as effective if detection is present.
By memorizing these two charts and changing the units you are building accordingly, you will have a lot more
success on battle.net when playing as and against Protoss.
If you have trouble remembering all of these races, a great way to speed up the learning process is to print out
these two charts and keep them near the computer when you play. When you get a peak at your enemy's army when
scouting, reference this chart and build units accordingly.
Just by learning all the Starcraft 2 Protoss counters, you will significantly improve your gameplay. If you are
having trouble versus a specific protoss unit, then I strongly recommend picking up the Shokz Guide, which goes
over each unit's specific counters in detail.

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