Frankly, the Mutalisk is an enigma. It is not known how they are capable of maneuvering through a vacuum, or even of controlled flight within an atmosphere, but they have been able to stand toe-to-toe (so to speak) against Wraith fighters along the Coreward border worlds. The Mutalisk's attack is quite unusual. The Mutalisk produces and projects much smaller, voracious creatures that rapidly fly between enemy targets as it disintegrates explosively.

The Mutalisk serves as the basic flying support unit for the Zerg and has the ability to strike both air and ground targets. However its Glaive Wurm attack has the special property of hitting several targets within close proximity of the inital strike and against packed groups of enemy units, Mutalisks can quickly tear them apart. The inital hit does 9 base points of normal damage (more if upgraded), the 2nd hit strikes the enemy nearest to the first target and does about 1/3 damage and the 3rd hit strikes the enemy nearest to the 2nd target while doing about 1/9 damage.

The Small size classification of the Mutalisks can become critical if an enemy begins producing anti-air units with explosive attacks like Hydralisks, Goliaths or Dragoons since the Mutalisks will only take 50% damage. Use this advantage whenever the chance arises and keep the damage ratios in mind when deciding whether or not to attack an enemy force or not.

The Mutalisk can attain tremendous air speeds and can travel across battlefields in a very short amount of time, making them perfect as scouts, interceptors and hit-and-run attackers. Probably the best use of the Mutalisk is in the hit-and-run tactics. With their mobility, enemy expansions or stray attack groups make easy targets for the Mutalisk and often they can raze an enemy base or force before they have the chance to properly retaliate. But be sure not to fall into an enemy trap since with a fairly weak vitality, the Mutalisks are easy prey for the more powerful anti-air units of any race. Keep the advantage with the Mutalisks by keeping them constantly moving to avoid as much damage as possible while attacking weakly defended enemy areas.

Even if Guardians and Devourers are producible, it is still usually a good idea to keep a few Mutalisks around to serve as escorts, support and fodder. They can supplement the anti-air or anti-ground attacks of the Guardians or Devourers while absorbing the damage

Upgrades

Flyer Attack - Each upgrade adds +1 to the Flyer Attack for a total of +3 when fully upgraded.

Flyer Carapace - Each upgrade adds +1 to the Flyer Carapace for a total of +3 when fully upgraded.

Once the Spire has been morphed into the Greater Spire, the Mutalisk becomes capable of mutating into the Guardian. During the cocoon phase, the mutating Mutalisk is vulnerable to attack and can be reverted back into its Mutalisk form. However, once the Guardian emerges the transformation cannot be reversed.

Also, after the Greater Spire has been set up, the Mutalisk becomes capable of mutating into another form: the Devourer. As with the Guardian, the morphing Mutalisk is vulnerable to attack and has the option to revert back to its Mutalisk form. However, once the Devourer emerges, the Mutalisk cannot be recovered nor can it be morphed into a Guardian.