Alexi Stukov by Sausaletus

"As a child, I used to love horror stories.  Now, I am in one.  There will be no end to this suffering."


A brilliant admiral sent from Earth to pacify the wayward colonies of the Koprulu sector.  Finding himself embroiled in a war between those colonists and strange alien species, Stukov commanded the United Earth Directorate Fleet as it joined the campaign only to meet an ignoble end at the hands of a mysterious traitor.  But his story would not end there as the Zerg would salvage his corpse from space and convert him into a leader for their infested armies.  Cured and reinfected, freed only to be bound again, Stukov has come to accept his place as an agent of the swarm.  A hallow mockery of the man he once was, outcast and forsaken by all that he once held dear.


Notes:

Stukov has skills (and eventually talents) to spawn Infested units from anything that opposes him in a match.  Infested units springing to life once the character infected with the Zerg's plague dies.  This could be accomplished simply with a sickly recoloring of existing units, something like the way that Abathur's Ultimate Evolution works.  But might be as involved in reskinning them (like Infested Tychus) or creating entirely new models so that there were Infested Space Marines that were created from the archers on Dragonshire.  

Infested characters would act much like the units they replaced.  Melee minions becoming Infested that flail away with their mutated fists, ranged minions becoming marines that fire away.  They would have similar stats, damage and health, and otherwise be treated like any other minion.  The same for mercenaries.  Infested heroes would attack but not be able to use abilities and have only a fraction of their original health.  Infested units would also fade away after their health were depleted in the normal way although I have plans for a talent that would make them explode or spread Infestation.  All would attempt to march down the nearest lane and attack anything that stood in their path to the Core but not be under a player's direct control.

At present, I'm thinking that Infested units would not have a duration like other summons but simply last until destroyed.  That would be an option to keep in mind, though, if they proved to be stronger than I imagined.