Starcraft

Choosing a Target

---Although attacking the largest mass of units or buildings will do more damage to your opponent, the chances of a nuke landing will be significantly less. The most damaging spots will be your enemy’s first priority to protect so they will look for the targeting dot near those areas. By choosing a less obvious target, your chances are much greater, especially if your enemy has a large area to defend.

---Targeting large clumps of overlords or clusters of supply depots will put a dent in your opponent’s production speed and enable you to overpower them before they can build new units. Resource expansions also make great targets.

---While buildings take massive damage from a nuclear strike, most major buildings will still be standing after the blast. Unless you plan to follow up the blast with an attack force, targeting groups of units gives you the best bang for your minerals.

Delivery Methods

Hide the Dot: Targeting stationary flying units will completely hide the dot from your opponent so use this to leave them guessing at your target. Especially fun to use with that hovering fleet of enemy carriers . . .

Protect the Ghost: Position your ghost on higher ground if possible, and also out of the range of possible retaliation (especially enemy Siege Tanks) before launching. Guard it with a decently sized force and use flying units to hover directly over your ghost, making it harder for the enemy to specifically target. Using Defensive Matrix on your ghost gives it 250 extra hit points but also neutralizes its cloaking field.

Launch Multiple Nukes: Launching multiple nukes at different targets simultaneously panics your opponent and makes it more likely that at least one will detonate successfully.

Decoy / Distraction: Launching the nuke at the same time you are assaulting an enemy base will cause your opponent to have to choose between finding the blinking red dot or fighting off the new invaders. Odds are that at least one of them will succeed because human attentions are limited to one place at a time.

Nuke Squad: 1 Science Vessel, 1 Dropship, 2 Ghosts, 4 Marines, 2 Medics (Costs: 550 Minerals and 525 Gas + Nukes / Silos)
Science Vessel: Defensive Matrix on Ghosts or Dropship, EMP
Dropship: Increases mobility, position over
Ghosts: Launch nukes, Lockdown enemy detectors
Marines: Distraction and Minor Defense (or 2 Goliaths)
Medics: Heal Ghosts and Marines, Optical Flare enemy detectors