Favorite SC mission?

I thought about making polls, but it would take 6 of them to fit all of the missions in, so I just decided to stick with a normal thread. This concerns the missions found in the six episodes of StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War. Post your most favorite mission (or missions if you just can't decide) and tell what it is about that mission that makes it your favorite: gameplay, lore, etc. I've listed them all below. The list does not include the Enslavers Campaigns or the extra missions on SC64.

StarCraft

Hidden Content:

Episode I (Terran)

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M#01  - Wasteland
M#02  - Backwater Station
M#03  - Desperate Alliance
M#04  - The Jacobs Installation
M#05  - Revolution
M#06  - Norad II
M#07  - The Trump Card
M#08  - The Big Push
M#09  - New Gettysberg
M#10  - The Hammer Falls

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Episode II (Zerg)

Code:

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M#01  - Among the Ruins
M#02  - Egression
M#03  - The New Dominion
M#04  - Agent of the Swarm
M#05  - The Amerigo
M#06  - The Dark Templar
M#07  - The Culling
M#08  - Eye for an Eye
M#09  - The Invasion of Aiur
M#10  - Full Circle

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Episode III (Protoss)

Code:

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M#01  - First Strike
M#02  - Into the Flames
M#03  - Higher Ground
M#04  - The Hunt for Tassadar
M#05  - Choosing Sides
M#06  - Into the Darkness
M#07  - Homeland
M#08  - The Trial of Tassadar
M#09  - Shadow Hunters
M#10  - Eye of the Storm

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StarCraft: Brood War

Hidden Content:

Episode IV (Protoss)

Code:

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M#01  - Escape from Aiur
M#02  - Dunes of Shakuras
M#03  - Legacy of the Xel'Naga
M#04  - The Quest for Uraj
M#05  - The Battle of Braxis
M#06  - Return to Char
M#07  - The Insurgent
M#08  - Countdown

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Episode V (Terran)

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M#01  - First Strike
M#02  - The Dylarian Shipyards
M#03  - Ruins of Tarsonis
M#04  - Assault on Korhal
M#05a - Emperor's Fall (Ground Zero)
M#05b - Emperor's Fall (Birds of War)
M#06  - Emperor's Flight
M#07  - Patriot's Blood
M#08  - To Chain the Beast

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Episode VI (Zerg)

Code:

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M#01  - Disruption
M#02  - Reign of Fire
M#03  - The Kel-Morian Combine
M#04  - The Liberation of Korhal
M#05  - True Colors
M#06  - Fury of the Swarm
M#07  - Drawing of the Web
M#08  - To Slay the Beast
M#09  - The Reckoning
M#??  - Dark Origin (Bonus Mission)
M#10  - Omega

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To Chain The Beast, easily.


My favorite race, matchup, taking down the Torrasque, invincible sunkens, etc. etc.

Patriot's blood, for sure. The epic speeches, the different gameplay (from the build and destroy thing we see all the time).

Stukov's epicness, the marine's badassery, etc.

After that, there are too many competing missions to choose from, but another one I liked was the one where Kerrigan kills Duke and Fenix.

"Do yer worst then gurl, yahaint takin Edmund Duke without a fight."

SC:
Terran:

Backwater station.

You use Raynor and his raiders for the first time. You are introduced to Edmund Duke after destroying the infested command center. It sets the tone for the entire story of SC.

SC: BW:
Terran:

Patriot's Blood

By this time during the campaign you realize things arent adding up when Duran is in any mission. You see the betrayl that is at hand, yet you can do nothing to stop it. A very memorable moment is when Alexi is killed by Duran.
During his death he fully discloses the treachery that is Duran. By this time you start to hunt Duran. (Duran displease me greatly. :D)

1. Patriot's Blood. Plenty of drama, plenty of action, little to no foreplay.
2. Desperate Alliance. Advances the plot, deviates from "build+destroy," Mengsk, TvZ, what else could a guy want? :D

Honorable mention: New Gettysberg. There's a reason they picked that mission, out of all others, to showcase as a cinematic.

To Chain the Beast

Sure, there are plenty of similarities between this one and any given "end-all" mission, but this one had everything just right. In this mission you commanded 1 small army of good against 3 huge armies of evil. You were there not only to eliminate that evil but also to avenge a fallen comrade. The atmosphere brought a sensation similar to that of having a holy yet personal war in hell itself. All of this is immensely amplified by the mission just before it.

Gameplay wise this mission offers a unique 1v3 challenge that includes specific sub-challenges (invincible sunkens, reincarnating Torrasque, Infested Terrans). Also, unlike all of the other "end-all" missions, you start out on low ground, you don't have any choke points, and you have limited starting resources and very few expansions. This mission can kick your ass — hard.

Patriot's Blood

If you could call the SC:BW Terran Campaign an epic Shakespearean tragedy, then this mission would be the climactic fulcrum of that tragedy. There is just so much drama slammed into this one mission that it is gut wrenching beyond all reason. As dramatic as the Raynor and Kerrigan story is in New Gettysburg, I have to say that Patriot's Blood is a powerful contender for being the most soul-seizing. I mean, it just gets ya right there man.

This mission is extremely unique not only for being a installation type mission but also for being more unique than all of the other installation type missions in the whole game. All of the other missions allow the player to take his time and also have a single objective that, once reached, ends with simple success. This one, on the other hand, has two objectives, the second one of which is timed. There are also many opportunities to combat units and commandeer friendlies on the way through.

So yeah, those two are pretty much my favorite :D

Omega - the most epic mission in the game. We've got the three fleets descending on the Zerg hive cluster on Char Aleph in order to set up a staging ground for purifying the planet. Everyone gives an awesome "you win Kerrigan" speech at the end, and it makes you wish SC2 would arrive sooner.

Dark Origin. It holds my favorite units, the Dark Archons and puts a heavy emphasis on using them. Plus, the ending part with Zeratul and Duran. 2 of the 3 best voices in the game having an argument ftw.

Omega, To Chain the Beast, Raid on the Dylarian Shipyards and The Battle of Braxis. The first two for the desperation and overwhelming forces arrayed against you; the last because I love busting blockades and going covert-ops. :D

A long list.

M#06 - The Dark Templar: Just because it's the first mission where I got guardians as well as Kerrigan with psi storm. (Too bad psi storm isn't so useful vs the protoss.)
M#08 - Eye for an Eye: Playing this the first time, you're faced with perma-cloaking, high damage units. Pretty much any Warcraft III mission where I got to use or fight against non-standard armies was a favorite of mine.

M#02 - Into the Flames: Fenix + reavers + not having to pay for said reavers in mission 2 = fun. Plot-relevant opening and ending = fun. Lack of slog = fun.

M#07 - The Insurgent: For some reason, I found this mission fun, rather than a grind. Maybe it was because I didn't have to destroy those huge enemy bases to win, but just "kill" three targets.
M#08 - Countdown: The final assault begins on my schedule, so I can ring the temple with an unbreakable defense before the zerg assault. Then wail as I realize all those dark archons are less useful than I thought (each incoming overlord is, at most, half-full).

M#07 - Patriot's Blood: I like installation missions, especially those that don't get you lost. (No teleportation beacons, thanks.) There were jokes ("which one's the any key?"), there were cool scenarios (like the race to steal those goliaths!), rescuable auto-cannons (yay, non-standard units!), and oh yeah, great plot advancement.

M#02 - Reign of Fire: The opening sequence with Raynor's Raiders kicking ass was cool. The mechanic for picking up new units, especially heroes, was cool. And, of course, the plot relevance of finally blowing up that terrible plot device. Huzzah!
M#07 - Drawing of the Web: Not being able to use the OP-vs-the-computer muta/guardian combo made this map fun. Each base seemed to have a different theme. I found I couldn't scout because the dark archon mind controlled every damn overlord I sent ahead. Eventually I stopped, which was a huge mistake when I sent a bunch of hydralisks into the base with the theme "reavers!" (Holy crap! I don't think a single hydralisk made it out of that aborted assault.)

And Infested Duran is a fun unit to use. Consume + Lockdown? Yes please! (Normally I hate Lockdown, but Duran is a scientist, so it makes sense for his character...)

M#?? - Dark Origin (Bonus Mission): Love the snow background. I've beaten this mission so many times I beat it "perfectly" just for the challenge. No base-building, and the final assault is very difficult. I make sure to not lose a single unit (including any units that I have rescued), I even kill and mind control the infested terran and broodling and don't lose either (due to a bug, the broodling doesn't die when it runs out of energy). I rescue every unit that can be rescued (the last high templar is difficult to get). I mind control every medic, civilian, battlecruiser, science vessel and ghost on the map, and kill everything else.

Resurrection IV was actually quite fun too, but was easier to get lost in and I'm playing the one-player Legacy variant, which means you have to control far more than 12 units. (A big deal when you want to move them all to the end point of the map.)