15/03/2010 My initial 6 lings killed a pylon, a couple of probes, then a second pylon :) Meanwhile I got my expo up and started teching to Lair. When Lair finished I started researching burrow, and made a small group of Roaches. With a little burow micro, I killed some gateway units, sniped a pylon, then waited for more Roaches and my new Overseer to arrive. When it did I used my vision to shoot up the cliff, then unwisely tried to force my way in with all my roaches. Following the roaches’ death, I took 2 expansions, made some more Roaches, and started getting +1+1 range and armor. I also started building a spire (he had Immortals. Spire is good for mutalisks in the short term and Corruptors when he (as he very likely will want to) switches to Colossi. My roaches encountered a strong front, so my mutalisks went for the back. They killed some probes but were chased out, then my opponent left I forced him to stay on one base for a terribly long time so he probably felt very disheartened Map: - Xel’Naga Caverns Worth watching for: - Those 6 Zerglings can achieve something.
15/03/2010 My 6 initial lings took out a pylon that was solely responsible for powering 2 gateways and a cybernetics core. GG. Map: - Slag Pits Worth watching for: - A lot of Protoss at my level clearly don’t think enough about building placement. It’s not hard to place things cleverly
15/03/2010
The Hellions I stopped with acceptable losses, despite not seeing it coming
The equally sneaky banshees made me ragequit
Map:
- Backwater Gulch
Worth watching for:
- Scout. And if you really, really, REALLY can’t - blindly make 2 spines and a spore crawler at each base
14/03/2010
I opened with 11pool, 18 hatch. My 6 lings customarily failed to do anything. Around the 9 minute mark her arrived at my front with a puzzling combination of Sentries, Zealots, and stalkers, in like an 8:2:1 ratio. It was quickly dispatched by Roach/Speedling
At 14 minutes I attacked his natural and destroyed his face off of his face.
Map:
- Backwater Gulch
Worth watching for:
- Sentries are a support unit, not the foundation of a reliable army
14/03/2010 This protoss walled his own Zealot inside his base with Gate/Pylon/Cyber, so I killed the gateway, went in and killed a Zealot, then lost the lings. A pretty good trade in my books. Meanwhile I took an expansion and made a Roach Warren. His plan was to annoy me with Phoenix, which he did. He killed my queens and several overlords. In response I made a single mutalisk (I am a solid solid strategist) and attacked him with Roaches. The Roaches forced the Phoenix to pull back, then the phoenix forced the Roaches to pull back, and by the time the Phoenix came knocking again I had Spores up and a substantial number of Mutalisks/Corruptors. As time went on I killed some probes with mutalisks, scouted the a Robo Bay and Robo Facility, so knew that Colossi were coming. This was some time ago but I remember thinking how important it was that I attack before the Colossi reached critical mass, which I did. My attack on his budding 3rd was not good. Colossi and Forcefields vs Roach/Hydra off creep. However I retreated with small losses and made some more corruptors. When he didn’t attack, I started making a Greater Spire to get Brood Lords. BroodLord/Hydralisk is amazing against Protoss. There is not a simple answer to beating it. When what I thought would be the final confrontatation came it was in the middle of the map. A lot of his firepower was wasted attacking Broodlings, allowing my Hydralisks to absolutely rip through his Stalker ball and send his Colossi running. When my army arrived at his third, he did manage to kill that group of units, but I thought I was still well ahead. I sent a wave of Roaches, then a second round of Brood Lords, but he ultimately pushed me back and killed my gold base. At this point I was unable to rebuild and GG’d I was horrified when playing this and more so now watching it. I can’t believe I lost. I think I let my macro slip, as well as not keeping up with Upgrades Map: - Xel’Naga Caverns Worth watching for: - Me almost winning then not.
14/03/2010 Against this Zerg I again opted to open with 11,11,18. I have (now) decided that this is a terrible build for most ZvZ games, but since I am writing these up after the fact, look forward to it in many of the upcoming games My 6 initial lings failed to achieve anything much, and soonafter I lost all my workers to un-scouted Banelings I should have been prepared with 2 queens on my ramp, or roach, or multiple Spinecrawlers, but I didn’t. And gg’d. Map: - Xel’Naga Caverns Worth watching for: - Banelings banelings banelings oh
14/03/2010
In this ZvZ I opened with my standard-tastic
11Lord
11Pool
18Hatch
My initial 6 Zerglings didn’t achieve anything, except briefly blocking his expo from going down. I went Baneling and killed a few lings, then into Roach with burrow. Unfortunately he went twice-as-many-roaches and rollled into my main, but I was able to burrow my workers and make enough reinforcements to drive him out without actually losing anything of significance.
Unfortunately he had 75 drones to my 25 (not sure how that happened, this replay merits further review), so his next attack was absolutely crushing. .
Map:
- Metalopolis
Worth watching for:
- Nice builds and little moves can’t overcome superior macro, and I was badly out-macro’d this game
14/03/2010 I did the extractor trick -> 11lord 11pool 18hatch opening, which (despite the 6 early lings) is pretty economical. My protoss opponent did a very standard gateway -> cybernetics wall, then went on to get a forge and 2 more gateways. At one point he warped a pylon into my main, so he may have been planning for some warp-in harass but it didn’t happen since I saw it. He tried to make a Nexus at his natural but I stopped it with Roaches then just left. I came back with Roaches and Hydras which rolled over his Gateway/Void Ray, and I won. Map: - Typhon Peaks Worth watching for: - The extreme power of Hydralisks in ZvP, provided that Colossi are not involved. 4 or 5 Hydralisks tore through stalkers (with the Roaches) and took out several Void Rays in short order
06/03/2010
I actually thought I was beating this Terran for the vast majority of this game,
then suddenly thors were all up in my shit.
I should have bought my corruptors back quickly and morphed them into Brood Lords
(they were morphing outside enemy bse when he pushed) or just had the scouting information to not
get into this situation in the first place.
Anyway I decided to base trade (almost always a bad idea v Terran) and he obviously won it
Map:
- Slag Pits
Worth watching for:
- Some poor judgement that everyone reading would do well not to emulate
06/03/2010
This Protoss made the mistake of thinking that walling yourself in with your
natural and teching to colossus without ever striking out to keep the zerg in check
was a viable strategy. I simply took a 3rd, teched to Brood Lords and destroyed him
Map:
- Metalopolis
Worth watching for:
- The response to a walling-in Protoss: expand, drone up, scout constantly to be
prepared for smalltime attacks, all while getting ready for this big one
(usually a deathball with Colossi)
