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Idra has always been a fan of solid, reliable play. He thinks that true skill is in accurate decisions and dependable builds. He hates the element of luck and loathes people who depend on it. This is why Idra is not a poker player. This is why he is the most (second most?) fearsome Zerg in the world right now.
I think the greatest testament to Idra's solid play is his recent performance in the GSL Code S RO16. Here, he faced three top-level players who went for very unconventional builds. Here, we got to see IdrA's preparation, accurate decisions, and solid builds in action. You see that Idra has a solid reactions to any scenario, and is not a one-trick pony. Without further ado, I bring you:
Game 1: TSL_Clide [T1] vs EGIdrA [T7]
In game one on Xel'naga Caverns, Idra spawns in the south. Clide was Tastosis's favorite to win in many a GSL, so surely he will be a formidible opponent.
Nervous about abuse of Cavern's wide natural, Idra opts for quick speed, while Clide, hoping to abuse Caverns' wide natural, opens 2-rax. Idra delays speed to start his natural at 21, and moments later Clide's first marines push from the watchtower. Clide realizes that his rush will be ineffective versus pool first, so he pulls back, starts two refineries and a command center.
Clide gets a factory with reactor, and begins hellion pressure just as Idra starts his spire. Between the 10 Zerglings made to defend the 2rax and the hellion pressure, Idra is unable to drone as much as he would like, and finds himself undersaturated as mutas pop. Clide's expo is almost fully operational at this point.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/9Xv3d.jpg)
1.1 A cute push
Clide moves out with seven marines, six mauraders, and seven hellions, trying to severely damage the Zerg before mutas pop, but he misses his timing, losing all his marines without killing a single mutalisk. However, the attack is still quite successful, as a majority of Idra's Zerglings were slaughtered, Clide executes a beautiful army split. The marauders stim and kill the queen while the remaining hellions kill about 10 drones. Clide ends the attack with 45 scvs; Idra with 28 drones. The game is all but over; Idra has one attack to win the game. Or so I thought.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/QQRhW.jpg)
1.2: The end goal of all hellion openings
The only reason Clide did not win at this moment was because he was overconfident. He only made a couple of turrets and a bunker to defend. He produced Marauders to strengthen his next push, instead of making marines to defend. Idra masterfully exploits the holes in Clide's defense, killing the undefended marines rallied from the barracks. He continuously snipes the SCVs building turrets, and sends in his Zerglings. Clide's mental state begins to fall apart.
However, this attack was not an all-in, and instead, a reflection of the Gracken's brilliance. Behind this attack, Idra had produced over a dozen drones, expanded to his third, and started a baneling nest. Clide's production buildings begin to burn and explode, just as the mutalisk cloud grows to a gruesome throng of membranous wings. Idra continues to abuse the mutalisk's strength with micro reminiscent of Brood War (everything except stacking). Idra retreats to begin heavy droning; Clyde is nearly mined mined out in his main, with only a few barracks and less than a dozen marines.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/F25pb.jpg)
1.3: Mutas are powerful when they outnumber marines
Clide's only chance is to take the gold, and he knows it. However, Idra sees Clide's army attacking the rocks, and sends Zerg swarm to crash down on his opponent's head.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/FHghf.jpg)
1.3: Most of Clide's army is in this shot; Idra's army doesn’t fit on the screen
Idra sips his Gatorade like he never feared losing, and Clide asks himself what happened.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/an5TA.jpg)
1.4: DGAF at its finest
Game 2: EGIdrA [Z1] vs NsPGenius [P7]
Idra's next opponent is Genius opens with a forge expand as Idra opens 15-hatch. Just kidding about the expand part; Genius creates an enclosed space by warping 3 pylons, and warps in 2 cannons in the middle. Idra cancels his hatchery, and Genius cancels one cannon.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/BoIjt.jpg)
2.1: Cute building placement
Idra expands to 3 o'clock and builds a roach warren. Genius, confidant that Idra would sit back and macro, relied on 1 cannon to defend his natural; but instead, Idra built 6 roaches to siege the front. The initial cannon falls, then the nexus soon follows. Eventually, enough cannons finish that Idra is forced to retreat, but Genius is miles behind. He has so many minerals sunk into defending a dead nexus, and Idra has started his lair.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/VIqeb.jpg)
2.2: Inadequate Defenses
Genius transitions into a 4gate attack while expanding, but the attack is thwarted by Idra's many units. Genius warps in cannons to defend, but the loss of thousands of minerals, catches up to him, and he is steamrolled by Idra's roaches. Genius tries to defend with a hero void ray, but fails and types out.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/1FTRf.jpg)
2.3: Too little, too late
Idra, emotionless as always, without fear and doubt, sips more Gatorade. These games already belonged to him; he just had yet to claim his win.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/1nVh8.jpg)
2.4: Cracking knuckles only to match the leather gracket
Game 3: oGsNaDa [T6] vs EGIdrA [Z3]
Idra's final game is a sure to be an exhilarating finale. He gets to close out the group against his idol, oGsNaDa. They spawn close south positions on Metalopolis. Nada opens with a standard 12-rax 13-gas, and Idra opens hatch-first. Idra's scouting drone is thwarted by a wall-off, and IdrA is forced to play blind. Nada pushes with 2 marines, kills 2 drones, and retreats just as the Zerglings pop.
Idra, still unaware of Nada's plans, starts a roach den to be safe. His zerglings see a reactor on the barracks, so he cancels the den for a Baneling Nest, fearing the marine all-in, but Nada has other plans. Dark, sinister, at times, even cute plans. Nada takes his second gas and builds a fast Thor and medivac, and opts for a Thor drop. Nada drop the Thor on the ledge overlooking the ramp, but Idra executes a beautiful Zergling surround on the Thor, and Queens target the medivac. Nada's harass is over as soon as it began, and he is forced to retreat. During this attack, IdrA did not lose a single unit.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/xeIKJ.jpg)
3.1: How to defend Thor drops
Nada decides not to expand, and knows that he has one timing to deal some damage to the Zerg. He pushes out with his 2 medivacs, airlifting 2 Thors, and a handful of SCVs and marines. Idra has a baneling nest, but has only started morphing as Nada pushes out. The queens delay for just enough time, and the banelings come in to save the day. The banelings deal maximum damage and Nada is forced to lift his Thors home.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/B5KnW.gif)
3.2.1: An army…
3.2.2: …is met by banelings…
3.2.3: …and is sent home crying.
Nada regroups, repairs and pushes immediately. He attempts some cute micro, but Idra just has too many units. After losing all his Thors, Nada concedes the game.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/lKKue.jpg)
3.3: An insurmountable lead
This time, IdrA had a little bit of a smirk on his face. After all, he had just crushed one of the most successful progamers of all time.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/NPv0H.jpg)
Idra doesn’t have time for silly games where you hope and pray that your build can outwit him, because you can't. He has time for the long games, but you will probably lose those too. So let this be a warning to you cheesy noobs out there. You have a cool build? A nice rush timing? You think that you've got what it takes to take a win off of Idra? Do you know what Idra would say?
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/MtUsM.jpg)
He'd say bring it. He would kick your nooby little ass. And he has enough APM that he can tell you exactly how retarded you are as he does it.
 
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Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5
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Whew, that's one huge mancrush you got there. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but it almost makes your write-up sound biased! /sarcasm
You have to tip the hat to the foreigners bad boy of choice. Nice write-up, enjoyed it.
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I still can't believe he won agianst Clide, he was the clear favorite in all GSL's so far.
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After watching that MVP vs IdrA game (on stream)
+ Show Spoiler +I feel confident IdrA can take the GSL this time
IdrA FIGHTING!
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On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5
Every zerg loses early game quite often lol
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Thanks so much for the write-up! Very good read, looking forward to more from you, though obviously biased I too am a fan of Idra.
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On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:Show nested quote +On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol
Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.)
Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times.
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Amazing writeup, I loved how the pictures and the animated gif fit with the story and flowed so nicely. Well Done!
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On February 05 2011 08:14 D1pstick wrote:After watching that MVP vs IdrA game (on stream) + Show Spoiler +I feel confident IdrA can take the GSL this time IdrA FIGHTING!
It was insane, I loved it :D He is flawless when he is in the zone.
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Unless you're Jinro or Choyafou (stream), where 2 bunkers or 3 pylons is enough to make him leave (and 7 pool you the next game).
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Idra kicking korean butt? what is happening in this world, SC 1 he was practically just a low B-team toilet scrubbing nobody, now in SC2 idra the killshit.
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believe it or not, i'm not as much as an idra fanboy as this might seem. i wanted to write a recap of some games, so i thought it would be interesting to describe idra's games, because i like his playstyle and i havent seen these games yet. this was simply the narrative that was most fitting, but thanks for all the support! i will no doubt write more in the future.
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what i like about idra is that he's not playing the rock-scissors-paper game ... instead he tries his best to come up with motherfucking chuck norris roundhouse kick which beats all three ...
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yea he does play a heavy macro game, but small tiny maps screw him over big time, as with just about any zerg
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IdrA fighting!!
<3 how IdrA plays this game
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On February 05 2011 09:09 MarineHeroSamKhan wrote:
Idra kicking korean butt? what is happening in this world, SC 1 he was practically just a low B-team toilet scrubbing nobody, now in SC2 idra the killshit.
Well to be fair, most of the top Koreans in SC2 were B-teamers or didn't keep up with the raising skill cap (Boxer, Nada, etc.).
IdrA's my idol. Watching him play is like looking at a better reflection of my play. Good solid builds and good mechanics. 
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On February 05 2011 08:14 D1pstick wrote:After watching that MVP vs IdrA game (on stream) + Show Spoiler +I feel confident IdrA can take the GSL this time IdrA FIGHTING!
VoD's or it never happnd!! Oh please I need to see this NOW!
Also, loved the write-up! But just thought I should add that NaDa just went for a cute strat in an inconsequential match so that he cud hide his better strats for later.
NaDa>Everyone else.
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On February 05 2011 08:22 Raeleigh wrote:Show nested quote +On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.) Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times.
Tier 1.5 might be nice, but their hp would have to be reduced. *cough* Broodwar *cough*
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On February 06 2011 03:48 Gummy wrote:Show nested quote +On February 05 2011 08:22 Raeleigh wrote:On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.) Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times. Tier 1.5 might be nice, but their hp would have to be reduced. *cough* Broodwar *cough*
Haha, yeah. Seems like a fair trade, tbh.
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Haha he has a nice APM that he can kick people ass in sc2? Why don't he go back to BW and see how many ass he can kick in Korea? I'm sure all the progamers in BW scene will wreck his shit.
I'm not an IdrA's fan really because he thinks he is the best when really dude, you aren't. Some people can think that they are the best and even if they lose, they still get respect and people still think they are the best because really, they have accomplished a lot in the progame scene. What the hell has this guy accomplished besides being in CJENTUS for BW and code S in SC2? That does not make you the best.. sure you might be one of the best foreigners. But what the hell does that mean anything? It's like saying you're one of the best white players in basketball. Yeah, that's cool. With that said, when you lose to noob builds like early push, you should at least say gg instead of bashing on your opponents when you clearly lost. Plus, this guy does all the nooby builds a lot too.. roach push drone rush smh
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On February 06 2011 06:40 JiSu wrote:
Haha he has a nice APM that he can kick people ass in sc2? Why don't he go back to BW and see how many ass he can kick in Korea? I'm sure all the progamers in BW scene will wreck his shit.
I'm not an IdrA's fan really because he thinks he is the best when really dude, you aren't. Some people can think that they are the best and even if they lose, they still get respect and people still think they are the best because really, they have accomplished a lot in the progame scene. What the hell has this guy accomplished besides being in CJENTUS for BW and code S in SC2? That does not make you the best.. sure you might be one of the best foreigners. But what the hell does that mean anything? It's like saying you're one of the best white players in basketball. Yeah, that's cool. With that said, when you lose to noob builds like early push, you should at least say gg instead of bashing on your opponents when you clearly lost. Plus, this guy does all the nooby builds a lot too.. roach push drone rush smh
Yeah and what has Pau Gasol accomplished other than being a starter for the Lakers? What a newbie, that guy cannon rushed me and then left without a gg
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On February 06 2011 05:27 Raeleigh wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2011 03:48 Gummy wrote:On February 05 2011 08:22 Raeleigh wrote:On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.) Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times. Tier 1.5 might be nice, but their hp would have to be reduced. *cough* Broodwar *cough* Haha, yeah. Seems like a fair trade, tbh.
This is not a balance thread, so take it elsewhere. I would really hate it if this thread became the battleground of the hive minds that lurk sc2strategy  thanks for understanding
On February 06 2011 06:40 JiSu wrote:Haha he has a nice APM that he can kick people ass in sc2? Why don't he go back to BW and see how many ass he can kick in Korea? I'm sure all the progamers in BW scene will wreck his shit. + Show Spoiler [nice rant] +
I'm not an IdrA's fan really because he thinks he is the best when really dude, you aren't. Some people can think that they are the best and even if they lose, they still get respect and people still think they are the best because really, they have accomplished a lot in the progame scene. What the hell has this guy accomplished besides being in CJENTUS for BW and code S in SC2? That does not make you the best.. sure you might be one of the best foreigners. But what the hell does that mean anything? It's like saying you're one of the best white players in basketball. Yeah, that's cool. With that said, when you lose to noob builds like early push, you should at least say gg instead of bashing on your opponents when you clearly lost. Plus, this guy does all the nooby builds a lot too.. roach push drone rush smh
Did you even read? Did you even bother looking anything at all before scrolling down to "inform" me of how wrong i am? This is also not the debate the goodness of IdrA. this was a recap of his RO16 games, where, in my opinion, he performed marvelously. Take it elsewhere.
I thank you for reading, and I love that it is sparking discussion, but I put a lot of hard work in this and I don't want even the possibility of it being derailed. So as such, future posters that I feel threaten the future of this thread will be banned. Thanks for understanding!
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On February 06 2011 08:08 gods_basement wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2011 05:27 Raeleigh wrote:On February 06 2011 03:48 Gummy wrote:On February 05 2011 08:22 Raeleigh wrote:On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.) Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times. Tier 1.5 might be nice, but their hp would have to be reduced. *cough* Broodwar *cough* Haha, yeah. Seems like a fair trade, tbh. This is not a balance thread, so take it elsewhere. I would really hate it if this thread became the battleground of the hive minds that lurk sc2strategy thanks for understanding
You spoke about IdrA, he plays Zerg. I spoke about how he plays, someone noted that Zerg loses early game quite often. I added note saying "yup I know", and added a comment comparing my boyfriend to IdrA. The main topic here.
There isn't any real banter about balance or anything. Just throwing ideas out there.
Everyone that's posted has enjoyed your blog and commented as so.
Also, I HIGHLY DOUBT anyone would spend their time turning this blog into the "battleground of the hive minds that lurk sc2 strategy" Sorry to disappoint, but it wouldn't be worth it for them.
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On February 06 2011 08:17 Raeleigh wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2011 08:08 gods_basement wrote:On February 06 2011 05:27 Raeleigh wrote:On February 06 2011 03:48 Gummy wrote:On February 05 2011 08:22 Raeleigh wrote:On February 05 2011 08:15 SubtleArt wrote:On February 05 2011 07:46 Raeleigh wrote:
Maybe I should get "cute" with IdrA, see what happens. ^_~
On a different note, he is a BAMF for sure, and his skill level is insane, but like I was discussing with my friend while watching his stream, he's very macro-heavy. So he gets caught up and loses early game quite often when he streams, which is unfortunate. But, he does know exactly what went wrong, and although he might BM, he does take it, realize it, and do something about it. So. o:
Nonetheless, awesome read, enjoyed it a lot! =D 5/5 Every zerg loses early game quite often lol Oh trust me, I know. My boyfriend could rival IdrA with the stuff I hear after he loses from an early game rush. I daresay, it entertains me when I'm half asleep in bed at 4am and he's gettin' mad. (If you see this, I'm sorry. LOL.) Idk. My boyfriend says Hydra's should be a Tier 1 unit. I almost agree at times. Tier 1.5 might be nice, but their hp would have to be reduced. *cough* Broodwar *cough* Haha, yeah. Seems like a fair trade, tbh. This is not a balance thread, so take it elsewhere. I would really hate it if this thread became the battleground of the hive minds that lurk sc2strategy thanks for understanding You spoke about IdrA, he plays Zerg. I spoke about how he plays, someone noted that Zerg loses early game quite often. I added note saying "yup I know", and added a comment comparing my boyfriend to IdrA. The main topic here. There isn't any real banter about balance or anything. Just throwing ideas out there. Everyone that's posted has enjoyed your blog and commented as so. Also, I HIGHLY DOUBT anyone would spend their time turning this blog into the "battleground of the hive minds that lurk sc2 strategy" Sorry to disappoint, but it wouldn't be worth it for them.
Its only natural that an Idra thread contains balance discussion lol
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On February 06 2011 12:51 SubtleArt wrote:
Its only natural that an Idra thread contains balance discussion lol
I will 100% agree with that, haha.
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On February 06 2011 06:40 JiSu wrote:
Haha he has a nice APM that he can kick people ass in sc2? Why don't he go back to BW and see how many ass he can kick in Korea? I'm sure all the progamers in BW scene will wreck his shit.
I'm not an IdrA's fan really because he thinks he is the best when really dude, you aren't. Some people can think that they are the best and even if they lose, they still get respect and people still think they are the best because really, they have accomplished a lot in the progame scene. What the hell has this guy accomplished besides being in CJENTUS for BW and code S in SC2? That does not make you the best.. sure you might be one of the best foreigners. But what the hell does that mean anything? It's like saying you're one of the best white players in basketball. Yeah, that's cool. With that said, when you lose to noob builds like early push, you should at least say gg instead of bashing on your opponents when you clearly lost. Plus, this guy does all the nooby builds a lot too.. roach push drone rush smh
He won an MLG and got to round of 8 in the GSL on top of winning several smaller foreign tournaments. I think thats more than a ton of people can say. Also I don't know which idra you're watching but I've never seen him drone rush in a tournament game, ever.
btw Larry Bird, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki would like to have a word with you.
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i ask you guys not to do one thing: derail this blog. the next four posts are doing everything they can to undermine it.
last warning.
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Great blog make more please.
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Great blog make more please.
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United Arab Emirates874 Posts
Amazing read hehehe xD!
GO GO GO IDRA!!
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EPT![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/3lX9S.jpg)
