EPTHello TL, and welcome back to another edition of A Zerg's Tale! In my last blog I was recently back in to playing SC2. With little practice I signed up for a bronze-platinum tournament and got horribly crushed in a ZvZ first round. I took a little time to lick my wounds and headed back in to the ladder. I've been playing again for approximately 3 weeks now, and it's time to check up on my progress!
Current Statistics as of 3/30/11
Server: NA
Ladder Rank: 48 Platinum – Division Koronis Psi
Points: 5
W/L: 7/12
This game was played before the ladder reset, however it's a good look at how stupid my play has been since the reset. I'm in some kind of funk, losing almost all my matches often times to stupid stuff, or by simply rolling ZvZ. I think I need a several day break to clear my head of Starcraft so that I can enjoy playing and maybe not make so many stupid mistakes. Here's a ZvP with a cursory look at my last several days of SC2.
SenJ vs Ben ZvP Backwater Gulch
I spawn in at the 7 o'clock as the blue Zerg on backwater gulch. As I see my opponent is Protoss I'm assuming (quite dangerous) that I'll either see a 3 gate expand, or a 4 gate rush. I know it's rather important not to make baseless assumptions about the opponent, especially at the very start of the game, but that's a general trend I see in my platinum level play.
Ben opts for a 10 scout while I scout on 13. I open 14 pool, 15 gas into a fast roach warren. I scout 2 gate cyber and have a fairly decent idea that either 3 gate expand or 4 gate is coming my way.
![[image loading]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Iyathu34/Screenshot2011-03-2809_48_24.jpg)
I scout with a pair of lings, and see that he has a probe at his expo. I pick it off and relish in a small victory. Any delay on a protoss expansion is good by me. My lair timing is 100 gas late due to building a third queen at my main for creep spread. Looking back I probably could have started the queen at my natural and began lair a little earlier. I planned for a standard roach / hydra midgame army composition to defend against any pressure the protoss begins to throw at me after expanding. I also break down the rocks at the back of my natural to open up the path towards my third base.
![[image loading]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Iyathu34/Screenshot2011-03-2810_00_30.jpg)
(Double evolution chambers, and roach speed. Something is missing from this picture)
I push out with 15 roaches to see if I can scope out the army and apply a little pressure as I throw down my third base. What follows is a unit control nightmare. Forcefields pin me in and 7 long seconds of roaches fumbling an attempt to retreat cost me quite a bit. I lose all 15 roaches in exchange for a read on his army. Once I start pumping my roach / hydra comp I should be able to crush his army with little problems.
![[image loading]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Iyathu34/Screenshot2011-03-2810_01_55.jpg)
(Oh the humanity!)
I mash down my “R” key as hard and fast as I possibly can, and notice that a creep tumor gets sniped by stalker fire. Here's the pressure I was anticipating and I feel like I can hold this fairly easily. I just have to buy a little time for hydralisks! Oh shit. I've been on lair tech for the majority of the game and the hydralisk den I could have sworn I dropped minutes ago is no where to be found as my gas nears 800. I'm starting to panic a little bit. The protoss army hasn't surfaced yet, but it's only a matter of time until it comes barreling down on me.
![[image loading]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Iyathu34/Screenshot2011-03-2810_10_08.jpg)
The push hits with my hydralisk den almost completed. Nice forcefields split my low roach numbers and I'm trying my best to hold a push I'm not well prepared for. A couple roaches get trapped in with his army and are minced up quickly. Roaches continue to rally in to my natural and it looks like I might hold out! With adrenaline pumping I decide to research hydra range. In hindsight this is a huge mistake, I should have just gotten several hydras out to try and hold. Quite a silly mistake that I won't ever repeat again.
Unforunately for me, Immortals eat roaches for breakfast, and Ben manages an easy clean-up. I tap out of the game and feel extremely embarressed that I forgot my hydralisk den for 3 minutes. -.-
After the game Ben messages me with a gg and we have a conversation about the game. He says that I almost held, and with hydras it would have been easy. I agree and have a good laugh about it. Ben says, “You're getting there”. I doubt he read my previous blog, but judging by his name this is clearly some jedi tutoring. I'd like to give a shoutout to Ben the protoss for being a rad dude. Thanks man, perhaps I'll get a rematch on the ladder some day. :D
![[image loading]](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Iyathu34/obi-wan-kenobi-01-large.jpg)
(Ben the Protoss)
My play certaintly had some glaring flaws, but the goals and points that I originally set out to improve upon several weeks ago are getting much better. I'm spending more time out of my base scouting and multitasking. My creep spread has improved dramatically as well as my macro. Forgetting the hydra den is embarrassing, but it's the kind of mistake that makes a lasting impression. I won't be forgetting buildings anytime soon.
.
