Writing Samples

TL is looking for new writers, and I decided I'd apply. I figured if I'm going to write 3 pieces I may as well post them and see what people think. Even if I don't get the part writing for TL, it'd be nice to get some feedback and maybe improve my writing some.

Some IPL Finals spoilers ahoy in the battle report sample.

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Upcoming Match Preview: MLG Columbus Relay Race

There is a myth circulating the internet. You've probably heard somewhere that nerds are out of shape, lazy, or even avoid physical activity. Well the staff of Team Liquid are about to prove you wrong. Get ready for MLG Columbus. Yeah there's going to be some of the StarCraft 2 stuff going on, but the main event will be outside. In the sun.

Hot_Bid's prediction depiction

June 3rd through 5th, the staff of Team Liquid will be taking on any challengers in an all-out relay race challenge to the death. Nearly a dozen teams have signed up for the challenge so far, with even Justin.tv and MLG joining in to try and take down the speedy titans that are the TL staff.

Teams are taking this very seriously and staying very tight-lipped about their lineups. It’s hard to judge just how well all these nerds will do, but judging from the Twitter rumblings that started it all, the TL Staff won’t be easily disposed of. Only time will tell who the victor of this truly epic event will be.

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Battle Report: IPL Finals: Idra v KiwiKaki: Game 4

Game 4 of the IPL finals starts on Shakuras Plateau with Kiwikaki spawning at the 1 o’clock, with Idra coming in at the 7 o’clock. Kiwi starts off with a Gateway and a Forge before taking his natural expansion. Meanwhile, Idra puts down a pool before taking his own natural expansion. Kiwi’s first scouting probe escapes Idra’s, but loops back in to watch the expansion build. Worried about the possibilities of cannons, Idra pulls quite a few drones to assist his first zerglings in disposing of the probe.

Cannons are a good skill toi have

Back at Kiwi’s base, he pumps four zealots out of his first gateway which he uses to try and run straight into Idra’s main. They stop for a short scuffle at Idra’s ramp into his main and kill a few zerglings before continuing their run into Idra’s main. All the zealots have lost their shields and three are below half health. The zealots run behind the main minerals, but get taken out be a queen and zerglings. Although at first it seemed to be not very effective, Kiwi forced Idra to use up precious larva to make more zerglings than he would have liked.

Important.

Idra takes his third base at the ‘pocket expo’ next to his main and tries to run a small group of zerglings into Kiwi’s base, but a hero pylon and zealot stop them and Idra pulls his lings back after only a few casualties. Kiwikaki takes both of his natural expansion’s gases and puts down four more gateways in preparation for a five warpgate push. Knowing that Kiwi will push soon, Idra puts down his roach warren and Hydralisk Den so he can be ready to pump an army when he needs it. Kiwi pushes out just before his +1 weapons finishes and puts a pylon down just outside of the reach of Idra’s creep. Idra gets an army of mostly roaches out in time, kills Kiwi’s pylon and Kiwi retreats without any army-on-army engagement.

Kiwi takes his third at his pocket expansion while Idra takes his fourth base at the 11 o’clock natural. Idra pushes out to the middle of the map with his roach/zergling/hydra army and takes the Xel’Naga Towers. He sees Kiwi’s third base, and knocks down the rocks connecting it to the middle, forcing Kiwi to worry about pushes coming in through the new path. Idra runs lings into Kiwi’s main to see his first Colossus out and range still upgrading. While Kiwikaki pulls his army back to deal with the small group of scoutlings, Idra pushes into Kiwi’s third with 14 roaches, successfully sniping the nexus, but losing all of the roaches. Idra continues to pull Kiwi in all directions by dropping some roaches into the back of Kiwi’s main.

Roach drops + Burrow = Quite good

As soon as Kiwi has disposed of those roaches, Idra pushes into the third base again to deny the expo one more time. Idra continues the push and forces Kiwi’s forces back into his natural, where Kiwi is able to use his defensive stance to hold off the push. Kiwi is able to let out a sigh of relief, but not for too long. Idra drops a few hydra into his natural, snipes his assimilators. Idra drops even more roaches into Kiwi’s main and forces mining to stop. Between the two drops, Idra leaves Kiwi with only two works mining gas. Thanks to his drop harass Idra is able to halt almost all production of Colossus and pushes into Kiwi’s natural with an army of roaches, hydras, and corrupters. With almost no forces left, Kiwi is forced to gg out. Idra ties up the scores of IPL finals 2-2 and takes it to a fifth game.

VOD

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Player Profile: Artosis

Most commonly known as half of the GSL Casting Archon, Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski, has recently become more active as a player. After an extensive career in Brood War, with his first major victory back in 2002, Artosis is able to draw upon nearly a decade of experience for commentating and playing.

Artosis, Casting Templar

Although in Brood War Dan played Terran, he switched to Zerg during the beta and then switch to Protoss in January of 2011. Despite being quite vocal about balance and the overall state of the game, Artosis often refrains from entering tournaments. During the Beta, he only participated in one MLG King of the Beta Hill showmatch and the TeamLiquid SC2 Invitational 2. After release, he made a few appearances in IEM Gamescon, IEM America, and GSL Season 1, but after dropping out of each of them he remained only active on ladder.

Despite his losses in tournament play, he isn’t a force to be trifled with. His ladder play is fierce, and ever since the Beta, he has been consistently highly ranked. Most recently, he’s made an appearance in the North American Star League, although he has met with little success. On March 31st, he was announced as joining Team Sixjax as their captain.

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