EPT
On November 21 2012 02:53 Zelniq wrote:
that's quite interesting.. I wonder how effective it has been for them, and if they also use mass lings with maybe bane/corrupor/infestor support, to stop that 3-base timing a lot of protosses are doing these days before Gspire kicks in. I guess stephano does use this with 2-2 lings/infestors/corruptors for that timing, often attacking and doing damage to the protoss rather than defensively, while transitioning into brood/infestor. I still think this mass 3-3 adrenalings with support is a strong lategame style though, at least one worth exploring further.
that's quite interesting.. I wonder how effective it has been for them, and if they also use mass lings with maybe bane/corrupor/infestor support, to stop that 3-base timing a lot of protosses are doing these days before Gspire kicks in. I guess stephano does use this with 2-2 lings/infestors/corruptors for that timing, often attacking and doing damage to the protoss rather than defensively, while transitioning into brood/infestor. I still think this mass 3-3 adrenalings with support is a strong lategame style though, at least one worth exploring further.
For Dimaga, it works well when he does not have to commit to a fullscale attack (which is where his lack of micro with the composition shows). Vortix just starts dropping everywhere until he wins or loses everything. Life has two methods: the +1/+1 drop timing after gaining a huge advantage, or later drop timings to delay the protoss until greater spire.
I think there is a two-fold problem with using mass cracklings in the late-game: army strength and judgment. Since they are extremely fragile melee units their efficiency doesn't stack up as well as the standard protoss deathball. This is not a huge problem in ZvT against bio/tank or pure bio compositions but can be terrible against colossi/high templar. Since they are neither beefy nor cost-effective against large armies, small positioning and micro mistakes can often lead into big losses.
Then there's the problem of knowing how much to commit to counter-aggression. You see players like Violet and Sheth do counterattacks but they are always small; then you have players like Golden who will send all their lings into the enemy base. These aren't the result of properly analyzing a situation but developed habits that are independent of understanding your position in a given game. It's very hard to figure out how much you can commit or how much you should commit with a zergling-heavy army.
