EPTSo here is my attempt at a thorough analysis of how to play a BO5 series based upon the ordering of the games.
Game 1: In this game, focus on being aggressive and innovative. New cheeses are especially strong in this game. The influence of the cheese will effect your opponents metagame for the games to come. It can really throw your opponent off to lose to cheese in the first game, it'll make him frustrated and he'll feel dominated by you. But it is key that it be innovative... If it's something your opponent has already seen many times, the influence it has on him will be diminished. Cheese is not the only thing you can do. I personally don't like to cheese much. Being really aggressive in general is equally good. For example a 52 drone roach attack in PvZ against an exposed 3rd base & natural, a ling muta bane bum rush prior to saturating your 4th in TvZ if the positioning is right, TvZ 3 base roach max or roach ling bane aggression, ling bane infestor NP / IT attacks prior to saturating the 4th... These are very aggressive midgame builds which are good in the first game, because again the effects are multiplied. Again the best methods of attack are new and innovative, ones which your opponent has not seen before and has not already adjusted to or would force a big adjustment. But those are all allins. The attack does not have to be allin, either. The important part is just in taking command and making your opponent react. Midgame roach / hydra drops against a mech user. A very aggressive drop style throughout the late game in TvZ, constantly redropping the main and forcing a massive amount of turrets, building mutas to take out some of those turrets & then redropping... this is adequate for accomplishing your goal - to make him react defensively. Baneling bombs are a great thing to do in Game 1. Seriously, use baneling bombs.
Game 2: In this game, it's best to focus on macro and accumulating as many resources as possible. There are a couple reasons for this. First, you've expended your aggression in the first game, and the purpose of that aggression was to force a reaction out of him. Forcing this reaction gives you leverage for an economic lead in the 2nd game. Second, you've gotten a glimpse of your opponents style and some basis for considering ways he may be aggressive, allowing you to calibrate your macro a bit better. You now have an added insight into his default style, and if you scout a build predominately in line with that style, it will be stronger supporting evidence for what he's doing. Comparatively, if you scout a build departing from his style, it will be a greater indicator of some hidden shenanigans. This insight gives you some basis for playing extra greedy. For example if your opponent opened robo with a 3rd base nexus in the 1st game, and you are on a map conducive to a similar build, you can consider playing extra greedy and droning more heavily against him, because you anticipate a timing is not coming. Focus on getting as big a macro as possible, and overwhelming with macro.
Game 3: In this game you want to build upon the macro you had in the previous games, but now focus on twinning your opponent; or in other words matching him with superior transactions. An example of this is if the opponent opens 3CC 2 ebay in reaction to you taking a fast 3rd the game prior, now you have a basis to blindly go double evo upgrades before speed and before lair. Your speed will be slower but your upgrades will be a tad faster than his, and his attack timings will disappear. You can do this because you now have a read on how he responds to your macro. You have a read on what he thinks the correct reactive mirroring protocol is. A broader example of this is twinning or matching his timing attacks. You are able to sort of blindly match his likely timings, and gain an edge this way. For example if you see your opponent opening hellions, and he went for bio hellion aggression in the prior game against your fast 3rd, you can choose to open a roach defense against the hellions instead of a ling spine queen defense. And now you have some basis for delaying your evo upgrades, and building 5 extra roaches at around 50 drones and taking map control, then you may match his attack with the precise amount of units necessary while squeezing out the maximum amount of drones, and maximizing the usefulness of your investments by delaying your upgrades a bit.. (the upgrades will not be completed in time for this attack timing). So your builds transactional mirroring / superiority is the goal of this game.
Game 4: In this game you want to play safe and aim for a very long, settled game. You both now have developed a comfort level with eachother. You have settled into a style against one another. It has become apparent the vulnerabilities your opponent likes to try to exploit. For example, does your opponent like to double drop the main and 4th at around the 12 minute mark? Play extremely safe against this style. Off your fast 3rd get a tad faster gas, a faster lair and mutas, get speed and evos after the lair. Then kill both the drops with your earlier mutas. Does your opponent like to open marauder hellion against you? Open gas and 2 base muta. You are playing safe against his style. Does your opponent like to do some marine aggression after expanding at your 3rd? Get an early gas and ling speed. You are going to confuse him, you are going to shut down all his options he's comfortable with in his style. What you're aiming for is a long game. You aren't aiming to kill him. Yes, you might end up a tad behind economically. Or you might end up crushing whatever he does with sound defense. But you will be safe, whatever happens. You are aiming to put him outside of his comfort zone by shutting down everything he does with sound defense. Slowly take over the map, defending one thing after another. Then, when he is well into the late game, kill him in the most safe and efficient manner... with a mass of broodlords. This works because you know the vulnerabilities he is comfortable exploiting in you.
Game 5: The way to play this game is to take map control and do some creative, exploitive harassment. Since you were so defensive last game, now your opponent is going to be apprehensive to pick apart your vulnerabilities for fear of mutas popping up, his drop being killed, etc.. For example, those extra roaches you had last game will mean he doesn't pressure you with marauder hellion again, so you can open lings this game and sidestep his hellions / counterattack him. Whatever defensive investments you made last game will pay off this game. This apprehensiveness put into him by your defensive strength liberates you into taking risks. Do not play as defensively, but do play reactively. Map control allows you to play reactively. Keep a good spread of overlords, etc. Keep your lings on the lookout if you need to react to something. But invest in units and move forward across the map to gain the superior position. The main function of map control is to allow you to react to your opponent, to harass him, and to counterattack him. Harassment will be more powerful now. Infestor harass is a great option. Do something creative with the infestors. Try sneaking them into his main while he is moving out. Risk things like moving your lings / banes / roaches forward outside his 3rd & countering him when he moves forward. Those units aren't stuck at home quite as much. Creative little risks like this are all much stronger now.
