EPTFrost
Frost I must say surprised me, I was one of the people who criticized it the most for being utterly generic and doing nothing new and not even being amazing for what it is, a generic map yet still winning the TLMC. And it isgeneric. Don't get me wrong. However, it currently fills the space as the the only all spawn enabled axial 4 player map in competitive play for a long time so at the very least that gives it something unique.
There are no immediate balance issues in any spawns, in horizontal spawns there are arguably some nasty pushes to deal with in ZvT along the ridge but then again, you shouldn't really take the top/bottom bases anyway as Z in those spawns in ZvT unless you have some epic swarmhost strat. Some people might argue against blink all ins and reapers but where some people see imbalance, I see viability of strats, nothing more.
Frost however surprises me and delights me because it plays like an oldschool Blizzard map. The feel I get from playing on Frost is very much like Typhon Peaks and a lot of the maps from that time like backwater Gulch which to me was basically the finest era of Blizzard mapmaking, past the broken imbalances of Kulas Ravine and Lost Temple but before the point that balance concerns became such a premium that every map became a carbon copy of each other. Frost is not a map where you just take a third and sit there, most ancilliary bases have entry points from every single direction like older Blizzard maps which makes runbies deadly and potent like they once were. It's actually a joy to play PvT on this map in my older style of mass expand + massive amounts of zealot runbies and pylon spams because it once again is worth something. You cannot on Frost just park your army some-where and govern about every entry angle into your base and most importantly, the entry paths into the bases are 180 degrees apart which often allows for setting up amazing roach and zealot flanks.
Apart from that, it is what it is though, an extremely standard and basic main/nat setup that will bore a lot of people to death, but once the game gets to three or four bases it's actually a very nice throwback to a different type of army movement that has since been lost. The more open terrain in the centre also leads to some interesting engagements and the watchtowers are I believe a nice addition, controling the space inside the tower to get that vision advantage while hiding behind the LOS blockers is a definite asset in any engagement.
Yeonsu
Yeonsu gives you a total of 6 bases per player, 1 being a semi Island, 2 being very forward. If I ever racepicked Z in a tournament I'd veto this map extremely quickly. Bel'shir Vestige makes it hard for Z to secure a fifth because you have to expand very close to your opponent to do so. Yeonsu makes securing a fourth for Z difficult and a fifth nigh on impossible. Your fifth is either a semi Island or a stone's throw away from your oponent. The map is also very chocked and the rush distances are short. Both ZvP and ZvT have been an absolute nightmare for me on this map thus far.
Switching to TvP though, both ends of this have been leading to some-whah interseting play similar to how Frost is a throwback, TvP is an absolute action-packed slug fest on this game that thus far has proven winnable from either side for me. I've even had someone kill the towers at my forward third when I had it and do a tank push from the lowground on it and it was surprisingly tricky to clear up, an interesting strategical feature of the map that rewards players that think outside of the box. Maybe it's more of a sad thing of the game that such forward expands which can lead to interesting play are just so bad in for Z in TvZ and PvZ.
Compounding to the difficulties for Z is that Yeonsu does not make it possible to hide an overlord behind the natural mineral line so investigate the saturation of the enemy.
Polar Night
Easily my favourite from the three. The only beef I have with this map is the distance of the ramp to the natural which make PvP and ZvZ a bit awkward at times to defend your natural but at the same time stops that dreaded forcefield on your ramp in ZvP from easily ocurring. Polar Night plays like a Korean map in every way, a classic case of just the right amount of circle syndrome, two centre high ground plateaus in the centre and lots of dead space like many Korean maps before it. The backyards expansion adds a nice novelty but I haven't yet seen anyone take it ever and I never saw anyone destroy the rocks at the back of the natural either. Something I feel is merely due to people not yet being used to the map yet. Breaking the rocks could provide for some interesting counter attack paths. Many people aren't even putting spotters there I noticed on the ladder, Put a couple of lings on it and eventually it goes down and you have zergings in someone's natural.
The thirds of Polar Night are I feel appropriately far away. I am definitely not a fan of too easily secured thirds and this map does it right. Giving you no less than 3 plausible options for a third base, each with their strengths and weaknesses , each with multiple attack vectors into it rewarding players who split their army better. Though I haven't yet had a TvT on this map that didn't end with me holding a 1 base all in I feel the centre could provide a very interesting area in that matchup. I've also been having a blast in ZvP on this map pulling out the old roach max, splitting up my forces and flanking through all the attack paths into thirds into the eventual muta transition. I'm dying to try out swarmhost ZvP styles on this map claiming high ground with spores and spines and sieging the third but I've yet to have the chance. TvZ is a fairly straightforward endeavour of taking the forward third and parade pushing your biomine until imbalance carries you to victory (*hides). I'm currently left to wonder how tempests taking the centre high ground and airspace would actually unfold on this map.
All in all though, the new maps are what they are, not particularly innovative like Klontas or Sky Island. Ultimately every map re-uses the same trite main/nat formula we've grown so fond. How I'd kill to get Icarus on the ladder.
