EPTI think the greatest testament to Idra's solid play is his recent performance in the GSL Code S RO16. Here, he faced three top-level players who went for very unconventional builds. Here, we got to see IdrA's preparation, accurate decisions, and solid builds in action. You see that Idra has a solid reactions to any scenario, and is not a one-trick pony. Without further ado, I bring you:
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Game 1: TSL_Clide [T1] vs EGIdrA [T7]
In game one on Xel'naga Caverns, Idra spawns in the south. Clide was Tastosis's favorite to win in many a GSL, so surely he will be a formidible opponent.
Nervous about abuse of Cavern's wide natural, Idra opts for quick speed, while Clide, hoping to abuse Caverns' wide natural, opens 2-rax. Idra delays speed to start his natural at 21, and moments later Clide's first marines push from the watchtower. Clide realizes that his rush will be ineffective versus pool first, so he pulls back, starts two refineries and a command center.
Clide gets a factory with reactor, and begins hellion pressure just as Idra starts his spire. Between the 10 Zerglings made to defend the 2rax and the hellion pressure, Idra is unable to drone as much as he would like, and finds himself undersaturated as mutas pop. Clide's expo is almost fully operational at this point.
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1.1 A cute push
Clide moves out with seven marines, six mauraders, and seven hellions, trying to severely damage the Zerg before mutas pop, but he misses his timing, losing all his marines without killing a single mutalisk. However, the attack is still quite successful, as a majority of Idra's Zerglings were slaughtered, Clide executes a beautiful army split. The marauders stim and kill the queen while the remaining hellions kill about 10 drones. Clide ends the attack with 45 scvs; Idra with 28 drones. The game is all but over; Idra has one attack to win the game. Or so I thought.
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1.2: The end goal of all hellion openings
The only reason Clide did not win at this moment was because he was overconfident. He only made a couple of turrets and a bunker to defend. He produced Marauders to strengthen his next push, instead of making marines to defend. Idra masterfully exploits the holes in Clide's defense, killing the undefended marines rallied from the barracks. He continuously snipes the SCVs building turrets, and sends in his Zerglings. Clide's mental state begins to fall apart.
However, this attack was not an all-in, and instead, a reflection of the Gracken's brilliance. Behind this attack, Idra had produced over a dozen drones, expanded to his third, and started a baneling nest. Clide's production buildings begin to burn and explode, just as the mutalisk cloud grows to a gruesome throng of membranous wings. Idra continues to abuse the mutalisk's strength with micro reminiscent of Brood War (everything except stacking). Idra retreats to begin heavy droning; Clyde is nearly mined mined out in his main, with only a few barracks and less than a dozen marines.
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1.3: Mutas are powerful when they outnumber marines
Clide's only chance is to take the gold, and he knows it. However, Idra sees Clide's army attacking the rocks, and sends Zerg swarm to crash down on his opponent's head.
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1.3: Most of Clide's army is in this shot; Idra's army doesn’t fit on the screen
Idra sips his Gatorade like he never feared losing, and Clide asks himself what happened.
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1.4: DGAF at its finest
Game 2: EGIdrA [Z1] vs NsPGenius [P7]
Idra's next opponent is Genius opens with a forge expand as Idra opens 15-hatch. Just kidding about the expand part; Genius creates an enclosed space by warping 3 pylons, and warps in 2 cannons in the middle. Idra cancels his hatchery, and Genius cancels one cannon.
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2.1: Cute building placement
Idra expands to 3 o'clock and builds a roach warren. Genius, confidant that Idra would sit back and macro, relied on 1 cannon to defend his natural; but instead, Idra built 6 roaches to siege the front. The initial cannon falls, then the nexus soon follows. Eventually, enough cannons finish that Idra is forced to retreat, but Genius is miles behind. He has so many minerals sunk into defending a dead nexus, and Idra has started his lair.
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2.2: Inadequate Defenses
Genius transitions into a 4gate attack while expanding, but the attack is thwarted by Idra's many units. Genius warps in cannons to defend, but the loss of thousands of minerals, catches up to him, and he is steamrolled by Idra's roaches. Genius tries to defend with a hero void ray, but fails and types out.
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2.3: Too little, too late
Idra, emotionless as always, without fear and doubt, sips more Gatorade. These games already belonged to him; he just had yet to claim his win.
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2.4: Cracking knuckles only to match the leather gracket
Game 3: oGsNaDa [T6] vs EGIdrA [Z3]
Idra's final game is a sure to be an exhilarating finale. He gets to close out the group against his idol, oGsNaDa. They spawn close south positions on Metalopolis. Nada opens with a standard 12-rax 13-gas, and Idra opens hatch-first. Idra's scouting drone is thwarted by a wall-off, and IdrA is forced to play blind. Nada pushes with 2 marines, kills 2 drones, and retreats just as the Zerglings pop.
Idra, still unaware of Nada's plans, starts a roach den to be safe. His zerglings see a reactor on the barracks, so he cancels the den for a Baneling Nest, fearing the marine all-in, but Nada has other plans. Dark, sinister, at times, even cute plans. Nada takes his second gas and builds a fast Thor and medivac, and opts for a Thor drop. Nada drop the Thor on the ledge overlooking the ramp, but Idra executes a beautiful Zergling surround on the Thor, and Queens target the medivac. Nada's harass is over as soon as it began, and he is forced to retreat. During this attack, IdrA did not lose a single unit.
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/xeIKJ.jpg)
3.1: How to defend Thor drops
Nada decides not to expand, and knows that he has one timing to deal some damage to the Zerg. He pushes out with his 2 medivacs, airlifting 2 Thors, and a handful of SCVs and marines. Idra has a baneling nest, but has only started morphing as Nada pushes out. The queens delay for just enough time, and the banelings come in to save the day. The banelings deal maximum damage and Nada is forced to lift his Thors home.
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3.2.1: An army…
3.2.2: …is met by banelings…
3.2.3: …and is sent home crying.
Nada regroups, repairs and pushes immediately. He attempts some cute micro, but Idra just has too many units. After losing all his Thors, Nada concedes the game.
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3.3: An insurmountable lead
This time, IdrA had a little bit of a smirk on his face. After all, he had just crushed one of the most successful progamers of all time.
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Idra doesn’t have time for silly games where you hope and pray that your build can outwit him, because you can't. He has time for the long games, but you will probably lose those too. So let this be a warning to you cheesy noobs out there. You have a cool build? A nice rush timing? You think that you've got what it takes to take a win off of Idra? Do you know what Idra would say?
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He'd say bring it. He would kick your nooby little ass. And he has enough APM that he can tell you exactly how retarded you are as he does it.
