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Im sure all of you have noticed this recent trend... Protoss is doing very well against zerg. I started watching pro BW after the first Bacchus OSL, and since then, Iv seen only zerg dominating this match-up. Im not terribly familiar with the scene prior to then, but from comments that I have read over the years, I have gathered that this has been the flavor of things for some time now.
I only ever made it to d+ zerg on ICCUP, so im not even gonna venture a guess as to why this is happening, but I would like to hear the opinions of the guys that know what they are talking about.
So tell me, whats with the sudden change in this matchup?
edit... someone requested a game. Heres the OSL semifinal. Spoiler obviously. + Show Spoiler +btw, make sure you watch all the vids ^_^
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10387 Posts
Short answer: Bisu and his Zealots (and new-ish 2 Gate +1 Speedlot timing) and noone really being a true beast at ZvP to lead the Zergs
Long answer: The new core strategy of PvZ (2 Gate +1 Speedlot) replacing 4 Gate 2 Archon since its a better build, along with Protoss learning to cut as many corners as they can for the Econ/Tech advantage (such as going Nexus-Gate-Forge, and back in 09-10 it was standard to make 3 cannons at the nat even w/o the threat of a hydra bust). The mass Hydra/Muta strategy is also not as effective anymore, forcing many zergs to favor the 4 base turtle play.
Also, Protoss don't suck as much anymore so that helps quite a bit. There's a bunch of other stuff but that's just things off the top of my head
Let me also add that Zergs are following the Protoss's example by also attempting to cut corners and delay static defense as much as possible. This leads to Protoss sometimes doing some off-beat timing attacks w/ a small number of units and doing a retarded amount of damage (although the Zergs die to the standard push too sometimes -_-;;;
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The pro BW scene is cyclical; this isn't the first time protoss has been doing well against zerg (if that is indeed the case right now).
Winner's league probably contributes as well.
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Arvick sums it up pretty well.
Aside from the strategical changes, EffOrt's retirement (he was the best ZvPer imo), ZerO and JD not doing as well, TaekBang's resurgence, it all adds up.
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I think honestly it's Bisu. when it comes to PvZ (or BvZ as I been calling it recently), it almost always comes down to how Bisu basically streamlined his builds vs Zergs. Before, it was mainly DTs, now it's basically Zealot pushes, and HTs and maybe DTs from time to time. After the first push, HTs (DTs every now and then) rushes in with the Zealots.
The difference between Stork's play I see, although he does basically the same thing, Stork isn't as aggressive, or fast I think. The recent games he played, I have seen, Stork basically waits until Zealot Legs are done before he attacks, while Bisu basically attacks and has Legs done WHILE he's attacking w/ +1.
when it's PvZ, it's basically Bisu. yet again I might add.
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I think it has to do with many different things. First of all, its that protoss are now getting greedy about the initial build order, like going 12 nex, forge nex, and making cannons as late as they can. Also, the zealot pushes are really strong, and sim city is often times not good enough.
The protoss now goes reavers often, which used to backfire often, but i think its being used a lot better now. I think the one thin that zergs don't do nowadays is HT snipe. Back when zerg dominated this MU, it was because zergs would often snipe HTs, and attack while there was no storm/make sure the toss didn't push because they don't have storm.
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konadora
Singapore66071 Posts
protosses learning what to actually do with their speedlots (+1 or not) greedy builds by protosses zergs going 6 hatch instead of 5 hatch spire into hydras and thus not making sunkens/units fast enough zergs being overly greedy by getting a very fast 4th gas base (link to above point)
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On January 23 2011 13:56 Tazza wrote: I think it has to do with many different things. First of all, its that protoss are now getting greedy about the initial build order, like going 12 nex, forge nex, and making cannons as late as they can. Also, the zealot pushes are really strong, and sim city is often times not good enough.
The protoss now goes reavers often, which used to backfire often, but i think its being used a lot better now. I think the one thin that zergs don't do nowadays is HT snipe. Back when zerg dominated this MU, it was because zergs would often snipe HTs, and attack while there was no storm/make sure the toss didn't push because they don't have storm.
You can't say "back when zerg dominated it was because they snipe HTs." The current Bisu build seems to favor only zealots, leaving gas to just teching to archives and cosairs for air domination. The games I've seen has the protoss taking air advantage and holding it throughout the game. The early zealot pressure also seems to force the zerg to spend larvae and can't effective save them up for the right muta timing for sniping. Also the current build relies less on high templars cuz you only see about 2 high templars in the 10+ or so zealot push.
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You all talk down like zergs are doing bad, you realize that 5 of the Ro8 players are zerg players and 2 of the final 4 OSL players were zerg.... Zerg isn't doing particularly bad, it's just that protoss players have been invigorated by the domination of Bisu, Stork, and even Kal.
As for why toss have been dominating, I think a lot of it is due to Bisu and Stork paving a path and showing some killer builds and timings. Other toss players are just getting pumped over the rape the mighty protoss enclave has been leaving in their wake. But the main reason why toss have been doing well against zerg is pretty much everything ArvickHero has said.
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Well... bisu is good in PvZ.
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On January 23 2011 14:37 Chimpalimp wrote: You all talk down like zergs are doing bad, you realize that 5 of the Ro8 players are zerg players and 2 of the final 4 OSL players were zerg.... You do realize that the OSL/MSL started months ago? If a whole Starleague would happen in an instant right now, you wouldn't seeing this many zergs that far in.
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10387 Posts
On January 23 2011 15:00 Lucumo wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2011 14:37 Chimpalimp wrote: You all talk down like zergs are doing bad, you realize that 5 of the Ro8 players are zerg players and 2 of the final 4 OSL players were zerg.... You do realize that the OSL/MSL started months ago? If a whole Starleague would happen in an instant right now, you wouldn't seeing this many zergs that far in. Well, Zergs got a lot better at ZvT I'd say, and most Zergs would still have a decent chance against your average Protoss.
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Estonia4504 Posts
On January 23 2011 15:03 ArvickHero wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2011 15:00 Lucumo wrote:On January 23 2011 14:37 Chimpalimp wrote: You all talk down like zergs are doing bad, you realize that 5 of the Ro8 players are zerg players and 2 of the final 4 OSL players were zerg.... You do realize that the OSL/MSL started months ago? If a whole Starleague would happen in an instant right now, you wouldn't seeing this many zergs that far in. Well, Zergs got a lot better at ZvT I'd say, and most Zergs would still have a decent chance against your average Protoss. Your average Protoss like... Violet? Stats?
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Can someone link to a recent VOD that showcase this new trend? I havent been following progaming lately =/
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On January 23 2011 15:07 skindzer wrote: Can someone link to a recent VOD that showcase this new trend? I havent been following progaming lately =/ just basically watch ANY recent bisu vs Zerg game..
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10387 Posts
On January 23 2011 15:05 mustaju wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2011 15:03 ArvickHero wrote:On January 23 2011 15:00 Lucumo wrote:On January 23 2011 14:37 Chimpalimp wrote: You all talk down like zergs are doing bad, you realize that 5 of the Ro8 players are zerg players and 2 of the final 4 OSL players were zerg.... You do realize that the OSL/MSL started months ago? If a whole Starleague would happen in an instant right now, you wouldn't seeing this many zergs that far in. Well, Zergs got a lot better at ZvT I'd say, and most Zergs would still have a decent chance against your average Protoss. Your average Protoss like... Violet? Stats? I guess Violet could fit the bill, depending on how his form is, and I would cut Stats as above average fsho. I was thinking more of Shuttle, Sun, Tyson, etc..
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Mappool is pretty nice too - even if there isn't really maps that protoss totally owns zergs, in WL it matters more that there isn't any single map that'd be really bad PvZ.
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On January 23 2011 14:32 henzi wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2011 13:56 Tazza wrote: I think it has to do with many different things. First of all, its that protoss are now getting greedy about the initial build order, like going 12 nex, forge nex, and making cannons as late as they can. Also, the zealot pushes are really strong, and sim city is often times not good enough.
The protoss now goes reavers often, which used to backfire often, but i think its being used a lot better now. I think the one thin that zergs don't do nowadays is HT snipe. Back when zerg dominated this MU, it was because zergs would often snipe HTs, and attack while there was no storm/make sure the toss didn't push because they don't have storm. You can't say "back when zerg dominated it was because they snipe HTs." The current Bisu build seems to favor only zealots, leaving gas to just teching to archives and cosairs for air domination. The games I've seen has the protoss taking air advantage and holding it throughout the game. The early zealot pressure also seems to force the zerg to spend larvae and can't effective save them up for the right muta timing for sniping. Also the current build relies less on high templars cuz you only see about 2 high templars in the 10+ or so zealot push. Exactly, which is why the MU changed so much. Toss are absolutely dominating air right now, and zergs right now just can't handle that. This is why there are far less HT snipes. And back when zerg did dominate, toss didn't control air, opting for more archons instead of corsairs, and now, toss opts for corsairs without archons and 1 or 2 cannons to stop mutas. Corsairs are far more mobile than archons, and stops mutas from sniping HTs. And 2 templars can really make all the difference in a PvZ fight. Yes toss do go more zealots, but come around mid to late game, it doesn't matter how much army you have as toss, because without HTs, toss gets absolutely hammered by zerg.
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Nothing like a PvZ thread to bring out the Bisu fanboyism. Other protosses aren't exactly mirroring Bisu's PvZ, especially since no other protoss as nearly Bisu's APM. I find that the general trend is that protosses aren't going for fast 3rd anymore. They basically use speedlots/sairs to gain map control, and turtle until the entire ball rolls out, which hard counters hydras. The late 3rd is also map dependent, as mains with less minerals prevent the protoss from turtling hard at the beginning. So with large number of patches at main/expo, protoss can stay on two base longer, allowing them more time to produce the dreaded protoss ball.
As for +1/speedlot attack, it has always been map-dependent. Because zerg rely on sim-cities to defend it. Bad zerg sim-city -> no drone-whoring -> no gazillion hydra to overrun tosses. It makes a ton of difference how many sunkens and lings you need to defend the zealots.
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On January 23 2011 15:31 manymunkies wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2011 15:07 skindzer wrote: Can someone link to a recent VOD that showcase this new trend? I havent been following progaming lately =/ just basically watch ANY recent bisu vs Zerg game..
Storks series v calm is a better answer. Seriously, every P is playing well v Z lately, not just Bisu.
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