With the addition of two new maps, Sparkle and Transistor, to the ASL5 map pool, there is a possibility that new strategies will emerge or that zerg will become extinct like during SSL10! In order to further our understanding of the maps and their quirks, we have enlisted the help of ex-pro and Australian extraordinaire, Legionnaire. Feel free to comment below and happy reading!


A word of warning. I have not played on these maps. This is simply a statement of how I see these maps, and how I think they might play out.

Having said that, boy, am I excited about how this season might play out. After last season where all the Protosses were routed early with only Bisu making the semi finals, I can feel the balance returning to its natural order for this season. What natural order? Well, it gladdens my heart to see that they finally have some evenly balanced maps this season! That’s right. Sparkle. An air map, where the mighty corsair fleet can reign supreme like the just lords of the universe they are!

All jokes aside, it will be very interesting to see how an air map will play at the elite level. Most air maps in tournaments were mostly mainland maps with an air starting location (think Neo Forbidden Zone etc). But there have been many advancements in map design since those days. So will this usher in a new era of island maps in professional play? Or will this continue to be the Zerg death-zone everyone expects?

My only disappointment is that the Valkyrie sprite bug never made the final patch, or else we truly would see some revolutionary play.

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Now, onto the main event. I managed to talk to a number of my old Pirates Of Space teammates over in Korea, and asked for a 30 second evaluation of the two new maps. Here are their thoughts:

Please note: This was an English to Korean translation request.. Then Korean to Korean to English translation response! So, there will be some 'lost in translation' parts.


Sparkle:
Transistor:

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With special thanks to Hyeong Seok Seo (POS Coach - and KESPA employee) as he asked his friend Rohan Kim from KESPA, who was a manager of a company which made maps for Starcraft tournaments, to comment:

Sparkle:
Transistor:

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Transistor:
Leg's Note: The above was said (mostly - but not entirely) in jest, as they were busy playing PUBG at the time. And I didn't want to incriminate the individual. However, I liked the quote and wanted to include it!

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Sparkle:
Transistor:

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Transistor/Sparkle:

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General Description:
Some details for this map can be found liquipedia.net. However, my first thoughts are this:
- It’s an island map?!
- Peculiar natural gas blockers.
- Zerg only "third" gas blockers.
- Random NPC lairs.
- 4 player mirrored map, main has 3 exps. Next island has 1. However you should skip this and take another main.
- ZvP, i’m expecting hydra drops to try and win early.
- Due to base locations, and pathing, it will be hard to intercept drops early.

Map Overview:
Expand Paths
Natural expansion paths can be seen below. Protoss and Terran will have a choice, of pushing towards the enemy and taking a 1 base expansion, to try and choke the enemies movements (B2), or to just take the double base to the side. (B). I don't really expect them to mine from D/E unless their mains run out and they start long distance mining.

Zerg on the other hand, can easily take their entire main at will, before looking for alternate spots.


Peculiarities
In Red, we can see the neutral lairs and accompanying bonus creep for Zergs. While the orange shows the 'Z' Zerg only gas expansion, while the circle shows one that requires destruction for non Zerg races to use.


Drop movement
The middle is easily the most airborne friendly. Allowing a large range of safe movement options. The orange areas show un-buildable central locations, which will (generally) provide safe passage. The green shows the natural pathways when attacking a main or natural.

Some strange outliers are the areas with the red markings. I find it interesting that the left and right sides allow all races to build defensive structures on the secondary island. However, top and bottom are Zerg only unless the lair is destroyed. This is a consideration for harass style players, as a single turret/cannon on the vertical paths can render that passageway useless, however, sideway movement remains free.


Expectations:
The story on this map, is Zerg and Zerg alone.

Ever since the release of Brood War, Zerg has always been the main concern with island maps. For so long, when on equal footing, they just can't get the air control due to corsair/irradiate and M&M combo.

But advances in map design on obstacles has been significant since the last time an air map was even considered. The natural has a gas blocker, and the third easily accessible expansion is effectively Zerg only. The additional neutral lairs can also play a part. They allow for fast nydus expansions, or for additional spore placements for the crucial early detection. The only question that remains is will this be enough to tip the balance back in their favour? I don't think it can, but time will tell.

Zergs don't have many choices. Fast hydra drop or take another main and go for ensnare/muta/scourge/devourer.

To be honest, I'm not sure how those ‘random lairs’ on the map will play out. If utilized and a quick spore is added, this could give the information needed to sneak some overlords across away from the marauding corsairs. And if the Protoss has gone two stargate corsairs, they wont have enough defense to stop the drop. The map is definitely wide enough to sneak some overlords through.

As for the other matchups, as with all pure island maps, I think almost all games will revolve around who manages to successfully control another main first. It really becomes a battle between starvation and suicidal attacks versus, the slow battle of attrition trying to take heavily fortified positions.

Dangers:
- For Zerg against Protoss - Corsair (with web) and Reavers.
- For Terran against Protoss - Have to survive the early reavers. Manage to secure the expansion and do enough damage to stop the inevitable carriers.
- For Protoss against Zerg - Fast hydra or ling drop. Late game, ensnare and plague.
- For Protoss against Terran - Simply can not allow Terrans to take another main. Map scouting is crucial. Drops can't unload on island maps, so catching them is crucial. Also, have to ensure you kill the Terran before it becomes a stalemate, as Terrans will win with Yamato Cannon, or Siege range.
- For any against Terran - The galactic turtle, slowly spreading their dominion over the map.

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General Description:
Some details for this map can be found liquipedia.net. However, my first thoughts are this:
- 3 player map. Mid left is more harassable, however that position also has more basic map control and is closer than other bases in distance. If they can survive the early harass, they will be in a good position to ‘choke’ the other players control of the map.
- A lot of narrow passageways and choke points.
- High ground is very important to maintain flanking abilities and if Terran takes them, you can’t even use the bottom pathways below them. So, it’s a long trek around.
- Terran is going to bunny-hop up and kill expansions.
- Peculiar double ramp into main, however, long path to 2nd entrance.
- There is more than enough room ‘to build a siege tank’ in the main - but maybe only 1

Map Overview:
General Musings
The main has 10 minerals, and the natural 8. Each one has 1 that is only 499 minerals. So a third of normal. While the rest are normal. This is a healthy starting count which as POS_Shark has indicated will help with Protoss and Terran forces. Further to this, the next 2 easy to obtain bases both have 8 minerals and full gases. I think in part this is to help in the late game where Zerg can generally control the third main. It should result in mildly less death from starvation as can often occur in PvZ games at least.

All outer expansions are protected on the edge side. So forces can't hide behind the mineral patches in an easy manner.

Strangely, the left side base has two weird mineral patches that are not present in the right side base. I suspect that this is to do with weird unit pathing, where they require a mineral to click to move away from their base? I am not exactly sure, but it is definitely a strange addition.

You can see the strange mineral patch locations in orange below. While the Blue squares, are rough approximations of the screen size, showing the large distance between the right hand side bases, and close proximity middle is to both.


Symmetrical Issues - Harass
The main problem with all 3 player maps, is that not all start locations are equal. The corners always end up being the safest from harass simply because there is only a 90 degree attack arc available for their enemy. Here again, we see the middle left base will have the hardest time.


Symmetrical Issues - Attack lengths
Starting distance comparison. As we can see, the right hand side bases are further apart. With the left hand side closer to both, this if utilized correctly could allow the middle player to try and cut the map completely in half. If they can succeed at that, it will give themselves 2/3rds of the map.


Unit pathing if middle is blocked
Terran area of control is huge. With two siege tanks, they can effectively control the middle movement, and as you can see by the green arrows, its a long way around to rejoin the fight from a different angle.


Tanks are OP (Editor's note: Legionnaire pls!)
On the left side, we see the range of control that siege tanks can exert (red triangle is the next bases' high ground). So, 1 tank just below the cliff can almost completely cut off the pathway. While on the right, we can see the expected next move from terran to choke off their opponents. Bunny hopping up the cliff with support from below.


Expectations:
While Sparkle had concerns with Zerg, this map appears on the surface to have issues with Terran.

Unit pathing is going to be the big concern on this map. If Terran can do their usual creeping tank 'defensive offense', then it will severely limit map movement. The natural expansion is so close to the center, providing a clear path to dominating the enemies' unit movement in the center. Thus, forcing other races to have to either immediately engage the tank push, or be forced to surrender the position. However, avoiding the middle requires the player's units to travel a long way to re-engage. Both Zerg and Protoss will need ways to counter this.

Generally, Zerg can utilize close encounter maps like this by abusing their enemies inability to flank by using lurkers. However, as the game drags on, the reverse is true, and they can't flank with swarms of units. Small efficient forces is the key.

Careful Consideration:
- This map SHOULD play out two different ways, depending on the start location. Mid left is more harassable, but can exert more control on the map once established.
- If you lose control of the middle versus Terran or lose the high ground, you are in serious trouble. They will be able to attack at will, and it is a long trek around to either attack or defend. Holding these points is key.

Dangers:
- For Protoss against Terran - Slow tank bunny-hop through the middle.
- For Terran against Protoss - Wide open natural expansions will be dark templar or reaver heaven.
- For Zerg against Terran - Flanking will be quite difficult. Also, attacking around the sides will be inefficient if Terran control the high ground which can be held nicely with a few M&M forces.
- Any against Zerg - Mutalisks, due to the proximity and large area of the natural. It will be easy for Zergs to run in and snipe units and buildings, and hard to send any sneaky forces to counter simply due to the distance.

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Will the extra gas advantage and neutral lairs help to balance out Zergs natural disadvantage on the air map?

Will Tanks play as key of a role in map control as expected?

Well, it will be only a few days until we find out! No matter how it turns out, we will definitely be seeing different builds and strategies in this ASL compared to prior ones.

May the true masters of the sky, the mighty Protoss reign supreme!

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