
The Ro24 was a whirlwind of unexpected results with many fan favorites knocked out by the harshness of the pure Bo1 format, however it did come with games of quality you usually only see in the later stage of the the tournament, well not all of them, for we have a feature from Simplistik talking about all the Dos and mostly Dont's with high risk plays you can try in your daily ladder experience.
Followed up with the previews of first 2 groups in the Ro16 featuring both the former champ
Royal and the runner up
Rush in their own groups and other contenders like
Jaedong and
ZerO too.
This is going to be a fun week.
Followed up with the previews of first 2 groups in the Ro16 featuring both the former champ




This is going to be a fun week.

(Don't) Try This At Home kids!
Hyper-Aggro -


In Brood War, aggression is often correct. All-ins and timing attacks win significant numbers of games. And many high-level games revolve around who can do more economic damage. That's why vulture/reaver/lurker harrass is so common. The earlier the damage, the better. Thus we see Vulture openings, ling-run-by's, and forward gates.
So I can't fault Mini for aggression, or even hyper-aggression. When it works, it wins games and an improbable bust can be a thing of beauty. But there are limits. Aggression is not the correct move in EVERY situation. Sometimes you lose too much and accomplish too little. So here's a helpful review.
03:25
2 Zealots, 1 Probe for 3 Marines
Not worth it. But it didn't delay the Protoss expansion, and it had some potential, so probably still correct.
04:55
5 Probes for 3 Marines
Really not worth it. That vulture got in because Mini wanted to be aggressive with his goons.
08:45
1 Shuttle, 1 Reaver, 2 Zealots, 3 Goons for 2 Goliaths, 4 Tanks, 2 SCV's and 20s of mining time
Worth it. Thinning out tanks early is great. Most of the goons survived. Also managed to take a 3rd behind.
10:45
4 Vultures for 1 Goon, 13(!) Probes and later 2 (crucial) Templars
BINGO!
12:01
6 Vultures for 1 Goon, 1 Zealot
Not worth it on its own, but opened up the 4th expansion for further aggro.
12:44
2 Vultures for 2 Cannons, 4 Probes
Also shut down that expansion. Got more Probe kills later too.
BINGO!
13:15
2 Shuttles, 2 Zealots, 3(!) Reavers for 2 Goliaths, 1 Vulture, 1 Tank, 8 SCV's
This looked bad, and probably wasn't worth it, but Protoss was still up in supply afterwards and Terran didn't have a lot of eco. That D-Matrix!
14:43
2 Shuttles, 8 Zealots, 4 Goons for 4 Tanks, a few SCV's
Not worth it, but maybe better value than losing these units to the Terran push that killed two expansions. Could the push have been held though?
Despite the lopsided results of the aggression, Mini's counter-drops near the end of the game were clutch and put the result back in doubt. If that DT at 1 o'clock had saved the Nexus, then Mini would've been in a winning position.
Aggression is smart. Hyper-aggression is gambling.
Verdict: Just chill man! Try some moderation...
(Unless you're Mini. In that case, keep doing what you're doing. You create some great games.)
Triple Rock -


In a Bo3 rock-paper-scissors match, one of the strongest combos is triple rock. You need nerves of steel, but most opponents don't believe in the third punch. Maybe that is what Stork had in mind when he want Carriers three games in a row.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/ASL15/ASL15_Carriers.jpeg)
Carriers!
But there is a crucial difference between RPS and BW. Terrans have *SCANNERS*. And if you go 3-base Carriers, they will simply not miss it.
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/ASL15/ASL15_More_Carriers.jpeg)
More Carriers!!
There is also a crucial difference between me playing RPS and the Dinotoss playing TvP. Nobody remembers the last time Dino didn't go for Carriers. (Hell, he even went Carriers against Jaedong once!) Has he actually ever built an Arbiter on camera!?
![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/ASL15/ASL15_Even_More_Carriers.jpeg)
Even More Carriers!!!
Verdict: Go Carriers every game on ladder. Honestly, it's fine.
Guardians - ZvT
There were two attempts at guardians in ZvT (







Look away, this is pretty Brutal.



Bio pretty good.
Verdict: Get Lurkers.
Fast core -


You are Ruin. It's the Final Match, you are Protoss and your opponent is


This is not ideal.
You've seen the Ling timing. You only have 1 Zealot. You fail to plug the gaps with Probes. 4 Lings get in. They kill 2 Probes. You send two Zealots out. Then you build a Cannon. 3 more Lings arrive. The wall is still open. They kill the Cannon. They kill 4 Probes. Your Zealots do nothing. You are ruined.

GG
Verdict: Plug those gaps.
5-Pool Eco -


The best thing about 2-player maps is early Pool all-ins. And


Of course



![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/ASL15/ASL15_5Pool_Expand.jpeg)
Everything going to plan.
Strangely, from here on the timings favour


Behind 6 Lings,



![[image loading]](/staff/Simplistik/ASL15/ASL15_Whats_missing.jpeg)
What's missing?
In the end,


Verdict: 5-Pool Eco: 50% of the time it works every time!
Tower Defence
I have seen some let's say negative comments about





At 07:54




In the end

Verdict: Do try tower defence against Zerg!

Regal Tyrant
The group with the top seed, aka last season's winner,

Royal can't wish for a more perfect Ro16 group than this: 3 Zerg opponents. Many Terrans' TvZ is their best match up and for Royal this is no different. Last time I checked the valkyrie builds weren't solved by Zerg yet and I doubt we will see it be solved this group.



Channel your ultra instinct, JD!
Action, like Jaedong, also has the option to just focus on ZvZ for this round, but will he? Historically Action is good at all match ups. He is not a sniper nor a trained specialist vs any race. He does have a specialty however, it's his late game. His best chance to go late game this round is ZvT. And his best bet to get this ZvT is beating JD in his opening match and counting on Royal to not succumb to Shine, of which the latter does feel like a moderately safe bet. The opening matches are bo1 though and we all know anything can happen there... Anyway. How can Action first beat JD? Perhaps he can coinflip on a build order win vs JD? Action will have to be a gambling man to get out of this group.
Royal has been on top of his game since last ASL, he did not suddenly start slacking. He is the favorite to win this group, but who will join him in the Ro8? Jaedong with his limited stanima. Bag-of-Builds or late-game-Action? It's hard to pick a clear 2nd favorite to win. You can count on me to stupidly root (and LB) for Shine, but let's please the fans for this one and say Lee Jae Dong.



Popcorn Night!
You tell me its 3 Terrans in a Ro16 group and its going to be a long night, especially when




















There’s a lot of doubt in my mind over who would really take 2nd place among the trifecta of terran in the group, they’re all roughly similar at the moment, but I’d like to give the offline advantage to our runner up.


Writers: BLinD-RawR, Peeano, Simplistik
Graphics: v1, BLinD-RawR
Editors: BLinD-RawR
Graphics: v1, BLinD-RawR
Editors: BLinD-RawR