EPT
First, I'd like to start with an explanation of what I'd consider the fundamental aspect of PvZ: Scouting. The best PvZ players understand the importance of this aspect, and center their play around being able to gather enough information and react accordingly. This is why the modern metagame of PvZ revolves so heavily around the Corsair--it's not because it's a great harassment tool against Overlords, or even a great anti-Mutalisk unit, but rather, it's because it is so damn good at scouting out the Zerg. In the hands of a good Protoss player, the Corsair will be actively scouting throughout the game, checking the tech, economy, unit composition, and positioning of the Zerg army, allowing for the Protoss to respond optimally to each situation. However, there's one catch: Protoss players will have to trade off economy, timing, and army strength in order to have this critical scouting tool. In almost every case, the tradeoff is worth it, so Protosses will almost always rush out that first Corsair in order to start scouting out the Zerg.
But if you're Jaehoon? Pfft, fuck that, you can just stream cheat for all that information! No need to dump precious mineral, gas and time on getting those Corsairs out quickly. Instead, those resources can be used to hit a faster, sharper timing to set up the Protoss for an even stronger midgame than normal. In order to maximize his chances to win, Jaehoon has cooked up a build that delays the Corsair, in favor for a faster timing attack with a stronger economy, placing the Protoss in an abnormally strong position in the midgame.
Admittedly, the build that Jaehoon had come up with is actually quite smart and flexible, and can actually be used in a fair game to some success. So, without further ado ...
The Build
A basic outline:
- Forge FE opening
- @100 Gas, research +1 Weapons
- Make Zealots out 1 Gate after Core is started (see note 1)
- Citadel of Adun when Core is done
- 2nd gateway (as money permits)
- Leg Speed (instantly)
- Stargate
- 2nd Gas (see note 2)
- ~5-6 zlots, or whenever speed is close to finishing, move out!
- 1-2 Cannons per Nexus, depending on the situation
Note 1: + Show Spoiler +
With your first two Zealots or so, you will want to use them to scout out the Zerg in order to find out what they're doing. Try to kill drones if you can, but the main purpose here is to figure out what the Zerg is doing. What you should be especially looking for are:
In the event where you scout out any Hydra cheese, you can use your scouting Zealots to buy time, while you make the appropriate amount of cannons at home. You may forgo the Stargate if you wish to, and responses can range from going straight to Templar tech, to making a huge amount of Zealots. Either way, you will need to buy some time and may need to build even up to 8+ cannons if the Zerg is going completely all-in with the Hydras.
A second gas will indicate either a Lurker drop or a Mutalisk all-in. Play safe and prepare accordingly.
Scouting the Zerg's Spire timing will allow you to fine-tune your cannon timing, as it takes 40 seconds for Mutas to build, and 50 seconds for Cannons to build. Typically, if the Zerg makes Mutas off of one gas, then you can use your timing to buy time as your cannons complete at home. If there is no Spire, you can go ahead and laugh at the Zerg.
- -Drone saturation, which can be an indicator of any sort of cheese rush
-Hydras
-Second Gas for Zerg
-Spire timing
In the event where you scout out any Hydra cheese, you can use your scouting Zealots to buy time, while you make the appropriate amount of cannons at home. You may forgo the Stargate if you wish to, and responses can range from going straight to Templar tech, to making a huge amount of Zealots. Either way, you will need to buy some time and may need to build even up to 8+ cannons if the Zerg is going completely all-in with the Hydras.
A second gas will indicate either a Lurker drop or a Mutalisk all-in. Play safe and prepare accordingly.
Scouting the Zerg's Spire timing will allow you to fine-tune your cannon timing, as it takes 40 seconds for Mutas to build, and 50 seconds for Cannons to build. Typically, if the Zerg makes Mutas off of one gas, then you can use your timing to buy time as your cannons complete at home. If there is no Spire, you can go ahead and laugh at the Zerg.
Note 2: + Show Spoiler +
If you are familiar with normal PvZ builds, you will notice how late this second gas timing is. This is because due to the delayed Stargate, Protoss has no need to build a second gas early on. The timing of the second gas will revolve on how you would like to transition from this opening build. If you would like to be a bit ballsy and slam down four more gateways for a faster midgame army set-up, you can build your second gas around the same time as your Stargate. If, instead, you choose to build up a +1 Corsair mass and tech to Templar right after your timing, you will need to build the second gas a bit earlier, perhaps around the same time you research Leg Speed. This is up to you
So to briefly sum it up:
Pros:
- Zealot timing comes at an earlier than usual timing, forcing the Zerg to sunken earlier, weakening their economy. Or you just end up killing them if they didn't adjust
- Late second gas gives Protoss a surplus of minerals to work with compared to +1 Corsair builds
- Delayed Stargate provides some flexibility in choice vs. Hydra busts, and midgame transitions
- Build allows for a nice variety of transitions after the timing attack, depending on how the Protoss wants to play.
- Really strong if you maphack or stream cheat.
Cons:
- Scouting is much more difficult (unless you're stream cheating or map hacking)
- Unreliable against good Zergs who are good at blocking scouting information and play unpredictably.
- Soft-countered by Mutalisk builds
Example VODs:
Bigfile USC - Jaehoon vs Killer Bo5
Bigfile USC - Jaehoon vs Hero Bo5
Overall, this is a nice surprise build that will net you wins against unprepared Zergs, but I wouldn't recommend this as your standard build of choice. Unless you're stream cheating, like Jaehoon, of course.
