PvZ Spotlight

The Value of Preparation
Stephano vs. Flying


Messing with Timings
Curious vs. PartinG


Mutalisks Fly Again
Curious vs. PartinG, RorO vs. MC


Skytoss:
In WoL as it is in HotS
MC vs. Curious, Curious vs. PartinG


Code S on Liquipedia

by: monk

2012 brought us many predictable PvZs matches involving brood lords and infestors, with each game seeming more or less identical to the last. However, the final nerf to infestors ensured us more varied play near the end of Wings of Liberty. While it might have been a case of too little, too late, pro-gamers were forced to think more creatively than they had in months, and new layers were introduced to a match-up that had long since grown stale. As the final Wings of Liberty GSL draws to a close, let's take a look back at what PvZ looked like at the twilight of Wings.



Of Metagame Mind-games and Preparation
» EG.Stephano.RC vs. Woongjin_Flying, Code A Ro32

On the face of it, Flying vs. Stephano looked to be an easy win for the French Zerg. With a long losing streak in Proleague, Flying looked like he was tampering off, destined to remain on Woongjin's B lineup. On the other hand, Stephano is widely regarded as world class in the ZvP match-up, consistently revolutionizing it with his builds and strategies. Through on paper Stephano looked to be the superior player, Flying showed how big an advantage careful preparation could be against a relatively predictable player like Stephano. In fact, Stephano had made several public statements on how the preparation focused GSL did not suit his style, perhaps foreseeing a loss like this long before anyone else.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

In order to explain how Flying engineered a brilliant strategic victory against Stephano, we first need briefly explain the history of trends in modern ZvP. Pioneered by players like DRG and Stephano himself, the standard ZvP build for most of 2012 was a three hatch opening with a roach warren and evolution chamber plopped down around 7:00. At this timing, Zerg players can easily defend gateway pressures with the roaches and stargate plays with spore crawlers and queens. In addition, Zerg can choose to later pump out upgraded roaches and go for the kill against Protoss players as they take their third base. However, as Protoss players started abandoning attempts at very early pressure against Zerg and became more adept at defending against roach timings, Zerg players began to turn to more late game oriented builds.

Thus, the double evolution chamber, three hatchery opening was born. Instead of opting for such an early roach warren for pressure/defense, Zerg players would build two early evolution chambers to pump out both melee and armor upgrades for their ground units. This style helped Zergs defend better against the common mid-game, three-base Protoss pushes while making sure broodlings and cracklings (adrenal gland zerglings) would be more powerful once they were out.

Unfortunately, one big disadvantage of this build is its inability to deal with any sort of +1 four-gate pressure – the exact kind of pressures that were so easily stopped by the earlier, roach warren oriented builds. As no zergling upgrades will finish by the time this pressure hits, the Zerg often finds himself helpless against zealots that can two-shot these zerglings.

Going for no-roach builds against these types of +1 zealot pressures, Zerg only has two solutions. The first solution, which is to deny proxy pylons, requires extremely diligent scouting and isn't always reliable. The second, surprisingly effective strategy, is to just hope that the Protoss doesn't do this type of pressure. Though +1 four-gate pressure builds were extremely popular in late 2011(especially from HerO and MC), they soon saw less use as Zergs figured them out precisely, using perfectly timed roaches to deny the pressure and take an often game-winning economic lead.

However, as Zergs began playing more greedily by skipping the roach warren, these +1 zealot builds suddenly became viable once again. Normally, against a normal high level Zerg who isn't as exposed, these builds would be akin to a coin flip/all-in type strategy. But against Stephano, a player with more VODs and replays available to study than any other Zerg on the planet, it begins to seem like more than a 50/50 proposition.


Surely enough, Flying chose a +1 four-gate in game one (VOD) with a dark templar follow-up. After spotting Flying's lack of natural gas and his lack of a third base(surefire signs of gateway pressure), Stephano made the questionable decision to add two evolution chambers instead of preparing with a roach warren. To combat the warping in of zealots, Stephano flooded lings and even hastily added two spines. Unfortunately, under all this duress, Stephano was unable to scout the hidden dark shrine, and he soon found dark templars taking down his main.

As the Phoenix flies.

After a loss to roach pressure in the second game, Flying then turned to a build order from his teammate, sOs, in game three. In an interview, sOs once said of this build:
That build was a phoenix opening into four-gate +1 pressure, again designed to abuse double evolution chamber, low-roach count builds. Stephano, had learned from game one and built an early roach warren in order to deal with any straight-up versions of gateway pressure. Flying, however, was perfectly ok with this as his stargate opening was designed to throw Zergs off their rhythm. The stargate accomplished two major things:

• It threw Stephano off: Stargate macro openings are commonplace, but the gateway pressure follow-up is extremely rare and hasn't seen much use since late 2011. As soon as Stephano spotted a stargate, he assumed a macro build and immediately added a second evolution chamber for more upgrades, falling right into Flying's trap.
  
  
  

  
  Clear cause and effect relationship here, see phoenix -> build second evolution chamber.
  
  
• It denied overlord scouting: Without overlord scouting, Zerg must blindly account for all possible follow-ups, even this extremely rare pressure. Even though Stephano's response of a second evolution chamber and no roaches would have been great against 95% of Protoss builds, it completely failed against this one. Stephano chose to not play completely safe and was forced to pay the consequences.

In the end, Stephano had no answer against Flying's +1 zealots, and was forced to GG out of the series.

Flying's win over Stephano was less a demonstration of his superior play but of his superior preparation. Flying carefully chose his builds, using an extremely rare build in game one to abuse Stephano's tendencies in the current metagame. Then, when Stephano had adapted to retro +1 four-gate pressure, Flying chose another rare, metagame abusing build. By using a stargate to trick Stephano, Flying once again defeated him with +1 zealots, despite the fact that Stephano had it in mind.




Messing with Timings
» ST_Curious vs. SKT_PartinG, Code S Ro8 - (VOD)

One of the most infamous strategies in the PvZ match-up is the "Soul" immortal-sentry all-in and no one is more renowned for this push than Parting. As Curious was on the same team as Parting for over a year, and had even lost to this push before in a previous tournament, he was sure to be extremely familiar with its deadliness as they headed into their Ro8 match. But instead of practicing a counter that involved directly holding off the push, Curious went for an alternative route.

Your soul is mine!

As with other famous all-ins before it, one of the biggest reasons the immortal all-in is so strong is the timing at which it hits. Parting's build is especially incredible in its refinement, designed to strike at the 9:40 mark, give or take ten seconds. However, this timing can only be attained by a specific build order that includes calculated corner cutting, and can only be safely done when a Zerg opponent opens with a textbook, three-hatch build.

Curious turned this assumption on its head, opening with early 11 pools twice against Parting. Of course, Parting could have still opted for an adjusted immortal all-in after holding off the early pressure, but his timings would have been off and he would no longer have been as confident that his push would work. And though this decision to open with early pools might normally put him behind, Curious was willing to take that potential hit in order to not have to deal Parting's dreaded all-in. The tactic proved successful as Parting went for macro games in every game of the series, abandoning his signature build.

There was yet another level of deviousness to Curious' planning. After opening with six lings in game one, he only popped out two in the second game. This ensured that after "training" Parting in game one, Curious could force him to over-prepare for the possibility of lings in game two.


While his choice of early pool openers was an intelligent way for Curious to seal off his opponent's most dangerous build and get in his head, it was only one of many reasons he was able to score a 3 - 0 victory over his old teammate. Another, possibly more important strategic decision from Curious involved resurrecting a long abandoned unit...



The Return of the Mutalisk

With the recent infestor nerfs, Zergs have been turning to alternative ways to beat Protoss. The two units that have been the most resurgent are two old staples of the match-up in the hydralisk and the mutalisk. In the later stages of 2012, these units became almost non-existent in the PvZ match-up, but now Zergs are beginning to see them as viable choices. Let's look at mutalisks in particular, as they played a major part in the most recent GSL.

In late 2011, mass mutalisks was at the peak of its power in PvZ. Fueled by favorable mutalisk maps where defending three bases was extremely difficult (Tal'Darim Altar, Dual Sight, etc.), Zerg players of all levels were frustrating Protoss players to no end. Eventually, Protoss improved their builds and execution against these flying menaces, the extremely favorable mutalisk maps were phased out, and Zergs found more effective strategies such as those involving roaches and infestors. However, many Zerg players still found mutalisks to be an effectve way to mix-up their game, and it remained a very viable strategy. It took an upgrade called Anion Pulse-Crystals to finally seal the mutalisk coffin shut.

In Feburary of 2012, Blizzard finally responded to complaints about mutalisks in the PvZ match-up and gave Protoss a new tool to deal with mutalisks. This turned out to be an upgrade to the phoenix researched at the fleet beacon, giving them the range to kite mutalisks indefinitely. Previously, normal stargate openings were ineffective against mutalisks because of the ability of the mutalisks to overwhelm phoenix production with sheer numbers, and the impossibility of actually microing phoenixes against mutalisks. With the new range upgrade, a small fleet of phoenixes could take on much larger numbers of mutalisks.

Between the release of this patch in Feburary of 2012 and the end of 2012, fast mutalisk play was almost non-existent in the PvZ match-up for fear of a stargate opening, which now hard countered fast mutalisk openings. Zerg players who didn't adapt quickly enough immediately paid the price:

• HerO vs. Curious on Metropolis from GSL 2012 Season 2, played 3/27 - VOD
  
• HerO vs. Stephano on Entombed Valley from EGMC, played 5/8 - VOD
  
• MC vs. Stephano on Entombed Valley from IPL Fight Club, played 5/10 - VOD

Each of these games was played shortly after the phoenix patch when Zerg players were not so aware of the powers of this new phoenix. And in each of the games, the mutalisks were easily killed off by a fleet of kiting phoenix resulting in an easy win for the Protoss. This threat of ranged phoenix combined with the fact that phoenix openings are by far the most common openings in macro PvZ seemed to kill of the viability of mutalisks for good.

So what happened in 2013? In both PvZ quarterfinal series in this GSL, we saw mutalisk play being used to great success even against stargate openers. Had something changed drastically in the metagame or, had players just forget how to play? To delve into this question, let's take a look at each game individually:


» PartinG vs Curious, Game 1 on Daybreak - VOD

Parting opened with a stargate, but only made two phoenixes, sacrificing phoenix count for a faster expansion. He then scouted double evolution chamber and an infestation pit and automatically assumed standard infestor play. Although he was surprised by the mutalisks, he played beautifully to ensure he didn't fall as behind as much as he might have had. In this particular game, Parting made the correct choice to opt for a stalker/templar-based defense instead of a phoenix-based defense as belatedly increasing his phoenix count would not have been able to combat mutalisks Curious had already amassed.

However, I will comment that Parting's build did not seem to consider mutalisks as a possibility. Though neither side took any economic damage in the early game, Parting looked quite far behind when the mutalisks arrived at his base as he had neither a high stalker count with templar incoming nor a high phoenix count when the mutalisks came (one of these is generally required to not get torn to shreds by mutalisks). Though Parting made a game out of it with great decision making and micro, you can't help but think that he was not playing from an ideal start.



» PartinG vs Curious Game 2 on Bel'Shir Vestige SE - VOD

Game two seemed to be set up perfectly for Parting. He opened with a healthy amount of phoenixes and scouted Curious' spire early in the game. But when no mutalisks came, Parting became confused, wondering if he had been tricked again. Autopilot kicked in yet again as Parting once again hopped towards blink and colossi for possible infestor tech. When Curious' delayed mutalisks finally did show their faces, Parting was caught off-guard yet again. He started building a templar archives only to shortly realize that it was the wrong path so late in the game, canceling it in favor of a fleet beacon while mutalisks continued to ravage his base. Unfortunately, that choice was too late as well, as Parting's investment into three different tech paths of phoenix, blink stalkers and colossi left him decidedly unfocused in any one of the three. It almost seemed like he was facing this stargate vs. mutalisk scenario for the first time in months and was scrambling to remember how to properly play the situation.



» RorO vs MC Game 1 on Bel'Shir Vestige SE - VOD

RorO vs. MC on Bel'Shir Vestige had a similar feel as Parting's game on the same map. MC opened with a stargate build and held off early roach aggression, catapulting himself into the lead. After killing three queens, there seemed to be no way a player of MC's caliber could lose the game. However, MC's improper scouting and an assumption that RorO would follow-up with infestors meant that mutalisks would be ravaging his bases shortly.

Even after spotting the mutalisks, MC's reaction was remarkably slow, only adding a fleet beacon a full minute after the first sighting the mutalisks, and only adding additional phoenix even later. Perhaps MC had over-thought the situation, thinking that RorO would not dare to go mutalisks after his spire was scouted. In any case, with a low phoenix count and no range upgrade, MC would soon be overrun by RorO's sheer numbers.



No big deal?

The conclusion? Mutalisks have not gotten suddenly better; Protoss players are just being surprised by mutalisks because they're so uncommon. Protoss players need to scout more carefully and be mentally prepared for mutalisks so that if an early spire does present itself, they quickly take the appropriate measures to curb any unnecessary damage. If Wings of Liberty continued on, I'd make the daring prediction that we'd start to see Protoss players holding them much more often with phoenixes, and Zergs abandoning the strategy once again, after taking advantage of it briefly.



The Advent of Sky-toss

With the recent nerfs to both fungal growth range and infested terrans, the shape of late game PvZ has been changing drastically. Previously, players had been trying carrier compositions in PvZ with mixed success. While sometimes effective, they were more often than not shut down cold by split map scenarios, fungals on interceptors, spores, and infested terrans. But with the advent of the new changes, the void ray began to see a return to late game PvZ. Especially because infested terrans now do atrocious damage against heavily upgraded void rays, Protoss have now been attempting late game PvZ with sky-toss compositions not just in HotS, but WoL as well. The ultimate Protoss army now seems to consist of a mothership, ~4 carriers to siege, archons and templars to deal with corruptors and infestors, and the rest mass void rays. Now Protoss seems to be able to better compete with late game turtle Zerg, causing Zergs to switch up their strategies even more. The following two games from GSL especially show off this composition.

» MC vs Curious, Game Three- VOD
» PartinG vs BBoongBBoong, Game Two - VOD



Zerg Adaptation to Sky-toss

In one of his games against Parting in the GSL quarterfinals, Curious made a small adaptation to the new late-game skytoss compositions (VOD, Game One). In this game, Curious opened mutalisks and then transitioned into brood lords with double spire. The adaptation he made was to cut ground upgrades altogether, favoring fast air upgrades instead, something that has never been done in brood lord-based PvZ before. This seems like a rather curious decision, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. After all, ground upgrades are mainly useful for three purposes:

• Holding three base Protoss pushes - Since Curious opened mass mutalisks against a relatively unprepared Parting, he realized that a ground-based push would not be possible for the Protoss player. If Parting would indeed push, Curious would rely on base trading instead of fighting the army head on.
  
• Mitigating Protoss Warp Prism harass - With the excess of minerals Curious had stockpiled from building only mutalisks, brood lords, and infestors, Curious could afford some of the biggest forests of spore and spine crawlers we'd ever seen. Instead of partially relying on a mobile force of units to defend drops, Curious would rely completely on spine crawlers.
  
• Added damage on broodlings- Against a ground-based army, added damage and armor on broodlings would be nice. But knowing the current air metagame of PvZ and specifically Parting's tendencies to go into air, as shown by his game against BBoongBBoong, Curious successfully predicted that Parting would head towards the skytoss route. Thus, Curious chose to save his gas on these upgrades in favor of more corruptors and infestors to combat the Protoss air army.

This small adaptation is just one in a series of small tweaks Curious made to his PvZ to specifically prepare for the opponent he had before him. While many were surprised at Curious' advancement to the semifinals, the amount of refinement and innovation that can be seen in his play showed that he deserved it.




And there you have it, PvZ at the very end of Wings of Liberty. With both Parting and MC dropping out of the GSL, so goes the last hopes of a final Protoss GSL champion. We say goodbye to WoL PvZ and look forward to what the introduction of units like the tempest and swarm host will bring in HotS.

Writers: monk.
Graphics: Meko.
Editor: Waxangel.