EPTHey guys,
Yesterday I was scratching my head about how Zergs should play against Terran in HotS, but after watching Life's sick run through The MLG Winter Championship, I don't think anyone can argue the effectiveness of a Zergling-centric style. I've written down some (incomplete) observations, and was hoping others could contribute their notes as well.
Openings
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10Pool Opening:
10 Pool
Double extractor trick to 12/10
12 Overlord
12-15 Lings
15 Queen
17 Ling
18 Drones
20 Hatch
I'm really impressed with how well this opening went for Life. Most early pools rely on killing workers, but Life's version seems economic enough to transition well even without doing much damage. He only makes 8 Zerglings (not a huge commitment), and goes into an expansion and gas afterwards. He generally gets 100 gas for Speed, and periodically builds some Lings to shut down pressure. Sacrificing some economy for Zerglings seems to be a recurring theme in Life's games.
Hatch-First Opening
15 Hatch
17 Gas
16 Pool
17 Overlord
Drones out of gas after 100 (Though sometimes he left 1 in gas)
I didn't actually see Life play against Reapers with this opening, but with the early speed he'd probably hold with good micro. If you're interested in the next-steps of this build, check out Lowko's Video on Life.
10 Pool
Double extractor trick to 12/10
12 Overlord
12-15 Lings
15 Queen
17 Ling
18 Drones
20 Hatch
I'm really impressed with how well this opening went for Life. Most early pools rely on killing workers, but Life's version seems economic enough to transition well even without doing much damage. He only makes 8 Zerglings (not a huge commitment), and goes into an expansion and gas afterwards. He generally gets 100 gas for Speed, and periodically builds some Lings to shut down pressure. Sacrificing some economy for Zerglings seems to be a recurring theme in Life's games.
Hatch-First Opening
15 Hatch
17 Gas
16 Pool
17 Overlord
Drones out of gas after 100 (Though sometimes he left 1 in gas)
I didn't actually see Life play against Reapers with this opening, but with the early speed he'd probably hold with good micro. If you're interested in the next-steps of this build, check out Lowko's Video on Life.
Transitions:
+ Show Spoiler +
For the most part, Life played a +1/+1 Zergling-centric style of mid-game with Banelings and a delayed Lair for Mutalisks/Speed, but had a few variations:
Aggressive +1/+1 Speed-Baneling
This was just a sick timing that Life used to great effect in the finals. He went for very fast third and droned hard, but as usual still built enough Lings to get decent map control and vision. The vision was key for him, because he was able to hide a bunch of Lings mid-field to execute a massive +1/+1 Speedling/Baneling timings. The timing hit around 11 Minutes with about 30+ Banelings and who knows how many Zerglings. Perhaps an All-In (Or is it?) thread is in order. . .
Delayed-Lair Ling/Baneling/Mutalisk
By delaying Lair to 9:30/10:00, Life was able to keep a competitive economy while executing his usual +1/+1 Zergling-Centric mid-game. When Lair finished, he moved into Baneling Speed, 2/2, and Spire to complete a balanced mid-game. It seems inevitable that Widow Mines get some good connections with Zerg armies, but Life's army-splitting was on the ball. Once Overseers were on the field it was easier for Life to snipe those pesky mines. He used multi-pronged aggression to secure small leads, shut down drops with relative ease, and control the middle of the map. I wish I could multitask like that! In the later stages, Life added Ultralisks to tank/dps and Vipers to snag those Medivacs. So sick!
7:00 Lair / Mutalisk
After a few aggressive Baneling timings, Life switched it up and went for a 7:00 Lair, allowing him to start some unexpected Mutalisk harass as early as 11minutes.
Aggressive +1/+1 Speed-Baneling
This was just a sick timing that Life used to great effect in the finals. He went for very fast third and droned hard, but as usual still built enough Lings to get decent map control and vision. The vision was key for him, because he was able to hide a bunch of Lings mid-field to execute a massive +1/+1 Speedling/Baneling timings. The timing hit around 11 Minutes with about 30+ Banelings and who knows how many Zerglings. Perhaps an All-In (Or is it?) thread is in order. . .
Delayed-Lair Ling/Baneling/Mutalisk
By delaying Lair to 9:30/10:00, Life was able to keep a competitive economy while executing his usual +1/+1 Zergling-Centric mid-game. When Lair finished, he moved into Baneling Speed, 2/2, and Spire to complete a balanced mid-game. It seems inevitable that Widow Mines get some good connections with Zerg armies, but Life's army-splitting was on the ball. Once Overseers were on the field it was easier for Life to snipe those pesky mines. He used multi-pronged aggression to secure small leads, shut down drops with relative ease, and control the middle of the map. I wish I could multitask like that! In the later stages, Life added Ultralisks to tank/dps and Vipers to snag those Medivacs. So sick!
7:00 Lair / Mutalisk
After a few aggressive Baneling timings, Life switched it up and went for a 7:00 Lair, allowing him to start some unexpected Mutalisk harass as early as 11minutes.
I hope you all enjoyed the series as much as I did!
