EPTI did a little bit of an analysis on yesterdays WCS-Qualifier games. I was looking at Naniwas run and saw some really cool moves that I wanted to point out. Hope you enjoy reading!
The following will be mostly looked at from Naniwas perspective. That means we will often negate what Manas build is, unless Naniwa knew whats happening. The information we're talking about here is information that Naniwa actively had in-game. If not stated otherwise, its Naniwa doing what is written here.
Game 1 Naniwa vs Mana PvP [Overgrwoth]:
+ Show Spoiler +
Naniwa vs Mana PvP [Overgrowth]
Buildorderchoice: 3 Gate Pressure
[3 Stalker opener->19 supply 2nd Gateway->pressure with more Stalkers+MsC]
sidenotes:
-Chronos MsC once (to get it out a little earlier, fly around and check for a proxy SG)
-The 1st Stalker briefly scouts the 'left' side of the Map (opposite side of MsC scout), gaining information on a hidden probe/pylon/proxy
-2nd Stalker goes linear towards opponents base (to Watchtower if there is one like on overgrowth), 1st Stalker joins this one shortly. Make sure to not join too far out on the map with the '1st' Stalker but to bring the 1st one back and move in a linear way as well.
This is to prevent it being ambushed by 2-3 Stalker movements of your opponent. Always want to move linear so due to movement speed you cant lose either one.
-Proxyprobe can be send once the 3rd Gateway is being dropped (around 30 supply) -> get 1 safe proxypylon, another 'greedy' one close to your opponent
-MsC joins army after briefly scouting for proxies on the right side of the map (again generally speaking opposite to where your stalker scouts) -> joins the 'pressure'
what happened in the game:
-Naniwa sees 2 Stalkers, no 3rd joining means he can conclude its not a 3 stalker opener. So assume 1 gate tech here.
-> Stalkers over sentries is mostly either twilight or SG. Sentries+Expand often times rather Robo. Given the lack of Stalkers, Naniwa concludes its either DTs or SG -> Warps in next 3 stalkers (after 5 agressive Stalkers) [Oracle should hit at around 6.30-.40ish] to his main mineralline and drops a Robo.
Most times this will just be StarGate and you can fend of the Oracle with (at least!) 3 Stalkers. Given its SG you still have unit advantage and can keep on pressuring/containing etc. Robo is for the more unlikely 'DT', otherwise he'd drop a twilight. (that is if he sees the SG)
some cool nani' tricks:
Unlike most protosses Naniwa opts to not have the MsC over his army at all times but tries to flank the Stalkers of Mana completely from the back (so he gets a perfect timewarp behind them), add on top of that that Naniwa had the Stalker advantage, that was a really nice move to trade well. [He lost MsC but the Idea was great]
transition:
-Naniwa went for a twilight (on 1 base), expanded and researched Blink. The Blink research makes a lot of sense given that Mana could commit to a SG timing and due to his already high-ish Stalker count that he wants to make more value out of.
-In this paticular case he opts for delaying Sentry-production (cuts too much into Gas) and sends over an Observer for scouting. This is actually very important so he can squeeze out more Stalkers. Also sees an attack coming with the Observer.
'mid'game:
-Naniwa loses his Nexus against a Voidray/Stalker/Zealot/Sentry timing, thus finds himself behind and semi-contained
-> his response: Adds a 4th Gateway. I really like this response because this basically means he can spend excess minerals into more units. Knowing hes behind he is going to build more Stalkers/(units) and counterattacks. If it works, he either goes allin or expands behind it.
-> The counterattack here is absolutely critical. If Naniwa was not to attack here, Mana would be free to build probes. Due to the attack, Mana has a hard time deciding whether or not to build probes and decides not to be too greedy.
Naniwa whilst pressuring, throughout the game focuses on economy and scaring Mana into defense-mode, making it so that Mana is scared to build workers whilst Naniwa catches up in economy. ->They end up kind of evenish even tho Naniwa lost his Nexus earlier against Manas attack (See how crucial the attack was?)
-Going into the 3rd Base, Naniwa instantly grabs the Gases (->gimme more archons)
-As soon as Naniwa is spread out on 3ish+ Bases (and we see this as a characteristic over many of his games) he starts to use units/probes/pylons here and there for spotting.
conclusion:
This gives him a huge edge over Mana whos trying to be agressive. Mana uses his Stalkers on the right side and Naniwa decides to chase them due to the fact that he has spotters on the left side
(That enabled him to move out without being too scared of counterattacks from the left side). Mana was forced into a weird split-up scenario and twice fought with half of his army. -> Naniwa wins
Buildorderchoice: 3 Gate Pressure
[3 Stalker opener->19 supply 2nd Gateway->pressure with more Stalkers+MsC]
sidenotes:
-Chronos MsC once (to get it out a little earlier, fly around and check for a proxy SG)
-The 1st Stalker briefly scouts the 'left' side of the Map (opposite side of MsC scout), gaining information on a hidden probe/pylon/proxy
-2nd Stalker goes linear towards opponents base (to Watchtower if there is one like on overgrowth), 1st Stalker joins this one shortly. Make sure to not join too far out on the map with the '1st' Stalker but to bring the 1st one back and move in a linear way as well.
This is to prevent it being ambushed by 2-3 Stalker movements of your opponent. Always want to move linear so due to movement speed you cant lose either one.
-Proxyprobe can be send once the 3rd Gateway is being dropped (around 30 supply) -> get 1 safe proxypylon, another 'greedy' one close to your opponent
-MsC joins army after briefly scouting for proxies on the right side of the map (again generally speaking opposite to where your stalker scouts) -> joins the 'pressure'
what happened in the game:
-Naniwa sees 2 Stalkers, no 3rd joining means he can conclude its not a 3 stalker opener. So assume 1 gate tech here.
-> Stalkers over sentries is mostly either twilight or SG. Sentries+Expand often times rather Robo. Given the lack of Stalkers, Naniwa concludes its either DTs or SG -> Warps in next 3 stalkers (after 5 agressive Stalkers) [Oracle should hit at around 6.30-.40ish] to his main mineralline and drops a Robo.
Most times this will just be StarGate and you can fend of the Oracle with (at least!) 3 Stalkers. Given its SG you still have unit advantage and can keep on pressuring/containing etc. Robo is for the more unlikely 'DT', otherwise he'd drop a twilight. (that is if he sees the SG)
some cool nani' tricks:
Unlike most protosses Naniwa opts to not have the MsC over his army at all times but tries to flank the Stalkers of Mana completely from the back (so he gets a perfect timewarp behind them), add on top of that that Naniwa had the Stalker advantage, that was a really nice move to trade well. [He lost MsC but the Idea was great]
transition:
-Naniwa went for a twilight (on 1 base), expanded and researched Blink. The Blink research makes a lot of sense given that Mana could commit to a SG timing and due to his already high-ish Stalker count that he wants to make more value out of.
-In this paticular case he opts for delaying Sentry-production (cuts too much into Gas) and sends over an Observer for scouting. This is actually very important so he can squeeze out more Stalkers. Also sees an attack coming with the Observer.
'mid'game:
-Naniwa loses his Nexus against a Voidray/Stalker/Zealot/Sentry timing, thus finds himself behind and semi-contained
-> his response: Adds a 4th Gateway. I really like this response because this basically means he can spend excess minerals into more units. Knowing hes behind he is going to build more Stalkers/(units) and counterattacks. If it works, he either goes allin or expands behind it.
-> The counterattack here is absolutely critical. If Naniwa was not to attack here, Mana would be free to build probes. Due to the attack, Mana has a hard time deciding whether or not to build probes and decides not to be too greedy.
Naniwa whilst pressuring, throughout the game focuses on economy and scaring Mana into defense-mode, making it so that Mana is scared to build workers whilst Naniwa catches up in economy. ->They end up kind of evenish even tho Naniwa lost his Nexus earlier against Manas attack (See how crucial the attack was?)
-Going into the 3rd Base, Naniwa instantly grabs the Gases (->gimme more archons)
-As soon as Naniwa is spread out on 3ish+ Bases (and we see this as a characteristic over many of his games) he starts to use units/probes/pylons here and there for spotting.
conclusion:
This gives him a huge edge over Mana whos trying to be agressive. Mana uses his Stalkers on the right side and Naniwa decides to chase them due to the fact that he has spotters on the left side
(That enabled him to move out without being too scared of counterattacks from the left side). Mana was forced into a weird split-up scenario and twice fought with half of his army. -> Naniwa wins
Game 2 Naniwa vs Mana PvP [Catallena]
+ Show Spoiler +
Game 2
Naniwa vs Mana PvP [Catallena]
This game I will not go into too many details, most things still apply.
-Places his twilight as a proxy behind his natural mineralline. Why? Because not often will your natural be scouted and if there is MsC scout it will always go to your main! (You can proxy anywhere on the map, but if found its bad)
-As he already has the twilight and finds himself up against Blink when he himself opened DTs, he starts researching blink to have an easier time defending vs the Blinkstalker harrassment (due to mobility-issues otherwise)
-transitions into Robo bay (both do) because of the architecture of the map. Lots of cliffs,high-/lowgrounds, ramps to create good concaves etc. Map is not as open as a map like MerryGoRound where Immo,Chargelot,Archon excells.
-Again the spotting pylons for army movement/harrass
Naniwa vs Mana PvP [Catallena]
This game I will not go into too many details, most things still apply.
-Places his twilight as a proxy behind his natural mineralline. Why? Because not often will your natural be scouted and if there is MsC scout it will always go to your main! (You can proxy anywhere on the map, but if found its bad)
-As he already has the twilight and finds himself up against Blink when he himself opened DTs, he starts researching blink to have an easier time defending vs the Blinkstalker harrassment (due to mobility-issues otherwise)
-transitions into Robo bay (both do) because of the architecture of the map. Lots of cliffs,high-/lowgrounds, ramps to create good concaves etc. Map is not as open as a map like MerryGoRound where Immo,Chargelot,Archon excells.
-Again the spotting pylons for army movement/harrass
Game 3 Naniwa vs Mana PvP [King Sejong Station]
+ Show Spoiler +
Naniwa vs Mana PvP [King Sejong Station]
-Opts for a MsC scout (chronos MsC, sends it over the very left of the map)
-Like earlier with the Stalkers now sends a probe over the very right on the map (this will later be used for proxypylons, but now is doing the job of finding probes/pylons/proxies)
-This time Stalkers stay at home (IF MsC goes out to scout, Stalkers can stay at home unless you commit to 3 gate pressure)
-The MsC scout is VERY crucial to what Naniwa does here. He goes for 3 gate Blink and cuts the Robo out for now. The scout will confirm at around ~6min whether or not he needs a Robo.
reaction to what he scouts:
-Unlike Mana, Naniwa didnt opt for 3 gate Robo+Blink, he went 3 Gate blink. Seeing that Mana went for 3 Gate,Robo,Blink Naniwa knows if he delays or cuts the Robo out of his build, he can have more Stalkers than mana (3-4 not sure how many exactly)
-Naniwa uses this as his advantage to really ramp up the pressure, trades well and always keeps the Stalkercount a bit higher than his opponents
butbutbut shock he dies to DTs T_T:
-He can tell there is no DT shrine dropped down if hes relentlessly agressive and the Stalkercounts are close-ish. If there was a DT shrine there would be way less Stalkers (like 3-4 less, add on top of that the 3-4 less of the Robo).
Suddenly Mana would just die in terms of Stalker-count and Naniwa would play an instant Robo+Obs seeing the low Stalkercount. Thats also why the constant ultra-agressive playstyle in that game was very important.
-In fact, as soon as Naniwa traded poorly once (vs the Photon Charge) he instantly drops the Robo as Mana had a chance to warp in a Sentry and maybe a DT shrine in
the downtime of the agression. This is just a safety-measure by Naniwa because it does not hurt him too much to get the Robo here. Also, the Robo tells the story of 'Im going macro if this does not work out'. Despite the Robo, Naniwa still knew he was slightly ahead in Stalker-count and just traded his way to victory.
-Opts for a MsC scout (chronos MsC, sends it over the very left of the map)
-Like earlier with the Stalkers now sends a probe over the very right on the map (this will later be used for proxypylons, but now is doing the job of finding probes/pylons/proxies)
-This time Stalkers stay at home (IF MsC goes out to scout, Stalkers can stay at home unless you commit to 3 gate pressure)
-The MsC scout is VERY crucial to what Naniwa does here. He goes for 3 gate Blink and cuts the Robo out for now. The scout will confirm at around ~6min whether or not he needs a Robo.
reaction to what he scouts:
-Unlike Mana, Naniwa didnt opt for 3 gate Robo+Blink, he went 3 Gate blink. Seeing that Mana went for 3 Gate,Robo,Blink Naniwa knows if he delays or cuts the Robo out of his build, he can have more Stalkers than mana (3-4 not sure how many exactly)
-Naniwa uses this as his advantage to really ramp up the pressure, trades well and always keeps the Stalkercount a bit higher than his opponents
butbutbut shock he dies to DTs T_T:
-He can tell there is no DT shrine dropped down if hes relentlessly agressive and the Stalkercounts are close-ish. If there was a DT shrine there would be way less Stalkers (like 3-4 less, add on top of that the 3-4 less of the Robo).
Suddenly Mana would just die in terms of Stalker-count and Naniwa would play an instant Robo+Obs seeing the low Stalkercount. Thats also why the constant ultra-agressive playstyle in that game was very important.
-In fact, as soon as Naniwa traded poorly once (vs the Photon Charge) he instantly drops the Robo as Mana had a chance to warp in a Sentry and maybe a DT shrine in
the downtime of the agression. This is just a safety-measure by Naniwa because it does not hurt him too much to get the Robo here. Also, the Robo tells the story of 'Im going macro if this does not work out'. Despite the Robo, Naniwa still knew he was slightly ahead in Stalker-count and just traded his way to victory.
Game 2 Naniwa vs Hanfy PvZ [King Sejong Station]
+ Show Spoiler +
Naniwa vs HanFy PvZ [King Sejong Station]
-Opens up with a Forge-first (in anticipation of another hatch-first or 3-hatch-play like in Game1) -> Transitioned into Nexus,Cannon,Gate as Hanfy played Pool->Hatch.
-Naniwa goes for a SG (Phoenix opener), 4 Gate+Robo[+Bay] 3rd Base (very safe actually)
-Phoenixplay: Cleans Overlords, confirms that Zerg is not too greedy (confirms double spore per mineralline)
-As soon as he did some dmg and got information he uses the Phoenixes to float over the space between 3rd and 4th to lift any drones trying to take the 4th base (This slows down hanfys gas-accumulation and narrows down his techoptions)
What Naniwa saw/+midgame :
Basically, as soon as he takes his 3rd and starts queueing Collossus, he wants to make sure he knows what hes up against (at least a rough idea) so this is when he checks the main for some tech. He sees quick Double Evochambers.
-3 'agressively' Creep-spreading Queens, Speedlings, Double Evo Chamber -> Here he probably assumes Ling-heavy play with ling-upgrades
-Knowing he plays vs a lingheavy-opener he knows there is a timingwindow for him. As soon as the first collossus is out, he goes over and attacks Hanfys 4th base
->I cant stress enough how important this moveout is. For 2 reasons: First, you can maybe do alot of dmg like killing lings, queens and/or the 4th hatch. Secondly, you are forcing a LOT more lings.
This means there is less free-supply and larva (which we see as a ressource too, yes) for Hanfy to play with. The lings are kinda useless once the Protoss gets to 2+ Collossus and force the Zerg into a worse Armycomposition. If Naniwa did not move out, he would have probably dealt with a lot more Mutas int he followup.
-As soon as his agression is over, he opts for a phoenix-scout. Here he wants to confirm if hes playing vs Hive->Ultra or Lair->Muta. If you only see the Lair, its most of the times Mutas (quick 4th, quick 8 gases, lingupgrades+mutas work well together)
-As soon as he sees curropter/Muta he drops another SG (up to 2) and a quick Fleetbeecon for Phoenix range
-This is where spotting got really important again: Naniwa uses a Zealot/Probe and Observer to spot any kind of counterattacks/harrassment-attacks on the left side. This gave him the chance to stay on his Natural with his entire Army (Collossus,Blinkstalker)
whilst building Phoenixes. Thus Hanfy was unable to harrass the natural. Whilst defending he would buy enough time to mass on Phoenixes. If there was mutas coming from the left or lings, he would see it through his spotting and either split or warp in accordingly.
-Naniwa gets his 4th as soon as Mothershipcore(+Overcharge+Cannons) and the Phoenixflock is enough to deal with the Mutas on Main and Natural on their own so that his main army can spread out towards 3rd and 4th. Again, we have spotting zealots towards the watchtower (Incoming harrass attacks vs 4th)
conclusion:
After this, Naniwa engaged into Hanfys army and had a really good fight with Stalker,Archon,Phoenix. He killed several infestors and barely lost anything. Given that Hanfy was 5 base for a very long time, there was still some damage Naniwa had to do to really claim a big,big advantage in this game (Other than army and trading) so he knew he had to commit to do that now.
This is when he went absolutely ham on the agression, blinked agressively onto Hanfys reinforcements, killed base after base and basically forced Hanfy on a 1 base economy whilst in the back preparing for Hanfys SH-switch. Shortly after the game was over by Naniwa just rolling through with his army.
-Opens up with a Forge-first (in anticipation of another hatch-first or 3-hatch-play like in Game1) -> Transitioned into Nexus,Cannon,Gate as Hanfy played Pool->Hatch.
-Naniwa goes for a SG (Phoenix opener), 4 Gate+Robo[+Bay] 3rd Base (very safe actually)
-Phoenixplay: Cleans Overlords, confirms that Zerg is not too greedy (confirms double spore per mineralline)
-As soon as he did some dmg and got information he uses the Phoenixes to float over the space between 3rd and 4th to lift any drones trying to take the 4th base (This slows down hanfys gas-accumulation and narrows down his techoptions)
What Naniwa saw/+midgame :
Basically, as soon as he takes his 3rd and starts queueing Collossus, he wants to make sure he knows what hes up against (at least a rough idea) so this is when he checks the main for some tech. He sees quick Double Evochambers.
-3 'agressively' Creep-spreading Queens, Speedlings, Double Evo Chamber -> Here he probably assumes Ling-heavy play with ling-upgrades
-Knowing he plays vs a lingheavy-opener he knows there is a timingwindow for him. As soon as the first collossus is out, he goes over and attacks Hanfys 4th base
->I cant stress enough how important this moveout is. For 2 reasons: First, you can maybe do alot of dmg like killing lings, queens and/or the 4th hatch. Secondly, you are forcing a LOT more lings.
This means there is less free-supply and larva (which we see as a ressource too, yes) for Hanfy to play with. The lings are kinda useless once the Protoss gets to 2+ Collossus and force the Zerg into a worse Armycomposition. If Naniwa did not move out, he would have probably dealt with a lot more Mutas int he followup.
-As soon as his agression is over, he opts for a phoenix-scout. Here he wants to confirm if hes playing vs Hive->Ultra or Lair->Muta. If you only see the Lair, its most of the times Mutas (quick 4th, quick 8 gases, lingupgrades+mutas work well together)
-As soon as he sees curropter/Muta he drops another SG (up to 2) and a quick Fleetbeecon for Phoenix range
-This is where spotting got really important again: Naniwa uses a Zealot/Probe and Observer to spot any kind of counterattacks/harrassment-attacks on the left side. This gave him the chance to stay on his Natural with his entire Army (Collossus,Blinkstalker)
whilst building Phoenixes. Thus Hanfy was unable to harrass the natural. Whilst defending he would buy enough time to mass on Phoenixes. If there was mutas coming from the left or lings, he would see it through his spotting and either split or warp in accordingly.
-Naniwa gets his 4th as soon as Mothershipcore(+Overcharge+Cannons) and the Phoenixflock is enough to deal with the Mutas on Main and Natural on their own so that his main army can spread out towards 3rd and 4th. Again, we have spotting zealots towards the watchtower (Incoming harrass attacks vs 4th)
conclusion:
After this, Naniwa engaged into Hanfys army and had a really good fight with Stalker,Archon,Phoenix. He killed several infestors and barely lost anything. Given that Hanfy was 5 base for a very long time, there was still some damage Naniwa had to do to really claim a big,big advantage in this game (Other than army and trading) so he knew he had to commit to do that now.
This is when he went absolutely ham on the agression, blinked agressively onto Hanfys reinforcements, killed base after base and basically forced Hanfy on a 1 base economy whilst in the back preparing for Hanfys SH-switch. Shortly after the game was over by Naniwa just rolling through with his army.
Thanks for reading, ShoCk.
I also streamed the writeup if anyone is interested, the VoD is up.
Thank you! Yea i hope so too, it will also serve our game very well I think so (storylines etc.)
