PiG Daily Articles

Welcome to the PiG Daily strategy article! The PiG Daily is a show by Jared "PiG" Krensel that focuses on StarCraft 2 strategy and becoming a better player. We've joined forces to create an article series that summarizes his dailies into short, digestible articles that provide insight on builds, tactics and game sense. By combining with Spawning Tool, this series will bring you the most comprehensive learning experience for build orders and strategies.

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Harstem is a household name in the Starcraft scene, but it wasn’t until the first half of 2016 that he finally tamed the “Year of Harstem” meme by winning back-to-back championships. He finally showed that brilliance we always knew he had. However soon after, his results fell off.

IEM Katowice was a chance to change all of that - he trained his ass off preparing himself for one of the biggest events of the year. In the end though, few of his matches were broadcast, and many fans assumed this was yet another uninspiring early exit for the Dutch Protoss. However all of Harstem’s series were close fought. He took a map in all the series he lost except against Alive who dominated the group stage, and he actually defeated the eventual runner up, Stats, 2-0.

Link to the Spawning Tool Build

Harstem's Skytoss PvP

Today’s show is about Harstem’s impressive and innovative Skytoss PvP. Stats looked lost trying to fight against this, and I’m not going to be able to provide any easy answers. This style seems very solid. On some maps, it might even be overpowered.



This is a very standard build. Getting 2 early gas in PvP is fine, and your timings aren't as delayed as you would think. Harstem told me that he played a little risky (late Mothership Core) because he knew Stats' style and felt comfortable on these maps. Just as he expected, Stats fakes 2 zealots and takes an early nexus instead. The nexus and stargate immediately after that is a response to Stats' build order. The game from here becomes a series of improvisations and game sense.

The Flow of the Game

The Phoenix Game of Chicken (4:00)

After the initial oracle, protoss players need to decide on what unit to get next. Most of the time, the answer is phoenix. As we've covered before, gaining the phoenix lead is invaluable, especially leading into the mid game where phoenixes truly show their power.

Harstem starts a phoenix to prepare for a potential oracle and to take an early lead in the phoenix count, but he scouts a notable number of sentries in the natural. This means that there is no fast stargate from Stats, so he cancels the phoenix and builds a void ray instead.

* Harstem cancels the void ray after spotting the hallucination to go back into phoenix—a very important reaction that should have been correct. However, upon realizing that it's a hallucination he goes back into VRs.

The Second Stargate (5:45)

Harstem's composition of choice is immortal voidray. Both units decimate stalkers, which is the natural protoss anti-air of choice. It's up to Stats to figure out a counter for this composition now that Harstem's production is in full swing. As a mid-game army, immortal void ray sounds almost unbeatable once you've amassed a good number, and it only gets stronger with the addition of disruptors. Archons are a good choice too since they can effectively counter carriers in this composition. +3 and guardian shield just make this group of units terrifying.

A Hypothetical Counter

Scouting is very important. Immortal void ray is weak in small numbers because they can be overwhelmed by stalkers and good control. However, Stats shows in game 2 that an overcommitment to stalkers is also not a solution. His game 1 pressure seems more effective, and it's imperative to expand very early to get an economic lead.

As for a composition, it's difficult to say. Storm is good against clumping void rays, but it will depend on your control. A strong storm/archon/blink timing just before he reaches a critical mass might be the best answer to this build. Stats, one of the best protoss in the world, appeared bewildered, and I guess we are too.

Harstem:

The End (for your opponent)

The key leading up to the late game is protecting yourself from harassment. VR and immortals are very immobile, so having VR patrols around your base and spotting pylons is essential. Cannon up if you have extra minerals—which you should have if you've been expanding at a good pace. Having your oracle alive is also a bonus, because tagging his stalkers or adepts or warp prism can save you precious seconds in your defense.

At 9:30, Stats realizes he's on the clock and tries to goad Harstem into moving out. The Dutch protoss knows he has the superior late game army and he just has to sit there until he's ready to steamroll through the map. Being a base down isn't too worrisome as long as you know that your opponent is stuck in his tech and isn't transitioning into something superior.

At 11:00 Harstem has 10 voidrays, 3 disruptors, 3 immortals + guardian shield vs pure blink stalkers. Harstem is confident pushing out knowing he can get out on the map whilst taking his 4th—and Stats can do nothing to stop him. It is too late for Stats to transition and Harstem obliterates him in a very one-sided fight.



Harstem:

A Slight Variation

With one win on his tally, Harstem sticks with his build on Proxima with some minor changes. Proxima is a great map for skytoss, but maps such as Abyssal Reef and Honorgrounds are just as good because of their narrow chokes and pathways.

The first notable change here is the slightly delayed stargate. As you can see, Harstem squeezes in an earlier pylon behind his mineral line in order to hide the stargate from a probe scouting at the front. PvP is all about mindgames, and this slight wrinkle in the build is intentional.

It’s always interesting when you have these ultra defensive maps — the mindgames can get quite intense between the best players in the world. As I rewatch this series I really think it’s clear that Stats is a master of ground based PvP, but not so comfortable going into the static skytoss style himself. Even though he pushes his economy really well in this game, we’re going to see him fail to make anything effective happen. I’m very curious to see what mindgames are happening on EU ladder though, where everyone is fighting to control the skies.

4:30

Harstem opts for fast double stargate. This can be risky on smaller maps with wide open ramps, but Proxima is easy to defend with good positioning and the right number of units. Double stargate to open is a calculated risk because getting a lead on the phoenix count this early can pay dividends through harassment very quickly.

5:30

One minute into the harassment, Harstem has already scored a large handful of probes. His voidray immortal transition is already in the works, but it must be noted that this is obscenely greedy of him. On a different map like Newkirk, the blink timing would have crushed him.

6:00

Harstem's defense is calm and calculated. He holds with the minimum number of units because of his patience. Instead of immediately lifting stalkers, he waits for them to get in range of overcharge before plucking them into the air. Stats dances so well by getting shots off before pulling back just as the phoenixes threaten, but it's just not enough. He commits to a swath of stalkers and only damages a pylon. In the immortal words of Maynarde: "that's NOTHING."

7:00 to 8:00

After the failed attack, Stats sits back and tries to compensate with his economy. However, Harstem spots the third base and soon after, the templar transition. Harstem's voidray and immortal army is growing.

From here it’s quite a simple assessment from Harstem. I can imagine him thinking, “You committed a LOT to those stalkers and I’ve scouted your 3rd behind it. I know you’re up on econ - but your army is USELESS vs VR/immortal." He counterattacks immediately before Stats can get up ideal army of HTs, adepts and stalkers. The Korean protoss is quickly overpowered in an impressive 2-0 performance by Harstem.