EPTIts nothing new to learn that Protoss preformance has not been up to par as of late, in fact its reached an all time low in which Protoss have never before experienced within WoL. With top Protoss such as MC and Alicia falling to Code B Protoss hope has began to diminish and crumble and exceed beyond our reach.
Terran and zerg have won, MC's dedication, everything he fought for - undone. Any chance he gave at fixing our race dies with MC's loss. We bet it all on him. Monster took the best of us and tore him down. Protoss will lose hope of another Code S victory.
But they won't, they must not know of the others.
MC in Code B, Puzzle in a group of death? You can't sweep that up!
No but Protoss cannot abandon hope, Aiur needs its true hero.
No!
You either fall to Code B or live long enough to adapt to the metagame, they can do those things because they aren't QQers, they aren't MC or Alicia, they're innovaters, thats what they can be.
No, no they cant, they're not mainstream!
They're what Protoss needs them to be.
The terran and zerg will own them.
They'll abuse them they'll stomp them, set the ownage on them. Because sometimes losing is good, Sometimes we deserve more, Sometimes players deserve to have their mistakes rewarded for future gain.
Why are they trying new things?
Because we have to innovate.
But they aren't Code S.
Because they're the heroes that Protoss deserve but not the ones Code S have right now, so we'll ignore them, because they will practice, because they are not all inners, they are macro players, innovaters, Aiurs hope.
(Hopefully you guys understood the reference)
So who are these Protoss innovaters that I feel have recently began to outclass much of Code S and players like MC and Alicia. Each of these players I feel is just as capable as MC and Alicia if not more capable.
Liquid Hero
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Waxangel/dreamhack/dh_hero.jpg)
This guys array of strategies is beyond a doubt one of the most expansive out of any Protoss. Constantly he is innovating and improving his unique playstyle. With tacticts such as Warp Prisms in his PvZ his understanding of this matchup will become a go to staple for the community to learn from and copy. He has demonstrated his micro through jaw dropping phoenix control, and shown us that he can preform equally well by preforming very fast and managing his macro superbly through great mechanics. Although his best results as of recent have been a Top 6 MLG Finish and a top 4 Dreamhack finish he is rapidly improving and surpassing many of our beloved Protoss heroes and I feel it wont be long until he claims the throne of the top Protoss. Not to mention this guy has a look of a champion, thats always a plus.
NSHoseoSage
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/treehugger/Sage3.jpg)
Unless you follow alot of ICCUP tournaments (I appologize for not recalling the new name) you will have only seen this guy mainly in the GSTL. Preforming an all kill on the FOU team against players such as SC and Leenock this guy has demonstrated insanely safe and solid play. His ability to play safe and react based on the information he has been given makes his play an ideal candidate to copy if you wish to maintain consistancy and not rely on risky playstyles that are very abundant within the GSL. In his games he has shown us a vast array of build and styles such as Phoenix Chargelot or simply new safe ways of progressing into a macro game. This guy beyond a doubt has poteintal to take a Code S victory if he continues on his path and please Artosis by making many observers.
TSLJYP
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/images2/0/0c/Jypgstl-pxp.png)
This guy never really hit big until recently when making his way through Code A, his use of the Warp Prism in both PvT and PvZ have shown that Protoss can indeed macro and harass effectively at the same time. His use of High Templars as a form of harassment is a great example of how a Protoss can pressure and keep the zerg on his toes well taking a third. This guy is quickly sweeping the scene by demonstrating a very Brood War form of playstyle and showing us great and innovative macro games. If you were to ask Coach Lee who the best player on TSL was I'm almost 95% inclined to say he would respond with JYP. His matches through the Code A up and down truly demonstrated that he is deserving of our attention. Not to mention this guys blink stalker control is out of this world.
Sase
![[image loading]](http://worldofstarcraft.org/wp-content/plugins/WPRobot3/images/293b6_starcraft_2__5510425940_9175ea3e9e.jpg)
A former Warcraft 3 Player Sase reigns from the foreigner community and has remained relatively unknown to the scene until very recently. Residing in Korea he is beyond a doubt practicing consistantly and working insanely hard as I can personally vouch I have seen him stream ladder games for 9 hours straight. With his own way of playing the game Sase demonstrates insane micro and is very innovative in his builds, (In fact i've seen him use carriers alot in PvZ). Combine this with his speed (This guys APM is actually insane) I feel Sase has what it takes to compete at the top. Maintaining top 50 in Korean GM this guy is without a doubt a force to be reckoned with and will make a huge splash if he continues to train as hard as he is.
DignitasNaniwa
Yet another foreigner and former Warcraft 3 Player Naniwa has been a well known figure within the community for some time. Although he has been pretty vocal about his balance concerns Naniwa has demonstrated that he understands what it takes to be the best and he is willing to work towards that no matter what it takes. He constantly demonstrates a very good understanding of the metagame and because of this he is able to maintain success through his knowledge and hard work. Considering his skill level prior to Korea being almost up to par with many Code A and Code S players Naniwa with enough time will almost undoubtedly make it into Code S and snag a big tournament victory one day.
Honorable Mentions:
IMYonghwa
IMSeed
San
EGHuk
SlayersPuzzle
MVPGenius (Seriously this guy is so underrated)
NSHoseoTassadar
Conclusion:
Instead of people whinning about balance concerns I hope they can learn to support and acknowledge the Protoss players I have listed and learn from much of their playstyle and as personally I believe their new innovations will usher us in a strong macro style that can lead us to success and more stability.Just because our old go to Protoss are not preforming up to par as of late people have come to the conclusion that Protoss is underpowered, many are quick to blame balance instead of the players lack of will to change and adapt when things get tough. Although many of these old school Protoss players are very talented individuals I feel that because of their prior success with much easier tacticts they have fallen into a trap of living in the past instead of trying to progress forward. It's important to remember that with new tacticts comes learning and because of that it's vastly important for individuals to remember that although these new strategies and tacticts bring more loses, they are helping the Protoss metagame progress forward as a whole and push us away from our comfort zone, from our mistakes we can learn and in time and reach a much better metagame.
Dont lose hope, Protoss have alot of up and commers that can compete with even the likes of MC and entertain us with amazing games.
"More GG, More Skill." -Whitera
