[G] aXa's ZvP: Revisiting a Nestea's build

Without any kind of further introduction, behold the 3 spine push into nydus !



Okay i'm pretty sure everyone remember this awesome GSL game between Nestea and Anypro. The idea of this build was to get a very quick lair after scouting a protoss FFE, then use overlord pooping creep to build 3 proxy spine and thus take out the nexus.

But before getting into details, let's talk about the match up and the spirit of the build a little bit.

I'm currently in a guide-writting-spree, this one will be the 5th i wrote and the 3rd for this month alone. If you didn't read them already, definitely check out:
My ZvZ guide
My ZvT guide

With this ZvP guide, the aXa's trilogy guide is about to complete. If you are wondering why in the seven hell i'm dedicating so much time to Starcraft 2 right now, let say the waiting for Diablo III is killing me so much i need to recycle some of this energy into something about gaming

I enjoin everyone not to take this guide as seriously as they did with my other guides. It is mostly a fun build, kind of cheesy, which will help you out to get rid of ladder anxiety.

Because sometimes, laddering is nothing but using build that will increase your win ratio. Sometimes, laddering is about having fun with stupid strategy. This one is definitely one of those.

I consider ZvP as one of the most difficult match up for Zerg, and to be specifics, i consider forge expand as one of the strongest build in the protoss arsenal.
I know that statistics prove me wrong, as Zerg have overall a better win ratio in this match up overall. I know as well that a turtling protoss using a lot of cannons and a quick expansion rate is near to unbeatable.

I don't know if it is bad luck, but i always end up against that kind of protoss, cannoning the whole map for an hour long game of slow agony.. And there is nothing you can do about it.
And the first step of this disgusting style is obviously, a forge expand. There is currently a lot of maps where forge expand is really, really strong.

For the last few weeks, i decided to work on the 3 Spine Push Nestea the great had enlighten us with months ago. I wanted to "cannon rush" and cheese protoss too. I was looking for payback.

First of all, i realized that it was impossible to do exactly what Nestea did: Killing the 2nd nexus with spinecrawler. Dual sight has a weird architecture and is not in the ladder map pool. On every single map of the ladder, you will not be able to reach the nexus because of cannons.

My first reaction was to simply try to overrun the protoss with mass zergling as soon as the wall was down. Of course, any smart protoss will add some cannons and buildings to fill the holes, and quickly i ended up dead.

Improving a build is an easy task as long as you ask yourself the right questions. And so i asked myself: After the 3 spine push, what kind of tech have i enable, and what kind of further tech do i need to get through a protoss wall? The answer was so obvious.


BWAARRRRGH



Overlords and scouting

Overlords placement is an integrant part of a Zerg build order. The 3 Spine Push into Nydus rely entirely on overlords, and so they rightfully deserve the first part of this guide.

Where you do need them
In order to execute this build, you'll need to set 2 to 3 overlords around your opponent's base.

In the front:
+ Show Spoiler +
And in the rear:
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How to get there in time

First of all, here is a quick list of maps where you can expect a FFE:
-Tal'Darim Altar
-Antiga Shipyard
-Shakuras Plateau
-Nezarim Crypt

(I'm not sure about searing crater and Backwater Gulch or Abyssal Cavern, as they are my veto)

Here is a graph sample on Tal'Darim illustrating how you should send your overlord:

+ Show Spoiler +
On each map the process is the same: Send the 2 initial overlord in the center of the map. Drone scout at 10 food on big maps like Tal'Darim, or 12 on smaller maps like Shakuras Plateau. As soon as your drone has spotted the FFE, redirect your overlords in the right locations. If your opponent is not going for a FFE, well, the build is standard enough to switch directly into an usual game.

Executing the build

The build order

+ Show Spoiler +
Using properly the surprise effect

Surprise effect is the most important factor with this strategy.

This is why you should always follow the following rules:

-Never start Lair if the probe is in your base. Use the initial ling to deny it !

-Never build the spinecrawler in range of the protoss building. You need to stay out of sight ! To gain some time, move your overlord when spinecrawlers are halfway complete and start pooping creep at the right location. Then move your spinecrawlers.

-Use only the 6 initial ling to defend your spinecrawlers. Rally every other zergling to your nydus worm in your base.

-Try to slightly move your overlord if you see a pylon spotting the initial nydus location attempt.

Replays

As it is not a meta-game build, let's be quick and jump right into replays:
[url blocked]
If megaupload doesn't work, here is fileserve:
http://www.fileserve.com/file/h2URvG2/SCRushRep.zip


Have fun ! And do not forget, with this kind of build, you HAVE to be BM ! After successfully nydusing your opponent, a little "noob" or "bwahahahaha" is always welcome