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Hello all! I am Sidewinder, a Masters Protoss in NA. I have always loved crafting builds in Starcraft, and of the many I have crafted, this is my pride and joy! This build is a very unique approach to PvZ wherein you are seizing control of the game very early, expanding behind aggression, and wanting to trade units with the Zerg player at key points in the game. Ultimately, it's the fastest way to put out the game-ending Colossus + Archon army you always want, assuming you run the build correctly and can make smart decisions. There are also many other points of the build that can just kill your opponent if they make a mistake.
The Build in a Nutshell
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The build is a Forge Fast Expand, 2Stargate Void Ray opener into a 9gate Charge Zealot/Archon attack and a 3rd base, followed by typical Colossus, Stalker (if you want it), Archon, Void Ray, Mothership, etc. It has +1 air weapons and +2 ground attack when the 3rd is to be taken, and this is your first big attack. Scouting is important since you will be skipping sentries (unless you scout something to tell you not to).
Conditions
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This build does extremely well on larger maps due to the reinforcement distance the Zerg player has to deal with. I would not run it on Xel'Naga Caverns and would be very pessimistic to run it exactly how it is written on Metal, Shattered and soon to be Arid Plateau because of either being bad FFE maps or being smaller maps.
This build also needs a lot of early-game scouting, so if you are unfamiliar with FFE scouting, I will briefly brush over reads and reactions.
- 6pool preparation and build abandonment is assumed.
- Did the natural expansion finish? If not, add a couple of Cannons to your wall to protect against a pending all-in. Get a sentry and don't put down a 2nd Stargate when it is asked for in the build. Use the Void Ray(s) to protect against a Nydus attack by killing overlords around your base.
- Did they take a reasonably quick 3rd base? If not, be less aggressive with your harassing Void Rays and more worried about a 2-base Roach or Baneling bust. Fly them on direct ground routes rather than taking back roads.
- If you are unsure about either of the above, a 3rd Cannon and chronoboosting Void Rays is acceptable - better to be prepared than die.
This build also needs a lot of early-game scouting, so if you are unfamiliar with FFE scouting, I will briefly brush over reads and reactions.
- 6pool preparation and build abandonment is assumed.
- Did the natural expansion finish? If not, add a couple of Cannons to your wall to protect against a pending all-in. Get a sentry and don't put down a 2nd Stargate when it is asked for in the build. Use the Void Ray(s) to protect against a Nydus attack by killing overlords around your base.
- Did they take a reasonably quick 3rd base? If not, be less aggressive with your harassing Void Rays and more worried about a 2-base Roach or Baneling bust. Fly them on direct ground routes rather than taking back roads.
- If you are unsure about either of the above, a 3rd Cannon and chronoboosting Void Rays is acceptable - better to be prepared than die.
Opener
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The opener is a Forge Expand, and you can run Nexus first if you want, but I prefer this way considering I know the timings in and out and have run it a million times.
9 Pylon
13 Forge
17 Nexus
17 Cannon
17 Gateway
18 Pylon
18 2x Assimilator
Cybernetics Core @ 100% Gateway
All chronoboosts should be spent on probes for quite a while considering getting those 2 bases saturated earlier rather than later is very important. Obey any scouting reads outlined in the section above.
9 Pylon
13 Forge
17 Nexus
17 Cannon
17 Gateway
18 Pylon
18 2x Assimilator
Cybernetics Core @ 100% Gateway
All chronoboosts should be spent on probes for quite a while considering getting those 2 bases saturated earlier rather than later is very important. Obey any scouting reads outlined in the section above.
Scouting
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Scouting on any FFE is VERY important, but even moreso in this build considering you will typically skip any and all Sentries if they are running a build that allows it.
First thing you want to do is scout with your probe on 9 supply, which is typical. Check for 6pools and whatnot. DON'T LOSE THIS PROBE. Pylon block their hatchery if you have to. This probe is worth a lot in scouting information.
That same probe should go back to assure that the natural hatch is finished. If it didn't, abandon the build and prep to hold either a Roach or Baneling all-in. Get that probe into the main base if you can. Check for gas mining, Roach Warrens, fast Lair - anything that would point to a 2-base aggression play.
When you close your wall, try to build your probe outside the wall and use that probe to scout for a 3rd base. This will dictate what to do later in the game.
First thing you want to do is scout with your probe on 9 supply, which is typical. Check for 6pools and whatnot. DON'T LOSE THIS PROBE. Pylon block their hatchery if you have to. This probe is worth a lot in scouting information.
That same probe should go back to assure that the natural hatch is finished. If it didn't, abandon the build and prep to hold either a Roach or Baneling all-in. Get that probe into the main base if you can. Check for gas mining, Roach Warrens, fast Lair - anything that would point to a 2-base aggression play.
When you close your wall, try to build your probe outside the wall and use that probe to scout for a 3rd base. This will dictate what to do later in the game.
The Stargates
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If ran absolutely perfectly, your 2 Stargates should drop at about 6:05, but it's okay if they are a tiny bit late. These Stargates are both to do some harassment damage, force them to build extra queens and Spores (that won't help against your follow-up attack), and force them to make either Hydralisks or Mutalisks before they'd ideally want to.
As far as placement of the Stargates, it's good to put them in a place that they are unlikely to scout, but hiding scouting information isn't what this build is about. It's just a general rule of thumb that your tech choice will be more effective the later it is scouted.
The build for this section:
@300 Gas, 2 Stargates
2nd Cannon at front door (+1 more if they are mining a lot of gas)
2x Assimilator
@100% Stargates, 2 Void Rays (Use Chronoboost to assure they are on equal production cycles if one started before the other)
@100 gas, +1 Air Weapons (Chronoboost with available chrono - you should be low after chronoboosting probes pretty hard)
2 more Void Rays
+1 Ground Attack with your next 100 gas
Move out with 4 Void Rays, start 2 more
Rally the last 2 Void Rays to your front door for defensive purposes
Queue up Warpgate
Yes, forgo warpgate research and the typical safety sentry. You're relying a lot on scouting off this Forge Expand and if they are doing standard stuff (taking a 3rd base, basically), you shouldn't need the Sentry anyway. The 2nd Cannon seems a little contradictory to this line of thinking, but I still think it is worth it to help out against a rash Roach/Ling counter to your Stargate harassment.
As far as placement of the Stargates, it's good to put them in a place that they are unlikely to scout, but hiding scouting information isn't what this build is about. It's just a general rule of thumb that your tech choice will be more effective the later it is scouted.
The build for this section:
@300 Gas, 2 Stargates
2nd Cannon at front door (+1 more if they are mining a lot of gas)
2x Assimilator
@100% Stargates, 2 Void Rays (Use Chronoboost to assure they are on equal production cycles if one started before the other)
@100 gas, +1 Air Weapons (Chronoboost with available chrono - you should be low after chronoboosting probes pretty hard)
2 more Void Rays
+1 Ground Attack with your next 100 gas
Move out with 4 Void Rays, start 2 more
Rally the last 2 Void Rays to your front door for defensive purposes
Queue up Warpgate
Yes, forgo warpgate research and the typical safety sentry. You're relying a lot on scouting off this Forge Expand and if they are doing standard stuff (taking a 3rd base, basically), you shouldn't need the Sentry anyway. The 2nd Cannon seems a little contradictory to this line of thinking, but I still think it is worth it to help out against a rash Roach/Ling counter to your Stargate harassment.
The Void Ray Harassment
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Only do this if they have a 3rd base taken before ~7:30. If you scouted them still on 2 bases or mining a ton of gas, keep your Void Rays at home and focus on killing Overlords. Keep them in a pack of 6, considering 2-base Spire can give this build a lot of headaches if you lose any Void Rays.
This is a key turning point in this build because a smart Zerg player will know you are on 2 Stargates based on the unit count, if they did not already scout it. This means they have to weigh all of the options as far as what could follow it up. Most of the time, they will expect Phoenix for queen lifting, and if they see your +1 attack, it will cause them to heavily overreact to the harassment. The overreaction is a lot more important than doing actual damage, but if you are a good Void Ray user you can make the Void Rays kill drones, kill queens, kill spores and the harassment can last a long time. This is one of the points where if the Zerg makes a mistake, you could kill a hatchery or even his lair, which usually means game over. Feel free to be aggressive with these Void Rays, but be sure you are bouncing around to different locations to keep his attention divided and keep his forces in his base for as long as possible.
Part of this harassment is gathering scouting information, so you have a lot to pay attention to. If you can kill his Lair (and even his spawning pool!), it'll put him back to the stone age in terms of tech, so that should be a high priority if you know where it is. Killing a mining base is your ideal goal with this harassment, although killing tech like a Spire or Hydra den can be very helpful. Just be active with these Void Rays, but don't lose them if you can help it. Most of their job is to force a reaction, and to help out in army clashes throughout the game.
If they are not prepared for this attack, tech-wise, they may make a ton of Roaches and Zerglings and try to bust you down right then. You need to be mindful of where his forces are rallying (if you see Roaches hatching) and fall back in defensive position. Also, extra cannons here are a good idea since he's basically all-in.
This is a key turning point in this build because a smart Zerg player will know you are on 2 Stargates based on the unit count, if they did not already scout it. This means they have to weigh all of the options as far as what could follow it up. Most of the time, they will expect Phoenix for queen lifting, and if they see your +1 attack, it will cause them to heavily overreact to the harassment. The overreaction is a lot more important than doing actual damage, but if you are a good Void Ray user you can make the Void Rays kill drones, kill queens, kill spores and the harassment can last a long time. This is one of the points where if the Zerg makes a mistake, you could kill a hatchery or even his lair, which usually means game over. Feel free to be aggressive with these Void Rays, but be sure you are bouncing around to different locations to keep his attention divided and keep his forces in his base for as long as possible.
Part of this harassment is gathering scouting information, so you have a lot to pay attention to. If you can kill his Lair (and even his spawning pool!), it'll put him back to the stone age in terms of tech, so that should be a high priority if you know where it is. Killing a mining base is your ideal goal with this harassment, although killing tech like a Spire or Hydra den can be very helpful. Just be active with these Void Rays, but don't lose them if you can help it. Most of their job is to force a reaction, and to help out in army clashes throughout the game.
If they are not prepared for this attack, tech-wise, they may make a ton of Roaches and Zerglings and try to bust you down right then. You need to be mindful of where his forces are rallying (if you see Roaches hatching) and fall back in defensive position. Also, extra cannons here are a good idea since he's basically all-in.
Alternative Opener (More Consistent Harassment)
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kcdc suggested to open with a Zealot + Void Ray harassment to kill the 3rd base, and I agree that it is a stronger pressure/harassment and has a better chance to kill the hatch against GOOD Zergs (Masters+). I've ran it a few times and liked the opener, so this is another opener you can choose if you don't like 2 Stargate openers.
@100% Core, Stargate
@50 gas, Warpgate
@100 gas, +1 Ground Weapons
@100% Stargate, Void Rays x 3 (Chronoboost liberally)
+3 Gateways
Twilight Council with available gas
Move out with 2-3 Void Rays and 3 Zealots, along with a probe
Use the probe to set up a proxy pylon somewhere safe (high ground preferably if you can warp on the low ground near a Zerg 3rd). Warp in Zealots and use your Void Rays to target down units. If you see nothing but Zerglings reporting to the attack, he is likely going for a Spire and you may be wise to start Phoenix production instead of Void Rays off your Stargate.
Retreat after the 3rd is killed - no reason to waste units since this attack will not end the game.
Replay of kcdc executing this harassment - http://drop.sc/78252
Replay of myself executing this harassment - http://drop.sc/80068
@100% Core, Stargate
@50 gas, Warpgate
@100 gas, +1 Ground Weapons
@100% Stargate, Void Rays x 3 (Chronoboost liberally)
+3 Gateways
Twilight Council with available gas
Move out with 2-3 Void Rays and 3 Zealots, along with a probe
Use the probe to set up a proxy pylon somewhere safe (high ground preferably if you can warp on the low ground near a Zerg 3rd). Warp in Zealots and use your Void Rays to target down units. If you see nothing but Zerglings reporting to the attack, he is likely going for a Spire and you may be wise to start Phoenix production instead of Void Rays off your Stargate.
Retreat after the 3rd is killed - no reason to waste units since this attack will not end the game.
Replay of kcdc executing this harassment - http://drop.sc/78252
Replay of myself executing this harassment - http://drop.sc/80068
The Zealot/Archon Transition
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As was asked for earlier in the build, +1 ground attack should be researching, so set down a Twilight Council to match up to where the +1 attack is finishing so you can start +2 attack without any interruption. This is all going to take place while your Void Ray harassment is going on, so if you don't have the APM, wait for a good time to send your Void Rays somewhere safe and go back home to macro up.
You will eventually research Charge, make 9 total gateways, make an extra Cybernetics Core for when you bust your wall down (if that's what you killed), make a Robotics for an Observer and a Warp Prism, and make a Templar Archives. This seems like a ton of stuff all going down at the same time, but a Zerg player really can't afford to move out of his base while you are harassing him, so you should be fine.
Your general actions once WG finishes should be:
9 Zealots
9 Zealots
8 HT (for Archons) + 1 Zealot
(3rd Nexus) - the timing on this is ideally about 13:30, so a bit late by standard measures in an economic build, but very safe.
9 Zealots
If Warpgate was late, feel free to make Zealots off your gateways - just spend your money the best you can. When you get your first warp-in of Zealots, start knocking down your wall so that if they attack you, your Zealots can help out instead of standing around behind your wall, doing nothing.
As is instructed, as soon as you get your Archons you should have the spare Minerals to drop a 3rd Nexus. Drop a couple pylons near this, as is standard, get one more Zealot Warp-in and begin your attack. Don't start the attack without your Observer or Warp Prism with your army.
You will eventually research Charge, make 9 total gateways, make an extra Cybernetics Core for when you bust your wall down (if that's what you killed), make a Robotics for an Observer and a Warp Prism, and make a Templar Archives. This seems like a ton of stuff all going down at the same time, but a Zerg player really can't afford to move out of his base while you are harassing him, so you should be fine.
Your general actions once WG finishes should be:
9 Zealots
9 Zealots
8 HT (for Archons) + 1 Zealot
(3rd Nexus) - the timing on this is ideally about 13:30, so a bit late by standard measures in an economic build, but very safe.
9 Zealots
If Warpgate was late, feel free to make Zealots off your gateways - just spend your money the best you can. When you get your first warp-in of Zealots, start knocking down your wall so that if they attack you, your Zealots can help out instead of standing around behind your wall, doing nothing.
As is instructed, as soon as you get your Archons you should have the spare Minerals to drop a 3rd Nexus. Drop a couple pylons near this, as is standard, get one more Zealot Warp-in and begin your attack. Don't start the attack without your Observer or Warp Prism with your army.
The First Big Attack
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Only commence this attack if they took significant damage from your Void Ray attack, or if they are on primarily Spire tech. Trading against super-heavy Roach armies can be risky and it's best to take a 3rd and use your army defensively so you can abuse his rally time to your base.
Sometimes this attack can outright end the game, but it's not totally designed to. There are a few big points that you need to pay attention to in this attack.
- Attack as hard as possible when it's time to go.. don't stand around and wait for extra warp-ins.
- Reinforce your attack!
- Keep your army in one big ball if you can help it - sending a few Zealots around to other bases can be beneficial if you think his forces are wearing thin and he doesn't have static defenses at other bases.
- Zealots are expendable, Archons and Void Rays are not. All of your micro should be focused on getting good attacks, but not losing your gas-intensive units. Retreat them if you don't think you can break him with this attack. Trading Zealots for Roaches, Hydras, whatever is totally fine. If you can't win and your Archons/Void Rays are in a bad position while retreating, warp in another round of Zealots and attack his army with them - that will buy enough time to get your Archons and Void Rays off creep and home to safety.
- Sentries are also optional. If you want to run this with sentries, you can, but I feel that it's more important to focus gas on DPS units that you can ideally retreat and mix into your power army if you don't wind up winning during this attack.
If you are fighting Mutas during this attack and he insists on base-trading, warp in Stalkers at home instead of with your Warp Prism, and put down Cannons in your mineral line to minimize probe losses. You want to make him not be able to fight both parts of your army due to the lack of straight-up punching power that Mutas have.
Sometimes this attack can outright end the game, but it's not totally designed to. There are a few big points that you need to pay attention to in this attack.
- Attack as hard as possible when it's time to go.. don't stand around and wait for extra warp-ins.
- Reinforce your attack!
- Keep your army in one big ball if you can help it - sending a few Zealots around to other bases can be beneficial if you think his forces are wearing thin and he doesn't have static defenses at other bases.
- Zealots are expendable, Archons and Void Rays are not. All of your micro should be focused on getting good attacks, but not losing your gas-intensive units. Retreat them if you don't think you can break him with this attack. Trading Zealots for Roaches, Hydras, whatever is totally fine. If you can't win and your Archons/Void Rays are in a bad position while retreating, warp in another round of Zealots and attack his army with them - that will buy enough time to get your Archons and Void Rays off creep and home to safety.
- Sentries are also optional. If you want to run this with sentries, you can, but I feel that it's more important to focus gas on DPS units that you can ideally retreat and mix into your power army if you don't wind up winning during this attack.
If you are fighting Mutas during this attack and he insists on base-trading, warp in Stalkers at home instead of with your Warp Prism, and put down Cannons in your mineral line to minimize probe losses. You want to make him not be able to fight both parts of your army due to the lack of straight-up punching power that Mutas have.
Transitioning behind the Attack
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You will eventually be transitioning into Colossus and a Mothership. The Mothership tech is not necessary right away, but you do need the Robotics Support Bay and a 2nd Robotics. You shouldn't need any extra gateways until really late into the game, if at all. Start +3 attack and continue to produce double Colossus + Range whenever you can find the time. Saturate your 3rd, of course, and protect with Cannons if need be. If at any point you start to lose the Zealot-Archon-Void Ray battle, retreat your gas intensive units and warp in at home.. I can't stress the importance of retaining your Archons and Void Rays enough.
If you lost the previous battle, and I mean lost it badly, you still should have a Warp Prism on the field and should feel free to do some Zealot harassment to pin him inside his base. I have won games where I lost my first attack, lost too many Archons and Void Rays, but then stayed in the game only because of Warp Prism harassment.
If you lost the previous battle, and I mean lost it badly, you still should have a Warp Prism on the field and should feel free to do some Zealot harassment to pin him inside his base. I have won games where I lost my first attack, lost too many Archons and Void Rays, but then stayed in the game only because of Warp Prism harassment.
Potential Counterattacks
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If you don't wind up winning with your first push, which should be normal at higher levels, then you should have retreated your Archons and Void Rays to join up with your reinforcements at home. In the meantime, this may encourage the Zerg player to counter pretty heavily. Fortunately, Zealots are the best defending tool you have, you should still have a lot of units and hopefully a couple of Colossi on the field by the time they get there.
I say Zealots are the best defensive tools because the only way they can effectively fight Zealots with standard unit compositions is by stutter stepping backward, moving them away from your base while you eagerly await Colossi to come on the field. Not to mention, they will be off creep so the Zealots will get a lot of damage in, and they only cost you Minerals which means moar Archons for the big attack.
The only point where this is pretty untested is against a Muta transition after your first attack, and it could be problematic, but at the same time your attack should have depleted their gas reserves and their supply should be much more focused in Roaches or Hydralisks. If they went Mutas initially, your first attack actually should have won the game or at least did tons of damage, making Muta counterattacks anemic.
I've had people tell me that Hydra counters to either your Void Ray harassment or after you've lost your Zealots in the first engagement are nasty, but honestly I don't see this problem in the games I play. Typically if somebody opens 2 Stargate, they will follow it up with Colossus, and if you counter with Hydras at that time, you're all in and probably going to lose right there. So, as a Zerg player in standard ZvP, countering at any time with a high number of Hydras is a pretty bad idea unless you found a way to get them into the main base.
I say Zealots are the best defensive tools because the only way they can effectively fight Zealots with standard unit compositions is by stutter stepping backward, moving them away from your base while you eagerly await Colossi to come on the field. Not to mention, they will be off creep so the Zealots will get a lot of damage in, and they only cost you Minerals which means moar Archons for the big attack.
The only point where this is pretty untested is against a Muta transition after your first attack, and it could be problematic, but at the same time your attack should have depleted their gas reserves and their supply should be much more focused in Roaches or Hydralisks. If they went Mutas initially, your first attack actually should have won the game or at least did tons of damage, making Muta counterattacks anemic.
I've had people tell me that Hydra counters to either your Void Ray harassment or after you've lost your Zealots in the first engagement are nasty, but honestly I don't see this problem in the games I play. Typically if somebody opens 2 Stargate, they will follow it up with Colossus, and if you counter with Hydras at that time, you're all in and probably going to lose right there. So, as a Zerg player in standard ZvP, countering at any time with a high number of Hydras is a pretty bad idea unless you found a way to get them into the main base.
The Colossus Attack
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Once you reach 4 Colossus and if you retained your Archons + Void Rays, move out. This attack has SOOO much DPS, and should occur at about 18 minutes. Your focus with this attack should be on their newly mining bases, in an attempt to starve them out as opposed to just beating them down. Again, reinforce with a Warp Prism.
This attack will usually end the game because you will ideally be at 4 Colossus, ~7 Archons, 6 Void Rays, as many Zealots as you can muster up and +3 attack. Almost nothing can fight that straight up because of the damage sponges and splash you have, along with the fact that your aggression should have kept them off Hive tech. This also puts out a better DPS army quicker than standard PvZ with Stalker + Colossus.
This attack will usually end the game because you will ideally be at 4 Colossus, ~7 Archons, 6 Void Rays, as many Zealots as you can muster up and +3 attack. Almost nothing can fight that straight up because of the damage sponges and splash you have, along with the fact that your aggression should have kept them off Hive tech. This also puts out a better DPS army quicker than standard PvZ with Stalker + Colossus.
Taking a 4th Base
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You really want to time this out to when your main is about mined out, so pay attention to that and take it whenever you can. Most of the time, this correlates with your first Colossus attack, so this is just standard macro sense right here.
Timing out the Mothership
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As we all know, the only reliable way to fight late-game Brood/Infestor is with a Mothership. Once you have 4 Colossus out and are attacking, I think this is a nice time to start the Fleet Beacon and get the Mothership on the way. The only way you can lose at this point is if they get fast Brood Lords out, so if you lost the previous attack, just get the MS out sooner rather than later. Most of the time, their resource banks will be depleted and put into units that helped them win the previous attack, so you should have a fair amount of time before Brood Lord production is to begin anyway.
Overall Theory Behind the Build vs Standard Play
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This build forces your opponent to respect all 3 stages of your attacks, and if they don't respect any one of the 3, they should die or take a ton of damage. It's a build that puts a Zerg player in a corner and dictates what they need to do in order to stay alive, as opposed to you letting them macro freely and eventually pin you in your base with harassment or just having huge reinforcement potential.
PvZ, right now, is based around Stalkers. Blink Stalker play is fine for some, but I find it to be a little slow in terms of winning battles, and a little fragile in the sense that they are prone to mismanagement. If you like Blink Stalkers, more power to you. I definitely respect somebody that can take a Blink Stalker army and control it to get like 500% efficiency out of it. As a whole, Blink Stalkers kind of deal with everything if you control them properly, but they don't really force your opponent to play a certain way, and I don't care for that very much. My other big problem with Blink Stalker attacks is that their DPS is often too low to put on ravaging pressure with. It allows a Zerg player to hit a lot of production cycles while the attack is still building up, meaning there's a good possibility that a bit of miscontrol will mean you just lost, or you run the risk of losing your 3rd base if you are expanding behind the pressure.
This build supresses something really important in PvZ, and that is not allowing your opponent to get a big bank of resources so he can endlessly re-max, which if you allow them to, your attacks are a constant uphill battle. If ran correctly, you should army trade with mineral-only units while you can always save your gas-heavy units to be mixed into an insane army later in the game, opening timings at points where Zerg players would otherwise max out, take extra bases and build up a huge bank of resources.
Right now, the Metagame in PvZ is typically a Spire for Mutas at some point. There are three normal places a Zerg player can begin Muta production, and those are: Spire on 2 bases (rare and kinda bad), Spire on 3 bases before Roach, and a Spire after Roach production, which is typically to hold off 7gate all-ins or something similar.
The thought process with Mutas has somewhat been "just all-in when you see the Spire", which can work but I, again, find it to be a little too unreliable. This build will attack very heavily when Mutalisk production is supposed to either begin or have around 15 (typically un-upgraded) Mutas out, against Protoss units that the Zerg player can't really afford to fight straight up. So while it's not all-inning against a Muta Zerg, it is designed to hit them very hard, leaving them with few options to recover and play a longer game.
Secondarily, Eco Roach or Roach/Infestor seems to be a big problem if you are stuck on Blink Stalkers and can't really afford to expand or tech without getting overrun, and this build deals with it fairly well in the sense that it puts the Zerg on a tightrope during the first attack, and recovers pretty well later on. Roach/Infestor is probably the build's biggest problem, which I will explain later.
I call this a macro build because it could very well be a 2-base all-in if you wanted it to be, but I feel the transition in this build and it's late-game versatility is extremely strong. All-inning with Zealots as your main DPS isn't terribly reliable, even though it is very powerful, so I felt it was best to take a 3rd with this while applying enormous, 2-base pressure while you transition appropriately for the late game and taking a 4th base.
It does open 2Stargate Void Rays, but even if these Void Rays do no significant damage, they do keep you safe from 2-base Roach, their first round of Mutas, and they force a reaction out of the Zerg player, whether it be a lot of Spores, Queens, Mutas, Hydras, Infestors, Corrupters, whatever. I still think people overlook the usefulness of forcing a Zerg player to mold his unit composition into one a Protoss player will want to fight.
PvZ, right now, is based around Stalkers. Blink Stalker play is fine for some, but I find it to be a little slow in terms of winning battles, and a little fragile in the sense that they are prone to mismanagement. If you like Blink Stalkers, more power to you. I definitely respect somebody that can take a Blink Stalker army and control it to get like 500% efficiency out of it. As a whole, Blink Stalkers kind of deal with everything if you control them properly, but they don't really force your opponent to play a certain way, and I don't care for that very much. My other big problem with Blink Stalker attacks is that their DPS is often too low to put on ravaging pressure with. It allows a Zerg player to hit a lot of production cycles while the attack is still building up, meaning there's a good possibility that a bit of miscontrol will mean you just lost, or you run the risk of losing your 3rd base if you are expanding behind the pressure.
This build supresses something really important in PvZ, and that is not allowing your opponent to get a big bank of resources so he can endlessly re-max, which if you allow them to, your attacks are a constant uphill battle. If ran correctly, you should army trade with mineral-only units while you can always save your gas-heavy units to be mixed into an insane army later in the game, opening timings at points where Zerg players would otherwise max out, take extra bases and build up a huge bank of resources.
Right now, the Metagame in PvZ is typically a Spire for Mutas at some point. There are three normal places a Zerg player can begin Muta production, and those are: Spire on 2 bases (rare and kinda bad), Spire on 3 bases before Roach, and a Spire after Roach production, which is typically to hold off 7gate all-ins or something similar.
The thought process with Mutas has somewhat been "just all-in when you see the Spire", which can work but I, again, find it to be a little too unreliable. This build will attack very heavily when Mutalisk production is supposed to either begin or have around 15 (typically un-upgraded) Mutas out, against Protoss units that the Zerg player can't really afford to fight straight up. So while it's not all-inning against a Muta Zerg, it is designed to hit them very hard, leaving them with few options to recover and play a longer game.
Secondarily, Eco Roach or Roach/Infestor seems to be a big problem if you are stuck on Blink Stalkers and can't really afford to expand or tech without getting overrun, and this build deals with it fairly well in the sense that it puts the Zerg on a tightrope during the first attack, and recovers pretty well later on. Roach/Infestor is probably the build's biggest problem, which I will explain later.
I call this a macro build because it could very well be a 2-base all-in if you wanted it to be, but I feel the transition in this build and it's late-game versatility is extremely strong. All-inning with Zealots as your main DPS isn't terribly reliable, even though it is very powerful, so I felt it was best to take a 3rd with this while applying enormous, 2-base pressure while you transition appropriately for the late game and taking a 4th base.
It does open 2Stargate Void Rays, but even if these Void Rays do no significant damage, they do keep you safe from 2-base Roach, their first round of Mutas, and they force a reaction out of the Zerg player, whether it be a lot of Spores, Queens, Mutas, Hydras, Infestors, Corrupters, whatever. I still think people overlook the usefulness of forcing a Zerg player to mold his unit composition into one a Protoss player will want to fight.
Problems, Concerns and FAQ
+ Show Spoiler +
The raw reality is that Starcraft is a game in which no build is invincible, and any build can lose to another build that fights it well. This is no exception. Please don't bring up "X and Y would beat it" in your replys unless you have replays to support your argument, considering I have many replays that support mine. I will acknowledge where this build can struggle and how you can adapt.
vs any 1-base play
It's best to abandon the strict build order if you can scout 1-base play. It does skip a sentry if you run it normally, but there is no reason to run this build if they are all-inning you. Make more cannons, get at least one Sentry, and only 1 Stargate.
vs Nydus play
I haven't come across this in the ~30 games I've played with this build. Most of the time, having Void Rays out and being careful about killing overlords around your main and natural will discourage a Zerg from doing it, but the same handling applies to any other Forge Expand trying to defend a Nydus attack - just try to stop worms, use buildings and position effectively and micro your heart out. If a Nydus does get done and they start rolling Hydralisks in, you could be in a lot of trouble.
vs Drop play
Just keep your army at home and defend it. You will eventually clean it up and should take minimal damage. Be sure to keep poking around with your Void Rays to check for Overlord speed, and position buildings or observers to spot for this if you are worried about it.
vs Banelings
If you have gosu micro, you can turn the autocast off your Zealots, and when banelings roll in, Charge your Zealots back to one of your units that is far away from the front lines. +2 Archons 1-shot Banelings and the splash damage with multiple Archons almost renders the Banelings useless. Just try to preserve Zealots the best you can, whether it's splitting or crazy Charge micro.
vs Roach/Hydra
This is what I see the most often, and unless you get a really good engagement point (like right at their natural so they are forced into a corner), the first push won't end the game. Unless you did significant damage with your Void Ray attack, I'm getting more and more happy with staying home, getting Colossus and then pushing, rather than trying to trade.
vs Roach/Infestor
This is easily the build's biggest weakness, only assuming that the Zerg player has fantastic control and decision-making. It still does force the Zerg to be very precise with their Fungals, have good Roach control to prevent them from taking damage, and it also sucks at dealing with the Warp Prism reinforcing at areas other than the battle. The Zerg basically has to handle their attack flawlessly because if they start losing Roaches and Infestors and/or run out of energy, they're dead.
Alternatively, you can just stay home and get Colossus up, which he will have a really hard time stopping.
Secondarily, and this is something I haven't performed yet, if you get a chance to see the Infestors on the field before morphing Archons, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get 2 or 3 auxillary Templars just for feedback.
vs Roach/Corrupter
This is actually a pretty tough composition if you move out before your Colossus are done. Again, this follows the "only attack with Zealot/Archon if you did good damage with your Stargates" rule.
vs Muta before Roach
Follow the scouting section above to determine what you should do with your Void Rays. If you read it correctly, the +1 Void Rays will hold off their first round of Mutas if you retained all 6 of them. Most of the time their first round of Mutas is about 10 at a time, and you have 6 Void Rays with +1 attack, which trades about evenly cost-for-cost (2 to 1) with Mutas. It can get tight, but your WG should be finishing up right then and you can warp in a few Stalkers to help push this off. Cannons in your main, plus holding an Archon or two at each base for a minute will prevent any damage until it's time to move out. After that, warp-in Stalkers at home while you attack, and he shouldn't be able to hold off your first attack or do any overly significant damage to your main. Anybody that has tried to go Muta first and didn't kill my Void Rays (aka, I wasn't doing something dumb) has died to the Zealot/Archon attack.
vs Muta after Roach
This is a little more stable against the Zealot/Archon attack, but you still have plenty to deal with Mutas and shouldn't have that moment in your main of "shit, I need to react to this immediately or lose tons of probes" on their first round of Mutas. If you can time out your attack to hit as soon as you see their Muta production start, then they should take a ton of damage from it. Be sure to focus fire down Mutas with your Stalkers, Archons and Void Rays.
vs Pure Hydra
This can be a little problematic, but requires insane control on the Hydras. The Charge makes the Hydras take a ton of damage and as soon as they lose about 6-7, it should be totally downhill considering your reinforcements are really strong, and Hydras die to +2 Archons at a frightening rate. If they try to attack you at your front door and you have any Zealots out, this attack actually shouldn't do anything but lose them a lot of gas.
vs Brood Lords
As I mentioned in the build, you do need a Mothership to combat this to eventually toilet the Broods and eliminate the threat. A good time to prep for Brood Lords in this build is as your Colossus push is moving out. Getting a Mothership on the field at all can never hurt, but don't prioritize it over hitting any of the normal attack timings, considering if they try to get Brood Lords during these attack timings they should die to your pressure. SUPER super fast Broods could cause a problem if you don't catch it, and assuming they held your Zealot/Archon attack, but Zerg players in standard ZvP typically can't afford to go Broods so early, so I don't consider it to be that much of a threat.
Engaging Mutalisks
If they balled up all of the Mutalisks and Zerglings, your priority is to let the Zealots deal with the Zerglings, and have your Archons and Void Rays fight the Mutalisks. Keep your army in a big ball and don't let the Zealots charge too far ahead of the rest of your army.
Engaging Roach/Hydra
If you decide to engage, your job is essentially to spread out, get as much surface area as possible and let him worry about managing the fight. If at any point he just stands there and eats the damage, his army will get crushed, cost for cost, and if he kites back he may run out of area to battle you and be cornered, which means he starts eating damage. If he kites back in an open area, just let the Zealots die, accept that you won't win the battle, continue to warp in Zealots at his mining bases to deal some harassment damage and retreat your Archons and Void Rays. Ultimately, Roach/Hydra or pure one or the other can't fight by standing around and shooting at this army composition, so defensively it's actually quite good. Offensively it is really good if they screw up their control or get backed into a corner.
Why no Sentries?
As I explained, I don't feel that the Sentries add a lot to the overall goal of this build. If you like them and want to use them, go for it. I don't because I want a late-game army where Zealots are my defensive Forcefields, Archons soak up damage and Colossus splash all over everything. I like spending gas on DPS rather than space control. It's mostly personal preference.
Why no Phoenix?
This actually isn't that necessary to this build. Phoenix can be nice to lift units that try to retreat from Charging Zealots, but I find that focusing more energy into DPS (Void Rays) is better both in the short and long term. If you tacked on Phoenix production to your 6 Void Rays, you're now delaying your Zealot/Archon attack and making it more likely that you do inferior amounts of damage in your follow-up pushes. Again, if you like Phoenix and think it would help this build out, go for it.
Why no Storm?
I don't like Storm in PvZ as a whole, and particularly not in this Zealot/Archon attack. I don't like it because the reason this attack is powerful is due to it's lasting effect. The attack needs to last a long time or else your transition and 3rd base are all of a sudden vulnerable. Storm has a ton of up-front power, but if you miss Storms or if they just burrow and come back to fight, all of a sudden the Research was a big waste of gas. I would recommend getting Storm later in the game if you are fighting a Mutalisk transition, though.
Any armor or Shield upgrades?
I've always thought that armor and Shield upgrades in PvZ were kind of worthless. Since Zerg traditionally has weaker units, I've always prioritized getting attack upgrades and getting their units off the field as soon as possible. I typically don't get either in my PvZ games, but you can get them if you want.
vs any 1-base play
It's best to abandon the strict build order if you can scout 1-base play. It does skip a sentry if you run it normally, but there is no reason to run this build if they are all-inning you. Make more cannons, get at least one Sentry, and only 1 Stargate.
vs Nydus play
I haven't come across this in the ~30 games I've played with this build. Most of the time, having Void Rays out and being careful about killing overlords around your main and natural will discourage a Zerg from doing it, but the same handling applies to any other Forge Expand trying to defend a Nydus attack - just try to stop worms, use buildings and position effectively and micro your heart out. If a Nydus does get done and they start rolling Hydralisks in, you could be in a lot of trouble.
vs Drop play
Just keep your army at home and defend it. You will eventually clean it up and should take minimal damage. Be sure to keep poking around with your Void Rays to check for Overlord speed, and position buildings or observers to spot for this if you are worried about it.
vs Banelings
If you have gosu micro, you can turn the autocast off your Zealots, and when banelings roll in, Charge your Zealots back to one of your units that is far away from the front lines. +2 Archons 1-shot Banelings and the splash damage with multiple Archons almost renders the Banelings useless. Just try to preserve Zealots the best you can, whether it's splitting or crazy Charge micro.
vs Roach/Hydra
This is what I see the most often, and unless you get a really good engagement point (like right at their natural so they are forced into a corner), the first push won't end the game. Unless you did significant damage with your Void Ray attack, I'm getting more and more happy with staying home, getting Colossus and then pushing, rather than trying to trade.
vs Roach/Infestor
This is easily the build's biggest weakness, only assuming that the Zerg player has fantastic control and decision-making. It still does force the Zerg to be very precise with their Fungals, have good Roach control to prevent them from taking damage, and it also sucks at dealing with the Warp Prism reinforcing at areas other than the battle. The Zerg basically has to handle their attack flawlessly because if they start losing Roaches and Infestors and/or run out of energy, they're dead.
Alternatively, you can just stay home and get Colossus up, which he will have a really hard time stopping.
Secondarily, and this is something I haven't performed yet, if you get a chance to see the Infestors on the field before morphing Archons, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get 2 or 3 auxillary Templars just for feedback.
vs Roach/Corrupter
This is actually a pretty tough composition if you move out before your Colossus are done. Again, this follows the "only attack with Zealot/Archon if you did good damage with your Stargates" rule.
vs Muta before Roach
Follow the scouting section above to determine what you should do with your Void Rays. If you read it correctly, the +1 Void Rays will hold off their first round of Mutas if you retained all 6 of them. Most of the time their first round of Mutas is about 10 at a time, and you have 6 Void Rays with +1 attack, which trades about evenly cost-for-cost (2 to 1) with Mutas. It can get tight, but your WG should be finishing up right then and you can warp in a few Stalkers to help push this off. Cannons in your main, plus holding an Archon or two at each base for a minute will prevent any damage until it's time to move out. After that, warp-in Stalkers at home while you attack, and he shouldn't be able to hold off your first attack or do any overly significant damage to your main. Anybody that has tried to go Muta first and didn't kill my Void Rays (aka, I wasn't doing something dumb) has died to the Zealot/Archon attack.
vs Muta after Roach
This is a little more stable against the Zealot/Archon attack, but you still have plenty to deal with Mutas and shouldn't have that moment in your main of "shit, I need to react to this immediately or lose tons of probes" on their first round of Mutas. If you can time out your attack to hit as soon as you see their Muta production start, then they should take a ton of damage from it. Be sure to focus fire down Mutas with your Stalkers, Archons and Void Rays.
vs Pure Hydra
This can be a little problematic, but requires insane control on the Hydras. The Charge makes the Hydras take a ton of damage and as soon as they lose about 6-7, it should be totally downhill considering your reinforcements are really strong, and Hydras die to +2 Archons at a frightening rate. If they try to attack you at your front door and you have any Zealots out, this attack actually shouldn't do anything but lose them a lot of gas.
vs Brood Lords
As I mentioned in the build, you do need a Mothership to combat this to eventually toilet the Broods and eliminate the threat. A good time to prep for Brood Lords in this build is as your Colossus push is moving out. Getting a Mothership on the field at all can never hurt, but don't prioritize it over hitting any of the normal attack timings, considering if they try to get Brood Lords during these attack timings they should die to your pressure. SUPER super fast Broods could cause a problem if you don't catch it, and assuming they held your Zealot/Archon attack, but Zerg players in standard ZvP typically can't afford to go Broods so early, so I don't consider it to be that much of a threat.
Engaging Mutalisks
If they balled up all of the Mutalisks and Zerglings, your priority is to let the Zealots deal with the Zerglings, and have your Archons and Void Rays fight the Mutalisks. Keep your army in a big ball and don't let the Zealots charge too far ahead of the rest of your army.
Engaging Roach/Hydra
If you decide to engage, your job is essentially to spread out, get as much surface area as possible and let him worry about managing the fight. If at any point he just stands there and eats the damage, his army will get crushed, cost for cost, and if he kites back he may run out of area to battle you and be cornered, which means he starts eating damage. If he kites back in an open area, just let the Zealots die, accept that you won't win the battle, continue to warp in Zealots at his mining bases to deal some harassment damage and retreat your Archons and Void Rays. Ultimately, Roach/Hydra or pure one or the other can't fight by standing around and shooting at this army composition, so defensively it's actually quite good. Offensively it is really good if they screw up their control or get backed into a corner.
Why no Sentries?
As I explained, I don't feel that the Sentries add a lot to the overall goal of this build. If you like them and want to use them, go for it. I don't because I want a late-game army where Zealots are my defensive Forcefields, Archons soak up damage and Colossus splash all over everything. I like spending gas on DPS rather than space control. It's mostly personal preference.
Why no Phoenix?
This actually isn't that necessary to this build. Phoenix can be nice to lift units that try to retreat from Charging Zealots, but I find that focusing more energy into DPS (Void Rays) is better both in the short and long term. If you tacked on Phoenix production to your 6 Void Rays, you're now delaying your Zealot/Archon attack and making it more likely that you do inferior amounts of damage in your follow-up pushes. Again, if you like Phoenix and think it would help this build out, go for it.

Why no Storm?
I don't like Storm in PvZ as a whole, and particularly not in this Zealot/Archon attack. I don't like it because the reason this attack is powerful is due to it's lasting effect. The attack needs to last a long time or else your transition and 3rd base are all of a sudden vulnerable. Storm has a ton of up-front power, but if you miss Storms or if they just burrow and come back to fight, all of a sudden the Research was a big waste of gas. I would recommend getting Storm later in the game if you are fighting a Mutalisk transition, though.
Any armor or Shield upgrades?
I've always thought that armor and Shield upgrades in PvZ were kind of worthless. Since Zerg traditionally has weaker units, I've always prioritized getting attack upgrades and getting their units off the field as soon as possible. I typically don't get either in my PvZ games, but you can get them if you want.
Replays!
+ Show Spoiler +
Some of these replays were during the times that I was still fine-tuning everything and hammering out theory before I had a chance to test specific scenarios, so it may not perfectly reflect the build posted above. All of which were against Zerg players in Master League NA at the time the games were played.
This section will be constantly updated as the build may continue to grow and evolve.
http://drop.sc/74635
Best replay for purely running the build vs time.
http://drop.sc/75289
Shows me missing my Stargates by about 30 seconds, completely misrallying my 2 protector Void Rays which made me lose my Natural to Roaches, missing my Zealot/Archon timing, rebuilding and coming back, displaying the build's resilience as opposed to just being gimmicky and all-in-ish.
http://drop.sc/75885
I forgot my Templar Archives and missed a bunch of probes in the early game. I totally missed my timing because of the TA not being down, so I decided to max out on Zealot/Archon, then attack. The attack still did tons of damage against Roach/Hydra. This replay actually shows the Fleet Beacon going down and the Mothership starting, even though I killed him before I needed the Mothership.
http://drop.sc/76341
Scouted a hatch cancel, prevented the all-in and easily killed him on 2 bases.
http://drop.sc/71970
Played against a player that went Roach/Infestor, which should give this build the most trouble. He slightly mishandles his Infestors, and dies - shows how well the Zerg needs to keep this attack under control.
http://drop.sc/76342
When unscouted, a Void Ray harassment can end the game.
http://drop.sc/82827
I decided to heavily commit to the Zealot/Archon attack after I killed his 3rd and he tried to counter with Hydra/Ling. As expected, the push killed him because he did not have much of an economy. Shows how fragile the Zerg's options are here, and one mistake can easily end the game in my favor.
http://drop.sc/82828
Zerg player stays on 2 bases for a while. I keep my Void Rays at home considering he does not have a 3rd base that went up before 7:30, as I mentioned earlier, and he gets really inefficient trades when he tries to Roach/Ling bust me and I handle it with minimal probe losses. He also tries to follow it up with Mutas, to which I decide to go kill him instead of take a 3rd and get Colossus up.
This section will be constantly updated as the build may continue to grow and evolve.
http://drop.sc/74635
Best replay for purely running the build vs time.
http://drop.sc/75289
Shows me missing my Stargates by about 30 seconds, completely misrallying my 2 protector Void Rays which made me lose my Natural to Roaches, missing my Zealot/Archon timing, rebuilding and coming back, displaying the build's resilience as opposed to just being gimmicky and all-in-ish.
http://drop.sc/75885
I forgot my Templar Archives and missed a bunch of probes in the early game. I totally missed my timing because of the TA not being down, so I decided to max out on Zealot/Archon, then attack. The attack still did tons of damage against Roach/Hydra. This replay actually shows the Fleet Beacon going down and the Mothership starting, even though I killed him before I needed the Mothership.
http://drop.sc/76341
Scouted a hatch cancel, prevented the all-in and easily killed him on 2 bases.
http://drop.sc/71970
Played against a player that went Roach/Infestor, which should give this build the most trouble. He slightly mishandles his Infestors, and dies - shows how well the Zerg needs to keep this attack under control.
http://drop.sc/76342
When unscouted, a Void Ray harassment can end the game.
http://drop.sc/82827
I decided to heavily commit to the Zealot/Archon attack after I killed his 3rd and he tried to counter with Hydra/Ling. As expected, the push killed him because he did not have much of an economy. Shows how fragile the Zerg's options are here, and one mistake can easily end the game in my favor.
http://drop.sc/82828
Zerg player stays on 2 bases for a while. I keep my Void Rays at home considering he does not have a 3rd base that went up before 7:30, as I mentioned earlier, and he gets really inefficient trades when he tries to Roach/Ling bust me and I handle it with minimal probe losses. He also tries to follow it up with Mutas, to which I decide to go kill him instead of take a 3rd and get Colossus up.
Viability Among Leagues
+ Show Spoiler +
I have only used this build up to Mid-Masters on NA. It works very well for me, and I'm not sure how it would fair in top 8 Masters or GM. For lower leagued players, I would imagine this build would work decently, but you do need solid macro, decent game sense and need to fully understand how and why the build works before just following it blindly
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Thanks for reading, and happy hunting!