[G] Zerg vs Zerg ling/infestor into ultralisks

Zerg vs Zerg hatch first vs 14/14: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=199583

Zerg vs Zerg Muta play: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=282954

Zerg vs Terran guide: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=211960

Zerg vs Protoss guide: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=210354

Zerg vs Protoss Delayed Lair guide: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=259629

Zerg vs Protoss Tier 2 aggression: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=318129

Zerg vs protoss Banelings: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=338403

Now to explain it in a little more detail. That's the basic build order but now to explain this in more detail.

The drone scout is just what I like to do, you do not have to do this and won't change the game other then playing blind (which I hate).

Now again the hatch first 14/14 is up to you, this doesn't change the timings to much on what you need. I didn't add 2 queens when hatcheries finish because that is common knowledge I hope now of days .

So the spawning pool is very dependant or you do it blindly. Not much needed to explain this as I said it in there. The baneling nest is defensive, although you can be aggressive if you choose to be. I get this to defend vs possible ling/bane all ins or any sort of mass ling play.

The spine is good because you need defenses vs roach anyway and it helps vs ling/bane all ins, most zergs get 1 spine so this isn't anything new.

Now the 2 evo chambers I have found that 6:45-7 minutes is a good timing. You will probably see replays where I get it earlier, but I believe this is the best timing from doing this build many, many times.

I have found getting the 2nd and third gas later is better as you should have a stockpiled gas off of the 1 gas unelss you have been making a ton of banelings. Now if you have been doing mass ling/bane because that's what you had to do to defend then I would get a 2nd gas so you can start 1/1 once you stabalize or whatever.

Now the third base timing can be up to you completely and can be situational as well. I would try to get it before starting lair. You can just stay on 2 base as it does make it easier to hold off all ins, but I would try to get that third before lair so that you can get spines there as spines are very crucial with this build. You will die if you don't get spines to mass roach play as mass roach/ling attacks will hit before infestors.

Now you should get your 5th and 6th gases once you drone up a little bit, once your third is getting drones is when I would start getting those gases. Your hive should start fairly quickly, literally after you start 2/2 and get some infestors your hive should be going.

Upgrades are very crucial with this build so you should make sure to start 3/3 and ultra armor upgrade before ultra production. Upgrades are very strong, especially since the player going roach/infestor, roach/hydra, etc won't be going fast lair and won't have 3/3 anywhere near as fast as you do.

Now if your opponent is doing the same build as you, you don't need as many spines. You should only make a couple at natural/third/etc as you don't need to many since youb otha re getting the same unit composition.

Now when you do this build and your opponent realizes it there is a good chance he will do a timing with roach/ling. Again you need spine crawlers. You should also try to engage in a good spot with your lings. You want to go for a surround, if you can't surround him and are only hitting 5-6 of his roaches with your mass ling you are going to lose, pull back and wait for a opening. Do not engage stupidly, this is very crucial. Another way you can do this is go roach/ling yourself but I don't really recommend this as that will take a lot of gas and hurt your upgrade timing or ultra/infestor count.

What I would recommend is having 3-5 spines at third + natural. This is a good amount and with mass ling/infestor you should be able to hold unless you are very behind or something then you shouldn't do this.

You should be doing counter attacks with some lings as well when he attacks. There will be times when you can't defend your third, so make sure you can kill his. Remember lings are incredibly fast, you can kill his third and with spine + infestor support keep your natural safe to. Losing your third if you supply block, forget to make spines, etc you can lose the third to early roach/ling aggression. This is not the end of the world, but it is avoidable. There will be a few replays showcasing me losing my third .

Now ling/infestor is actually a good counter to mutalisks. You should put 1-2 spores at all bases and make sure to get infestors, you will want more then 4 and you will most likely be delaying your hive by about a minute which is fine. You should either have a third before his mutalisks pop, if not you will have to wait until infestors. Try to sneak some lings to deny/kill his third if possible as you should have a decent amount of lings.

There is not much else to really say about this sort of aggression.

So there is a replay down below if you want an example of beating the roach/speedbane especially before infestors pop. The best way to beat this style is to have at least 2-3 spines and some banelings of your own.

The reason you want banelings of your own is so that the banelings that get past can be taken down with your banelings (and you will have upgrades for them and he won't). Do not get speed bane, slow banes will do just fine. When you see his banelings coming up pre-infestor timing make sure you have some banelings to intercept. This is the real threat is the first pre-infestor timing roach/speed bane attack. If you hold it, you should be just fine because infestors should be out any second.

You have to be very careful vs speed bane play as you do not want to lose all your lings to them, this is very critical and you will want to baby sit your lings a little bit and split them so that if speed banes are going to hit them they won't kill them all. Since you will have upgrades your lings should be able to take a hit without dying (not recommended still). But this makes it not as bad if only one hits compared to 2 and they all die.

This is probably going to be people's biggest problem is beating this after they figure out the infestor timing, if you can remember to make banelings of your own and spines you should be just fine. don't forget to watch your mineral line to!

Good upgrades, overall ling/infestor is strong vs almost any composition

Has a great transition into late game with upgrades intact which if you can get to hive and to ultras and he isn't doing the same build you are going to be in a great position.

Very defensive style, you counter attack with some lings, but overall defensive. For players who like a strong build that can get them into late game this is a good style for them.

Ultralisks are incredibly strong with 5/3 upgrades vs all ground army especially with infestor support.

Your opponent will have map control over you if he is going roach play or mutalisk play. This is fine but is a disadvantage.

Your opponent should be able to secure a fourth a little faster then you with roach play. This gives him a slight eco advantage, but you won't be to far behind him as you will be getting utralisks with good upgrades, but a disadvantage non the less.

Defensive style. This is both disadvantage and advantage because some people don't like defensive, even if it's for 15 minutes of the game. You don't want to be to aggressive and you really can't vs roach/infestor until ultralisks are out.

If there are more I'll be sure to note it.

I played vs roach/speedbane and it hit before infestors and I died. How can I defend this?

To defend vs a roach/speedbane, you should have at least 3 spines at this point which will help a lot vs this, but you also will want some banelings on your own. Not speed banelings obviously, but you will want a few of your own to connect with his to kill them before they can touch your lings. This timing is really only worrisome before infestors come out, once infestors pop you should be fine.