EPTsOs is one of the greatest innovators of HotS, but others have caught up as he looks for a way to stay ahead of the curve.
by lichter
Once the Captain of the Wacky Toss Navy,
Woongjin_sOs has fallen off the radar during the the last two seasons of WCS. His inspiring and entertaining Ro4 run in WCS KR Season One and his runner up finish in the WCS Season One Finals, both at a time when Protoss were struggling, are now distant memories. A Ro32 knock-out in season two followed by a Ro16 elimination in season three has pushed sOs off Protoss Hope Pedestal, replaced by both rising stars like Dear and Trap, and old mainstays like MC and Rain.What exactly happened to sOs? During sOs’ rise to fame in early HotS, he was truly ahead of the curve. He showed us that we didn’t have to play like Rain to be successful, and that we didn’t have to all-in each game either. It's not much of a stretch to say that his success in Season 1 ushered in our current era of creative, stylish and most of all successful Protosses. He's helped make PvZ and PvP some of the most strategically diverse matchups we have today, with a multitude of build orders and compositions available.
One of his most important innovations was figuring out how to really abuse the unpredictability of gateway openers in PvZ, vexing his opponents with a multitude of follow-ups including DTs, gateway all-ins, fast thirds, and stargate play. sOs was also a pioneer in figuring out effective void ray play, able to take what seemed like absurdly fast third bases while rushing up to mass void rays. On top of that, he discarded colossi and blink stalkers in favor of zealots and archons, which combined with void rays to create a nightmare combination that Zergs could not handle.
With his vast array of builds and strange new compositions, sOs became a ZvP terror. Playing 'standard' against sOs was suicide, one either had to play as risky as him, or try to counter his innovative compositions with even more creative counter-compositions. Even in his worst match-up of PvT, sOs showed he had some very good ideas, and he proved tempests could be rather effective against Terran in his WCS Season Finals match against INnoVation.
Although sOs enjoyed great success for a period, it can be argued that he became a victim of his own revolution. Protoss players around the world were inspired by sOs' style, endlessly imitating and experimenting with his strategies. After "sOs-style" became a standard part of the Protoss playbook, sOs was surpassed by even better versions of himself. What are Dear and Trap if not more refined evolutions of sOs?
Faced with an army of sOs clones and mutations, it was inevitable that Zerg players would evolve as well. They found out what they needed to scout for, delved into the weak timings that could be exploited, and came up with end-game counter compositions that could fight against sOs-style on equal footing.
As a big fan of sOs' play during his initial rise, and having been insulted by editor Waxangel about my knowledge of sOs's recent strategies, I decided to rewatch all forty of his streamed games after the Season 1 Finals. In an exercise of excessive fandom, let us revisit every single build that sOs has performed during his 'decline,' in reverse chronological tournament order.
Forty games, Forty builds
+ Show Spoiler [Click for wall of text] +
IEM New York
vs. Revival (2-0)
Game 1: Blink Stalker timing attack does irreparable damage.
Game 2: Gateway expand; zealot pressure kills the third. Turtles to late game with colossus, blink stalkers and Templar.
vs. HuK (2-0)
Game 1: sOs holds a gateway expand into a robo versus 3gates. Gets a 12 minute third, and relies on immortal archon.
Game 2: Blink into an expansion versus gateway pressure; HuK all ins on one base with a robo but can’t break it
vs. San (0-2)
Game 1: Opens DT expand which does little damage against gateway expand into robo. Loses in lategame Immortal-Archon battles.
Game 2: 3 stalker opening defends against DTs. Loses in the late game due to prioritizing immortal archon over colossus.
vs. Curious (2-3)
Game 1: Nexus first into forge. Stargate for 1 phoenix then voidrays and a 7:30 third. Templar and chargelot heavy composition. 14 minute fourth. Harasses Curious to death.
Game 2: Same build as Game 1. Curious tries some hydra pressure, and the muta switch does lots of damage and roach hydra infestor kills him.
Game 3: Gateway expand versus 3hatch before pool. Stargate into phoenixes. 7gate stalker sentry pressure stopped by burrow roaches. Colossus then Templar transition, but loses the base trade due to BroodLords.
Game 4: Gateway expand. 7:30 third plus twilight tech into blink+colossus. Constant harass bleeds Curious out despite reaching BroodLords and Swarm Hosts.
Game 5: Nexus into forge instead of cannon rush on Bel’shir Vestige. Early +1 and a Stargate. Phoenix Zealot pressure does little so he transitions to colossus. Curious constantly stops his third base, and sOs eventually dies to the muta switch after roach hydra viper.
WCS KR S3
vs. Dear (2-0)
Game 1: Double gas steal into cheeky 4gate.
Game 2: Fast Expand into DTs versus Proxy Stargate. DTs prove more effective.
vs. Trap (0-2)
Game 1: Gas steal, but he realizes it’s a proxy 2gate with a core. Dies from the micro.
Game 2: Gas steal. Trap proxy’s a stargate against sOs’ normal stargate. Phoenix versus phoenix, but Trap’s better micro wins again.
vs. KeeN (2-0)
Game 1: Fast expand and 2gate robo into chargelot archon. Base trade in sOs’ favor.
Game 2: Oracle into expand followed by double forge into twilight tech, mostly chargelot archon. Cute use of oracles and hallucination versus defensive widowmines. He eventually gets colossus and wins.
vs. Trap part 2 (1-2)
Game 1: Trap opens with blink and sOs counters with Charge and a DT Shrine. DTs do nothing and sOs gets caught in the middle of the map.
Game 2: Gas steal. Stargate versus Trap’s blink, but both go robo. sOs expands, but Trap is on one base. Blink pressure doesn’t kill the nexus and sOs survives.
Game 3: Macro game. Chargelot immortal archon. Tempests eventually. Gets caught out of position.
vs. Avenge (2-1)
Game 1: Blink for sOs against an early expand, but he can’t break it.
Game 2: Avenge tries to proxy gate but gets spotted immediately and loses.
Game 3: Gas steal. Avenge tries to 4gate but his sneaky probe in the main gets spotted. He gets a stargate for an oracle, and it allows him to win a close game.
DreamHack Bucharest
vs. Jaedong (2-1)
Game 1: Nexus into forge and double stargate before twilight for charge. 8minute third base. Chargelots, Voidrays and Templar. Constantly loses bases to roach hydra infestor but his immortal archon eventually loses a crazy close basetrade to mutas.
Game 2: Gateway expand, 2 more gates and a forge but the pressure does nothing. A gateway allin doesn’t materialize so he transitions to twilight tech for blink and a robo. sOs survives constant roach pressure until he has enough colossus and immortals.
Game 3: Nexus into forge and a stargate versus a baneling bust. sOs miraculously holds with nothing. Wins with a big 6gate +1 attack.
vs. Taeja (0-2)
Game 1: Gateway expand into robo vs quick 3 CCs. sOs tries to punish it with quick ranged colossus, but he can’t break Taeja. He tries to transition to chargelot archon but it doesn’t work.
Game 2: Core expand vs gas before CC. Immortal bust versus marine hellion. Taeja ends up slightly ahead and wins against gateway units.
WCS KR S2
vs. EffOrt (1-0)
Cannon rush on Bel’shir evens out due to a ling runby. sOs moves on to phoenix harass, but EffOrt tries to nydus bust but can’t break against Voidrays.
vs. soO (0-1)
Gateway expand with 2 gasses into phoenixes. Ling Hydra attack on the third arrives before colossus and the muta switch does too much damage.
vs. Maru (0-1)
Gateway expand against reaper expand. Robo, single forge and colossus. Maru constantly kills the third, and takes good enough engagements. sOs claws back with chargelot immortal archon Templar but he starves out.
vs. Ruin (2-1)
Game 1: Early Mamacore for harass into stargate and expand against 2gate expand. Hallucinated oracle fakes for the real oracle. sOs goes phoenix next against double proxy stargate. Transitions to chargelot immortal archon and wins.
Game 2: Blink vs 2gate expand. sOs can’t bust the natural against immortals.
Game 3: Blink vs proxy stargate. Oracle does nothing and Ruin tries a proxy dark shrine, while sOs also builds his. sOs scouts the dark shrine and he does way more damage. Wins with chargelot immortal.
vs. Curious (2-0)
Game 1: Nexus into forge. Stargate for 1 phoenix straight into voidrays, and a 7:30 third base. Chargelot archon Templar and voidrays wins.
Game 2: Nexus before forge. Double stargate for voidrays and phoenixes; abuses the destructible rocks. Chargelot archon + SkyToss.
SPL
vs. Dear (1-0)
Proxy blink against 2gate expand and stargate. Straightforward win.
vs. PartinG (1-0)
2gate expands for both followed by a robo, and quick thirds for both. Chargelot immortal archon before transitioning to 2robo colossus. sOs attacks before tempests come out.
vs. Classic (1-0)
Proxy gate does damage, and more gates end it.
vs. Zenio (1-0)
Forge expand followed by a stargate. 1 Phoenix and 1 voidray, then straight into robo and colossus, and 2 more stargates. Ends with voidray colossus archon Templar and lots of harass.
vs. TY (0-1)
Gateway expand against CC first and a ninja CC. Stargate for oracles into twilight tech. Chargelot archon Templar with the occasional colossus.
vs. Revival (2-0)
Game 1: Blink Stalker timing attack does irreparable damage.
Game 2: Gateway expand; zealot pressure kills the third. Turtles to late game with colossus, blink stalkers and Templar.
vs. HuK (2-0)
Game 1: sOs holds a gateway expand into a robo versus 3gates. Gets a 12 minute third, and relies on immortal archon.
Game 2: Blink into an expansion versus gateway pressure; HuK all ins on one base with a robo but can’t break it
vs. San (0-2)
Game 1: Opens DT expand which does little damage against gateway expand into robo. Loses in lategame Immortal-Archon battles.
Game 2: 3 stalker opening defends against DTs. Loses in the late game due to prioritizing immortal archon over colossus.
vs. Curious (2-3)
Game 1: Nexus first into forge. Stargate for 1 phoenix then voidrays and a 7:30 third. Templar and chargelot heavy composition. 14 minute fourth. Harasses Curious to death.
Game 2: Same build as Game 1. Curious tries some hydra pressure, and the muta switch does lots of damage and roach hydra infestor kills him.
Game 3: Gateway expand versus 3hatch before pool. Stargate into phoenixes. 7gate stalker sentry pressure stopped by burrow roaches. Colossus then Templar transition, but loses the base trade due to BroodLords.
Game 4: Gateway expand. 7:30 third plus twilight tech into blink+colossus. Constant harass bleeds Curious out despite reaching BroodLords and Swarm Hosts.
Game 5: Nexus into forge instead of cannon rush on Bel’shir Vestige. Early +1 and a Stargate. Phoenix Zealot pressure does little so he transitions to colossus. Curious constantly stops his third base, and sOs eventually dies to the muta switch after roach hydra viper.
WCS KR S3
vs. Dear (2-0)
Game 1: Double gas steal into cheeky 4gate.
Game 2: Fast Expand into DTs versus Proxy Stargate. DTs prove more effective.
vs. Trap (0-2)
Game 1: Gas steal, but he realizes it’s a proxy 2gate with a core. Dies from the micro.
Game 2: Gas steal. Trap proxy’s a stargate against sOs’ normal stargate. Phoenix versus phoenix, but Trap’s better micro wins again.
vs. KeeN (2-0)
Game 1: Fast expand and 2gate robo into chargelot archon. Base trade in sOs’ favor.
Game 2: Oracle into expand followed by double forge into twilight tech, mostly chargelot archon. Cute use of oracles and hallucination versus defensive widowmines. He eventually gets colossus and wins.
vs. Trap part 2 (1-2)
Game 1: Trap opens with blink and sOs counters with Charge and a DT Shrine. DTs do nothing and sOs gets caught in the middle of the map.
Game 2: Gas steal. Stargate versus Trap’s blink, but both go robo. sOs expands, but Trap is on one base. Blink pressure doesn’t kill the nexus and sOs survives.
Game 3: Macro game. Chargelot immortal archon. Tempests eventually. Gets caught out of position.
vs. Avenge (2-1)
Game 1: Blink for sOs against an early expand, but he can’t break it.
Game 2: Avenge tries to proxy gate but gets spotted immediately and loses.
Game 3: Gas steal. Avenge tries to 4gate but his sneaky probe in the main gets spotted. He gets a stargate for an oracle, and it allows him to win a close game.
DreamHack Bucharest
vs. Jaedong (2-1)
Game 1: Nexus into forge and double stargate before twilight for charge. 8minute third base. Chargelots, Voidrays and Templar. Constantly loses bases to roach hydra infestor but his immortal archon eventually loses a crazy close basetrade to mutas.
Game 2: Gateway expand, 2 more gates and a forge but the pressure does nothing. A gateway allin doesn’t materialize so he transitions to twilight tech for blink and a robo. sOs survives constant roach pressure until he has enough colossus and immortals.
Game 3: Nexus into forge and a stargate versus a baneling bust. sOs miraculously holds with nothing. Wins with a big 6gate +1 attack.
vs. Taeja (0-2)
Game 1: Gateway expand into robo vs quick 3 CCs. sOs tries to punish it with quick ranged colossus, but he can’t break Taeja. He tries to transition to chargelot archon but it doesn’t work.
Game 2: Core expand vs gas before CC. Immortal bust versus marine hellion. Taeja ends up slightly ahead and wins against gateway units.
WCS KR S2
vs. EffOrt (1-0)
Cannon rush on Bel’shir evens out due to a ling runby. sOs moves on to phoenix harass, but EffOrt tries to nydus bust but can’t break against Voidrays.
vs. soO (0-1)
Gateway expand with 2 gasses into phoenixes. Ling Hydra attack on the third arrives before colossus and the muta switch does too much damage.
vs. Maru (0-1)
Gateway expand against reaper expand. Robo, single forge and colossus. Maru constantly kills the third, and takes good enough engagements. sOs claws back with chargelot immortal archon Templar but he starves out.
vs. Ruin (2-1)
Game 1: Early Mamacore for harass into stargate and expand against 2gate expand. Hallucinated oracle fakes for the real oracle. sOs goes phoenix next against double proxy stargate. Transitions to chargelot immortal archon and wins.
Game 2: Blink vs 2gate expand. sOs can’t bust the natural against immortals.
Game 3: Blink vs proxy stargate. Oracle does nothing and Ruin tries a proxy dark shrine, while sOs also builds his. sOs scouts the dark shrine and he does way more damage. Wins with chargelot immortal.
vs. Curious (2-0)
Game 1: Nexus into forge. Stargate for 1 phoenix straight into voidrays, and a 7:30 third base. Chargelot archon Templar and voidrays wins.
Game 2: Nexus before forge. Double stargate for voidrays and phoenixes; abuses the destructible rocks. Chargelot archon + SkyToss.
SPL
vs. Dear (1-0)
Proxy blink against 2gate expand and stargate. Straightforward win.
vs. PartinG (1-0)
2gate expands for both followed by a robo, and quick thirds for both. Chargelot immortal archon before transitioning to 2robo colossus. sOs attacks before tempests come out.
vs. Classic (1-0)
Proxy gate does damage, and more gates end it.
vs. Zenio (1-0)
Forge expand followed by a stargate. 1 Phoenix and 1 voidray, then straight into robo and colossus, and 2 more stargates. Ends with voidray colossus archon Templar and lots of harass.
vs. TY (0-1)
Gateway expand against CC first and a ninja CC. Stargate for oracles into twilight tech. Chargelot archon Templar with the occasional colossus.
Summary (cheese defense games excluded)
- PvP: 19 games – 13 different openings; mostly chargelot immortal archon
- PvZ: 15 games – 11 different openings; mix of different compositions
- PvT: 6 games – 6 different openings; prefers chargelot archon or stargate harassment
Most interesting builds
- PvP: Gas steals!
- PvZ: Nexus first into forge, followed by 1 phoenix and voidrays for a 7:30 third base.
- PvZ: Double stargate
After rewatching the games, I remembered why I appreciated sOs all over again. His unpredictable, constantly evolving, unique style of play never fails to entertain, even if it's not as effective as before. Very few players are willing to play in such a risky manner and use so many builds, and only sOs really makes some of these builds work. From his daring fast thirds, seemingly anachronistic gas steals, and his desire to use every single Protoss unit, everything he does is just plain endearing.
sOs is still a very good player—the question is whether or not he is one that can win the WCS Grand Finals. He's still tweaking his strategies to be more effective—for example he's recently stopped going mass void rays in PvZ, keeping them at a reasonable number while focusing on getting faster storm. However, it's clear that he's now only inches ahead of the curve, not miles ahead as he was in the past.
Outlook for Blizzcon
Mini predictions:
- sOs will use Chargelot+Archon at least once vs every race
- His PvP’s will average only 12 minutes
- Out against the first Terran he meets
Unless sOs busts out something completely new for Blizzcon, things are going to be difficult for him. His micro isn’t as good as players such as Trap or HerO, he doesn't have the all-in instinct of MC or duckdeok, and he's just not as good as Dear all-around (who sOs personally coached for the GSL finals, by the way). His PvZ late game is a joy to behold and looks on par with the best, but he still relies on a strong economy and well calculated risks to get there. And who knows if he'll even play a Zerg?
It looks like we’re again reaching a point where the game has been mapped out, discoveries are few and far in between, and creative players are surpassed by their mechanically superior peers. But if anyone can bring something completely new to the table, it's HotS' most innovative player.
1: Soulkey - The Tragic Champion
2: INnoVation - The Man in the Machine
3: Jaedong - In Search of Lost Time
4: Polt - Prince of the Tides
5: HerO - Fire and Ice
6: Dear - The Unending Royal Road
7: Maru - The Prince Who Would be King
8: Bomber - I Fought the Law (And I Won)
9: MMA - Out of Exile
10: MC - Cash Rules Everything Around Me
11: TaeJa - Fire and Ice
12: sOs - On the Cutting Edge
13: aLive - The Iconoclast
14: Mvp - The King
15: duckdeok - Faceless
16: NaNiwa
