! [G] Stay-one-step-ahead Strategy Guide

The Keep-it-Simple Strategy Guide has illustrated how crucial it is to devise a game plan that is simple, effective, and adaptable. In particular, it discussed the generalities of:

=>When to attack versus when to defend
=>When to stay the course versus when to change your plan
=>When to play standard versus when to innovate
=>When to stay in the game versus when to leave

In short, how to keep your game from collapsing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff6jm-mSp5Y

Luxury knows from observing his opponent's style that Flash will most likely besiege his main midgame. He makes a remote sneak expo, which he fully expects will be found, but it does not matter, for Flash almost ignores it, making no serious attempt to shut it down. Meanwhile, Luxury builds an unusual number of sunken colonies at his natural expansion and transitions from mutalisks to lurkers. Flash is so focused on taking down the main base with a wasteful protracted siege and marine drops that he wastes his army against overwhelming defenses, instead of busting the remote, undefendable expansion at the other end of the map (save with a few sunken colonies and much later a nydus canal)! Eventually, Luxury makes a sortie, attacking with guardians and drops ultralisks. Flash doesn't last much longer. gg.

That build absolutely required a third base, therefore Flash absolutely had to take it down as soon as possible. And if that third base had been closer to the main base, he would definitely have done so. But because it was far away from the main instead, that is, far from Flash's immediate objective, he just let it be! Luxury had every reason to expect his opponent to be impatient and go for the kill, and went for a strategy that was completely unreasonable yet tailored for his opponent at this particular point in time.

Since IefNaij is known as the Reaver Master, BRAT_OK anticipates a reaver drop and opens with a quick wraith (an otherwise very risky strategy), which takes down the first shuttle. Priceless.

After a defeated bunker rush at IefNaij's natural, BRAT_OK predictably lays mines at the center of the map, a common tactic. Notice then IefNaij's proxy gateway past the minefield (for mines can take down dark templars even if they're not visible).

Mind goes bunker rush against Luxury. gg.

Luxury returns the favor the very next game by going 4-pool. Mind doesn't expect it one bit. He rushes to make a bunker upon seeing the first zerglings but it's too late. gg.

Observe how pissed Mind is. He even lifts his barracks!

Don't expect the third game to last long...

Mind clearly expects a rush as he blocks his ramp as quickly as he can. Luxury opens 9-pool but expands instead of rushing; Mind expands as well. Both players mean to end the game quickly with one big push but Mind, clearly still affected by the previous game, does so too early and unreasonably, in an all-or-nothing way incompatible with his build, while Luxury, fully expecting this, is ready to receive him. Then he makes quick lurkers and pushes back the second wave of marines to their base and besieges Mind's natural expansion. Mind isn't ready for this at all. gg.

Luxury won because he kept his head cool and correctly anticipated that his opponent wouldn't.

Stork come back from behind after losing his natural expansion to Bisu. But he regains the initiative and retains the high ground before Bisu's base; other than that they're almost equal in strength. Notice how Stork's observers watch everything that his oblivious opponent does from 12:00 onward. Never surprised when his opponent attacks, he easily succeeds at defending his position with sufficient reinforcements and preemptive micro. Furthermore, he can tell later on when to go for the kill, before Bisu regains his strengths, just as he knew before that moving in would have been not only premature but suicidal. He even knows when to pull back his dragoons, and wait for reinforcements, just as Bisu's last reaver climbs down the ramp! In contrast, Bisu is reduced to playing blind and force his way uphill with brute force alone, never certain that his forces will be sufficient to overcome the blockade.

The key to Stork's victory wasn't macro or micro, but two "useless" observers hovering over Bisu's natural.

By midgame Luxury had secured map dominance, which in PvZ spells doom on the Protoss player. With only half as many bases, there's only so much that even Much can cope with.

IefNaij, having fallen slightly behind because of a manner pylon, decides to make up for it by immediately building his natural expansion, despite having few units, to the price of delaying his reavers. He even builds a third on an island right before Kal knocks at his door with overwhelming numbers!

The correct course of action was instead either to try to pressure Kal, or at the very least defend better, even if that meant delaying his natural expansion. Being ahead economically means little if you don't live to spend your resources on units.

Stork lets Kal scout his base while going for a contain at Kal's natural. But he also makes a proxy robotics facility and support bay, then goes reaver. The proxy here has two purposes: to shorten the distance for the reaver to crawl, and also to hide the tech buildings so that his opponent thinks he's trying some sort of wacky aggressive one base push with dragoons alone or whatever [!?], therefore make him stay in his base and build useless defenses that prove in the end ineffective indeed. gg.

Fast forward to 11:55. Jaedong sets up a corsair trap by letting a single overlord hover alone... next to a whole group of burrowed hydralisks. The trap claims three corsairs.

Also, observe how Jaedong places burrowed zerglings at key points, as a mean to keep map vision (see Scout section above).

Just Watch It. Arguably the best executed cheese ever. Now tell me with a straight face that cheese requires no skill.

Stork builds a proxy gateway, which is found by Fantasy's SCV. Fantasy loses his nerves and tries to take it down with SCV's, what fails. The rest is an uneven micro contest in which Stork even brings his probes. Fantasy types out.

If Fantasy had built a bunker instead and went for quick factory, the proxy would likely have been ineffective.

Lucifer, with little hope of winning against Jaedong, opts for proxy gateways. Jaedong defends against zealots with his drones until a sunken colony comes up, then rushes Lucifer's undefended base with zerglings. gg.

After a few squirmishes involving zerglings and zealots, TT deploys a reaver, which mere zerglings clearly cannot take on. Follows then a wild race for eliminating the other player. Savior narrowly wins because he takes down TT's hidden pylon with zerglings before the reaver kills them and his last buildings go down.

Although a close game, Mind is ahead of Nada from start to finish, forcing his opponent on the defensive. Yet he loses a protracted fight because Nada succeeds in clinging to the last remaining expo at the top! It's one of those games that makes you wonder just what the hell happened; how can you lead all game long but lose?

Until you ponder this: What if Mind had gone for the kill while he had the chance, instead of just denying the top expo all game, wasting his advantage? For example, the drop in Nada's base around 32:00 would have been much more effective if it had been earlier and all out; instead it was stalled and did little damage, because it was too little too late. Same for the all-out push with SCV's around 35:15, once he had run out of resources. Same for every subsequent last ditch attempt.

Also, a reminder from the previous guide: Don't give up until the game is over, for with patience and determination the odds can sometimes be turned around.