Three years of liberty: The history of Protoss part 1
Written by: Cyniko
A Brief Look Back
Contents
I. A Warp-gate based world: 2010
II. The First Hero: sSks
III. The Foreign Heroes: HuK and Mana
IV. Inevitable Decline of 2011
V. WhiteRa's Dreamhack run
VI. Rise of one last "hero" in 2011 As Wings of Liberty comes to an end and Heart of the Swarm right around the corner, it's important for us to take a look back at how we got here. With nearly three years of play under its belt, Wings of Liberty and the players who have poured their hearts into it have changed dramatically.
In this Series of features, we'll be taking a look back at how each race progressed throughout Wings of Liberty, and the players who inspired us to stretch the limits of each race and play our best. Each story is unique, the players, the metagame, and the inspirational moments that gave you reason to believe there was more to be discovered. I wish I could cover every single story and look at each strategy development in-depth, but that would be impossible. I'll be covering some of the moments that stood out for me as a player eager to learn and an avid fan that didn't miss a tournament.
The Protoss race has been one of the most volatile races since release, with playstyles needing to adapt and change dramatically with certain balance, mappool, and metagame shifts. It was always a learning process, and there were periods of time where the race couldn't have felt more one-dimensional. Luckily, by the end of this journey, the protoss race came into its own and gave us some incredible moments.
A warpgate-based world: 2010sSKS, HuK, Mana, MC
Aiur’s Finest Warriors in 2010: oGssSks (Tester), Liquid’Huk, mouzMaNa, MC
Honorable Mention: Liquid’Tyler
Wings of Liberty had just been officially released and chaos was on the servers across the world. Most players weren’t looking for the “correct” way to play the game, but the one that racked up the most wins. It just so happens that since the very beginning, because of the very powerful warp-gate mechanic, protoss has been the race with the easiest and most effective all-ins to execute. Protoss used that as a crutch to hobble their way to victory, and it proved to be more than enough by the end of the year.
The very beginning proved to be an odd and volatile environment for all three match ups. PvP was filled with only 4-gate with an occasional colossus all-in off one base, PvZ had 3-gate expansions along with tons of other warp gate and void ray all-ins, and then there was PvT.
This was a time when protoss couldn’t even send a scouting stalker out in fear of the marauder rush with concussive shell. The fear of any stim bio all-in timing was strong. Let’s not even mention the cloaked banshee with raven builds. Protoss needed some heroes to step forward and show the world how to play this matchup, and more importantly how to play this race. With a lot of potential not tapped yet, it took their first hero using great control to shed some light.
Remember When: Void-ray all-ins against a terran’s wall-off at his main base became so popular that terrans actually stopped walling off entirely for a few months? The Probe was always free to come hang out.
The first protoss hero: oGssSKS
Ki-Soo "sSKS" Seo.
Photo by: NeverGGSeo Ki-Soo, otherwise known as sSKS, Tester and Trickster (his final handle which I’ll never like), was the very first protoss to make an impression and be a face for the entire race.
During sSKS's rise, the only event in all of Starcraft 2 that mattered once it was released was the Global Starcraft League (GSL) going on in Korea, commentated by Tastosis since day one. In his debut match, Seo Ki-Soo showed some incredible forcefield control, and crushed a stimmed bio timing from his opponent that looked very strong.
He went on to the quarterfinals where he fell to terran player IntoTheRainbow but a new style of approaching PvT was already established. Protoss players everywhere tipped their hat to the Korean, hoping he would bring more insights to the race in the future. Unfortunately, he would never surpass a Quarterfinal performance, only reaching it once more in the GSL before falling off the face of the StarCraft Universe.
Here’s to Seo Ki-Soo, Protoss’s first inspiration and hero! *pours entire glass of champagne on the floor*
The huge bio and stim pack timing before colossus that every protoss had nightmares about in 2010, but Seo Ki-Soo (sSKS) showed us there was hope with these incredible forcefields in the first round of GomTV’s very first Global Starcraft League (GSL) for Wings of Liberty. This was the same and only GSL that Artosis participated in, but as zerg.
The Foreign Heroes of 2010: HuK and MaNa
Top-level PvT in 2010: Terran praying to get up the ramp and hoping for the best – HuK vs DreamWhereas sSKS has long since left us, two foreign heroes that had made an impression in the very beginning continue to be big players today. The Canadian Protoss who had made a name for himself on ladder, HuK, had joined Team Liquid at the end of September. Everyone in the North American scene took notice, but was this kid really going to become something big? He was on everyone’s radar, and with a 1st place at MLG Raleigh and a 3rd place finish at MLG D.C. in 2010, he looked to be promising. Everyone thought his potential was high, and to say he was a fan favorite would be an understatement. This kid was adored by nearly everyone under the sun, oh how things change.
Someone who gets a little less attention but deserves twice as much is mouzMaNa. A protoss player that has been embracing the macro qualities of the race since the beginning, he put on an incredible display at Dreamhack Winter 2010 against his terran teammate Naama. In this clip from Game 3, he is heavily contained at his natural for the third time in a row, but he finally breaks out.
In the end, MaNa couldn’t take the win in the series. However, one last protoss would step forward before year’s end, and establish himself as the defining protoss that many had been looking for.
Entry of the BossToss, Min-Chul
MC accepting Aiur’s first big trophy after Warpgate crushing to victory in the 3rd GSL. His cheeks weren’t as chubby back then.Now here’s a name that anybody who has watched professional StarCraft 2 has come across, MC, the protoss with the unrivaled showmanship and ruthless playstyle. In a period where protoss struggled against terran by playing too safe, he crushed three on his way to his victory in the third GSL and the first win for a protoss player. Instead of doing sheepish gateway with robotics expand builds, MC forcefed MarineKing, LiquidJinro, and TSL_Rain warp gate and void-ray all-ins that they soon wouldn’t forget. He showed that bunkers didn’t matter, get enough forcefields and you can dictate the entire engagement. Nobody was properly prepared for this new and explosive style, and MC made the protoss race look easy to play in all three match-ups.
Remember When: Seed hallucinated immortals against Hyperdub to fake the very popular immortal bust? The first and one of the only times we’ve seen a truly successful use of hallucinate to fake an entire build or timing attack.
“Glory” before the Dark Ages: 2011WhiteRa, MC, HerO, HuK
With MC claiming the first big win for protoss, there was still some huge question marks floating around for everyone watching it unfold. Was the pinnacle of protoss play to be defined by warp-gate all-ins? Was discovering a safer and more “solid” style a waste of time if warp-gate timings forced your opponents into near un-winnable situations when executed correctly?
In GSL March 2011, MC was able to claim yet another big victory over old fan favorite ST_July in an uneventful PvZ. The builds that MC actually won with were a 4-gate with nexus cancel, 7-gate all-in off 2-base, and two mass blink stalker all-ins. The energy was low in the air after this particular final, and once again everyone was left asking if this was the best the race can offer.
The short answer is no, at least not JUST warp-gate all-ins.
The inevitable decline of 2011
Let’s take a look at the winrates for Starcraft 2 in the first year, courtesy of SC2Statistics. The green lines represent protoss in both graphs.
While protoss never shined too brightly in PvT, they at least had a good grip on PvZ in the beginning. But right after MC’s victory in GSL March, there was a sharp decline in PvZ (hitting lows of 42%), with a steady decline in PvT starting at the same time (hovering at 46% towards the end).
The many protoss warp gate all-ins were starting to get figured out along with some of the void-ray all-ins and without many top players developing a backbone for the race, protoss entered complete free-fall. While late-game protoss against terran was undoubtedly strong, they were struggling to ever get there with the power of 1-1-1 and other timings. The ZvP winrate graph looks like the Jesus Fish, and by the end of 2011, protoss was praying to any god to save them from infestors.
In May, oGsInca had made to the GSL finals by cheesing his way there, only to get embarrassed by the "Creator of the Universe" and best zerg player at the time, LGIMNestea. The problem wasn’t that Inca fell, it was how he got to the finals and how he lost: by going DT opener every single game in that final series. Every. Single. Game. As "proper play" was still missing from the protoss arsenal, the dangerous realization that one of the three races was one-dimensional came again to the forefront. Regardless, there was still some home overseas.
Foreign powerhouse hopes: HuK and Naniwa
There were really only two protoss players that were worth talking about in the majority of 2011 other than MC, and they were HuK and Naniwa. They were responsible for creating new builds and new playstyles, ones that the common protoss player felt they could imitate and rely on, at least for a bit. It didn’t have to always be +2 blink stalker all-ins every game in PvZ, and it didn’t have to be 4-gate 24/7 in PvP. Don’t get me wrong, they still executed these builds, but they showed that new strategies and styles were yet to be discovered.
Whether it was the 20 Food PvT expand that HuK created, or Naniwa’s “Forge Fast Expand or Die Trying” motto in PvZ, they were showing that it was possible to play protoss in a smarter way than we had been seeing. Despite this, there was a certain lingering feeling that this too wouldn’t last very long.
Let’s look back at a Liquid’Huk who beat the very popular SlayerS_MMA to remain in Code S in May:
Both players had their big respective 1st place finishes and incredible stories in 2011. From Naniwa’s impressive run through the MLG Open Bracket to 1st place in Dallas to HuK’s inspirational Dreamhack Summer 2011 victory over Moon, these two were synonymous with 1st place finishes at the time.
Remember When: HuK hallucinated a lot of void rays at MLG Dallas 2011 in an otherwise tough looking game and IdrA immediately left? Oh wait, of course you do, everyone does.
The honorable White-Ra and how the BossToss left everyone with a sour aftertaste overseas
"We make expo and then defense it"One undeniable influence on the protoss race throughout Wings of Liberty has been the legendary Grandpa Toss, WhiteRa.
While his results never spoke too loudly, his creative play and inspiration to his fans were powerful enough. His "Special Tactics" became the most popular phrase in Starcraft II for a time, and his videos were always a treat. From great warp-prism play (before the warp prism shield upgrade, when protoss seriously didn't use warp prisms) to innovative stargate styles, he was exploring the possibilities of the race he has loved for years beyond Wings of Liberty.
However, there was one point in 2011 where WhiteRa showed that he was more than just his "Special Tactics" at Dreamhack Stockholm Invitational 2011 in April, where he reached the finals against the best protoss at the time, MC.
In an intense best of 5 PvP finals, most were rooting for the Grandpa Toss to cause what would of been the biggest upset in Wings of Liberty thus far. He went up 2-0 with an overwhelming 4-gate on Tal'Darim Altar and a strong hold against a blink stalker all-in on Metalopolis. The energy was high, but MC clawed his way back and forced a Game 5, where he played a little dirty. Proxy gate dirty.
Many felt robbed of what should’ve been a climatic and great Game 5. Others said that MC did what it took to win the game and stood by his play. To me, these points were irrelevant, as I was just left disappointed with what top level PvP was still proving to be, a (sometimes educated) coin-flip.
Towards the end of 2011, HuK had joined EG which started the process of many fans starting to turn on him and Naniwa took a rough loss to FXO’s Leenock at MLG Providence in a brutal ZvP beatdown. One last “hero” would rise up before the year closed out (see what I did there?)
HerO's homerun and the end of 2011
Formerly a member of oGs, HerO joined Liquid with some mixed reactions from the community. Not much had been seen from the young Korean protoss, but he showed to the Dreamhack Winter 2011 and put on a performance that was memorable to say the least.
In a decisive victory over EG’s Puma, a player with very high expectations, HerO absolutely dismantled his trademark “1-1-1” build in one of the most one-sided games over the build I had ever seen, utilizing the underused phoenix. Many proclaimed he had “figured out” what many thought was an unstoppable build. See it for yourself, in what I consider one to be of the best hard-counter builds in 2011.
With a Korean protoss from Liquid showing some new inventive play, there was another glimmer of hope to bring protoss out of this hellish meta-game in 2012.
TO BE CONTINUED...
A Brief Look Back
Contents
I. A Warp-gate based world: 2010
II. The First Hero: sSks
III. The Foreign Heroes: HuK and Mana
IV. Inevitable Decline of 2011
V. WhiteRa's Dreamhack run
VI. Rise of one last "hero" in 2011 As Wings of Liberty comes to an end and Heart of the Swarm right around the corner, it's important for us to take a look back at how we got here. With nearly three years of play under its belt, Wings of Liberty and the players who have poured their hearts into it have changed dramatically.
In this Series of features, we'll be taking a look back at how each race progressed throughout Wings of Liberty, and the players who inspired us to stretch the limits of each race and play our best. Each story is unique, the players, the metagame, and the inspirational moments that gave you reason to believe there was more to be discovered. I wish I could cover every single story and look at each strategy development in-depth, but that would be impossible. I'll be covering some of the moments that stood out for me as a player eager to learn and an avid fan that didn't miss a tournament.
The Protoss race has been one of the most volatile races since release, with playstyles needing to adapt and change dramatically with certain balance, mappool, and metagame shifts. It was always a learning process, and there were periods of time where the race couldn't have felt more one-dimensional. Luckily, by the end of this journey, the protoss race came into its own and gave us some incredible moments.
A warpgate-based world: 2010sSKS, HuK, Mana, MC
Aiur’s Finest Warriors in 2010: oGssSks (Tester), Liquid’Huk, mouzMaNa, MC
Honorable Mention: Liquid’Tyler
Wings of Liberty had just been officially released and chaos was on the servers across the world. Most players weren’t looking for the “correct” way to play the game, but the one that racked up the most wins. It just so happens that since the very beginning, because of the very powerful warp-gate mechanic, protoss has been the race with the easiest and most effective all-ins to execute. Protoss used that as a crutch to hobble their way to victory, and it proved to be more than enough by the end of the year.
The very beginning proved to be an odd and volatile environment for all three match ups. PvP was filled with only 4-gate with an occasional colossus all-in off one base, PvZ had 3-gate expansions along with tons of other warp gate and void ray all-ins, and then there was PvT.
This was a time when protoss couldn’t even send a scouting stalker out in fear of the marauder rush with concussive shell. The fear of any stim bio all-in timing was strong. Let’s not even mention the cloaked banshee with raven builds. Protoss needed some heroes to step forward and show the world how to play this matchup, and more importantly how to play this race. With a lot of potential not tapped yet, it took their first hero using great control to shed some light.
Remember When: Void-ray all-ins against a terran’s wall-off at his main base became so popular that terrans actually stopped walling off entirely for a few months? The Probe was always free to come hang out.
The first protoss hero: oGssSKS
Ki-Soo "sSKS" Seo.
Photo by: NeverGGSeo Ki-Soo, otherwise known as sSKS, Tester and Trickster (his final handle which I’ll never like), was the very first protoss to make an impression and be a face for the entire race.
During sSKS's rise, the only event in all of Starcraft 2 that mattered once it was released was the Global Starcraft League (GSL) going on in Korea, commentated by Tastosis since day one. In his debut match, Seo Ki-Soo showed some incredible forcefield control, and crushed a stimmed bio timing from his opponent that looked very strong.
He went on to the quarterfinals where he fell to terran player IntoTheRainbow but a new style of approaching PvT was already established. Protoss players everywhere tipped their hat to the Korean, hoping he would bring more insights to the race in the future. Unfortunately, he would never surpass a Quarterfinal performance, only reaching it once more in the GSL before falling off the face of the StarCraft Universe.
Here’s to Seo Ki-Soo, Protoss’s first inspiration and hero! *pours entire glass of champagne on the floor*
The huge bio and stim pack timing before colossus that every protoss had nightmares about in 2010, but Seo Ki-Soo (sSKS) showed us there was hope with these incredible forcefields in the first round of GomTV’s very first Global Starcraft League (GSL) for Wings of Liberty. This was the same and only GSL that Artosis participated in, but as zerg.
The Foreign Heroes of 2010: HuK and MaNa
Top-level PvT in 2010: Terran praying to get up the ramp and hoping for the best – HuK vs DreamWhereas sSKS has long since left us, two foreign heroes that had made an impression in the very beginning continue to be big players today. The Canadian Protoss who had made a name for himself on ladder, HuK, had joined Team Liquid at the end of September. Everyone in the North American scene took notice, but was this kid really going to become something big? He was on everyone’s radar, and with a 1st place at MLG Raleigh and a 3rd place finish at MLG D.C. in 2010, he looked to be promising. Everyone thought his potential was high, and to say he was a fan favorite would be an understatement. This kid was adored by nearly everyone under the sun, oh how things change.
Someone who gets a little less attention but deserves twice as much is mouzMaNa. A protoss player that has been embracing the macro qualities of the race since the beginning, he put on an incredible display at Dreamhack Winter 2010 against his terran teammate Naama. In this clip from Game 3, he is heavily contained at his natural for the third time in a row, but he finally breaks out.
In the end, MaNa couldn’t take the win in the series. However, one last protoss would step forward before year’s end, and establish himself as the defining protoss that many had been looking for.
Entry of the BossToss, Min-Chul
MC accepting Aiur’s first big trophy after Warpgate crushing to victory in the 3rd GSL. His cheeks weren’t as chubby back then.Now here’s a name that anybody who has watched professional StarCraft 2 has come across, MC, the protoss with the unrivaled showmanship and ruthless playstyle. In a period where protoss struggled against terran by playing too safe, he crushed three on his way to his victory in the third GSL and the first win for a protoss player. Instead of doing sheepish gateway with robotics expand builds, MC forcefed MarineKing, LiquidJinro, and TSL_Rain warp gate and void-ray all-ins that they soon wouldn’t forget. He showed that bunkers didn’t matter, get enough forcefields and you can dictate the entire engagement. Nobody was properly prepared for this new and explosive style, and MC made the protoss race look easy to play in all three match-ups.
Remember When: Seed hallucinated immortals against Hyperdub to fake the very popular immortal bust? The first and one of the only times we’ve seen a truly successful use of hallucinate to fake an entire build or timing attack.
“Glory” before the Dark Ages: 2011WhiteRa, MC, HerO, HuK
With MC claiming the first big win for protoss, there was still some huge question marks floating around for everyone watching it unfold. Was the pinnacle of protoss play to be defined by warp-gate all-ins? Was discovering a safer and more “solid” style a waste of time if warp-gate timings forced your opponents into near un-winnable situations when executed correctly?
In GSL March 2011, MC was able to claim yet another big victory over old fan favorite ST_July in an uneventful PvZ. The builds that MC actually won with were a 4-gate with nexus cancel, 7-gate all-in off 2-base, and two mass blink stalker all-ins. The energy was low in the air after this particular final, and once again everyone was left asking if this was the best the race can offer.
The short answer is no, at least not JUST warp-gate all-ins.
The inevitable decline of 2011
Let’s take a look at the winrates for Starcraft 2 in the first year, courtesy of SC2Statistics. The green lines represent protoss in both graphs.
While protoss never shined too brightly in PvT, they at least had a good grip on PvZ in the beginning. But right after MC’s victory in GSL March, there was a sharp decline in PvZ (hitting lows of 42%), with a steady decline in PvT starting at the same time (hovering at 46% towards the end).
The many protoss warp gate all-ins were starting to get figured out along with some of the void-ray all-ins and without many top players developing a backbone for the race, protoss entered complete free-fall. While late-game protoss against terran was undoubtedly strong, they were struggling to ever get there with the power of 1-1-1 and other timings. The ZvP winrate graph looks like the Jesus Fish, and by the end of 2011, protoss was praying to any god to save them from infestors.
In May, oGsInca had made to the GSL finals by cheesing his way there, only to get embarrassed by the "Creator of the Universe" and best zerg player at the time, LGIMNestea. The problem wasn’t that Inca fell, it was how he got to the finals and how he lost: by going DT opener every single game in that final series. Every. Single. Game. As "proper play" was still missing from the protoss arsenal, the dangerous realization that one of the three races was one-dimensional came again to the forefront. Regardless, there was still some home overseas.
Foreign powerhouse hopes: HuK and Naniwa
There were really only two protoss players that were worth talking about in the majority of 2011 other than MC, and they were HuK and Naniwa. They were responsible for creating new builds and new playstyles, ones that the common protoss player felt they could imitate and rely on, at least for a bit. It didn’t have to always be +2 blink stalker all-ins every game in PvZ, and it didn’t have to be 4-gate 24/7 in PvP. Don’t get me wrong, they still executed these builds, but they showed that new strategies and styles were yet to be discovered.
Whether it was the 20 Food PvT expand that HuK created, or Naniwa’s “Forge Fast Expand or Die Trying” motto in PvZ, they were showing that it was possible to play protoss in a smarter way than we had been seeing. Despite this, there was a certain lingering feeling that this too wouldn’t last very long.
Let’s look back at a Liquid’Huk who beat the very popular SlayerS_MMA to remain in Code S in May:
Both players had their big respective 1st place finishes and incredible stories in 2011. From Naniwa’s impressive run through the MLG Open Bracket to 1st place in Dallas to HuK’s inspirational Dreamhack Summer 2011 victory over Moon, these two were synonymous with 1st place finishes at the time.
Remember When: HuK hallucinated a lot of void rays at MLG Dallas 2011 in an otherwise tough looking game and IdrA immediately left? Oh wait, of course you do, everyone does.
The honorable White-Ra and how the BossToss left everyone with a sour aftertaste overseas
"We make expo and then defense it"One undeniable influence on the protoss race throughout Wings of Liberty has been the legendary Grandpa Toss, WhiteRa.
While his results never spoke too loudly, his creative play and inspiration to his fans were powerful enough. His "Special Tactics" became the most popular phrase in Starcraft II for a time, and his videos were always a treat. From great warp-prism play (before the warp prism shield upgrade, when protoss seriously didn't use warp prisms) to innovative stargate styles, he was exploring the possibilities of the race he has loved for years beyond Wings of Liberty.
However, there was one point in 2011 where WhiteRa showed that he was more than just his "Special Tactics" at Dreamhack Stockholm Invitational 2011 in April, where he reached the finals against the best protoss at the time, MC.
In an intense best of 5 PvP finals, most were rooting for the Grandpa Toss to cause what would of been the biggest upset in Wings of Liberty thus far. He went up 2-0 with an overwhelming 4-gate on Tal'Darim Altar and a strong hold against a blink stalker all-in on Metalopolis. The energy was high, but MC clawed his way back and forced a Game 5, where he played a little dirty. Proxy gate dirty.
Many felt robbed of what should’ve been a climatic and great Game 5. Others said that MC did what it took to win the game and stood by his play. To me, these points were irrelevant, as I was just left disappointed with what top level PvP was still proving to be, a (sometimes educated) coin-flip.
Towards the end of 2011, HuK had joined EG which started the process of many fans starting to turn on him and Naniwa took a rough loss to FXO’s Leenock at MLG Providence in a brutal ZvP beatdown. One last “hero” would rise up before the year closed out (see what I did there?)
HerO's homerun and the end of 2011
Formerly a member of oGs, HerO joined Liquid with some mixed reactions from the community. Not much had been seen from the young Korean protoss, but he showed to the Dreamhack Winter 2011 and put on a performance that was memorable to say the least.
In a decisive victory over EG’s Puma, a player with very high expectations, HerO absolutely dismantled his trademark “1-1-1” build in one of the most one-sided games over the build I had ever seen, utilizing the underused phoenix. Many proclaimed he had “figured out” what many thought was an unstoppable build. See it for yourself, in what I consider one to be of the best hard-counter builds in 2011.
With a Korean protoss from Liquid showing some new inventive play, there was another glimmer of hope to bring protoss out of this hellish meta-game in 2012.
TO BE CONTINUED...
