Written by: Cyniko
1. "Strategy Corners" by match-up 1.1. Protoss vs Zerg 1.2 Protoss vs Terran 1.3. Zerg vs Terran 2. The butterfly effect
3. The two builds
4. VOD analysis
LZGamer's Mutalisk/Swarm host in PvZ
Jaedong's and Leenock's double evo opening against Naniwa
Protoss vs Terran
Goody's mech in PvT
MC's Stargate opening in PvT Zerg vs Terran
Polt's Widow Mine opening in ZvT
Stephano's Roach/Hydra/Viper in ZvT
15 Pool/15 Hatch
18 Geyser
Ling speed with 1st 100 gas
6:15 Swell of 20 lings
6:30 Lair + double evo
7:15 2x geyser 7:30 Start upgrades
8:00 3rd hatchery 8:30 4th geyser
9:00 Infestation pit
9:15 Huge swell of lings (assuming a ground attack/pressure is possible) ~11:00 Hive
~12:15 4 infestors
As soon as hive finishes:
Ultralisk Cavern + Adrenal Glands
~14:05 Ultralisk Production begins
JD loses natural and never takes fourth –> never starts + 3 carapace Goes for big attack, just barely short of breaking Naniwa
?Tries to macro and go for swarm host but he's already dead
?15 Pool/15 Hatch
?18 Geyser
Ling speed with 1st 100 gas
6:00 Double evo + smaller swell of lings (6-10)
6:45 Starts +1/+1
7:30 Lair + 3rd Hatchery
7:40 2nd geyser
Macro hatchery soon after
8:20 2x Geysers
9:15 Infestation Pit
9:30 2/2 + Swell of lings –> try to get run-bys and economic damage done
~10:00 Hive
11:00 3-4 Infestors
As soon as hive finishes:
12:30 Ultralisk Cavern + Adrenal glands + Additional Queens
?~13:00 Fourth Base ~13:25 3/3 + Chitinous Plating + Ultralisk Production beings At first glance it doesn’t seem like all that much is different, right? That’s because it’s really not, but that’s what separates a win from a loss at this level of play. I’ve bolded the key differences, let’s take a look at them. Key differences: 1) Jaedong commits to more lings early-game that don’t do much and affect his economy + timings 2) Jaedong gets an earlier Lair + slightly earlier geysers that is ineffective and sets him behind 3) Jaedong gets a later third hatchery These are the main contributors that prevented Jaedong from potentially advancing to the finals. In all honesty, though, it stems from that big number one, the over-commitment to lings. Jaedong got faked out by Naniwa’s one mothership core, one zealot, and one probe pressure that forced about 20 lings. That was the start of the slip-up, as it led to an overly early Lair, quicker unnecessary geysers, a later third hatchery and ultimately, delayed ultras. These delayed ultras gave Naniwa a short timing window to move in and take out Jaedong’s natural, force him into a tough situation that led to Jaedong trying to break Naniwa that didn’t work. So really, that incredible hold that will go down in Dreamhack history is all thanks to one probe, one mothership core, and one zealot. You’ve done Aiur proud you three. What Leenock did right is adapt his build to Naniwa's play and scouted properly. This ling/double-evo play is very strong, but it relies heavily on scouting your opponent properly. You are now equipped with the build (if you need more examples, every zerg under the sun is executing the build), but it always varies based on what your protoss opponent is doing. If you can stay safe with spore crawlers and queens, then do so. If you can hit the timings that Leenock hits, you’ll be making protoss on ladder cry for days.
Table of Contents
1. "Strategy Corners" by match-up 1.1. Protoss vs Zerg 1.2 Protoss vs Terran 1.3. Zerg vs Terran 2. The butterfly effect
3. The two builds
4. VOD analysis
"Strategy Corners" by match-up
Protoss vs Zerg PvZ late-game with Socke and MCLZGamer's Mutalisk/Swarm host in PvZ
Jaedong's and Leenock's double evo opening against Naniwa
Protoss vs Terran
Goody's mech in PvT
MC's Stargate opening in PvT Zerg vs Terran
Polt's Widow Mine opening in ZvT
Stephano's Roach/Hydra/Viper in ZvT
The butterfly effect
DreamHack was some tournament indeed and one of the most exciting games of the entire event was Naniwa vs Jaedong on Star Station, in which the two players were vertically across from each other. What started off looking like standard builds, with Jaedong opting for ling/double evo and Naniwa doing his standard Stargate opener, unfolded into one of the most tense games of the entire event. It all came down to seconds as Naniwa was able to snipe Jaedong’s natural right before the Ultralisks popped out, recall back home, and just barely defend his third base against the inevitable counter-attack. It's a moment that will go down in Dreamhack history. Then in the finals between Leenock and Naniwa we saw the same map, the same positions, the same builds, but not the same result. Leenock ended up shutting down Naniwa with what looked like the same exact build. It turns out Leenock learned from the mistakes of his fallen Zerg comrade, and as a result, eeked out all of the crucial points of the build just moments earlier. In this unconventional Strategy Corner, we'll be focusing less on the strategy itself and more on what separates great from good. You always hear that at the highest level of play, the most minor details in the early-game can affect things in the late-game drastically, a butterfly effect. Well here it is, in plain sight, and it’s pretty damn cool.The builds
It’s Star Station, a wide open map with difficult to take thirds and fourths. Vertically across from each other in both scenarios, the games look extremely similar as things start off. Let’s look at the builds themselves: Jaedong's build Leenock's build15 Pool/15 Hatch
18 Geyser
Ling speed with 1st 100 gas
6:15 Swell of 20 lings
6:30 Lair + double evo
7:15 2x geyser 7:30 Start upgrades
8:00 3rd hatchery 8:30 4th geyser
9:00 Infestation pit
9:15 Huge swell of lings (assuming a ground attack/pressure is possible) ~11:00 Hive
~12:15 4 infestors
As soon as hive finishes:
Ultralisk Cavern + Adrenal Glands
~14:05 Ultralisk Production begins
JD loses natural and never takes fourth –> never starts + 3 carapace Goes for big attack, just barely short of breaking Naniwa
?Tries to macro and go for swarm host but he's already dead
?15 Pool/15 Hatch
?18 Geyser
Ling speed with 1st 100 gas
6:00 Double evo + smaller swell of lings (6-10)
6:45 Starts +1/+1
7:30 Lair + 3rd Hatchery
7:40 2nd geyser
Macro hatchery soon after
8:20 2x Geysers
9:15 Infestation Pit
9:30 2/2 + Swell of lings –> try to get run-bys and economic damage done
~10:00 Hive
11:00 3-4 Infestors
As soon as hive finishes:
12:30 Ultralisk Cavern + Adrenal glands + Additional Queens
?~13:00 Fourth Base ~13:25 3/3 + Chitinous Plating + Ultralisk Production beings At first glance it doesn’t seem like all that much is different, right? That’s because it’s really not, but that’s what separates a win from a loss at this level of play. I’ve bolded the key differences, let’s take a look at them. Key differences: 1) Jaedong commits to more lings early-game that don’t do much and affect his economy + timings 2) Jaedong gets an earlier Lair + slightly earlier geysers that is ineffective and sets him behind 3) Jaedong gets a later third hatchery These are the main contributors that prevented Jaedong from potentially advancing to the finals. In all honesty, though, it stems from that big number one, the over-commitment to lings. Jaedong got faked out by Naniwa’s one mothership core, one zealot, and one probe pressure that forced about 20 lings. That was the start of the slip-up, as it led to an overly early Lair, quicker unnecessary geysers, a later third hatchery and ultimately, delayed ultras. These delayed ultras gave Naniwa a short timing window to move in and take out Jaedong’s natural, force him into a tough situation that led to Jaedong trying to break Naniwa that didn’t work. So really, that incredible hold that will go down in Dreamhack history is all thanks to one probe, one mothership core, and one zealot. You’ve done Aiur proud you three. What Leenock did right is adapt his build to Naniwa's play and scouted properly. This ling/double-evo play is very strong, but it relies heavily on scouting your opponent properly. You are now equipped with the build (if you need more examples, every zerg under the sun is executing the build), but it always varies based on what your protoss opponent is doing. If you can stay safe with spore crawlers and queens, then do so. If you can hit the timings that Leenock hits, you’ll be making protoss on ladder cry for days.
VOD analysis
