I feel like my win percentages with Zerg have gone way up, now that I’ve changed my standard openings. I’d like to write a bit about each Zerg matchup.
ZvZ
This is the matchup where I’ve changed my opening the most. I now go standard 14 Extractor, 14 Pool. I drone until the pool is done, then make non stop zerglings. I’ll buy the speed upgrade with the first 100 gas. A baneling nest with the next 50 (usually I throw a drone in to replace the one building the baneling nest). From there, I que up my lings to somewhere outside of his base, but away from his scout. The first few lings I make into banelings. Then when the first wave of the queen’s inject larvae lings comes, I attack with my first wave.
I use all of the larvae off one base to make zerglings and banelings. But when I have enough excess minerals, I’ll expand and add queens, etc. Most ZvZ games I play are won or lost here. But if the condition stabilizes, you’ll usually graduate to roach/hydra, or muta/ling/bling.
ZvP
I still like to go hatch first. But enough toss players have punished me that tend to go pool first in all but the most favorable conditions. Hatch after pool. If you scout the toss player taking a second base, take a third. Stay gasless until six minutes in. By that time, with lings and overlords you may be able to saturate the third. Unless you scout some type of a gateway attack. In which case, you should immediately build spines, roaches, and lings. I like to err on the side of caution. Even if the attack doesn’t come, a nydus worm follow up is often viable.
Ideally, I’d be able to drone until lair tech, and build five mutes. Depending on his reaction to the mutes, I’d grow a cloud of them, or tech switch to roach/hydra. Toss players today have shied away from corrupters, making hydras a great unit. When they add in colossi, you already have the spire to make corruptors.
ZvT
I always go 15 hatch 15 pool in this matchup. When I scout the terran throw down his second base, I throw down my third. I make queens constantly, but avoid making any extractors or mining any gas until six minutes in. The extra minerals allows me to get a wall off, roach warren, spore crawler, spine crawler, and evolution chamber, as well as all the queens. With the added creep spread, my queens are adequate to defend against the hellion/reaper pushes that are popular now with terran players in the early game.
Unless I spot an early push, I’ll spend the first 100 gas on lair tech, the next 100 on speed, the next 50 on a baneling nest. There’s nothing wrong with devoting excess gas to small roach force. If I build up too much gas, I’ll start my upgrades. But really, I’m wanting to get my spire down as quickly as possible. When it’s done, I spent 100 gas on the +attack upgrade for flyers and build no fewer than five mutalisks.
Just like in the ZvP matchup, I pay close attention to how he handles my harass with those five mutalisks. If he handles it poorly, I’ll add to the flock throughout the entire game. But if he makes a bunch of towers and has good stim marine control and widow mines, I’ll keep the mutes in the airspace around his base to counter drop play.
From there, my favorite way to win is to simply deny third bases until he runs out of money. Good creep spread and a roach/hydra army are often enough to do this. Ultra/Hydra is my favorite unit composition, or at least the one I most often strive for.
StarCraft Weekend Ruined
I don't know about you, but I went to StarBucks last night and grabbed a coffee. I wanted to enjoy my Friday but playing games late into the night. But I got a bug, like many people are experiencing. Even this morning, Saturday, the 31st of May, I can’t play StarCraft. I’ve stooped so low as to play HearthStone and Heroes of the Storm. And while I had a little fun playing those games, I can’t help but feel a little off my game, for not having my usual fix of StarCraft. Come on Blizzard.
No comments:
Post a Comment