| [SPOILER] Caster Team League team lineups Posted: 15 Jul 2020 06:10 AM PDT |
| Since we seem to be allowing memes again: Artosis' greatest foe in the age old battle Posted: 15 Jul 2020 10:32 PM PDT |
| Always has been Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:23 AM PDT |
| Put them on Juanitooooo Posted: 15 Jul 2020 08:12 AM PDT |
| Keyboard of a Zerg main Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:00 PM PDT |
| A worker's perspective of protoss warping in in your main Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:37 PM PDT |
| True protoss player Posted: 15 Jul 2020 09:04 AM PDT |
| (spoilers)Return of the Messiah - very old, but relevant cross post Posted: 15 Jul 2020 06:43 PM PDT |
| How the War Chest teams match-up in Aligulac ranking Posted: 15 Jul 2020 01:09 PM PDT |
| GSL Code S 2020 S2 | Ro16 | Group A | Rundown Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:51 AM PDT Welcome to one of the only offline tournaments in 2020 on the planet, it's Ro16 time. Group A: - Living Legend with 3 Code S Finals and the reigning defending Champion: TY
- Dark Horses and only foreigners consistently competing in GSL: SpeCial, Scarlett
- Returning Legend looking to add some more glory days to his already stacked resume: DRG
The cheekily labelled "Group of Life" has become a staple in every GSL Season, as if to prove the top seed in the tournament has way too much power, nevertheless that makes expectations and the preview for it each time quite simple - in this case, TY was the overwhelming favorite heading into tonight with SpeCial trailing not too far behind him, leaving Scarlett and DRG with the challenging task of bringing something extra if they had any intention of making it out alive.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead, Obviously
Like a Phoenix Mutalisk rising from the ashes, DRG decided today was as good a day as any to remind us what greatness looks like by taking 1st place in convincing fashion with a vintage performance, what year is it. In the fallout that followed, TY then survived a brutal test in the mirror to secure 2nd, keeping the possibility of defending his crown alive as he still enters the Playoffs as one of the clear favorites. M1 | TY [ 2 : 0 ] Scarlett | ★★☆☆☆ | All It Takes Is A Little Push - Golden Wall | The slowed down third Hatch, early Marine harass and anything else that went down at the start didn't end up mattering nearly as much as the perfectly planned and set up push on the main from the Terran starting around 06:30 and culminating at roughly 09:30 when the Zerg could no longer afford to bleed any more units to the unbreakable siege, resulting in her Lair being taken down and seemingly any real chance of turning this game around went with it. As if to contradict that point, TY then lost a billion SCVs to just Lings running around and the battle did slow down considerably, however Scarlett was still basically stuck without tech until the very end of the game and so kept being suffocated throughout the map and eventually run over all the same.
- Deathaura | The decision to go two base Spire already had me shaking my head and it certainly didn't help TY once again opted for a relatively early push and then even ended up baiting out and taking a ridiculous fight around 07:00 to establish a commanding army supply lead, so the writing was on the wall for this one straight away with the back-breaker coming in shortly after.
M2 | SpeCial [ 1 : 2 ] DRG | ★★☆☆☆ | No One's Safe - Ice And Chrome | The early three CCs coupled with a BC rush really made it feel like the Zerg was an NPC about to get dumpstered by an insanely greedy Terran player, so when the Mech followup also came in & the third CC landed undefended and went unpunished, even the fact a whole flock of Corruptors came out blindly to fight a fleet that didn't exist - absolutely everything was pointing to a decisive SpeCial win here. DRG's attempted Roach Ravager attacks also did fuck all, if anything it looked like the Zerg's fate was sealed as soon as they fell flat, and then the inconceivable happened i.e. at roughly 11:15 DRG bet it all on a Muta switch and as 20+ of them arrived and instantly ravaged the borderline defenseless Terran base the game was instantly flipped on its head and SpeCial tapped out immediately, likely in utter disbelief.
- Deathaura | From there the tilt was real as three SCVs left the Terran base before the game had even started and the dastardly setup planned and executed perfectly by SpeCial consisting of multiple Bunkers going up around 2:50 thanks to DRG's decision to have his defense consist of a huge Drone squad roaming the map meant by the time the rush was getting remotely close to cleaned up the Zerg was down to 11 workers against his opponent's 18+, meaning the winrate of proxy Barracks in tournaments went up accordingly.
- Pillars of Gold | The second attempt to win the game before it started via buildings in the middle of the map didn't go nearly as well when DRG's Overlord secretly flew over the proxy, so thanks to a little finesse around 02:40 the Zerg took control of the game, despite SpeCial's admittedly persistent harass which came in soon enough and the Terran's solid hold on his side of the map when Roaches waddled over there to accomplish next to nothing. The scheduled push from SpeCial with three Tanks then arrived only to find way more units defending than he'd bargained for, so the Terran packed his things and went home, however DRG wasn't interested at all in prolonging this one any further so he geared up for an assault and simply crashed into his opponent's flimsy defenses at roughly 10:10 with a sea of Ravagers and their thirty or so closest friends, trampling over everything for the win.
M3 | TY [ 1 : 2 ] DRG | ★★★☆☆ | Surprise, Surprise, The King Is Back - Ice And Chrome | The cheeky three CC opener with a Blue-Flame Hellion push designed to sell the idea TY was opting for Mech on this map just like SpeCial was very nice, but when his harass got held with relative ease and DRG completely avoided getting duped it definitely felt like the Zerg was then in a great position. Regardless, as you would expect TY came up with an assault on the supposed fourth Hatch all the same and took it out with a mess of Hellbats and Marines at the front, unfortunately for him at that point DRG had around 80 Drones and four more Hatcheries to fuel his forces. The defending Champion definitely had some slick moves here regardless, including a snipe on the crucial Spawning Pool just as he was also attacking on multiple fronts, however all that effort would be for naught as the Zerg absolutely swarmed the map in retaliation at 13:30, overwhelming the defenses with Muta Ling Bane, sniping a base and massacring 30 SCVs, an econ lead that would persist until the very end. TY did everything he could to maintain his army size from there but was never able to get the finishing move off, so when he overcommitted on a particular push around 17:40 and then got chased and gunned down by DRG's flock the gap widened and set up the Swarm's killing blow at 19:15 giving the once upon a time Champion an important lead in the series.
- Golden Wall | Without a doubt the Terran motto of the day was "when in doubt, proxy a few Barracks" but when DRG once again spotted the shenanigans coming his way it felt like the upset was already secured, instead TY made short work of the Zerg's questionable defense around 02:50 by killing 11 Drones, giving himself more than enough room to transition and eventually drop off some Hellions inside an undefended expansion that forced the Zerg to move on to the next game, trying things up in the process.
- Pillars of Gold | A relatively calm opening in comparison followed here, with harassment eventually killing a good amount of Drones, which was just shy of enough to realistically slow down the Zerg macro monster. In fact, TY's attempts to keep DRG busy instead of opting for a push were backfiring as the underdog engulfed more and more of the map, securing his territory with a surprising switch to Hydra Ling Bane and while some initial fights seemingly went okay enough for the Terran it was at roughly 14:50 when DRG metaphorically flipped the table and just ran his opponent over with a devastating extremely successful assault largely thanks to the addition of the Viper by the notoriously Lair-only player. Technically still alive, TY did what he could to recover yet the knockout blow would land soon enough after that with two bases and 40 SCVs going down around 16:50, making the inconceivable a reality as the once upon a time Zerg Champion secured 1st place over the reigning Code S Champion in 2020.
M4 | Scarlett [ 1 : 2 ] SpeCial | ★★★☆☆ | Heart vs Determination - Deathaura | Aside from some relatively early Raven harassment and a conscious decision to add Roaches to the Zerg comp defensively, an otherwise straightforward macro game unfolded here, with the expected Terran three Tank push arriving at the enemy gates what felt like quite late around 08:40 at which point that assessment could be judged completely void considering SpeCial then simply tore through Swarm territory with ease to pull off the worst bop of the night after the most one-sided fight or lack there of we'd seen so far.
- Ice And Chrome | When the Roach Warren appeared in the production tab again, the early Hellion Liberator harassment resulted in 13 Drones going down and then the last hope Mutas were queued up, it genuinely felt like this series was all but done already, so as SpeCial sniped more and more workers along with taking down bases seemingly at will, we were all just waiting for Scarlett to give up at that point as she crumbled under the relentless pressure. Instead, the Zerg's last stand at 14:40 became the turning point of the game, with Scarlett's flock reaching critical mass, allowing her to take back control and chase SpeCial all the way to his production, buying herself enough breathing room to get some Ultras out, which allowed the Zerg to confidently go for the base race around 19:50 with the then superior army, taking us into the final game in impressive fashion with that sick comeback.
- Pillars of Gold | Attempting to punish the three CC opener with a side of BC using Roach Ravager immediately put Scarlett behind at the start of this last map thanks to a single Banshee shutting it down cold, after which a bunch of Hellions charged her mineral lines and killed 8 Drones for good measure. Visibly questioning what to do next, the Zerg went for both a Spire and Hydra Den, then bet it all on the Mutas initially and held on against the constant pressure from SpeCial as he sniped bases one after the other again while dancing around all the defense which eventually included Lurkers and Vipers. Basically forced to defend for the entirety of the game, Scarlett never managed to make it across the map even after taking great fights and winning a number of engagements, most perfectly demonstrated around 19:00 where you could see her struggle to contain the Terran aggression despite having all the necessary tools, SpeCial's setup was just rock solid and after making it rain EMPs until the Zerg's Vipers became a complete non-factor over and over you could see the Terran simply couldn't be denied here.
M5 | TY [ 2 : 0 ] SpeCial | ★★★☆☆ | Bloodbath - Deathaura | It was all too easy to get excited when a pair of SCVs left TY's base until we remembered this was TvT, so we got to watch the two players throw blows at each other but that's about it, since SpeCial basically passed the skill-check opener with flying colors and had a significant second base lead as the cherry on top. TY wasn't interested in falling behind more and more though, so he took a chance and it paid off with his third CC being way ahead of the enemy Terran and the icing on the cake were the 14+ SCVs his Raven harassment resulted in, basically giving him an incredible econ lead as he went into standard Bio play. SpeCial on the other hand hunkered down hard and went with Mech, so when he cleaned up everything his opponent had to throw at him and maxed out with a terrifying army, it basically looked like all he had to do was stroll across the map to end the game. Ever the opportunist, TY was unwilling to let this one go, so during the chaotic base race when he noticed the enemy Vikings were ever slightly out of position the defending Champion simply dropped everything he had over all of SpeCial's Tanks at roughly 16:05 and turned the game on its head from there, leveraging the more mobile army and some cheeky proxy production to put his protege in an impossible situation and pick him apart for the win.
- Ever Dream | The single Barracks proxy from SpeCial, early back and forth skirmishes and both players opting for mirrored Mech was just the start of a game that would turn into what can only be described as a complete bloodbath. SpeCial looked to be in a great position as he sieged up and forced the lift of the third CC early on at 09:30 however from there TY not only held on but continued a worker massacre via his trusty Banshees that would basically never end & even found himself on four bases ahead of the rival Terran while both defending at home and launching attacks of his own, notably around 11:50 as he sniped a CC after a slick runby, snowballing his lead even further. The response from SpeCial was swift and deadly, using his army as a distraction while Liberators murdered every enemy SCV under the sun starting from 12:30 which essentially should have given SpeCial the lead, if only TY himself didn't also pounce on the opportunity to push back so quickly at 13:25 when the Champion's forces dove into enemy territory, netting him over 30 SCV kills for his troubles, basically resetting the game as both players briefly fell under 100 supply. After their collective "recovery", it seemed to be TY's turn to cause pain again, so around 16:15 another wave of worker deaths was kicked off by Banshee harass and finished off with the main army joining in on the fun, scoring an additional 30 SCV kills before he was chased out, giving the Champion yet another impressive supply lead this time in both econ and army. SpeCial impressively held on for a while regardless, in fact somehow bridged the gap numerous times after that, however TY simply would not be denied today, showing incredible fortitude of his own and basically refusing to lose, closing things out at roughly 26:50 when an attempted flank by his opponent turned into a pain sandwich as the Champion tore through the last real army the underdog could afford, depleting both his bank and energy to force the hard earned victory.
If you've followed these rundowns for a while you're going to know I don't say this lightly or often - amazing day of Code S. - Match of the Night - entirely depends on your criteria, I would genuinely recommend M3 where DRG proved he was truly back with some incredible macro especially on that last map and also M4 where Scarlett and SpeCial fought incredibly hard, proving their mettle and showing off their skills particularly on the last two maps and I'm sure we can all agree that M5 might go down as one of the best TvTs of the year especially because of the inconceivable back and forth destruction on that last map.
Finally, here are some of my closing thoughts on each player: - DRG took down the Code S Champion and did it convincingly, no "Group of Life" caveats required for this man heading into the Ro8 and what a comeback story from the returning Legend. I was very careful to temper my expectations considering how much I loved his play back in the day, in that regard his Ro24 performance didn't have me convinced, but today was something else entirely (I'd even argue he played better as the day went on i.e. against the tougher opponent DRG did better). This is so exciting to see in terms of adding another Elite player to the Zerg pool, I can't wait to watch his next match, here's hoping DRG has it in him to keep going at this pace.
- TY wasn't at full strength today, that's for sure, and in hindsight it feels like he's created a monster. Nevertheless, the Champion did what was required of him i.e. closed things out in the last match which absolutely could have gone 2-0 either way, so from here we once again enter the master planner's realm. The most impressive part of TY's Championship run last Season was when it came time to focus on individual opponents and longer series, in that regard it's hard to be worried for him based on today, since TY made it clear to take him down you're going to need everything you have and even then it might not be enough, so I definitely don't think this perceived vulnerability means the double crown is off the table by any means.
- SpeCial really did everything he could tonight and lost by the absolute minimal margin, if a few things had gone right for him he may have very well been first instead if he'd finished DRG when he had the chance, it's crazy. In any case, I think anyone who watched the games today will understand the label "loser" doesn't really apply to any of the players here when everyone brought the heat sooner or later, so it's very hard to criticize SpeCial too hard when he only lost after pushing his opponents to their limit. Legitimately, in an only slightly altered timeline, TY is eliminated from his own "Group of Life" and SpeCial is crowned the King of Mexico, so here's hoping he's not too hard on himself for the losses here.
- Scarlett started so cold in her first three maps that I was genuinely worried she'd be the designated punching bag of the night, only for her incredible display of heart on series point to deliver that phenomenal comeback and then the Zerg showed spectacular resilience in a war of attrition she would ultimately lose. The reality of the situation is that you can't afford to lose a series uncontested at this point of the tournament, but I do think if she'd made it to M5 we'd have seen a completely different match than the opener, so in that regard I also don't feel the need to stress where Scarlett faltered too hard either, thanks to that impressive recovery by the end (felt like she ran out of time and energy in that sense, the skill is clearly there & the Eye Test beats pointing at a scoreboard and laughing any day of the week).
As always, if you think differently or have something interesting to add, feel free to do so in the comments below. Catch you on Saturday bright and early for Group B, where we'll see how INnoVation's plan to pick Dark of all people will be working out, with a rejuvenated PartinG capable of taking both of them down also present and an eager Bunny prowling around to eat them alive if anyone were to stumble. In other words, it's Group of Death o'clock. Thanks as always for reading & see you when I see you! (: -M submitted by /u/d1MnZz [link] [comments] |
| Found in the PTR, Warcraft Coop?? Posted: 15 Jul 2020 05:30 PM PDT |
| Congratulations to the first player in the GSL Ro8! Posted: 15 Jul 2020 04:47 AM PDT |
| Some wholesome sportsmanship (PvT) Posted: 15 Jul 2020 02:35 PM PDT |
| Son, how have your forsaken me. Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:48 AM PDT |
| I made pixel art of a marine and zergling based off of carbot's videos Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:16 PM PDT |
| Feardragon on War Chest Team League Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:28 PM PDT |
| Out of GSL but not our hearts! RagnaroK v Hurricane ZvP Bo9 - Thursday 5pm KST | 10am CEST. More info in comments! Posted: 15 Jul 2020 02:32 PM PDT |
| Protoss Upgrades, or the Lack Thereof Posted: 15 Jul 2020 11:16 AM PDT Masters Protoss player here. I've played too many games and watched too many pro series to know that Protoss has been generally underpowered for the past few years. Looking at Aligulac or at PvZ winrates can tell you this much. I do believe that a huge culprit for this gap between the races has been the ever-so slight buffs to a sizeable fraction of the Terran (EMP upgrade, Tank damage after deleting Tankivacs, Widow Mine concealment) and Zerg (Corruptor speed, Baneling +5 health, two Hydra upgrades, two Lurker upgrades) arsenals. Coupled with constant Protoss nerfs (obs speed, Warp prism health to 100/80, taking away Charge impact, Oracle Revelation nerf, ground and air upgrade duration increases, no Graviton Catapult), Protoss has been going downhill for a while. Flux Vanes (to a crappy unit in and of itself) and Feedback buff just won't cut it. Game Design From here on I will try to limit balance talk and instead shift discussion over to the design of the game. A significant driver behind game design is enabling players to play unique and different styles that don't get stale, and that actually feel capable of subduing other races' armies. It requires so much Storm, so many disruptor hits, and so many great force fields for a Protoss to win engagements. Why can't the Protoss units themselves feel strong in their own right? You won't find this issue in the early game, Glaives and Blink openers do well enough. However, the mid to late game is when the Protoss units feel so weak and incapable. Thus, Protoss armies are the same exact composition across each matchup. Against Zerg you always do the same thing, ICA comps, that can always get completely dismantled by one of Hydra Ling Bane, Ravager Ling Bane, Hydra Roach Ravager, Hydra Lurker. Zerg lategame has far too many options as well, cracklings/lurkers/hydras/spores/Blord, Blord/viper/corruptor, ultras (less frequent). Or you can just put them all together, whatever suits your style. Against Terran you go Blink, then you make some immortals and archons, except this time you maybe make 3 colossus. Yay! It's just the same old progression each game for Protoss. It's not too much fun. Don't even get me started on Protoss lategame, which every Protoss knows you need to get eventually because the core units of Protoss do not have higher unlockable potential, but which also is an incredible bore to play. I'd argue that it's because of the lack of diverse upgrades, upgrades which would aim to essentially keep the Protoss units at their initial power level for a good portion of the game (to continue preventing broken Warp Prism allins), until the research unlocks more potential. I know why the devs took away Charge impact, Zealots were maybe just too good against Mech and Chargelot all-ins were, if executed well, borderline unstoppable. But to just take Charge impact away from Zealots for good is asinine. We thought separating the old Charge into the Charge we have now and Sundering Impact was bad, well guess what, now they just took away Sundering Impact with no compensation. Protoss is so limited in the armies that they make, precisely because as the game progresses, their units' power levels stay at their own initial strength. Thus, Protoss is so pigeonholed into what units that they build, that it feels stale and repetitive. Lurkers can get two very potent upgrades (speed burrow, incredible range), Ghosts can up their power level over time with the Enhanced Shockwaves which cripples an entire Protoss army to half HP. There's 4 or 5 upgrades in the Factory Tech Lab, and 4 or 5 in the Starport as well. Terran can choose Bio, or Bio with tank, or Bio with widow mine, or Bio with Liberator, or they can even go Mech. We all know of the 12 different variations of Mech that Terran can safely go for, precisely because these 10 upgrades open up enticing tech paths and enable different styles. The problem isn't that Terran and Zerg styles are overpowered, it's just that such styles exist and do not exist for Protoss. Potential Upgrades? I'd argue that Zealots should get a Sundering Impact upgrade, Adepts should get a Shield Upgrade at the Twilight Council, Sentries should maybe get to unlock a new Lategame ability (maybe a better version of Stasis Ward that doesn't get triggered by one zergling each time?), High Templar's feedback should return to dealing 100% damage (you do it on a Viper, they return in 10 seconds with full energy after they suck a Hatchery, or you do it on a Ghost, and they get healed up immediately by Medivacs). Warp Prism should get an upgrade for more health, Tempests I feel should get a primary splash damage effect added, to be upgraded at the Fleet Beacon, because, come on, a Corruptor ball is so fast that they take 30 damage to Storm, maximum. Carrier should get an upgrade for Releasing Interceptors again, because if a BC can tactical jump and get repaired, a Carrier's interceptors (not even the Carrier itself) should at least live a little longer. Conclusion In all, the design of Protoss kind of just sucks. That's all there is to it really. Too reliant on splash bc unit power levels are so restricted, that each game you make the same generally potent comp based on Imms and Archons, and then progress towards the much weaker late game skytoss comp because you don't have another choice. P needs more options for the mid and late game, and ways to reach higher power levels, lest Protoss players feel demoralized and unable to win tournaments. If you're Z or T playing against P, you know that if you're playing a macro game, you know what's coming. If you're P, you know what's coming too -- a defeat if you venture into late game, but before that, the same old dance with the same units and style every game. submitted by /u/ryanmango1219 [link] [comments] |
| I eat mines Posted: 15 Jul 2020 08:32 AM PDT |
| I could have been a dentist. Posted: 15 Jul 2020 12:48 PM PDT But Starcraft got in the way. I could be doing root canals all day. Instead, I do nydus canals all night. I could have been fighting Plaque. Instead I am fighting Plat. I could have been installing braces. Instead I am installing bases. submitted by /u/Malakay_sun [link] [comments] |
| Reminder: The War Chest Team League Draft starts in 1 hour. Posted: 15 Jul 2020 03:55 AM PDT |
| War Chest Team League Final Teams Posted: 15 Jul 2020 06:19 AM PDT The teams for War Chest Team League have been finalized! The full groups below: | PiG - War Pigs | DeMusliM - Benny & the Boys | RotterdaM - No Brain No Pain | | Serral | TY | Reynor | | SpeCial | Zest | Solar | | Dream | DRG | Bunny | | Armani | Hurricane | PtitDrogo | | ZombieGrub - The Grubalubadubdubs | Nathanias - The Tank Toppers | Maynarde - The Dread Knights | | INnoVation | Maru | Cure | | ShoWTimE | sOs | PartinG | | uThermal | HeRoMaRinE | RagnaroK | | Elazer | SuperNova | TIME | | Rifkin - Call an Ambulance but Not for Us | feardragon - 4 Shades of Protoss | CatZ - Sort of Soul, Korea | | Clem | Neeb | Stats | | Rogue | Trap | soO | | Lambo | Astrea | souL | | Dear | MaNa | SortOf | ----- The tournament proper starts on July the 24th. More information on Liquipedia. ---- VOD of the draft announcement. ---- See you on the 24th! submitted by /u/TheGoatPuncher [link] [comments] |
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