Road to BlizzCon #3 - JinAir_Maru - WCS 2015 Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by shiroiusagi Story

Player Spotlight

Analysis The Road to Blizzcon - Ch III - Maru







Chapter III Bored by Peace by lichter







Dream would have been a worthy adversary had he endured his marathon against Life, Maru thought. The junior Terran reminded him of himself from years ago: always eager for a fight and direct in his approach. Yet he was still too young and too naive to comprehend the demands of leadership.



On the other hand, Life would have been the greatest test had he weathered the bombardment from Dream. The king had been Maru's contemporary in the academies, and they shared remarkably similar backgrounds. They had been considered the two brightest young officers in training, and they arguably reached their potential in full. Yet in the past few months, Life had hurdled past Maru even though the latter had been elected Chief of Terran. Obviously, nothing compared to being King.



Strange, then, that Life had risked his crown for Spostalea when he already had his seat of power in the capital. Was it greed, man's primitive sin? Was it foolishness, or poor counsel from his peers? Or did he simply misjudge his power? Maru preferred to believe, however, that the young man had become a tyrant. The continent had known such beasts before, and the reigning monarch wore the indelible marks of the god of destruction.



Maru's stream of contemplation refused to abate, his mind overactive from a restful day of routs. His stale expression hid a wandering mind, but his commanders could not tell it apart from his routine indifference. After all, Maru was never quite one for celebration, and only ever showed excitement when his gauss rifle was drawn. The electricity of battle disappeared the moment his finger divorced the trigger.



The commander of his vanguard grabbed Maru by the elbow, jolting him into the present. It was customary to wave at these ceremonies, and Maru had once again forgotten. The crowd sang cheers as the army passed, their homes and businesses spared from ruin, and Maru marveled at what Spostalea could become. They reached the castle at dusk, and everyone knew it would be a soft night.









After a tiring evening of congratulations and compliments, Maru could barely keep his eyes open. His page led him to the royal quarters, and they needed 3 people just to manipulate the door. It was the biggest bedroom Maru had ever seen; in fact it was bigger than the entire headquarters of his previous clan, Prime. The young general had to squint just to see across the room, and the lilting fire—perhaps it could more accurately be described as a bonfire of vanity—could not even touch a single corner. Maru saw a bed, a desk, a couch, and a set of closets near the light, and everywhere else was dark. The chamber set dwarfed the little prince; instead of comfort it drew unease.



Maru attempted to fall asleep, still in uniform, but he laid awake drifting in a foamy sea. The tide was calm and the air was cool, yet he could not find his place. He had come a long way, he mused. He still wasn't used to this new life. Nor a bed. Maru paced around the vacuum of his chamber, again lost in his thoughts.



It was only five years ago that he lived in squalor. Prime wasn't exactly a clan known for extravagance, and the unification of the continent three and a half years ago only introduced more competition. They lived on the spoils of successful campaigns with no commercial ventures or support from wealthy investors, which led to a difficult life for all those under its banner. Maru was 13 when he joined as street urchin, and even though he started as an ammunition mule, Prime understood that he would one day raise them into relevance. Yet the clan was poor and could only provide Maru with basic necessities. He had grown used to sleeping in bunks with his mates and now that he had the luxury of his own room, he found it lonely.



He wondered where his old comrades could be and what his mentors were doing now. He wondered who was left on his old clan and whether they would all fit in this giant bed. He wondered how they were doing in their new clans and how Prime had been disgraced by scandal. Maru's thoughts trailed off and he eventually fell asleep on the couch, lithely hanging by the edge as if he were about to tip over.



The next morning, his page found him nestled in a pile of blankets and cushions. He must have fallen in the middle of the night without noticing, and the attendant wasn't sure how to wake him. But when the regimental horns blared in the distance, Maru automatically rolled into attention and dressed without dismissing his messenger. Finally, another day of action, he assumed.



Instead, it was a day of procedure. Because the entire region of Spostalea was secure, Maru had nothing to do but drill his forces and assign regular maintenance. While he was no longer required to fulfill these chores, the little prince still considered it better than sitting in an office all day. He stomped to the barracks and everyone moved out of the way, obvious as it was that he had not gotten a good night's sleep.



Maru herded company by company into an open field and ran them through a day's worth of exercises in under an hour each. His troops huffed and wheezed, but not a single one complained as they were still fueled by the pride of recent victory. It was the first time since the end of battle that Maru had spoken more than three words. By lunch, however, he had exhausted everyone, down to the armory clerks, and had nothing left to do. He checked on his command post for updates, eager to discover any news on Life or anything suspicious from SKT.



"Anything to report," he asked his communications officer.



"None sir. All's quiet on every front." The officer realized that this wasn't the answer Maru had wanted, but before he could add anything the young general was away in a puff of angry steam. He had badgered just about everyone in the castle keep, and by 3 in the afternoon everyone was hiding from him. No one else could withstand his aura of anxiety, and he spent the rest of the afternoon emulating new year's eve at the gun range. Eventually—or thankfully, depending on who you asked—the sun set and Maru tired.









After another round of dinner festivities, Maru returned to his uncharted chambers. He walked over to his bed questioning how he'd ever fall asleep on such a thing. After 5 years of war, anything more than a roof over his head felt strange. It was his time with Prime that hardened Maru and instilled in him the habits of constant warfare. He attended every small skirmish and joined every possible campaign, believing that experience could age him faster than time.



It was experience, after all, that allowed him to seize the boom town of Ognalea three years ago against SKT's mighty general Rain. The small city prospered after striking oil, and it became the hottest property on the continent. All the clans wanted in on it, but SKT eventually prevailed. Rain governed for a year until Maru bamboozled the Protoss commander and ousted him with special tactics. It was that conquest that put him on the map, and it would not be long until Jin Air adopted him from the orphanage that was Prime. Now he was the leader of Jin Air's army, five straight years of war older.



He paced around the room gathering blankets and cushions, determined to find a way to fall asleep. While his body was in the castle, his heart was out in the field. The only conclusion he could reach from another interminable night of reflection was that he could no longer stay in Spostalea. Tomorrow, he would march, and no one would be able to stop him. And as he said those words he ran out of building materials, only to discover he had built a pillow fort with the table. He crawled in and began his descent into slumber.



He wondered when Jin Air would recall him for redeployment in a contested zone and who he would have to face there. He wondered where Life could be now, how powerful he had become and what strategies would be able to defeat him. Maru's thoughts trailed off and he eventually fell asleep under the desk, huddled as if he were back in the trenches.



The next morning, his page found a fort of blankets, cushions and wood, but Maru was already up and dressed. He had decided that 2 days in the city had been more than enough, and it was time for him to get going. He had his Jin Air jacket on and his squire knew he was serious.



"Sir, you mustn't. We have orders to hold this city," his alarm clock fearfully admonished.



"They can hold the city without me. I'm going on patrol. A 50 kilometer patrol."



Attempts to calm him down proved futile, though his assistant didn't really expect Maru to relent. He buzzed straight to the barracks, where his personal guard were waiting. They knew their chief well and yesterday's infernal training session had telegraphed this would happen. They would have followed Maru to the ends of the earth, but they collectively cringed as his top officers—one with shaving cream still on, one with a single boot, and another still in boxers—chased after him. Their own attendants followed with the rest of their clothes.



Maru looked back and yelled, "You're not going to stop me!"



The three men panted and paused. The army's comms officer had apparently been waiting for Maru, and it gave them the time to finish their morning routines.



"Sir, you're going to want to read this," the comms officer said while handing Maru some documents. It was a thick folder full of reports and updates from last evening. Maru rolled his eyes as he prepared to read, a burden he didn't exactly enjoy. Fortunately, the clever officer was again prepared: a bulleted list of headlines summarized the novel underneath.



Jin Air declare war on SKT.



Life loses scepter of power in battle, finders keepers losers weepers.



* Finders become king, by the way.



Glostalea and Spostalea expected to be contested throughout the year.



Maru smiled. This was going to be a good year yet. He closed the folder and handed it to his page—not to read, but for kindling—before the rest of his officers converged.



"They want us back at Jin Air HQ, sir."



"Right. Finally. I was starting to get in a bad mood."







The traces of war were nearly absent from Spostalea. Maru had waltzed into the continent's second largest city after scattering Dream's leftover forces with barely a bullet fired. He had heard of the incredible duel between the young SKT general and the incumbent King Life, and he regretted not having had the opportunity to witness it himself. More than that, however, he rued the disappointing climactic battle for control of the castle. His cold hands belied a malignant itch for combat.Dream would have been a worthy adversary had he endured his marathon against Life, Maru thought. The junior Terran reminded him of himself from years ago: always eager for a fight and direct in his approach. Yet he was still too young and too naive to comprehend the demands of leadership.On the other hand, Life would have been the greatest test had he weathered the bombardment from Dream. The king had been Maru's contemporary in the academies, and they shared remarkably similar backgrounds. They had been considered the two brightest young officers in training, and they arguably reached their potential in full. Yet in the past few months, Life had hurdled past Maru even though the latter had been elected Chief of Terran. Obviously, nothing compared to being King.Strange, then, that Life had risked his crown for Spostalea when he already had his seat of power in the capital. Was it greed, man's primitive sin? Was it foolishness, or poor counsel from his peers? Or did he simply misjudge his power? Maru preferred to believe, however, that the young man had become a tyrant. The continent had known such beasts before, and the reigning monarch wore the indelible marks of the god of destruction.Maru's stream of contemplation refused to abate, his mind overactive from a restful day of routs. His stale expression hid a wandering mind, but his commanders could not tell it apart from his routine indifference. After all, Maru was never quite one for celebration, and only ever showed excitement when his gauss rifle was drawn. The electricity of battle disappeared the moment his finger divorced the trigger.The commander of his vanguard grabbed Maru by the elbow, jolting him into the present. It was customary to wave at these ceremonies, and Maru had once again forgotten. The crowd sang cheers as the army passed, their homes and businesses spared from ruin, and Maru marveled at what Spostalea could become. They reached the castle at dusk, and everyone knew it would be a soft night.After a tiring evening of congratulations and compliments, Maru could barely keep his eyes open. His page led him to the royal quarters, and they needed 3 people just to manipulate the door. It was the biggest bedroom Maru had ever seen; in fact it was bigger than the entire headquarters of his previous clan, Prime. The young general had to squint just to see across the room, and the lilting fire—perhaps it could more accurately be described as a bonfire of vanity—could not even touch a single corner. Maru saw a bed, a desk, a couch, and a set of closets near the light, and everywhere else was dark. The chamber set dwarfed the little prince; instead of comfort it drew unease.Maru attempted to fall asleep, still in uniform, but he laid awake drifting in a foamy sea. The tide was calm and the air was cool, yet he could not find his place. He had come a long way, he mused. He still wasn't used to this new life. Nor a bed. Maru paced around the vacuum of his chamber, again lost in his thoughts.It was only five years ago that he lived in squalor. Prime wasn't exactly a clan known for extravagance, and the unification of the continent three and a half years ago only introduced more competition. They lived on the spoils of successful campaigns with no commercial ventures or support from wealthy investors, which led to a difficult life for all those under its banner. Maru was 13 when he joined as street urchin, and even though he started as an ammunition mule, Prime understood that he would one day raise them into relevance. Yet the clan was poor and could only provide Maru with basic necessities. He had grown used to sleeping in bunks with his mates and now that he had the luxury of his own room, he found it lonely.He wondered where his old comrades could be and what his mentors were doing now. He wondered who was left on his old clan and whether they would all fit in this giant bed. He wondered how they were doing in their new clans and how Prime had been disgraced by scandal. Maru's thoughts trailed off and he eventually fell asleep on the couch, lithely hanging by the edge as if he were about to tip over.The next morning, his page found him nestled in a pile of blankets and cushions. He must have fallen in the middle of the night without noticing, and the attendant wasn't sure how to wake him. But when the regimental horns blared in the distance, Maru automatically rolled into attention and dressed without dismissing his messenger. Finally, another day of action, he assumed.Instead, it was a day of procedure. Because the entire region of Spostalea was secure, Maru had nothing to do but drill his forces and assign regular maintenance. While he was no longer required to fulfill these chores, the little prince still considered it better than sitting in an office all day. He stomped to the barracks and everyone moved out of the way, obvious as it was that he had not gotten a good night's sleep.Maru herded company by company into an open field and ran them through a day's worth of exercises in under an hour each. His troops huffed and wheezed, but not a single one complained as they were still fueled by the pride of recent victory. It was the first time since the end of battle that Maru had spoken more than three words. By lunch, however, he had exhausted everyone, down to the armory clerks, and had nothing left to do. He checked on his command post for updates, eager to discover any news on Life or anything suspicious from SKT."Anything to report," he asked his communications officer."None sir. All's quiet on every front." The officer realized that this wasn't the answer Maru had wanted, but before he could add anything the young general was away in a puff of angry steam. He had badgered just about everyone in the castle keep, and by 3 in the afternoon everyone was hiding from him. No one else could withstand his aura of anxiety, and he spent the rest of the afternoon emulating new year's eve at the gun range. Eventually—or thankfully, depending on who you asked—the sun set and Maru tired.After another round of dinner festivities, Maru returned to his uncharted chambers. He walked over to his bed questioning how he'd ever fall asleep on such a thing. After 5 years of war, anything more than a roof over his head felt strange. It was his time with Prime that hardened Maru and instilled in him the habits of constant warfare. He attended every small skirmish and joined every possible campaign, believing that experience could age him faster than time.It was experience, after all, that allowed him to seize the boom town of Ognalea three years ago against SKT's mighty general Rain. The small city prospered after striking oil, and it became the hottest property on the continent. All the clans wanted in on it, but SKT eventually prevailed. Rain governed for a year until Maru bamboozled the Protoss commander and ousted him with special tactics. It was that conquest that put him on the map, and it would not be long until Jin Air adopted him from the orphanage that was Prime. Now he was the leader of Jin Air's army, five straight years of war older.He paced around the room gathering blankets and cushions, determined to find a way to fall asleep. While his body was in the castle, his heart was out in the field. The only conclusion he could reach from another interminable night of reflection was that he could no longer stay in Spostalea. Tomorrow, he would march, and no one would be able to stop him. And as he said those words he ran out of building materials, only to discover he had built a pillow fort with the table. He crawled in and began his descent into slumber.He wondered when Jin Air would recall him for redeployment in a contested zone and who he would have to face there. He wondered where Life could be now, how powerful he had become and what strategies would be able to defeat him. Maru's thoughts trailed off and he eventually fell asleep under the desk, huddled as if he were back in the trenches.The next morning, his page found a fort of blankets, cushions and wood, but Maru was already up and dressed. He had decided that 2 days in the city had been more than enough, and it was time for him to get going. He had his Jin Air jacket on and his squire knew he was serious."Sir, you mustn't. We have orders to hold this city," his alarm clock fearfully admonished."They can hold the city without me. I'm going on patrol. A 50 kilometer patrol."Attempts to calm him down proved futile, though his assistant didn't really expect Maru to relent. He buzzed straight to the barracks, where his personal guard were waiting. They knew their chief well and yesterday's infernal training session had telegraphed this would happen. They would have followed Maru to the ends of the earth, but they collectively cringed as his top officers—one with shaving cream still on, one with a single boot, and another still in boxers—chased after him. Their own attendants followed with the rest of their clothes.Maru looked back and yelled, "You're not going to stop me!"The three men panted and paused. The army's comms officer had apparently been waiting for Maru, and it gave them the time to finish their morning routines."Sir, you're going to want to read this," the comms officer said while handing Maru some documents. It was a thick folder full of reports and updates from last evening. Maru rolled his eyes as he prepared to read, a burden he didn't exactly enjoy. Fortunately, the clever officer was again prepared: a bulleted list of headlines summarized the novel underneath.Maru smiled. This was going to be a good year yet. He closed the folder and handed it to his page—not to read, but for kindling—before the rest of his officers converged."They want us back at Jin Air HQ, sir.""Right. Finally. I was starting to get in a bad mood."



Stats are from Aligulac.com









That sense of disappointment seemed to ignite something in Maru. For the first half of the year, he was, along with Life, the player to beat.; most exemplified by an astonishing run in Proleague, which saw him string together a 20-5 record in Rounds 2 and 3. However, it was in WCS events that he would truly make up for lost time. After a game-ending dodgy wall-off in Taiwan gifted Life the IEM trophy, Maru bounced back quickly, claiming the very first SSL title in Starcraft 2 in a one-sided series over Dream. With all the dominance he’s shown in the past two years, it was a surprising fact that this was only his second premier title; given how well he was playing, it was even more surprising that he failed to add to that count over the course of the year.



However, his consistency over the year is a major reason for his high ranking in the WCS system this year—he’s successfully reached the top 16 in all six of the Korean Starleagues on offer this year. More than anything though, what Maru brings to BlizzCon is a fear factor that's impossible to buy with silverware alone. Maru’s TvP has been undoubtedly the best that terran’s had to offer in 2015, and for months, protoss all over Korea seemed baffled by the way he consistently wins in typically unfavourable positions with his signature marauder drop style. He may have dropped off in form towards the end of the year, but he's often proved himself to be a player for the big occasion, and any protoss meeting him will have special reason to fear.



WCS Points:





Top 5 Games







1. Maru vs herO GSL 2015 Season 1 - MGR

We’ve had some amazing elimination races already this year, but this early season game might be the best of the lot. We’ve seen plenty of Maru vs P games over the course of the year, but it’s probably quite safe to say that we won’t be seeing another like this for a while. An SCV pull from Maru, followed by a probe pull from herO left the CJ protoss with the superior army. Maru’s medivacs though narrowed that advantage, and a chaotic end game found the two players fighting over a single pylon.









2. Maru vs Stats, SSL 2015 Season 1 - Foxtrot Labs

If you’re looking for the prototypical Maru vs protoss game, this is it. Half a year on, we’ve seen Maru drop on colossi enough times for its visceral thrill to be slightly dampened, but back in March, this game left us stunned. “You can’t do that!” we cried, as Maru dropped on three bases and multiple armies simultaneously. We were wrong.









3. Maru vs TY, GSL 2015 Season 2 – Vaani

With both of these players famed for their aggressive play and less than stellar defense, our expectations for this game to pass the early stages were pretty low. We were happy to be proved wrong though, with measured play from both producing one of the best TvTs of the year, their positionally focused game of marine-tank wars hearkening back to the glory days of the matchup.









4. Maru vs Life, SPL 2015 Round 3 - Expedition Lost

We’ve seen enough Maru mech play this year to question why he’d ever switch from his traditional strengths in bio play; however, this game is the one example providing an elegant counterpoint. Going for the same tank / thor / hellbat composition that we’d see become commonplace for the rest of the year, his positioning and abuse of Expedition Lost’s map features proved too much for the KT zerg ace to handle.









5. Maru vs INnoVation, SPL 2015 R3 Playoffs – Deadwing

While the previous game showed us a possible future of a meching Maru, this game makes us consider why he’d ever abandon bio play. For the entire game, INnoVation’s mech play is rock solid; holding on against Maru’s attempted aggression with ease. As he pushed out, you began to fear for the Jin Air ace, with the mech ball fast approaching critical mass. Never to fear; Maru showed us that all you need to beat it is a perfect 270 degree surround. Simple.



After a breakthrough 2013, 2014 was an underwhelming disappointment for Maru. His semifinal finish in Season 2 of WCS Korea was his sole impressive result, and combined with a lack of any appearances at foreign tournaments, he quickly found himself well below the required pace in the race for BlizzCon. An eventual finish at #34, with less than half the points tally required for the 16th place cut-off, was a grave misuse of the skills that had driven him to a top 4 finish in Anaheim the previous year.That sense of disappointment seemed to ignite something in Maru. For the first half of the year, he was, along with Life,player to beat.; most exemplified by an astonishing run in Proleague, which saw him string together a 20-5 record in Rounds 2 and 3. However, it was in WCS events that he would truly make up for lost time. After a game-ending dodgy wall-off in Taiwan gifted Life the IEM trophy, Maru bounced back quickly, claiming the very first SSL title in Starcraft 2 in a one-sided series over Dream. With all the dominance he’s shown in the past two years, it was a surprising fact that this was only his second premier title; given how well he was playing, it was even more surprising that he failed to add to that count over the course of the year.However, his consistency over the year is a major reason for his high ranking in the WCS system this year—he’s successfully reached the top 16 in all six of the Korean Starleagues on offer this year. More than anything though, what Maru brings to BlizzCon is a fear factor that's impossible to buy with silverware alone. Maru’s TvP has been undoubtedly the best that terran’s had to offer in 2015, and for months, protoss all over Korea seemed baffled by the way he consistently wins in typically unfavourable positions with his signature marauder drop style. He may have dropped off in form towards the end of the year, but he's often proved himself to be a player for the big occasion, and any protoss meeting him will have special reason to fear.We’ve had some amazing elimination races already this year, but this early season game might be the best of the lot. We’ve seen plenty of Maru vs P games over the course of the year, but it’s probably quite safe to say that we won’t be seeing another like this for a while. An SCV pull from Maru, followed by a probe pull from herO left the CJ protoss with the superior army. Maru’s medivacs though narrowed that advantage, and a chaotic end game found the two players fighting over a single pylon.If you’re looking for the prototypical Maru vs protoss game, this is it. Half a year on, we’ve seen Maru drop on colossi enough times for its visceral thrill to be slightly dampened, but back in March, this game left us stunned. “You can’t do that!” we cried, as Maru dropped on three bases and multiple armies simultaneously. We were wrong.With both of these players famed for their aggressive play and less than stellar defense, our expectations for this game to pass the early stages were pretty low. We were happy to be proved wrong though, with measured play from both producing one of the best TvTs of the year, their positionally focused game of marine-tank wars hearkening back to the glory days of the matchup.We’ve seen enough Maru mech play this year to question why he’d ever switch from his traditional strengths in bio play; however, this game is the one example providing an elegant counterpoint. Going for the same tank / thor / hellbat composition that we’d see become commonplace for the rest of the year, his positioning and abuse of Expedition Lost’s map features proved too much for the KT zerg ace to handle.While the previous game showed us a possible future of a meching Maru, this game makes us consider why he’d ever abandon bio play. For the entire game, INnoVation’s mech play is rock solid; holding on against Maru’s attempted aggression with ease. As he pushed out, you began to fear for the Jin Air ace, with the mech ball fast approaching critical mass. Never to fear; Maru showed us that all you need to beat it is a perfect 270 degree surround. Simple.

Maru vs Stats

SSL 2015 Season 1 - Foxtrot Labs LE

by: Jer99



When you think of Maru’s TvP, you think of his insane



This game opened up with Maru going for a reaper expand, and Stats going for a two gas expand. Following suit with



Feeling something afoot, Maru set out his reaper to Stats' base, only to be deflected by a stalker. That was his only opportunity to get his reaper into the base of Stats as the latter walled off the reaper jump spot into his natural with a pylon. This left Maru with only one way into Stats’ base—through the front. After failing to see anything with the reaper, Maru was forced to scan the base of Stats. Again, Stats had the foresight to predict Maru’s play, and hid his tech in his natural while Maru scanned the main base. The scan revealed nothing of importance, and left Maru in the dark.



With almost no information and the threat of oracles, Maru was forced to stay at home with his brigade. His safety nets included a turret in each of his mineral lines, and a forward bunker outside of his natural. With such an early investment into gas from Stats, there had to be some form or tech coming his way soon, whether it be blink, oracles, or dark templar. It turned out that the latter was the option that Stats had chosen, and Maru was well prepared for it with detection in both of his mineral lines, and scan energy saved up. Stats even went as far as trying to bait the bio ball out of position with a DT in the natural while running another one up the ramp, but Maru was ready for the antics presented before him.





Without a doubt at this point in the game Maru was ahead. He’d deflected the dark templar pressure with ease, had his medivacs on the way, and was gearing up for a push. Stats, already behind, needed to find a way back into the game. And that way came in the form of a warp prism combined with his previously useless DTs. Stats had played super greedily until this point, taking his third base just after the nine minute mark and staying on only two stalkers. His warp prism was a delay tactic until further tech could be reached. While his initial dark templar pressure didn’t achieve anything, the warp prism in conjunction with the DT was able to delay Maru long enough to get out enough defenses for the inevitable push that Maru was going to send his way. Eventually Maru gave up with the push, and sought to destroy the warp prism causing him his woes, which he managed to kill. With the threat of the warp prism out of the way, it was now time for Maru to begin his barrage of bio.



And then the first attack hit. The majority of Stats’ forces were at his third base, where he had postured his units in response to seeing a move out across the map. Stats had no vision of the true threat—a drop—coming his way and was only prepared with a single colossus and a photon cannon in the natural. While not dealing anywhere close to game ending damage, Maru was able to drop them back on the low ground in range of the dark shrine, forcing Stats to reposition his army into his natural.





Then the second attack hit. Off of the back of the first attack, Maru sent four medivacs full of units into Stats’ main base, where there was no defense. An emergency high templar warp in was summoned, but melted off as they cast their feedbacks. Chargelots were helpless to do anything against kiting bio and widow mines. Again, this forced Stats to reposition the majority of his army and send it to his main base to ward off this second drop.



Soon, the third attack hit. Using his main base drop to pull Stats out of position, Maru went back in with his initial drop with some added reinforcements, and dropped again behind the natural base of Stats. The second attack forced Stats to pull his probes from his main base and send them into his natural base, coincidentally when Maru’s third drop hit. Maru was able to unload all of his units from the medivacs, including two widow mines, which landed shots that Stats is





As expected, the fourth attack hit. This drop was the same drop from the second attack, and focused on the main base of Stats. His third drop again pulled Stats’ army into his natural, clearing the way for Maru’s other drop to deal damage. This time however, Stats pulled his probes off the line into his main base, rather than transferring them to his natural. Maru continued to trade favorably against defensive warp ins while conserving his units.



A fifth attack? Of course. This was the first attack focused on the third base, and again there was nothing there to defend against it. A single colossus stood steadfast on the nexus, but against Marauders, nothing could be done to hold the assault. Warp ins were not enough, so Stats was forced to bring his army from his main base to his third base, exposing the former yet again.





That prompted the sixth attack. Combining attacks four and five into one giant drop, this one was focused on the main base. Stats had already depleted almost all of his resources, and could not warp in anything to defend this drop. This drop killed off probes and the main nexus. Because Stats had no money to warp in stalkers, Maru was free to pick up his units and boost out without taking any casualties.



Then, lucky number seven. This was a combination of his sixth attack with reinforcing units, making it the biggest attack yet. Focused on the third base of Stats, the protoss had absolutely nothing there except for probes, and a soon-to-be dead nexus. Maru had all the momentum: widow mines burrowed in the way of Stats’ army, 2-2 upgrades finishing up, scan energy, full map control, you name it. It even went as far as widow mines getting a kill on colossus.





Finally, the eighth attack hit. At this point you’d imagine that Stats would have seen it coming, but alas he didn’t. Maru picked up everything from his seventh attack and dropped the main base for the final time. A single probe was there to hold the line, only to be killed off in vain. This was a no contest attack that finally finished off Stats, as an equally sized ninth attack was marching its way across the map.



This game is the quintessential display of Maru’s playstyle. He likes to put all of his units to effect immediately, and tries to outplay his opponent in multiple places at once. Cost effectiveness isn’t exactly his slogan, but he can make his units worth their weight in gold by sniping important units and structures. It’s a very rigorous and gritty style, and it works perfectly for him.



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When you think of Maru’s TvP, you think of his insane brute strength . His careless style of continuously dropping on top of everything and anything protoss has was very successful (especially during the first half of 2015)l, as his record in the matchup shows. His methods include trading out drops for colossus and never making vikings. Punch after punch he lands, while any and all protoss seem helpless to defend themselves against the onslaught that he brings. This particular game against Stats in the first season of SSL (which he won) shows exactly how ruthless of a character the young prince can be.This game opened up with Maru going for a reaper expand, and Stats going for a two gas expand. Following suit with his style , Maru sent out an SCV scout while keeping the reaper at home. This was to scout proxy locations as fast as possible, as Stats is known for playing with cheddar. While he did in fact scout a relatively early nexus, the two gasses prompted Maru to drop a 4:30 engineering bay, which is about as early as he could have gotten one while fast expanding. The reaper scout finally paid off as Maru found a hidden probe and pylon in the corner of the map, and that gave Maru the go ahead to drop turrets throughout his base.Feeling something afoot, Maru set out his reaper to Stats' base, only to be deflected by a stalker. That was his only opportunity to get his reaper into the base of Stats as the latter walled off the reaper jump spot into his natural with a pylon. This left Maru with only one way into Stats’ base—through the front. After failing to see anything with the reaper, Maru was forced to scan the base of Stats. Again, Stats had the foresight to predict Maru’s play, and hid his tech in his natural while Maru scanned the main base. The scan revealed nothing of importance, and left Maru in the dark.With almost no information and the threat of oracles, Maru was forced to stay at home with his brigade. His safety nets included a turret in each of his mineral lines, and a forward bunker outside of his natural. With such an early investment into gas from Stats, there had to beform or tech coming his way soon, whether it be blink, oracles, or dark templar. It turned out that the latter was the option that Stats had chosen, and Maru was well prepared for it with detection in both of his mineral lines, and scan energy saved up. Stats even went as far as trying to bait the bio ball out of position with a DT in the natural while running another one up the ramp, but Maru was ready for the antics presented before him.Without a doubt at this point in the game Maru was ahead. He’d deflected the dark templar pressure with ease, had his medivacs on the way, and was gearing up for a push. Stats, already behind, needed to find a way back into the game. And that way came in the form of a warp prism combined with his previously useless DTs. Stats had played super greedily until this point, taking his third base just after the nine minute mark and staying on only two stalkers. His warp prism was a delay tactic until further tech could be reached. While his initial dark templar pressure didn’t achieve anything, the warp prism in conjunction with the DT was able to delay Maru long enough to get out enough defenses for the inevitable push that Maru was going to send his way. Eventually Maru gave up with the push, and sought to destroy the warp prism causing him his woes, which he managed to kill. With the threat of the warp prism out of the way, it was now time for Maru to begin his barrage of bio.And then the first attack hit. The majority of Stats’ forces were at his third base, where he had postured his units in response to seeing a move out across the map. Stats had no vision of the true threat—a drop—coming his way and was only prepared with a single colossus and a photon cannon in the natural. While not dealing anywhere close to game ending damage, Maru was able to drop them back on the low ground in range of the dark shrine, forcing Stats to reposition his army into his natural.Then the second attack hit. Off of the back of the first attack, Maru sent four medivacs full of units into Stats’ main base, where there was no defense. An emergency high templar warp in was summoned, but melted off as they cast their feedbacks. Chargelots were helpless to do anything against kiting bio and widow mines. Again, this forced Stats to reposition the majority of his army and send it to his main base to ward off this second drop.Soon, the third attack hit. Using his main base drop to pull Stats out of position, Maru went back in with his initial drop with some added reinforcements, and dropped again behind the natural base of Stats. The second attack forced Stats to pull his probes from his main base and send them into his natural base, coincidentally when Maru’s third drop hit. Maru was able to unload all of his units from the medivacs, including two widow mines, which landed shots that Stats is all too familiar with As expected, the fourth attack hit. This drop was the same drop from the second attack, and focused on the main base of Stats. His third drop again pulled Stats’ army into his natural, clearing the way for Maru’s other drop to deal damage. This time however, Stats pulled his probes off the line into his main base, rather than transferring them to his natural. Maru continued to trade favorably against defensive warp ins while conserving his units.A fifth attack? Of course. This was the first attack focused on the third base, and again there was nothing there to defend against it. A single colossus stood steadfast on the nexus, but against, nothing could be done to hold the assault. Warp ins were not enough, so Stats was forced to bring his army from his main base to his third base, exposing the former yet again.That prompted the sixth attack. Combining attacks four and five into one giant drop, this one was focused on the main base. Stats had already depleted almost all of his resources, and could not warp in anything to defend this drop. This drop killed off probes and the main nexus. Because Stats had no money to warp in stalkers, Maru was free to pick up his units and boost out without taking any casualties.Then, lucky number seven. This was a combination of his sixth attack with reinforcing units, making it the biggest attack yet. Focused on the third base of Stats, the protoss had absolutely nothing there except for probes, and a soon-to-be dead nexus. Maru had all the momentum: widow mines burrowed in the way of Stats’ army, 2-2 upgrades finishing up, scan energy, full map control, you name it. It even went as far as widow mines getting a kill on colossus.Finally, the eighth attack hit. At this point you’d imagine that Stats would have seen it coming, but alas he didn’t. Maru picked up everything from his seventh attack and dropped the main base for the final time. A single probe was there to hold the line, only to be killed off in vain. This was a no contest attack that finally finished off Stats, as an equally sizedattack was marching its way across the map.This game is the quintessential display of Maru’s playstyle. He likes to put all of his units to effect immediately, and tries to outplay his opponent in multiple places at once. Cost effectiveness isn’t exactly his slogan, but he can make his units worth their weight in gold by sniping important units and structures. It’s a very rigorous and gritty style, and it works perfectly for him. Story

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