WCS Season 3 Maps Preview Text by ZeromuS Contents



Introduction



Foxtrot Labs

Map Introduction

Impressions

Strategy Spotlight



Deadwing

Map Introduction

Impressions

Strategy Spotlight



Catallena

Map Introduction

Impressions

Strategy Spotlight



Nimbus

Map Introduction

Impressions

Strategy Spotlight



Conclusion







Introduction



Welcome to the season three maps preview! In what seems to be an ongoing trend, Blizzard is showing that they are more willing to stir up the map pool significantly each season with several new and interesting maps. This season’s map pool features participants of the TLMC4! The new maps are:



KTV Foxtrot Labs



Catellena



Deadwing



Nimbus



In this article, we will be going over general map information, our impressions, and will be showcasing one strategy per map. These maps all took part in the TLMC4 and were tested extensively by our TL Strategy team to explore each map and their features while developing working strategies to use on each map. In general, these maps are smaller than the previous season, and each one has its own unique and interesting features that promote fun, new strategies. Without further ado, let’s check out the maps!



KTV Foxtrot Labs







Map Introduction



Reminiscent of Cloud Kingdom, KTV Foxtrot Labs was runner up for TLMC4. This map has four spawn locations with no vertical spawns, essentially making it a three-player map. It has the shortest rush distance of the new maps at 42 seconds from natural to natural, and it has a very tight structure with lots of choke points and almost no open space. The map is dominated by two high ground ridges similar to Cloud Kingdom’s central ridge, which provide a great deal of control over the center of the map. In addition, Foxtrot does not have any watchtowers, furthermore making center map control absolutely vital to keeping up the vision and control necessary to secure bases. This map also features risky gold bases, vulnerable from almost every side, in the interior area of the map. For the one o'clock and seven o'clock spawns, two different third bases are available, one being safer to take behind destructible rocks while the other is accessible earlier on but is much more open. For the five o'clock and eleven o'clock spawns, the natural third base is behind rocks, but there is also the option to take the harassable gold base as a third.





Impressions



This is the map Terrans have been begging for. The structure of the map allows for the easy establishment of bases as focal points to push out with your army. Lots of high ground allows for favorable Terran army engagements, with most counterattack paths converging into single, controllable lane, making it easy to defend counter pressure. Protoss players will enjoy a lot of the same features, including plenty of chokes to be used in conjunction with forcefields and a plethora of nice hiding places for proxy pylons. Zerg players will need to adjust on this map. Zergs will likely struggle to get a fourth base up in both ZvT and ZvP, as it spreads their bases far out from each other and creep is very easy to clear from the myriad of high ground ramps. Luckily, plenty of pathways allow for lots of runbys to flank or counterattack, and the complex pathing also gives mutalisks a better shot at outmaneuvering armies and harassing.





Strategy Spotlight: Two-Base Hellbat Pressure Opening (TvZ) By: Jer99



Opening Build Order:

10 depot

12 rax

12 gas

15 reaper

17 command center

17 reactor on rax

18 depot

19 factory

20 2x marine

22 2nd gas

23 2x marine

27 switch fact and rax, start hellion production

27 starport

32 reactor on rax

40 medivac when starport finishes

44 2x marine

46 armory, switch starport and rax when 1st medivac finishes Due to the architecture of this map, hellbat and mines are much more cost-effective on this map than on others; with such small space to run around and choke points everywhere, units clump up easily and can be prone to a good widow mine shot or a wall of hellbats.



The marine-heavy opening is favoured over other hellbat openings. This is because of how small this map is, it is more likely to catch any overlords out on the map and pick them off. Two-base pressure is preferred over the triple CC build on this map because of how wide the natural is. Since it’s difficult to get a wall up in a reasonable amount of time, one can counter this by going for an aggressive build, naturally keeping the Zerg pinned in their base. Use the reaper to scout the Zerg, try to pick off drones/lings, and then scout the map for overlords. Use the subsequent marines to pick off any overlords you find; this creates an advantageous position going for an 8:00 timing. Play conservatively with hellions and deny creep spread. Push out once your armory finishes with marines/hellbats/medivacs. It is important to keep your army in a ball, minimizing the surface area on your army to prevent ling surrounds. Coupled with the healing of the medivacs, hellbats will never die unless they are focused down one by one by roaches or banelings get a solid connection. Prioritize getting into the third base mineral line, and if there is no drones there, bypass the 3rd base and push into the natural and prevent as many zerg units from being made as possible. If this doesn't deal game-ending damage, it will put you far enough ahead to set up your third base and the ensuing infrastructure for the mid-game.





As Zerg, it’s very hard to get a decent engagement on this map



Positioning:

Good positioning in tight chokes on this map makes cost effective trades much easier for Terran. With all of the ramps and tight spaces, Zerg units naturally clump up, making mines and hellbats exceptionally strong. This makes it difficult for Zerg to get a solid engagement; as the Zerg players run the risk of running over mines and hellbats in awkward locations as they position their units to get a good engagement. Don’t give them time to set up; keep your army constantly moving to keep position on your enemy. No vertical spawns means this limits the map to three player spawns. Use this to your advantage by pushing out of your progressive expansions toward the Zerg. This makes it so that any runbys will be intercepted by your reinforcements path and will be shut down.





Mutas inevitably run into some mines



Some final notes to keep in mind while playing this map are to take the high ground ridge and position your army and mines along it to defend your expansions. Splitting the map along your expansion line is made easy with this high ground advantage. It’s easier to contain the Zerg by denying creep spread as it approaches the high ground, so make sure to keep on top of it and eventually force an engagement from the Zerg. The gold base on this map is too exposed, so avoid taking it unless there are no more minerals to mine from. Mutas can easily swoop in and pick off some SCVs, roaches can snipe them from behind the line, and even manually detonated banelings from the other side can splash onto the SCVs.



Deadwing







Map Introduction



Another map that made it to the finals of TLMC4, Deadwing, is essentially replacing Alterzim Stronghold as the the macro map of the bunch, albeit much smaller. The layout of the bases makes it very easy to get up to three bases quickly, with a fourth one available almost immediately as well. It is difficult to be aggressive on the initial three bases, as the the defender has a solid high ground position and the attacker limited space to exploit. In addition, Deadwing is gigantic and extraordinarily open in the center, making direct attacks fairly difficult. All spawns are enabled on Deadwing, but each spawning location naturally changes the battlefield a bit. In horizontal spawns, the game becomes much more aggressive and plays similar to Shakuras Plateau in close-by-air spawns; with the front third base being accessible on multiple fronts and vulnerable from the low ground, the pocket expansion will most likely be taken as the third in these spawns. However, this also opens up more attack paths and splits up the army more to defend all of the locations. Vertical and cross positions play out more similarly, but obviously create slight variations in expansion patterns.





Impressions



In general, it’s pretty easy to secure three bases on this map and very difficult to do aggression without a very mobile army. That said, Terran bio and muta/ling/bling are very good on this map while slower compositions like roach/hydra, Protoss deathballs, and mech have more difficulty on this map. Protoss players, in particular, need to be very wary of drops and open engagements in the map center due to the way the bases are laid out; as a result, Protoss players generally do best by turtling while using plenty of warp prism harassment. Zerg players can rejoice in four bases that are relatively close together and easy to secure. However, the downside is that, depending on the spawn, they may have a more difficult time securing certain expansions and may be vulnerable to direct pushes, especially marine/mine rallies and immortal all-ins through the backdoor hallway in horizontal spawns. Zerg players will have to be creative in ZvP to deal with Protoss greed by either attempting big busts to prevent three fast bases or by being greedy themselves. Terrans have an easier time on this map compared to Alterzim/Waystation. With an easy three-base setup, Terran can set up their economy and infrastructure early on, gain map control and deny creep spread, and then attempt to drop and pull enemies out of position. Because the map size isn’t as huge as its predecessors, units rally in reasonable amount of time to reinforce strategic positions. With the middle being so open, it’s very important for Terrans to position well or they could take a devastating loss from flanking banelings/zealots.





Strategy Spotlight: FFE Into Triple Nexus (PvZ) By: ZeromuS



Opening Build Order

9 pylon

14 forge

17 nexus

17 pylon (by the gas geyser)

18 gateway

18 cannon

18 2x assimilator

23 zealot

*Rally probe from main to your true natural

when main nexus at full saturation (16m/6g)*

30 **cut probe production**

30 mothership core (at your “natural”)

32 sentry

34 pylon

34 warp gate

34 nexus (at the natural)

**resume probe production**

The Forge Fast Expand (FFE) opening has always been a staple of the Protoss vs Zerg matchup. While some players have been eschewing the FFE for gate expands to pressure earlier, the FFE definitely remains a viable opening. Naturally, when the Protoss of TL Strategy see a new map, we huddle together in the kitchen and begin to discuss -- what can this map give to The Wok that no map before it has given us? Usually we see an interesting attack path for the Soultrain, a good pylon position from which we can launch a Sangate attack, or an easily defensible third which will allow us to make three stargates and mass void rays until our opponent GGs.



Deadwing has brought us something truly special. Corazon was the first to notice that the only attack path towards the protoss main was through the third base, since the natural has a set of rocks blocking a temporary entrance, as well as a ramp leading into the third that didn’t look entirely huge. So we got our woks out and we discovered the most glorious of all Deadwing PvZ openers: FFE into triple nexus. Thats right, you can forge expand at the ramp by your third and then take your natural. All behind one cannon.



Due to the fact your wall will be sitting quite a distance from your main, there are a few things to consider. The first probe must be sent early (specifically when your eighth probe is halfway complete) so that it arrives at the pylon location at the perfect time. The building positioning is very specific; any misplaced buildings can leave unforgivable gaps that will leave Zerg units screaming through. Naturally, this is a very risky build. By expanding to the third you are making the rush distance a Zerg needs to cover shorter, and you can be metagamed into a loss very easily if they early pool or hit you with an unscouted bust early on. At 6:15 you will have one zealot, one sentry, one mothership core, three nexuses (one just started to warp in), and a second sentry started



As to where your buildings are positioned, here are a couple of images:





This first pylon is key





This wall is Zergling proof



Please note the positioning of the first pylon. If it is in the incorrect spot, you will not have a proper wall in. The pylon’s power field needs to be touching the side of the ramp opposite your gas geyser, and you need to have the three unbuildable hexes visible. For this reason you must have the “show building grid” option turned on. Consider as well how tight the wall is and how exposed you are to baneling busts, if you feel banelings are coming, you must add additional pylons to the wall in order to avoid losing power for the cannon. You can place a pylon in front of your existing pylon or behind it. Keep in mind this wall is flimsy and building positioning is very important for it.



After this opening, you can follow this up with any tech path. You can get a stargate and get your third and fourth gasses, or you can get a robo and explore new options for timing attacks (two robo, four colossus with range for example). The Restaurant is open for business, and all you have to do is get in the kitchen, and cook with the Wok that is fast three nexus off FFE. A standard opening on this map would include opening up with one stargate into double robo, followed by a quick fourth base. This map makes it difficult for Zerg to break you on the ground. However, in the air, mutas are always a concern. Just remember that your economy is booming and can react to anything Zerg throws at you.





This Nexus timing, its beautiful



Catallena







Map Introduction



Catallena is yet another finalist of the TLMC4, who unfortunately came in dead last in the vote. Luckily, Blizzard has seen the untapped potential in this map and given it another shot at fame and glory. A typical problem that three-player maps face is that one or both players feel forced to play a hyper-aggressive style in order to take advantage of the asymmetrical spawns, but Catallena dances around the issue by sheer map size while still managing to incorporate enough interesting terrain features to keep games exciting. With main-to-main distances that are considerably large, many gimmicky rushes are immediately removed from play, and with a very defensible natural most games can be expected to have quick second bases from both players. For a third base, players have the choice between a forward third base that extends toward the middle of the map or a safer pocket expansion to the side of the map, but both are located somewhat far away from the natural. As a match heads into the mid game, the fairly large distance from the natural to the third as well as the proximity of the forward third bases helps to create a faster-paced game. With a short walking distance between the two central bases, one can expect frequent and fierce conflict between these two points, but it’s not as clear cut as other maps that put an emphasis on these third bases. Due to the ramp structure, the defending player will always have a superior positioning advantage, making it quite difficult for the attacking player to cause significant damage. With cliffs and air space galore, (and no border like the one seen in Merry Go Round), drop and air play are extremely potent weapons. Doom drops are especially terrifying because of the long travel distance by ground from the third to the main and the choke point of the main base.





Impressions



Due to the abundance of ramps, cliffs, and air space, there are an incredible amount of ways for the opponent to defend an incoming attack at any point. The only truly open parts of the map are between central ramps and between the isolated side bases; otherwise, any choke or cliff can be used by either player as a very powerful position. From a Terran perspective, the movement options are numerous and fascinating, as there are several ways from which to attack the central third bases, and the other pocket third base is vulnerable to being cut off from reinforcement. Protoss players will also enjoy the varied terrain and fairly tight chokes which will provide them many opportunities for clever movement and positioning. However, the key concern for Protoss will be securing and defending a third against the myriad of mid game pressures available to the other races, which may be solved by using more aggressive builds on this map. The varying pathways also provide Zerg with plenty of room to maneuver, flank, and counterattack, especially toward the more open center. Zergs may struggle a bit with getting the necessary creep spread to the third and fourth bases, making aggression in the early and mid parts of the game extremely potent. However, if the Zerg is able to secure their third of the map with creep, they have can create a very defensible cluster of bases.





Strategy Spotlight: Standard Hellion/Banshee...PLUS HELLBATS (TvZ) By:Thaniri



10 depot

12 barracks

15 marine (4x)

16 CC

17 depot

19 2x refinery

25 factory

25 reactor on barracks

30 command center

31 starport

31 tech lab on barracks

37 armory

[7:30] banshee + optional cloak

Due to the difficulty in defending either third base on this map Terran players can very well go back to the days of heavy pressure on Zerg’s third base with hellions and banshees. It’s been a while since this strategy has been in vogue, so perhaps we need a quick recap which can be seen here to the left.



That’s the bare-bones of the build, and from there a Terran player can go down many routes. This build is perfect to follow in the footsteps of ForGG's revolutionary TvZ style. ForGG's strategy features a focus on drone kills, but let’s not disregard the other possibilities. Another powerful option is to go the spoon Terran route and get some hellions and a banshee out just to keep the Zerg player honest and deny creep, then follow it up with a group of marines and medivacs to do some serious damage to the third base. Bomber might go straight into bio tank production in preparation for a big 2/2 push. MVP would probably favor going for a mech followup to the harass.



The first two hellions are scout out the map, find the third base and try to deny a few creep tumors. Being too aggressive early on leads to a big loss of map control for the Terran player and the first four hellions need to be babysat constantly to prevent losing them. In comparison to WoL, the hellions become much more important later on due to their ability to transform into hellbats in HotS, as opposed to simply becoming more and more useless as the game goes on. The damage of this build comes in when there are at least six hellions on the field, as at that number it begins to get difficult for zerglings to cause any serious damage to them unless they are in overwhelming numbers. At this point, the armory isn't quite complete, but once it is, 6 hellbats can destroy countless masses of zerglings. This magical number of six hellions doesn't answer the queen however, and that’s where a banshee’s great DPS comes into play. While a regular hellion group can’t engage queens directly, and hellbats being very kiteable with their pitiful range, the banshee raining damage down from the sky forces the Zerg player to micro his queens a lot more and can even get a kill.





Infrastructure at 7:37. Banshee and cloak on the way, 3rd CC nearly complete



Deciding when and where to transform your hellions into hellbats is a very important decision. The transformation time is four seconds, which is not a big deal when going from hellions into hellbats, but is a huge problem if zerg has pulled away his drones already. Missing the drones, and having to transform back into hellions to chase them creates a huge vulnerability; the Zerg player has four seconds to surround your now hellions with zerglings and take advantage of their different area of effect attack being much less effective. As such, hellions should only transform into hellbats when zerg has already committed his zerglings to killing them. 6+ Hellbats have the potential to kill innumerable zerglings when positioned in mineral lines, so even if the hellions don’t end up killing too many drones on their own, the zerg player is forced to spend a lot of larvae rebuilding zerglings or roaches to defend the attack.





Hellbats get a great position in the mineral line, trading heavily in the Terrans favor



Stemming from all of this damage, the flexibility of hellion banshee openers comes back into play. Most builds that rely on timing attacks after the harass will hit between 11:00-12:00, and, with any luck from an effective hellbat harass, mutas will be delayed for a full minute after that, allowing for an easy denial on the Zergs fourth base and definite denial of creep spread. However, this timing attack style should not be expected to outright kill the Zerg player as even on only three bases Zerg can produce an overwhelmingly large army.



Alternatively, as Artosis says, when you are ahead, get more ahead. A mech style with a heavy emphasis on upgrades is perfectly reasonable after a hellion banshee opening. The Zerg player will not be behind in tech, and will likely catch up quite quickly on economy, but the one thing they will lack is an army. Take advantage of this weakness with a little bit of greed, but be wary of mutalisks and get some thors out.



Don’t think however, that the hellion banshee openers will be the end-all be all of this map. With such isolated third and fourth bases, any timing attack related style will prove to be extremely effective on this map. All I do is stim, stim, stim, no matter what.



Nimbus







Map Introduction



Nimbus, while not quite making the finals of the TLMC4, caught Blizzard’s eye in the process. Nimbus has actually been submitted multiple times to the TLMC, but has never quite had the success it deserves due to a few major balance concerns. However, with some revisions to preserve map balance, Nimbus is now being rehashed for first-time play in the Season 3 Ladder map pool! The main features of Nimbus includes a backdoor natural (similar to Crevasse) as well as base progressions that spread toward the center of the map. The high ground areas around the fourth bases serve as perfect staging points for aggression and create a very heavily contested center area. A single watchtower overlooks the very center of the map and, due to the clever pathing, can only be taken by small units (effectively cutting up tank lines in the center of the map). Players have a choice for a third base: either the more natural, defensive low-ground base or the forward high ground base geared toward aggression. The overall base layout forces players to constantly expand toward their opponent and the center of the map, making Nimbus -- although quite a large map -- feel increasingly smaller as the game goes on.





Impressions



In general, this map is geared toward a lot of two-base and three-base aggression. The combination of plenty of airspace and the aggressive expansion patterns tend to create an environment for constant aggression. Naturally, this tends to give Terran and Protoss players initiative to attack; however, with the generally open spaces and wide ramps, Zerg players shouldn’t have too much problems engaging in most areas of the map. The high ground bases in the center will be heavily contested, which may present late game problems for Zerg players securing their vital fourth bases. The backdoor hallway into the natural third provides some opportunity for Terran to do committed rally pushes or for Protoss to do immortal all-ins as well as opening a huge concave on the third base. Air play is pretty good on this map because of the fairly exposed natural and the ability to swing into the third at several different angles, making mutalisks and bio drop play a natural go-to. Expect to see a lot of varied play come out of this map, from two-base all-ins and meta cheeses to epic, action-packed macro games fighting over the high ground fourths.





Strategy Spotlight: Quadruple Hatch Opening (ZvT) By: Jowj



15 hatch

17 hatch (creep hatch)

18 hatch

20 pool

20 overlord

queen ASAP at forward hatch (around 5:10)

2x lings

queens as you can (while spending larva)

2x gas@6:20

spines @ 6:30

2x gas after first 2 finish

ling speed @ 100 gas



Nimbus is a large map that has all four spawns enabled. It’s somewhat of a smaller map compared to its four-player predecessors like Frost, but expect to see lots of CC first in TvZ due to the free backdoor expansion and a wall that only requires a supply depot and a barracks. With that in mind, this is a handy build that takes advantage of the Terran’s opening by utilizing greed to focus on early game creep spread. The build has seen use in the past, but on the new maps there’s even more opportunity to exercise this anti-CC first build:



After ling speed, specifics are based more on what you’ve scouted. Standard scout times apply to determine what the Terran is doing, so scout at 5:30 scout to check for fast third CC vs three rax/fac/port pushes, banshees, etc. Then follow up with an 8:00 scout to find his mid game follow-up, and tailor your build from there. The most common extension from this point is double evolution chambers before lair, and then teching into ling/bling/muta.



This opening spreads creep much faster than other macro Zerg openings by the use of a “creep hatchery” that is placed further out on the map to facilitate creep spread and spine crawlers for zoning and defense. This plays out in three important ways. First off, creep can reach the middle of the map incredibly fast, giving you an obscene amount of mid-game vision and movement boost, and consequently is a fantastic boost to your engagements. It also allows you to use spine crawlers, a mineral investment, to block hellion/reaper aggression in a cost effective way. Finally, the creep spread produced by the extra hatchery allows you to get creep past your fourth base in time for the common 3CC timing attacks utilized by Terrans to pressure the Zerg’s fourth. This creep spread can make or break a fourth base defense and is a great asset if you’re struggling to defend these timings.



However, there are downsides to this build, as you’re trading off earlier units and queens for the fourth hatch. But the good news is your production is still just as strong; the extra larva from the fourth hatchery means you’re never banking minerals early game and you’re using your money as quickly as you mine it. If the Terran doesn’t open CC first and instead opts for something like a one to three reaper expand, it can be tough to hold, but good micro and luck in the order that you are scouted can minimize losses and get you to your desired three base saturation very quickly.





Creep Spread by 11 minutes is more than enough to pass your 4th base in time for 3CC timing attacks.



Bunker rushing the creep hatch off an expansion doesn’t work vs this; the hatchery has too much HP and spine crawlers or lings are good enough to bring down the bunker in time to save the hatchery. Needless to say, with four hatcheries before a pool, queens are delayed significantly. So spending larva before getting larva blocked is of the utmost importance in order to stay even on units. Spread creep with the first two queens, and, from that point on, one of them will be a dedicated creep spreader. Pay special attention to pushing creep through to your fourth. This is often the biggest point of contention in macro TvZ, and having creep spread beyond your fourth hatchery can be the difference between a dead hatch and banelings killing all of your opponent’s army. Spine crawler positioning is also important. You have delayed gas for so long, you won’t have roaches or speedlings to ward off the initial hellion harass. Small variations in positioning are fine, but the idea is simply to zone the hellions and punish aggressive runby attempts with extra damage from the spine/queen/ling positions.





These spines can stop run bys with fewer hellions by themselves, but add queens + slow lings and you’ve got yourself a near impenetrable defense vs up to 10 helions.



Conclusion



With the advent of a new season and new maps, we are likely to see some old -- maybe even outdated or antiquated -- styles shine anew, while at the same time witnessing new ones break out in stellar fashion. Overall, the new maps are very innovative maps and are likely to produce amazing games in the next WCS and GSL season, with each one bringing something entirely new to the table to experiment with. Between the incredible look and intricate pathing of Foxtrot Labs, the daringly late game orientation of Deadwing, the clever and varied terrain of Catallena, and the fascinating expansion patterns of Nimbus, this season is likely to provide a lot of surprises, twists and turns, and possibly even upsets on the new maps. From the minds of your very own community at Team Liquid, we present to you: The new Season Three Ladder Maps. Enjoy!



Biggest congratulations to Uvantak, JessicaSc2, Timmay, and Icetoad who created KTV Foxtrot Labs, Deadwing, Catallena, and Nimbus respectively. It’s certainly a great honor to be selected for the ladder pool, and we hope you continue to innovate new map ideas and bring us more interesting maps in the future!



Nimbus is a large map that has all four spawns enabled. It’s somewhat of a smaller map compared to its four-player predecessors like Frost, but expect to see lots of CC first in TvZ due to the free backdoor expansion and a wall that only requires a supply depot and a barracks. With that in mind, this is a handy build that takes advantage of the Terran’s opening by utilizing greed to focus on early game creep spread. The build has seen use in the past, but on the new maps there’s even more opportunity to exercise this anti-CC first build:After ling speed, specifics are based more on what you’ve scouted. Standard scout times apply to determine what the Terran is doing, so scout at 5:30 scout to check for fast third CC vs three rax/fac/port pushes, banshees, etc. Then follow up with an 8:00 scout to find his mid game follow-up, and tailor your build from there. The most common extension from this point is double evolution chambers before lair, and then teching into ling/bling/muta.This opening spreads creep much faster than other macro Zerg openings by the use of a “creep hatchery” that is placed further out on the map to facilitate creep spread and spine crawlers for zoning and defense. This plays out in three important ways. First off, creep can reach the middle of the map incredibly fast, giving you an obscene amount of mid-game vision and movement boost, and consequently is a fantastic boost to your engagements. It also allows you to use spine crawlers, a mineral investment, to block hellion/reaper aggression in a cost effective way. Finally, the creep spread produced by the extra hatchery allows you to get creep past your fourth base in time for the common 3CC timing attacks utilized by Terrans to pressure the Zerg’s fourth. This creep spread can make or break a fourth base defense and is a great asset if you’re struggling to defend these timings.However, there are downsides to this build, as you’re trading off earlier units and queens for the fourth hatch. But the good news is your production is still just as strong; the extra larva from the fourth hatchery means you’re never banking minerals early game and you’re using your money as quickly as you mine it. If the Terran doesn’t open CC first and instead opts for something like a one to three reaper expand, it can be tough to hold, but good micro and luck in the order that you are scouted can minimize losses and get you to your desired three base saturation very quickly.Bunker rushing the creep hatch off an expansion doesn’t work vs this; the hatchery has too much HP and spine crawlers or lings are good enough to bring down the bunker in time to save the hatchery. Needless to say, with four hatcheries before a pool, queens are delayed significantly. So spending larva before getting larva blocked is of the utmost importance in order to stay even on units. Spread creep with the first two queens, and, from that point on, one of them will be a dedicated creep spreader. Pay special attention to pushing creep through to your fourth. This is often the biggest point of contention in macro TvZ, and having creep spread beyond your fourth hatchery can be the difference between a dead hatch and banelings killing all of your opponent’s army. Spine crawler positioning is also important. You have delayed gas for so long, you won’t have roaches or speedlings to ward off the initial hellion harass. Small variations in positioning are fine, but the idea is simply to zone the hellions and punish aggressive runby attempts with extra damage from the spine/queen/ling positions. In general, this map is geared toward a lot of two-base and three-base aggression. The combination of plenty of airspace and the aggressive expansion patterns tend to create an environment for constant aggression. Naturally, this tends to give Terran and Protoss players initiative to attack; however, with the generally open spaces and wide ramps, Zerg players shouldn’t have too much problems engaging in most areas of the map. The high ground bases in the center will be heavily contested, which may present late game problems for Zerg players securing their vital fourth bases. The backdoor hallway into the natural third provides some opportunity for Terran to do committed rally pushes or for Protoss to do immortal all-ins as well as opening a huge concave on the third base. Air play is pretty good on this map because of the fairly exposed natural and the ability to swing into the third at several different angles, making mutalisks and bio drop play a natural go-to. Expect to see a lot of varied play come out of this map, from two-base all-ins and meta cheeses to epic, action-packed macro games fighting over the high ground fourths. Nimbus, while not quite making the finals of the TLMC4, caught Blizzard’s eye in the process. Nimbus has actually been submitted multiple times to the TLMC, but has never quite had the success it deserves due to a few major balance concerns. However, with some revisions to preserve map balance, Nimbus is now being rehashed for first-time play in the Season 3 Ladder map pool! The main features of Nimbus includes a backdoor natural (similar to Crevasse) as well as base progressions that spread toward the center of the map. The high ground areas around the fourth bases serve as perfect staging points for aggression and create a very heavily contested center area. A single watchtower overlooks the very center of the map and, due to the clever pathing, can only be taken by small units (effectively cutting up tank lines in the center of the map). Players have a choice for a third base: either the more natural, defensive low-ground base or the forward high ground base geared toward aggression. The overall base layout forces players to constantly expand toward their opponent and the center of the map, making Nimbus -- although quite a large map -- feel increasingly smaller as the game goes on. Catallena is yet another finalist of the TLMC4, who unfortunately came in dead last in the vote. Luckily, Blizzard has seen the untapped potential in this map and given it another shot at fame and glory. A typical problem that three-player maps face is that one or both players feel forced to play a hyper-aggressive style in order to take advantage of the asymmetrical spawns, but Catallena dances around the issue by sheer map size while still managing to incorporate enough interesting terrain features to keep games exciting. With main-to-main distances that are considerably large, many gimmicky rushes are immediately removed from play, and with a very defensible natural most games can be expected to have quick second bases from both players. For a third base, players have the choice between a forward third base that extends toward the middle of the map or a safer pocket expansion to the side of the map, but both are located somewhat far away from the natural. As a match heads into the mid game, the fairly large distance from the natural to the third as well as the proximity of the forward third bases helps to create a faster-paced game. With a short walking distance between the two central bases, one can expect frequent and fierce conflict between these two points, but it’s not as clear cut as other maps that put an emphasis on these third bases. Due to the ramp structure, the defending player will always have a superior positioning advantage, making it quite difficult for the attacking player to cause significant damage. With cliffs and air space galore, (and no border like the one seen in Merry Go Round), drop and air play are extremely potent weapons. Doom drops are especially terrifying because of the long travel distance by ground from the third to the main and the choke point of the main base.Due to the abundance of ramps, cliffs, and air space, there are an incredible amount of ways for the opponent to defend an incoming attack at any point. The only truly open parts of the map are between central ramps and between the isolated side bases; otherwise, any choke or cliff can be used by either player as a very powerful position. From a Terran perspective, the movement options are numerous and fascinating, as there are several ways from which to attack the central third bases, and the other pocket third base is vulnerable to being cut off from reinforcement. Protoss players will also enjoy the varied terrain and fairly tight chokes which will provide them many opportunities for clever movement and positioning. However, the key concern for Protoss will be securing and defending a third against the myriad of mid game pressures available to the other races, which may be solved by using more aggressive builds on this map. The varying pathways also provide Zerg with plenty of room to maneuver, flank, and counterattack, especially toward the more open center. Zergs may struggle a bit with getting the necessary creep spread to the third and fourth bases, making aggression in the early and mid parts of the game extremely potent. However, if the Zerg is able to secure their third of the map with creep, they have can create a very defensible cluster of bases.Due to the difficulty in defending either third base on this map Terran players can very well go back to the days of heavy pressure on Zerg’s third base with hellions and banshees. It’s been a while since this strategy has been in vogue, so perhaps we need a quick recap which can be seen here to the left.That’s the bare-bones of the build, and from there a Terran player can go down many routes. This build is perfect to follow in the footsteps of ForGG's revolutionary TvZ style. ForGG's strategy features a focus on drone kills, but let’s not disregard the other possibilities. Another powerful option is to go the spoon Terran route and get some hellions and a banshee out just to keep the Zerg player honest and deny creep, then follow it up with a group of marines and medivacs to do some serious damage to the third base. Bomber might go straight into bio tank production in preparation for a big 2/2 push. MVP would probably favor going for a mech followup to the harass.The first two hellions are scout out the map, find the third base and try to deny a few creep tumors. Being too aggressive early on leads to a big loss of map control for the Terran player and the first four hellions need to be babysat constantly to prevent losing them. In comparison to WoL, the hellions become much more important later on due to their ability to transform into hellbats in HotS, as opposed to simply becoming more and more useless as the game goes on. The damage of this build comes in when there are at least six hellions on the field, as at that number it begins to get difficult for zerglings to cause any serious damage to them unless they are in overwhelming numbers. At this point, the armory isn't quite complete, but once it is, 6 hellbats can destroy countless masses of zerglings. This magical number of six hellions doesn't answer the queen however, and that’s where a banshee’s great DPS comes into play. While a regular hellion group can’t engage queens directly, and hellbats being very kiteable with their pitiful range, the banshee raining damage down from the sky forces the Zerg player to micro his queens a lot more and can even get a kill.Deciding when and where to transform your hellions into hellbats is a very important decision. The transformation time is four seconds, which is not a big deal when going from hellions into hellbats, but is a huge problem if zerg has pulled away his drones already. Missing the drones, and having to transform back into hellions to chase them creates a huge vulnerability; the Zerg player has four seconds to surround your now hellions with zerglings and take advantage of their different area of effect attack being much less effective. As such, hellions should only transform into hellbats when zerg has already committed his zerglings to killing them. 6+ Hellbats have the potential to kill innumerable zerglings when positioned in mineral lines, so even if the hellions don’t end up killing too many drones on their own, the zerg player is forced to spend a lot of larvae rebuilding zerglings or roaches to defend the attack.Stemming from all of this damage, the flexibility of hellion banshee openers comes back into play. Most builds that rely on timing attacks after the harass will hit between 11:00-12:00, and, with any luck from an effective hellbat harass, mutas will be delayed for a full minute after that, allowing for an easy denial on the Zergs fourth base and definite denial of creep spread. However, this timing attack style should not be expected to outright kill the Zerg player as even on only three bases Zerg can produce an overwhelmingly large army.Alternatively, as Artosis says, when you are ahead, get more ahead. A mech style with a heavy emphasis on upgrades is perfectly reasonable after a hellion banshee opening. The Zerg player will not be behind in tech, and will likely catch up quite quickly on economy, but the one thing they will lack is an army. Take advantage of this weakness with a little bit of greed, but be wary of mutalisks and get some thors out.Don’t think however, that the hellion banshee openers will be the end-all be all of this map. With such isolated third and fourth bases, any timing attack related style will prove to be extremely effective on this map. All I do is stim, stim, stim, no matter what. Another map that made it to the finals of TLMC4, Deadwing, is essentially replacing Alterzim Stronghold as the the macro map of the bunch, albeit much smaller. The layout of the bases makes it very easy to get up to three bases quickly, with a fourth one available almost immediately as well. It is difficult to be aggressive on the initial three bases, as the the defender has a solid high ground position and the attacker limited space to exploit. In addition, Deadwing is gigantic and extraordinarily open in the center, making direct attacks fairly difficult. All spawns are enabled on Deadwing, but each spawning location naturally changes the battlefield a bit. In horizontal spawns, the game becomes much more aggressive and plays similar to Shakuras Plateau in close-by-air spawns; with the front third base being accessible on multiple fronts and vulnerable from the low ground, the pocket expansion will most likely be taken as the third in these spawns. However, this also opens up more attack paths and splits up the army more to defend all of the locations. Vertical and cross positions play out more similarly, but obviously create slight variations in expansion patterns.In general, it’s pretty easy to secure three bases on this map and very difficult to do aggression without a very mobile army. That said, Terran bio and muta/ling/bling are very good on this map while slower compositions like roach/hydra, Protoss deathballs, and mech have more difficulty on this map. Protoss players, in particular, need to be very wary of drops and open engagements in the map center due to the way the bases are laid out; as a result, Protoss players generally do best by turtling while using plenty of warp prism harassment. Zerg players can rejoice in four bases that are relatively close together and easy to secure. However, the downside is that, depending on the spawn, they may have a more difficult time securing certain expansions and may be vulnerable to direct pushes, especially marine/mine rallies and immortal all-ins through the backdoor hallway in horizontal spawns. Zerg players will have to be creative in ZvP to deal with Protoss greed by either attempting big busts to prevent three fast bases or by being greedy themselves. Terrans have an easier time on this map compared to Alterzim/Waystation. With an easy three-base setup, Terran can set up their economy and infrastructure early on, gain map control and deny creep spread, and then attempt to drop and pull enemies out of position. Because the map size isn’t as huge as its predecessors, units rally in reasonable amount of time to reinforce strategic positions. With the middle being so open, it’s very important for Terrans to position well or they could take a devastating loss from flanking banelings/zealots.The Forge Fast Expand (FFE) opening has always been a staple of the Protoss vs Zerg matchup. While some players have been eschewing the FFE for gate expands to pressure earlier, the FFE definitely remains a viable opening. Naturally, when the Protoss of TL Strategy see a new map, we huddle together in the kitchen and begin to discuss -- what can this map give to The Wok that no map before it has given us? Usually we see an interesting attack path for the Soultrain, a good pylon position from which we can launch a Sangate attack, or an easily defensible third which will allow us to make three stargates and mass void rays until our opponent GGs.Deadwing has brought us something truly special. Corazon was the first to notice that the only attack path towards the protoss main was through the third base, since the natural has a set of rocks blocking a temporary entrance, as well as a ramp leading into the third that didn’t look entirely huge. So we got our woks out and we discovered the most glorious of all Deadwing PvZ openers: FFE into triple nexus. Thats right, you can forge expand at the ramp by your third and then take your natural. All behind one cannon.Due to the fact your wall will be sitting quite a distance from your main, there are a few things to consider. The first probebe sent early (specifically when your eighth probe is halfway complete) so that it arrives at the pylon location at the perfect time. The building positioning is very specific; any misplaced buildings can leave unforgivable gaps that will leave Zerg units screaming through. Naturally, this is a very risky build. By expanding to the third you are making the rush distance a Zerg needs to cover shorter, and you can be metagamed into a loss very easily if they early pool or hit you with an unscouted bust early on. At 6:15 you will have one zealot, one sentry, one mothership core, three nexuses (one just started to warp in), and a second sentry startedAs to where your buildings are positioned, here are a couple of images:Please note the positioning of the first pylon. If it is in the incorrect spot, you will not have a proper wall in. The pylon’s power field needs to be touching the side of the ramp opposite your gas geyser, and you need to have the three unbuildable hexes visible. For this reason youhave the “show building grid” option turned on. Consider as well how tight the wall is and how exposed you are to baneling busts, if you feel banelings are coming, you must add additional pylons to the wall in order to avoid losing power for the cannon. You can place a pylon in front of your existing pylon or behind it. Keep in mind this wall is flimsy and building positioning is very important for it.After this opening, you can follow this up with any tech path. You can get a stargate and get your third and fourth gasses, or you can get a robo and explore new options for timing attacks (two robo, four colossus with range for example). The Restaurant is open for business, and all you have to do is get in the kitchen, and cook with the Wok that is fast three nexus off FFE. A standard opening on this map would include opening up with one stargate into double robo, followed by a quick fourth base. This map makes it difficult for Zerg to break you on the ground. However, in the air, mutas are always a concern. Just remember that your economy is booming and can react to anything Zerg throws at you. Reminiscent of Cloud Kingdom, KTV Foxtrot Labs was runner up for TLMC4. This map has four spawn locations with no vertical spawns, essentially making it a three-player map. It has the shortest rush distance of the new maps at 42 seconds from natural to natural, and it has a very tight structure with lots of choke points and almost no open space. The map is dominated by two high ground ridges similar to Cloud Kingdom’s central ridge, which provide a great deal of control over the center of the map. In addition, Foxtrot does not have any watchtowers, furthermore making center map control absolutely vital to keeping up the vision and control necessary to secure bases. This map also features risky gold bases, vulnerable from almost every side, in the interior area of the map. For the one o'clock and seven o'clock spawns, two different third bases are available, one being safer to take behind destructible rocks while the other is accessible earlier on but is much more open. For the five o'clock and eleven o'clock spawns, the natural third base is behind rocks, but there is also the option to take the harassable gold base as a third.This is the map Terrans have been begging for. The structure of the map allows for the easy establishment of bases as focal points to push out with your army. Lots of high ground allows for favorable Terran army engagements, with most counterattack paths converging into single, controllable lane, making it easy to defend counter pressure. Protoss players will enjoy a lot of the same features, including plenty of chokes to be used in conjunction with forcefields and a plethora of nice hiding places for proxy pylons. Zerg players will need to adjust on this map. Zergs will likely struggle to get a fourth base up in both ZvT and ZvP, as it spreads their bases far out from each other and creep is very easy to clear from the myriad of high ground ramps. Luckily, plenty of pathways allow for lots of runbys to flank or counterattack, and the complex pathing also gives mutalisks a better shot at outmaneuvering armies and harassing.Due to the architecture of this map, hellbat and mines are much more cost-effective on this map than on others; with such small space to run around and choke points everywhere, units clump up easily and can be prone to a good widow mine shot or a wall of hellbats.The marine-heavy opening is favoured over other hellbat openings. This is because of how small this map is, it is more likely to catch any overlords out on the map and pick them off. Two-base pressure is preferred over the triple CC build on this map because of how wide the natural is. Since it’s difficult to get a wall up in a reasonable amount of time, one can counter this by going for an aggressive build, naturally keeping the Zerg pinned in their base. Use the reaper to scout the Zerg, try to pick off drones/lings, and then scout the map for overlords. Use the subsequent marines to pick off any overlords you find; this creates an advantageous position going for an 8:00 timing. Play conservatively with hellions and deny creep spread. Push out once your armory finishes with marines/hellbats/medivacs. It is important to keep your army in a ball, minimizing the surface area on your army to prevent ling surrounds. Coupled with the healing of the medivacs, hellbats will never die unless they are focused down one by one by roaches or banelings get a solid connection. Prioritize getting into the third base mineral line, and if there is no drones there, bypass the 3rd base and push into the natural and prevent as many zerg units from being made as possible. If this doesn't deal game-ending damage, it will put you far enough ahead to set up your third base and the ensuing infrastructure for the mid-game.Good positioning in tight chokes on this map makes cost effective trades much easier for Terran. With all of the ramps and tight spaces, Zerg units naturally clump up, making mines and hellbats exceptionally strong. This makes it difficult for Zerg to get a solid engagement; as the Zerg players run the risk of running over mines and hellbats in awkward locations as they position their units to get a good engagement. Don’t give them time to set up; keep your army constantly moving to keep position on your enemy. No vertical spawns means this limits the map to three player spawns. Use this to your advantage by pushing out of your progressive expansions toward the Zerg. This makes it so that any runbys will be intercepted by your reinforcements path and will be shut down.Some final notes to keep in mind while playing this map are to take the high ground ridge and position your army and mines along it to defend your expansions. Splitting the map along your expansion line is made easy with this high ground advantage. It’s easier to contain the Zerg by denying creep spread as it approaches the high ground, so make sure to keep on top of it and eventually force an engagement from the Zerg. The gold base on this map is too exposed, so avoid taking it unless there are no more minerals to mine from. Mutas can easily swoop in and pick off some SCVs, roaches can snipe them from behind the line, and even manually detonated banelings from the other side can splash onto the SCVs. Welcome to the season three maps preview! In what seems to be an ongoing trend, Blizzard is showing that they are more willing to stir up the map pool significantly each season with several new and interesting maps. This season’s map pool features participants of the TLMC4! The new maps are:In this article, we will be going over general map information, our impressions, and will be showcasing one strategy per map. These maps all took part in the TLMC4 and were tested extensively by our TL Strategy team to explore each map and their features while developing working strategies to use on each map. In general, these maps are smaller than the previous season, and each one has its own unique and interesting features that promote fun, new strategies. Without further ado, let’s check out the maps!

Strategy Overwatch is awesome | Support is the best role | @TL_ZeromuS | www.twitch.tv/Zeromus_