September 2 -- 3 ladder games
Three games tonight, all ladder.
I'll write about it at some point, but I'm not sticking to TheStaircase as such anymore, although I am focused rather closely on my spending.
I feel unreasonably pleased tonight because all three were wins, and I feel I earned each of them just by macroing solidly, and by scouting to make sure I wasn't being 4 gated again. :P
Lots of notes tonight, mostly because I want to talk constructively about my macro and reinforce to myself that I have improved.
My spending could have been better, of course, but that much better.
ZvZ on Akilon Wastes. Silver player. Top Diamond spending. Win.
Although I think some of it was luck in terms of building placement, I still feel really proud of this one. I typically go for a 14 pool, kinda ZvP style. I scouted with a 10 drone, as I do in ZvZ, and saw a pool done.
I think I got lucky with building placement. He tried to snipe my pool but it was within range of the spine in my mineral line (slow lings!). He tried to snipe my queens but they could lurk between buildings, and surrounds got harder and harder as time went by.
From there, he tried to one-base muta (!) because he had no second. I had enough of an economic lead that I just went for three spines at each base. I got 1/1 lings and he had 0/0, so ling fights ended badly for him.
One thing I did differently was to not throw away zerglings; I traded well. Too often I try to go for drones and just let them all die and don't get a good trade. This time, I forced a cancel on his expo multiple times and left rather than tryign to go for the kill. I sacrificed one wave of lings to weaken his spire, then another wave killed it altogether. The last straw was when I had killed his spire, his pool, and his natural.
I was shaking after this one because it was probably the most intense game in recent memory, even though it wasn't really close past a certain point. I felt really good about having known what to do and just executing it. I am going to allow myself to feel good about it. GO ME!
ZvP on Polar Night LE. Silver player. High Diamond spending. Win.
I think I scouted with my 10 drone, and saw no FFE or nexus first. It made me nervous but I went ahead. It was when I sac'd an Overlord and saw four gates that I thought I was going to be 4-gated. Long story short: no. But I did delay my third for a long while as a consequence, throwing down a roach warren a minute early and taking gas earlier, as well. I invested in spores in case he was going for some DT cuteness, as well.
In the end I got 1/1 + roach speed + mass roaches. It was 87 army supply vs 43. He did a little push w/ zealot/immortal/stalker and it just got annihilated. I went and sealed the deal w/ 101 supply vs 11.
ZvP on Bel'shir Vestige LE. Silver player. Masters spending. Win.
This one was uneventful. I delayed taking a third until I saw him take a second, and then went ahead and massed roaches. I didn't saturate quickly enough, as I thought maybe I was going to see another 4-gate? I hedged at one point, thinking
I pushed with 122 army supply, 56 roaches. He had more stuff than the other guy, incl a couple of colossi and an immortal. I lost half my roaches but he had nothing past that point. I re-maxed up to about 53 and sealed the deal.
I got upgrades on this one, too, at least 1/1. Maybe 2/1 or 2/2, I am not sure.
I've been trying not to just throw away units, a bad habit of mine. In my ZvZ, this was an asset, as I could continue to defend with lings. In my first ZvP game, it didn't come up. In my second ZvP game, I destroyed most of his army, but retreated in order to re-max.
Upgrades are coming more naturally to me. When I get the gas timings right, 1/1 is almost (ALMOST) automatic. 2/2 is not as clear, though I know for sure I got at least one L2 attack or carapace upgrade in each game.
My creep spread is also improving bit by bit. It helps that I have drilled this when practicing my builds alone. The builds I'm using force/encourage me to make at least 3 queens, so I've been trying, at a minimum, to connect my first, nat, and third with creep. (Mostly it makes sending a queen over less scary.)
I wish winning didn't feel so good, though. It just makes me more anxious the next time around.
This was a positive experience, though. Make a note of it, self! I may have won the games, but I also spent well, doing well for myself.
kianamaiart
annaxmalina
yousharknotpass
ellievsbear
stormborns
