| If you're new to Starcraft 2, then stepping into the | | | | forth. |
| online leagues can be a little intimidating. So you have | | | | 1. 9/10: Overlord #1 (This is the standard zerg opening, it |
| conquered the single player campaign, challenged the | | | | maximizes supplies) |
| A.I. a little, then you'll probably want to test the waters | | | | 2. 14/18: Extractor (put only 3 drones on gas) |
| and see what it's like out there on BattleNet. But no | | | | 3. 14/18: Spawning Pool |
| fear, Jeff is here! I'm going to show you a very simple, | | | | 4. 15/18: Overlord #2 |
| effective, and deadly strategy using the Zerg, that will | | | | 5. 16/26: Speed upgrade to Zerglings (aka: speedlings) |
| make you win your way up to the Gold league and | | | | when gas hits 100 |
| beyond. This strategy is not that hard to pull off, but | | | | 6. 16/26: Queen + spawn larvae |
| note that it will probably be countered well in the | | | | 7. 18-22/26: 8 Zerglings |
| Diamond leagues. Despite this, some professional | | | | 8. 22/26: Baneling Nest |
| players still use this method at top level, with a few | | | | 9. 23/26: Overlord #3 |
| twists (Baneling Flanking). | | | | 10. 23/34: 10 Zerglings |
| Before we begin, a few key points: | | | | In a typical fashion, you will want to use your first |
| - It is of vital importance to practice with all 3 races. | | | | Speedlings to start scouting your enemy to see how |
| You might want to focus on your favorite one, which | | | | you are going to breach their wall. Note that it takes 5 |
| is perfectly fine, but don't ignore the other ones | | | | Banelings to destroy a Terran Supply Depot, so you |
| because as you get better with them, so will your | | | | will need at least 5 for the initial attack, and a couple |
| strategy against them. | | | | more for once you are going to be inside. Keep |
| - The Baneling Bust strategy is most effective against | | | | pumping out the Zerglings and don't forget your Queen |
| Terrans, but we've seen good results against Protoss | | | | has to keep larvae up so you have the most Zerglings |
| and even Zerg, at which point it simply becomes a | | | | possible. |
| tight race, and the winner will ultimately be whoever is | | | | Set up your Banelings hidden in a corner near the |
| the fastest, and makes the best use of the resources. | | | | enemy base, not too close so that they don't detect |
| Micro-ing is very important at this point. See my other | | | | them. When all your Zerglings / Banelings are ready, |
| article about micros for this part. | | | | fire up your 5 Banelings at the enemy's Supply Depot |
| Now I'm going to start with what the build order is | | | | and rush the inside of his base. Because you will have |
| going to look like. Follow it to the letter and you cannot | | | | quite a lot of Speedlings, the enemy will not be able |
| fail unless you don't execute the attack properly or are | | | | defend against this assault because you can easily |
| extremely unlucky. There are some counter measures | | | | outrun them, and play with them (move back and |
| and Terran builds for this strategy but they don't work | | | | forth). Surround the sole units, attack his supply lines, |
| very well. Here goes: | | | | and use the last Banelings. At this point you have |
| Note: If you are not familiar with build orders, the | | | | pretty much won the game, and your opponent has |
| numbers below (e.g.: 9/10) indicate at which point you | | | | left the game. |
| perform an action. In this case, step #1 means that | | | | Some argue that it is a cheesy move, some also say |
| when you have 9 population (your 9 drones), then you | | | | that it's a do-or-die move, but hey it works! And even if |
| spawn an Overlord. Then, when pop. reaches 14 of 18, | | | | you don't finish him off, you will have crippled your |
| create an extractor on the gas, and so on and so | | | | opponent enough that he will not be able to recover. |