What’s up, you absolute nerds.
Nerd Prime here to say, this game is sick.
I feel like I’ve had some core aspect of my identity absolutely rocked over the last couple weeks. Since I was a kid I remember poring over the books that came in the Starcraft Battle Chest for hours, and I was always especially fascinated with the Protoss. Ever since, aside from dabbling in Terran on occasion, Protoss have been my favorite race.
But man… Zerg in this game have captivated me.
So it is I find myself putting them on the table again.
We’ve graduated somewhat from not knowing the rules at all to knowing enough to start playing with ideas in list design and on the table, so todays list was a bit of a test. Roaches have very poor output and in some variants very high cost, but can come with some interesting utility and are quite tough with their 3+ armor save. There is also a fair bit of Burrow tech constructed into Zerg as a faction, and Roaches specialize in using it, so what can I get out of a Roach-heavy list running a lot of Burrow utility.
The Burrowed condition gives you a number of effects. Firstly, Burrowed units are Hidden. A Hidden unit can’t be targeted by ranged weapons or effects outside 4″ of them, may always make Evade rolls, and are immune to Impact hits. They also always get Evade rolls, which is useful because if Hidden is removed by an effect, they still maintain their Evades. Burrowed units also can not control of contest mission markers, and they are unable to do any action that isn’t moving or standing still, basically. Moving causes the Burrowed condition to immediately go away. The idea here would be that you could use it to be very hard to shoot at and quite tough even in melee, but at the cost of a lot of flexibility.
Roaches have access to a unique upgrade called Tunneling Claws that allows them to still Move and Run while Burrowed without losing the effect. They can also gain effects like healing while burrowed. The question with this list was really can these unique effects on Roaches, coupled with their very high armor save, make them a core backbone to a list despite their lower output.
So… the lists.
Chandler’s Zerg Swarm
UNITS
2×3 Corpser Roaches
-Tunneling Claws
-Hydriodic Bile
2×3 Roaches
-Tunneling Claws
-Hydriotic Bile
2×12 Zergling
-Adrenal Glands
-Shredding Claws
2 Queens
-Creep Speed
-2×2 Hydralisks
-Lurking
TACTIC CARDS
Zerg Swarm
Accelerating Creep
Evolution Chamber
Hatchery
Hydralisk Den
Lair
Overlord
Roach Warren
While I did want to go a bit hard into Roaches, I’m not being stupid here. Roaches Hydriodic Bile ability gives them a pretty decent surge on their ranged attack against Light. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize until mid-game here that Corpsers are a melee unit, my Starcraft-pilled brain just went ‘Roaches are a ranged unit’ and didn’t really read their card, in the future I probably wouldn’t put this upgrade on them, they’re expensive enough.
One thing I like about Zerg is even though Armored isn’t common at the moment, you can really make a lot of units work well into both Light and Armored, between Hydralisks innate surges, Zerglings with Shredding Claws, and Queens innate surge. About half the list can get a decent surge into basically any currently existing target.
I also took this as an opportunity to try out the new updated Lurking upgrade on Hydralisks. Spoilers, it was never relevant.
Ben’s Raynor’s Raiders
UNITS
Jim Raynor
2×3 Medics
-Advanced Medic Facilities
-Stabilizer Medpack
2×6 Raynor’s Raider Marines
2×6 Marines
-Frag Grenades
9 Marines
-Combat Shield
-Slugthrower
-Frag Grenades
4 Marauders
-Veteran of Tarsonis
-Laser Targeting System
Point Defense Drone
TACTIC CARDS
Raynor’s Raiders
Academy
Dropship
Proxy Barracks
Barracks
Engineering Bay
Orbital Command
Ben has been iterating on this list over a few test sessions. It does well setting up on two areas of the map with a very strong brick of infantry, Marauders and a big 9 Marine block with Medic support, Raynor, and the Point Defense Drone. The Raider Marines are able to be very flexible with their deployment and shore up any side that needs it, hitting like a truck in the process.
We’ve actually done this scenario before, in our very first very awkward game that we didn’t batrep because it was a mess. Good times. The deployment here is fascinating, with the small blue deployment looking surrounded, but having far easier access to the three objectives on that side. The Red deployment is far more flexible as far as options, but has to fight a bit more to actually gain control over objectives, at least without deployment tricks available. Ben wins our initial roll off and takes the blue deployment.
Our table layout creates two sort of diagonal lanes that are naturally formed going left to right downwards near the left side and center. The right-most objective is quite boxed in, but some size 1 terrain on that side allows passage through.
ROUND 1 – TERRAN INITIATIVE
As is so often the case, this game gets started fast.
Ben immediately sets up his two main fronts, which are able to create space and shield the center objective. He uses his Dropship tactic card to place his token near the central objective on his side, and moves up Medics and his 9 Marines on the left, Medics and 4 Marauders on the right. Raynor opts to support the left side with the 9 Marines, and his Dropship leaves a set of Marines on the center objective end of round.
I get my creep spread started, wanting to get as much out of Accelerating Creep as I can. A lot of the purpose of the Zerglings here are to keep the Queens supported so they can do their thing cheaply, but they’re good work horse units in their own way. My Corpsers make a squad of Roachlings, and then shoot the Marines, the Roachlings charging them after to keep their guns away from my important units. It works fine, but I do no damage to the Marines, what with the Medics being there. I’m able to take control of the left side objective, but the Marauders on the right are more Supply than my 12 Zergling unit, so between that and his dropped Marines, the round ends 2-1 with Terran ahead, and virtually no shots fired.
ROUND 2 – ZERG INITIATIVE
I send my Corpsers down to control the southwest objective, and his central Marines Stimpack themselves to the southeast one. A squad of Raiders drops in on the left to counter-deploy my Hydralisks who are threatening the Marauders. Aside from that and some creep spreading and dropping my Overlord token near the southeast (before the Marines moved, of course), I move very little, passing the turn fairly early to maintain priority.
I take my priority to get the party started, charging into the 9 Marines with my fully upgraded Zerglings. While they do end up picking off 3 Marines, as he over-used some tactics cards earlier on and couldn’t use the Medics to support very well, they get annihilated down to a single Zergling in the process, with the anti-evade 1 from the Slugthrower upgrade coming in very strong against my high-evade unit. On the right side, between Hydralisk shots and a Zergling charge I get the Marauders down to 2 models, which really takes a lot of teeth out of the unit, which is relevant since they’re really his only anti-armor. Most of my Zergling unit is killed in response, though their evade comes in very clutch on that side keeping them alive. A squad of Roaches drops in at the bottom and keeps that objective contested. In the end, my Zerglings getting picked down and him holding that center objective still means he is pulling ahead. We end the round with Terran ahead, 5-3.
ROUND 3 – ZERG PRIORITY
The low damage of my units here is becoming slightly problematic, and there’s a lot of really nasty hitting Marines in my face. I need to apply the main strength of my army right now: a ton of tough, armored units.
I bring a Corpser squad in on the right. His Marines in the southeast try to run, but I chase them down with my Roach squad. Hydralisks move in on the left to shore up that side, as well as my other Roach squad, but I’m just not fast enough on that side to really get onto the objective. My Corpsers from the southwest zoom up to the center objective, Accelerating Creep coming in huge here to give them range. His damaged big Marine squad moves up, clearing some creep and standing on the objective, with Raynor jumping on it with them, leaving me basically no hope of taking control without immense damage.
Raiders drop on the center objective, and the Point Defense Drone drops in to protect his right side. The Terran defensive onion is insanely hard to peel, and this is the turn I have to try and do it.
This is kind of where the first of a number of heartbreaks happen this game. I also learned something about Corpsers!
I basically have a choice: which Hydralisk unit am I cool with losing before they can attack. The right side has the Point Defense Drone so I figure that unit won’t do much anyway, so I have the left side unit rip into the Marine squad. Between that, the Queen, and charging Roaches… I leave the Marine squad on a single model. This on its own wouldn’t be an issue, except Jim Raynor’s Freedom Fighters ability keeps that single Marine at Supply 1 for the purposes of scoring. Between that and his own +1 Supply for scoring from his Commander ability, that one Marine means he maintains 3 Supply on the objective to my 2.
My Hydralisks on the right, as expected, get absolutely shredded by the Raiders. My Zerglings continue to keep the Marauders pinned down with their good Evade, and my Corpsers get onto the objective, which thankfully means I’m now out-supplying Ben on that side. My Corpsers on the middle top objective shoot at the Raiders he deployed up there and do basically nothing, at which point I suddenly realize Corpsers are, in fact, a melee unit.
YOU’VE BAMBOOZLED ME
If I had charged, lot of things in this game might be a little different, but… that is not a mistake I will make again.
My Queen fires a potshot that basically just eats the Point Defense Drone, otherwise I do very little on the right side aside from control it. In the end, I am controlling 3 objectives, and took one from him, so I do even out the score a bit, but I’ve got some very dangerous units in my face and need to make a big play now. We end the turn with Terran ahead, 11-10.
ROUND 4 – ZERG PRIORITY
Lot of jockying for position here. Maintaining control over any objectives I have is hugely important here, but becomes basically impossible on the right side when the Raiders just swarm the area. However, I have some plays on the center objective that might change things up.
Unfortunately, controlling the left side objective is just not going to happen. He uses Ready For Pickup! to jump a Marine squad to my southwest objective, but I send my Roaches, thankfully On Creep, down to handle them. My Roaches on the southeast move up aggressively to try and add pressure to the center objective. Thankfully I’m able to pass pretty early again.
Man, this turn almost went SO well.
First things first, Queens are sick. My left side Queen shoots his Medics, rolls 3 hits and a 3 on her surge and just instantly kills the whole unit. What a badass. On the right side, between Queen shooting and the Corpsers charging (they are a MELEE unit), I do a ton of damage to the Raiders unit…. leaving a single model alive. Raiders maintain 1 supply even when down to a single model, meaning that gives me no hope of contesting this objective. My Roaches shoot and Corpsers charge into the Raiders on the center…. and leave a single model on a single hit point, meaning he is constesting it, I don’t get the kill point, I don’t get the objective. Terran scenario control shenanigans are *brutal*.
The Marines in the southwest have basically no hope of really fighting a Roach unit, though with some help from Raynor I lose one Roach. Still, I kill enough Marines to drop them to 0 supply and maintain control over that objective. That all said, the two Raiders living swung points by a huge amount this round. We end round 4, score 17-14, Terran favor.
ROUND 5 – ZERG PRIORITY
We actually almost talked this one out, as it didn’t feel like I had any play left, but I realized there were more opportunities for a comeback. Things would have to go REALLY well. It’s a fairly quick turn, as not a lot is left alive. My Corpsers on the right charge his Medics and Raider. If I get CRAZY lucky and kill the Raider with impacts, through the Medics heal (this is very unlikely), then they can put their attacks into the Medics and are reasonably likely to kill 2 of them. If this happens, I score 2 supply points for kills and contest the right side, swinging the points by 3 on that objective alone. This doesn’t happen though, and the Corpsers just finish off the Raider with their attacks. I finish off everything in the center, taking control of that objective to score 2 points. Raynor shows my Queen some backwater hospitality, between good rolls and my saves being horrendous he FULLY kills her, full to dead, which was another 1 point I shouldn’t have given up but… dice happen. I clean up the Marines on the bottom left, and accept controlling 3 objectives to his 2. In the end, though… the score is 21-19, Terran victory.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sarcastic salt aside, this game was actually awesome. There was so much back and forth, and while I was behind the entire game, I had so many tools to apply to try and pull apart the Terran army and I certainly could have applied them better. To me, there is very little more exhilarating than losing a game and feeling like I know what skills I could hone to have done a better job. A lot of games just don’t give you that, feeling like it’s just math that lead to a loss, but here I can see so many ways positioning and target priority could be better.
That said.
I have…
OPINIONS
The goal of this one was I really wanted to see if Burrow was actually an interesting mechanic to play around with or could be used in interesting strategic ways, as well as kind of stress testing if Roaches were like… good…
My end result here is that Burrow is expensive to use. Firstly, there was no universe where I was ever going to pay the 2 Biomass to actually burrow the Roaches using their innate ability. That is grossly expensive. Even the Tactic cards I brought to allow for a cheaper Burrow felt too expensive to use on an effect that had so many hoops to jump through and so many downsides that it was nearly impossible to apply in a way that felt at all beneficial. Zerg units feel great but they actually already have a supply control problem, with the Queen’s +1 supply ability being really the only way to game that system they have access to, and it still costs further resources. This is an army of 1 supply units, with the only really high-supply units either being very squishy, in the form of large Zergling squads, or squishy AND ranged-centric in the case of Hydralisks.
This on its own isn’t a complaint exactly, but it means Burrow removing your ability to effect scoring makes it nearly unusable. It feels like such an awkward process to become burrowed or become unburrowed at times it would actually be useful, then stack on top of it that you can’t score… it’s just not a great feeling ability, and one that I would probably ignore in the future. One of those back pocket things you’ll use and have be super impactful once in a blue moon, at most. I didn’t mention it in the report but I did set up a unit of Corpsers and burrow them early on to kind of get that started… and immediately realized Burrowing was a mistake and I needed to Roach Warren them back up to do something. After that, the resources were just never there to interact with the rule at all.
Something I think could be cool on Roaches themselves is if Burrow Ambush on them specifically said that if they also have Tunneling Claws, they can deploy Burrowed. Some way to ease the cost and add some efficiency to the process.
Obviously this was a bit of a skew, and I’ll be dialing back the amount of Roaches in the future, but I did gain a new appreciation for the unit. I worried their output would make them just unusable, but what the unit does REALLY well is prey on light, anti-light units, and there’s a lot of that in the game currently. I actually would really like to try some Vile roaches for their increased ranged output and anti-shooting abilities.
My next game though… we’re going in on some lings.
Thanks for reading everybody.
We’ll see you next time.
