3 Hatch Ultra/ling

     After the release of patch 1.1, and the included zealot build-time nerf, I immediately noticed a change in the play styles of Protoss players on the ladder.  Players understandably abandoned 2 gate openings, and were focusing more on a slightly more economical 4gate push.  I didn't view this as a problem so much as I viewed it as an opportunity, I already knew how to hold off a 4 gate(obviously), but the fact that I no longer needed early ling speed meant I could once again explore builds that featured a delayed gas.  So I set out to develop a build that would get myself a better economy than a speedling opening, hold off any potential 4 gates with spine crawlers, have hydras up in time to deal with voidrays or phoenixes, and get into the mid to late game with an economy advantage over the Protoss opponent. What I ended up with was a 2 base, 3 hatch ultra/ling.

     First I'll discuss the foundational logic of the build, I'll discuss a loose build order and then hit on some more finer details that I worked out through practicing(and losing).  The ideas behind the build were simple, Ultras and lings are easy to micro, because you can just a-move with the ultras, and flank with the lings.  They're easy to macro because all your gas goes into ultras and the remaining minerals go into lings.  And, the massive amount of cracklings at your disposal makes late-game counter-attacks and multi-pronged harrassment especially potent.  The questions were whether or not I could actually get to ultra/ling without dying, and if I could, whether or not the unit composition would be enough to kill a maxed protoss army.  Fortunately the answer to both of those questions is yes.

       The build begins with a 14 pool, this is because though I don't expect many players to 2 gate me, I don't want to have an instant loss in the event that they decide to get cute.  I proceed to drone to 16 and build my first overlord, then continue droning non-stop, getting my queen and one set of zerglings right as the pool finishes.  I place my first gas geyser down on 20, and send a drone to my natural to start my second hatchery, using the zerglings to clear out any potential probe blocks at the natural.  Once the hatchery is placed, I use my 2 lings to go scout the protoss player and try to get a feel for what he's doing, if he's walled in at the ramp it's perfectly safe to assume that he's 4 gating and if not, I'll have hydras out in time to deal with stargate aggression either way.  My first 100 gas goes into starting my lair upgrade, and it is around this time, when my hatch is at about 50% complete that I place 2 spine crawlers at my main to be ready to transfer down to the natural when the hatch finishes.


The drone / spine crawler transfer.

     Upon completion of the lair, I immediately place down a hydralisk den, and an evolution chamber.  The chamber is placed early because I realized in the early stages of testing the build, that if my ground carapace upgrade is not equal, or greater than the Protoss's weapons upgrade, I flat out lose to any Protoss army with zealots in it.  It's also incredibly important to have as much armor as possible for your Ultralisks, as their high armor count is the Ultra's defining characteristic.


Carapace upgrade started right on time.

     When faced with a decision of how many hydras to make, I try to get away with as few as possible, starting with a bare minimum of 4.  The only reasons to make more than 4 are if he's playing aggressively with stargates, or if I'm not confident that my spine crawlers and 4 hydras will be able to hold off his 4 gate push.  You'll note that in the screenshots I didn't have the watch towers taken, but that's because I'm awful.  Always take the watch towers to get a feel for the size of the protoss army before it gets to your doorstep.


Had I taken the watch towers and been more diligent about spreading creep, this is what an ideal front door should look like.

      Once both of your hatcheries are at ideal drone saturation, and my front door is safe, I proceed to throw down an infestation pit, begin ling speed, and tech to hive.  This is also around the period of time when I begin my third hatch inside my main.  The third hatch is necessary because I still do not have map control, and cannot take a third base safely, but 2 hatches do not have the production capacity to muster up a force that can contest the protoss army.


Third hatchery should be pumping at full capacity and +2 armor should be finished BEFORE engaging the protoss away from your spine crawlers.


      Though I don't advise attempting to assert map control before your ultras and +2 carapace are finished, it will often times be neccesary to engage the protoss army before your ultras are ready, it's important to take advantage of your spine crawlers in situations where the protoss pushes you before your army is ready to deal with it.


Fending off the first major attack.

     From here on out my only objectives are to prevent the protoss from expanding, and add muta/corruptor to deal with collosi or voidrays.  Also, it's important to note that no matter how badly you think the protoss is hurt, you should NEVER attempt to attack their main straight away.  Rather, you should kill their third, prevent any expansions, and starve them out.  High ground and narrow chokes are not friends with Ultra/ling.


A skirmish outside of the Protoss's 2nd natural.


Starved out Protoss GG's.

Example replay:
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replays/86871-1v1-protoss-zerg-lost-temple#rd:undefined