If anyone caught Stork vs various AIs the other day, they will be familiar with the economic 4 pool build (as coined by Silentenigma). This build was used by tscmoo in games 3 and 9. It proved successful against the 1100 MMR opponent but unsuccessful against Stork.
I decided to give this build a few tries on USWest and have found it quite successful against both Protoss and Terran. I also tried new variations of the build (greedier economic versions) and may have stumbled what will be the final form of the AI.
Build Orders
Game 1 vs FFE Protoss
Tried the build for the first time. The build order is as follows:
- 4 Pool
- Drone to 6 drones
- 1 Pair of lings
- 12 Hatch
Notes: The lings can scout the wrong base and still arrive before cannon finishes. If you get lucky and scout correctly, they could probably do some damage.
Game 2 vs 1 Base Protoss
Tried the build for the second time. Tried to be a little bit more economic:
- 4 Pool
- Drone to 7 drones
- 1 Pair of lings
- 12 Hatch
Notes: Dragoons are bad against zerglings.
Game 3 vs Terran
Tried an even more economic variation. If there's one replay to watch, it would be this one. Or at least see the battle report further below :p
- 4 Pool
- 12 Hatch in base
- 11 Extractor
Notes: The in base hatch is safer and easier to put down in case they are blocking your natural. Zerglings are not really needed until you feel threatened.
+ Show Spoiler [Record so far with economic 4 pool] +
3-0 The AIs are onto something!
Conclusion
There were a lot of 4 pools during that AI showmatch, but only tscmoo strayed from the traditional build order and droned up before the pool finished. I believe that the AI is onto something with this contemporary build and look forward to further experimenting with this amazing new build.