Banelings: 101 Uses

No, this will not be a list of 101 uses for Banelings, despite their effectiveness in all manner of household tasks from removing soap scum to whitening teeth. This post refers instead to Banelings 101, the basics really, and how to use them more effectively.

Anyone can just mass 10-20 banelings and send them on their merrily suicidal way, but that is usually both ineffective and inefficient. For one, they're a one-shot deal; win or lose, you don't get them back. You've already sacrificed a speedy little zergling for one of these bloated bed bugs, so to waste them on improper applications only increases their final cost in both resources and time.

Below are a few ways I try to make each of my banelings count for a little more.

Ramp Bombs

When using banelings in a ZvZ game, especially early on, I like to station a few at my ramps to discourage or weaken any incoming early pushes. Not quite as effective against marines, but zealots and zerglings are tasty treats for my banelings. You may not take out the whole push, but you'll definitely make them think twice about rushing in.

Using LOS(Line of Sight)

Those little lines of brush or steam that cross the paths on several maps are not just for show. Properly used, they can provide you with awesome ambush sites. I like to position my banelings right along the edge of the brush/steam opposite the direction I reason my opponent will be approaching from. As long as the banelings are completely outside the brush/steam, they won't be seen until the enemy is right on top of them. Poor melted-face marines...

Slime Mines!

There's nothing worse when traversing open ground in a war zone than hearing that horrible squishing sound as you put your boot right into an orifice of some giant bug that's buried itself just beneath the surface. Nothing except the giant, body-melting goo explosion that follows a split second later.

Placing burrowed banelings along likely troop paths is a great way to weaken an incoming push before they even get to your base. The best part about this is if your opponent isn't watching his forces, all he'll hear is that his troops are under attack and all he'll find is some bloody smears on the ground. It's all about the mind games!

Banelings Away!

Overlords + banelings + undefended mineral line = party! Who said math was boring? Once you start renting out your overlords as party vans, the real fun begins. Baneling drops are effective and can cause some real damage when co-ordinated with a push or  can be dropped on top of an attacking force once it has engaged your defenders. Just watch out for bored-looking marines or other unoccupied anti-air unless you want to see the festivities end before they even get started.

If anyone has any other creative or unorthodox ways of using banelings, feel free to pipe up and let us know!