Burrow Play: Why Roaches Rule

When I was first starting in Starcraft II, I had a very loose idea of what the Zerg were. Having barely played the first game, I of course knew that Zerg were bugs on steroids and that they overwhelmed their opponents by sheer speed and numbers. The archetypical Zerg is the zergling, usually. It's what almost everyong thinks of first. Then, of course, they think of Hydralisks, Mutalisks, Brood Lords, Queens, etc. But does anyone's mind first think of Roaches?


Watching the GSL Open, it appears that Korean Zerg players do. While North American players moved away from Roaches as a staple unit since they got nerfed(they used to cost 1 supply and came with 2 armor), the Koreans continue to refine and perfect their use of Roaches as main style of play that is largely ignored here. Frankly, I think we're the ones missing out.

To see CheckPrime, possibly the world's best Zerg player(or at least neck & neck with Idra), using Roaches to both defend and gain map control through use of burrow and overlord drops is spellbinding. Fully-upgraded Roaches are like little forces of nature, tearing through buildings and units a like in short order. While I'm not saying to build Roaches and only Roaches, they are a very valid core unit to build an army around to be sure.

What are the pros of using Roaches?

• Burrow. No other unit makes more effective use of burrow than Roaches. They can hide their numbers, move around for sneak attacks and escape, and they even regenerate their health at an alarming rate while underground(with the right upgrades).
• They are tanks. They are the only armored Tier 1.5 unit available to the Zerg except the Queen and start with 1 armor, making them excellent against light, fast-hitting units. They can be used to soak up damage while units like Hydralisks remain safe behind them.
• Regeneration. With the Tunneling Claws upgrade, Roaches regenerate at an extremely fast rate while burrowed. This allows them to act as skirmishers and walls against harassing units as well as making them easier to survive multiple pushes by burrowing quickly to recover their health.
• Force Fields. This relates to burrow, but needs its own bullet. Roaches can burrow under force fields! Sometimes difficult to remember in the heat of battle, but doing so can completely negate a Protoss's defense. 

What are the cons?

• They are armored. Therefore, they take additional damage from units specifically designed to battle armored units like Marauders, Siege Tanks, Stalkers, and Immortals.
• They cost 2 supply. For every Roach you bring out, you could instead bring out 4 Zerglings, 2 Drones, or a Queen.
• They need their upgrades. Without Burrow, Glial Reconsitution, Tunneling Claws, or the standard Armor & Ranged Attack upgrades, Roaches are expensive and relatively useless except for very early in the game.
• They are micro-intensive. You can't just send them off and forget about them. You need to burrow, unburrow, kite, sneak, surprise, and retreat your way to effective Roach use.

All in all, I was very impressed with how effectively I saw Roaches being used even in the high level of play found at the GSL Open and I'll be putting to use a lot of the plays I saw in those games. 

Once again, if you haven't at least visited GOMtv.net's GSL Open site, I would suggest you do it. You can watch the first Set of each Match for free, along with the live stream of all matches while they're being played in Seoul, South Korea. I'm doing it and picking up so many interesting lessons and playstyle ideas, I say it is completely worth the $19.95 for the Season ticket.