Thursday November 26 2009
Counter-Strike
Official Design Partner
Story Header

Counter-Strike: A page from the playbook of... SoA

By: Nick Bee - Published April 08, 2008 at 2:40 AM EDT - Writer Archive
SoA locks down middle in preparation for an all-out catwalk push into the A bomb site.


In this strat, Spirit of Amiga shows that setting up a proper defense on T is a key to launching the an effective offense. Capitalizing on their good money situation, SoA is able to buy and use nearly every grenade at their disposal and does so to great effect.

They look for favorable match ups by first probing the defenses and then blocking the other team's lines of sight with flashes and smokes. SoA also uses concentrated HE volleys to provoke a reaction ... a reaction which they've prepared for.

The coordination of smoke, flash, and HE grenades is a hallmark of this strategy overall. Good use of multiple smokes can be observed preceding the push up catwalk and during the A bombsite takeover. None of the throws are particularly difficult and all can be performed with practice.

During an exhibition match against MYM on dust2, SoA slowly locks down the middle of the map. Then they execute a strategy that reduces the threat of rotating defenders before making the final push into the A site.


Expert Opinion
Jonas "BSL" Alsaker Vikan
This is battle tested A-split. Their general layout of the strategy is very safe as every corner and possible flank is covered during the build-up. The level of coordinate grenade use can be effective but it is a double edged sword as it does not leave many 'nades for after the plant and their strategy will be lacking if their economic resources get depleted. When it works however it can look and feel extremely sexy.

Here is how they executed this strategy

spx - Rifle, Full Nades, Long Double Doors
Trace - Rifle, Full Nades, Mid
Zitic - Bomb, Rifle, Full Nades, Mid
Arcadion - Rifle, Full Nades, B Tunnels
Friis - AWP, Full Nades, Picking Cat From Left Middle



At the start of the round, Arcadion creeps towards B halls by himself. spx runs towards long double-doors. Once inside, he walks against the back wall up to the archway, where he can spot for movement at the end of long.











Both Zitic and Trace wait between long DD and mid for a potential push. Friis hangs back at spawn to spot the mid double-doors for a few seconds before heading down the ramp to join Zitic and Trace .

Once all three are together, Zitic pushes up to the corner at the T end of cat. Friis follows with an AWP, and stacks on top of Zitic to spot double-doors and try and get an early pick. By this point, Arcadion has pushed into the B tunnels staircase so that he can watch for a CT push through B.












Back in mid, Friis moves across the middle to the green boxes to watch for any pushing CT's from catwalk. Trace slides over to the top of the ramp in mid and all three hold their spots for a short duration. Around this time, Arcadion tosses a smoke to the B entrance to inform the defenders that he and quite possibly other T's are there. Any CT's will call the smoke to their teammates, who could then make adjustments such as moving a player in middle to the B site, or delay the B defender from rotating quickly, both of which would be beneficial to SoA in this play. After throwing the smoke, Arcadion then turns and runs towards the lower tunnels and on towards mid.











When Arcadionthrew his smoke, the rest of the team went into motion. Trace takes the point, moving down the left side of mid ramp with Zitic carrying the bomb immediately behind him. Friis remains at his position to watch for any cat pushes with his AWP out. spx, who has been holding the entrance to long backs out and joins his teammates at mid.












Now the team knows that CT's on catwalk have not pushed and that the middle is clear. Friis , Arcadion , Zitic , and Trace all simultaneously toss grenades from their positions to the stairs, hoping that the other team is setup there.











To keep any CT's rotating out of B or from peeking mid in reaction to the grenade spam, Arcadion moves out of lower tunnels into mid and bounces a well placed flash off the big box through the doors. His second flash goes up and over to blind any catwalk CT's, forcing them to fall back or alter their positioning.











Trace moves towards the lower tunnel to put a smoke through the double doors by bouncing it off the wall above the big box in middle. With the double doors taken out of play for the moment, Zitic moves behind Trace's position so that he is inside the lower tunnels. Trace and Arcadion fall back to the top of the ramp. Zitic smokes the top of the box and blocks the view of the catwalk from the CT side of mid.











spx has made his way to the T end of cat and watches the long double-doors for any CT flanks while his team makes its way up cat. Zitic , still with the bomb, takes the lead with Trace on his left and Friis to his right, against the wall and keeping his scope on mid double-doors. spx follows immediately behind, while Arcadion trails behind and then drops back down to the ramp.












As the pack rounds the corner towards cat stairs, spx throws the team's last HE nade to bounce off the wall and land at the top of the stairs. Zitic throws a flash of the top of the catwalk box, which will blind anyone still looking towards cat at the top of the stairs. Arcadion pushes through double doors in coordination with the cat rush. His goal is to catch defenders in CT spawn or B rotators off guard.

Now at the staircase, Friis flashes above the catwalk box stack to blind any CT's near or in the bombsite.












Zitic peeks first and takes a few shots before dropping to the back of the rush to use his last flash. spx takes the lead, clearing bombsite A with the help of Friis. Trace stops above CT spawn to time his flash with Zitic who just came back to A. Trace throws a flash towards long to blind potential CT's hugging the wall there, and Zitic flashes for the A ramp. These two flashes go off just as spx nears A ramp and checks for defenders behind the wall to the left.












spx proceeds up long to position himself behind the box. He then smokes long pit to protect against any snipers. Zitic plants the bomb with spx covering long, Arcadion watching CT middle, and Trace guarding against cat entry.

SoA holds the bombsite and is able to retreat with time to spare as the bomb explodes.

User Comments

1
44% Ranking 44% Ranking 44% Ranking 44% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

zoe, mai gawd.
Powders got more power when cooked with flour.
2
91% Ranking 91% Ranking 91% Ranking 91% Ranking
+1 Frags
+   -

nice strat.
3
21% Ranking 21% Ranking 21% Ranking 21% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

nice
anon
4
84% Ranking 84% Ranking 84% Ranking 84% Ranking
+3 Frags
+   -

standard 1-3-1 strat but their execution/timing is what makes it great :>
5
48% Ranking 48% Ranking 48% Ranking 48% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

nice :)
jg4i - just go for it
7
52% Ranking 52% Ranking 52% Ranking 52% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

nice
<3 Heaton <3 Neo <3 roman <3 paN <3 f0rest <3 zonic <3 cyx <3 solo <3 walle <3 hero
8
13% Ranking 13% Ranking 13% Ranking 13% Ranking
-5 Frags
+   -

i know that plan.
i made it vs hc..
hahahahahah
9
7% Ranking 7% Ranking 7% Ranking 7% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

not bad
slbz :)
10
113% Ranking 113% Ranking 113% Ranking 113% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

a good simple default to catwalk execution
11
16% Ranking 16% Ranking 16% Ranking 16% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

CROUCH HOPPERS!
#GCzone
12
52% Ranking 52% Ranking 52% Ranking 52% Ranking
+2 Frags
+   -

lmao I actually use this strat, but I get the guy who stays at long to smoke and try to double-flash towards bombsight if long entrance is clear
mTw.dk = mortal Teamwork indeed.
13
23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking
+4 Frags
+   -

I have to admit that I don't get it. All I see is a standard attack on A. They do the well-known mass HEs at stairs, which unfortunately fails to do any damage. Perhaps a bit risky without any indication of a player there. They then perform an all-out, one-way attack on A with some decent flashes. SoA outshoot their opponenets and who are then pushed back easily. The opponents were fully ready for SoA as they clearly indicated where they were going to do.

Also, I don't see what SoA "provoke response" and "defend" either - I only see a push and then it's over.

The clip might not have been so revealing as to what actually happened, but I don't see anything worth mentioning here. Please enlighten me.

This comment was edited at 04/08/2008 2:15 PM
14
36% Ranking 36% Ranking 36% Ranking 36% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

its a very risky one tbh if theres no one playing at stairs any top 5 team would be well prepared for a short attack and they did the most obvious by actually going up short, but as #13 they out aimed there opponents but vs any decent team it shouldnt work.
The reason i use GF is to achieve 4 nerd stars and look E-cool.
15
11% Ranking 11% Ranking 11% Ranking 11% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

if u take cat/stairs u win the round
16
1% Ranking 1% Ranking 1% Ranking 1% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

Nice tac :) very good
17
13% Ranking 13% Ranking 13% Ranking 13% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

lol what special in this strat? its standart! just good timings..

to all the heatons in the replies, if the strat is so basic, standard, ogl, and known why the hell arent u winning anything
neo is the best cs player ever, if you disagree, you are a scrub.
19
3% Ranking 3% Ranking 3% Ranking 3% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

I don't think the point of this is that it is a "special" strat, its showing the right way to perform something a lot of teams f*** up.
20
23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

# 18 - Whether or not it's a basic strategy has nothing to do with whether people should be winning anything. If you could just copy a strategy and do well, everyone would be world beaters. A good tactic needs to be suting the the situation and have the right timing and thoguht behind it. Also, the how the players do individually always end up making the difference.

This strategy just seems like a simple attack with no special features and no unusual performance by SoA. A bad team could do exactly the same and lose because they were gunned down by the CTs.

This comment was edited at 04/08/2008 2:16 PM
21
12% Ranking 12% Ranking 12% Ranking 12% Ranking
-1 Frags
+   -

Standard issue tactic, even the teams below DEL division two uses this - of course all with a small amount of variation.
As i recall it, its a tactic from back when Titans played back in 2004, down to almost every detail. What made it somewhat special, was Drally's ability to once or twice push into b instead of going into lower, and take one out - opening up the defense.

And #18 - since SoA actually wins this one on aiming alone, it pretty much proves the difference.
22
63% Ranking 63% Ranking 63% Ranking 63% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

I LOVE IT SHREWS!
#gotfrag
23
11% Ranking 11% Ranking 11% Ranking 11% Ranking
-1 Frags
+   -

Asjo and Nochera attending CGS this year? stfu. release a strat book, then i'll believe you know anything
I play videogames... does the rest matter?
24
23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking
+3 Frags
+   -

# 23 - Instead of telling us to shut up, which doesn't really add anything, maybe you could answer our criticism. There is no read why Nick, the author, should know any more than we do - quite the contrary actually (given experience, point of view, etc.). However, that is not even relevant seeing that it seems that most people who have read this article have the same reaction.

This comment was edited at 04/08/2008 5:13 PM
25
17% Ranking 17% Ranking 17% Ranking 17% Ranking
+1 Frags
+   -

Asjo is right.
26
81% Ranking 81% Ranking 81% Ranking 81% Ranking
+1 Frags
+   -

#23 is mad rofl. If Asjo played your team he would probably out strat you guys.
27
16% Ranking 16% Ranking 16% Ranking 16% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

#13

There is a sense of good execution here, for the CTs did in fact stack A. It actually seemed like a half buy for the CTs; I heard one or two deaglers. I thought the flashes were executed well, everyone knew their job, the site was taken comfortably considering there were 5 CTs near the A site. Overall, this was a simple but effective strat that was executed well against an unfortunate A stack.
28
101% Ranking 101% Ranking 101% Ranking 101% Ranking
GotFrag Prime!
+1 Frags
+   -

#24 I don't understand your point ... this is a strategy that SoA does well. It isnt a barn burner or something new yes, but that doesn't take away the fact that the strategy is done well and that people whom lack experience can learn from it.

If articles were supposed to all be Jesus walking on water strategies then you would agree with you 100%. However, these articles, like i said previously, are more designed to help teams who are having trouble with strategy ideas or just don't have the experience. Not all of these strategies will be to every person's benefit.
29
29% Ranking 29% Ranking 29% Ranking 29% Ranking
+1 Frags
+   -

these articles are great keep em coming please :)
:)

#18 because their aim is alot better idiot ^^ you really think that you could beat soa with some ingenius strat no one ever heard of? I doubt it
#23 asjo > CGS, why would he play a handicapped league with a sh#tty game?

This comment was edited at 04/09/2008 4:37 AM
31
23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking 23% Ranking
+1 Frags
+   -

# 28 - I really don't see what SoA does well here. The article hardly points out anything, and the few things it does point out like "provoking response" and having a "good defence" is something that I don't see anywhere in the video. I see SoA making a simple attack, not a very well-executed one, with some decent flashes.

So, you want to make the article because of a few well-placed flashbangs? My points is that regardless of whether this article talks about a new strategy or not, it doesn't really convey anything. The attack looked like any other and doesn't seem to take an particular strategizing to do. On the biggest Danish community site (xplayn.com) SoA players themselves have even stated a bit of confusion at the choice of strategy, saying there is nothing advanced about it, dubbing it "a random tactic".

I think previous playbook articles have been decent, always portraying certain strength or a certain thought behind a strategy, proving angles on why and how it works. In this article we just see something that looks like an ordinary round of Counter-Strike with no real explanation as to what there is to learn from it.

By all means, I think it's great to go into depth with anything and I don't mind this article being made. How it's presented is just quite misleading and I'm not sure the description given fits the actual action.

This comment was edited at 04/09/2008 11:03 AM
32
29% Ranking 29% Ranking 29% Ranking 29% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

well executed.
i fire before i aim. except in the bathroom
33
65% Ranking 65% Ranking 65% Ranking 65% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

This is basically everyone's default A strat, and thus everyone with sense has an anti-strat for it, ie boosting two CTs to cat early and flashing out middle, or the A ledge boost with someone backing him up, responding to the nade volley on stairs with nades. Unbelievable that the premier e-sports site would do a feature article on this strat which is liable to run your average cal-o scrub newbie team into a well-prepared defense.
35
41% Ranking 41% Ranking 41% Ranking 41% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

pwnage
Quad 6600 2.40GHz - EVGA 9600 GT - SB Audigy ZS - 4GB OCZ Ram
37
12% Ranking 12% Ranking 12% Ranking 12% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

I don't know what those guys who criticize this tactic pretend to see. It was perfectly executed, great timing, and excellent granades. It's almost impossible at the moment to create a new and unknown tactic at dust2. In addition, that structure of 131 is one of the most efectives in that map.
38
9% Ranking 9% Ranking 9% Ranking 9% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

where can I fidn this demo pls !?
39
15% Ranking 15% Ranking 15% Ranking 15% Ranking
0 Frags
+   -

lmao the crouch hopping is hilarious. however, if the CT at mid could notice the smoke at mid DD (in which he did) he could also assume that it might be cat (especially hearing the nade volley for stairs). however, in reaction to it the CT at mid could of also tried to push up behind them and quite possibly foiled the strat a little bit.

overall i think the CTs on this strat were pretty much the badsauce.
Okay

Submit Comments

Registered Users Only

In order to post comments, you must be a registered member. If you have not registered, it's free and easy!

Latest Poll