Creep Tumor Tactics
The Creep Tumor performs a vital role for the Zerg swarm when playing online against other players. Zerg units gain several benefits from spreading Creep that can certainly help in nearly every scenario, and that’s why formidable Zerg players often cover as much of the map as possible with Creep unless playing against another Zerg.
While playing online players might forget to spread Creep in essential locations. In higher level play, correct distribution of Creep is important in order to provide vision and speed bonuses to your ground army. Before discussing Creep Tumors we’ll first delve into the importance of spreading Creep in general.
Probably the most noticeable function of Creep is the actual speed bonuses provided to your own ground units when playing online. Zerglings would be among the quickest units within the game, but when traveling on Creep these units become incredibly fast. Some units such as the Queen and the crawlers are very sluggish when moving off of the Creep. Spreading Creep around will considerably increase speed for just about all ground units which allows for quicker reinforcement of units around your bases or on the front lines.
Creep is also a necessity as Zerg buildings can only be created on an area that is carpeted with Creep. If an existing building is not on Creep then it will slowly lose hit points and die.
You should have at least one or two queens that are dedicated to placing Creep Tumors around the map. They should begin with placing Creep Tumors around your base, along major pathways, between bases as well as towards the middle of the map and the opponent’s base.
Once the Creep Tumor has been placed by the Queen it takes a few seconds to burrow itself and start spreading Creep on its own. Each Creep Tumor can then spawn one more Creep Tumor within a relatively large radius. Keep in mind that Creep Tumors can only be spawned on existing Creep itself.
When you establish Zerg freeways using Creep Tumors, you will also get the advantage from the actual vision that is provided by each Tumor. Keep in mind that the Creep itself does not provide any vision. This means it’s not always necessary to sacrifice your own overlords to spy on certain parts of the map.
Tumor tactics can also involve stopping enemy buildings from being constructed in key areas. An interesting tactic involves getting an Overlord to spew Creep over a possible enemy expansion area and then to get a Queen to spawn a Creep Tumor there. Afterwards the Queen and Overlord can move to other expansion points and repeat the process. The Creep Tumor will ensure that the expansion point is carpeted in Creep until the enemy brings a detector to kill it off.
When playing against another Zerg opponent it’s usually best to limit the Creep spread to around your own bases as the enemy Zerg can make use of your Creep as well. There are exceptions to this rule however. One particular case is when you are going for Hydralisks as these units gain a much bigger movement speed bonus than other units when moving on the Creep.
