Stormgate – Infernal vs Celestials Standard Guide

Guide to Infernal vs Celestials Standard

Hello, I’m photon cannons enjoyer #10 celestial player on the ladder based on mmr. Currently all-in builds give you more resources than any other one due to insane amount of resources you get from creep camps. As a result the only viable build order vs INF for celestials right now is vector rush and if you know how to respond to it celestial can never win this matchup. So here is a guide how to counter it:

Build Order

• 0:00 Conclave (Note: You’re never going to start at 0:00, it’s going to be anything in-between 0:02 to 0:10, based on your PC specs, so if you have old PC thought luck for you, because you’re going to miss ~1 unit, e.g. pig, just based on it, it also affects celestials too to some degree, because the faster they send core outside the better proxy location they can get)
• 0:00 Imp (send to gas)
• 0:00 Send imp next to heal camp
• 0:11 Imp
• 0:26 Iron Vault (You can proxy Iron vault for the faster arrival to camp, it’s preferencial)
• 1:05 Gaunts
• 1:27 Brute + imps whenever you get money

By the time first vector arrive to heal camp (best case scenario: ~1:30) it’s going to look like on a picture.

In worst case they’re going to steal two creeps from you or kill 2 fiends, but afterwards, they can’t stay in it anymore and forced to retreat, allowing you to take camp, as a follow up you can queue units and reinforce, but don’t do it with just 2 gaunts, since they can be sniped by a single vector, after you got reinforcement you can kill proxy, they can’t defend it, because they’re going to run out of health on vectors pretty soon. As a follow up you can either creep the map into infest timing all-in (add 1 turret next to luminite for safety, if you are scared of remaining vectors) or add second base and play for gaunts speed timing (in this scenario you place 1 turret on natural instead and by the time it finishes add expand) both plays are viable, since all-ins currently give you just as much money as macro and lategame inf>cel.

Additional Tips for Hexen

Send hexen to potential proxy location (pretty much any spot that can be close to heal camp, if you don’t block starforge it’s fine, but if you do, you set your opponent’s timing even further behind, after 1:00 return to camp). You don’t need to scout main base because if they go for any other build they’re behind by default, since their creeping is going to be worse than yours, meaning they’re going to get to the midgame with worse economy. Also eat any flowers you can, since they’re going to be the only heal source for vectors (it takes too much time to return to main to heal and if they fly away it means they’re going to cut vectors production), meaning all the damage you do is going to be sort of permanent.

Don’t use hexen skulls on anything but creep camp, it’s hard to hit vectors with it and even if you do it’s not worth it, because you still going to miss fiend.

Also if you scout they’re going 1 base kris (e.g. if at ~3:00-3:30 you see the building for kris research) and actually took some of the remaining creep camps (for instance 2 speed camps + their own heal camp), you don’t actually need to all-in, because they may end up having just enough to defend and kill you afterwards. In such a scenario instead you go for macro as described (doesn’t matter how much it’s delayed, celestials are also staying on 1 base in such a scenario, if they have more than 5 prisms you can kill them).

Build works pretty much on any map in the current map pool, the best case scenario jagged maw/boneyard (based on fact you get extra pig, due to spawn being close to your main), worst case scenario is secluded grove/broken crown (because celestials have a bit more options, e.g. cutting reinforcement, going to main, they’re still pretty much dead, but you will need to micro, while on jagged maw you pretty much killed the camp by the time of vector’s arrival).