SC2 Zerg Strategies – Nydus Network

I’ve been playing a lot of Zerg lately, and I think my favorite aspect of their game is the Nydus Worm.  For those unfamiliar, these structures allows Zerg players to transport ground units to and from different points on the map nearly instantaneously.  Here’s a list of things to know about the Nydus Network and how it works…

• Nydus entrance must be build on creep.  Requires Lair to build.
• Nydus exit can be built anywhere you can see.  This is different than SC1, where the exit also had to be on creep.
• Worms are networked, meaning units can enter and exit any point.  Again, this is different than SC1, where canals were point to point.
• Worm exits can only be built from Nydus entrance, and only one can be built at a time.  Exit Worms can be queued.
• Unlimited units (as far as I can tell) can be loaded into a Worm.  Load and exit are not instantaneous, but pretty fast.
• You can set rally points to and from Worms.  Points set to Worms will auto load units into them, and units will rally to points set from Worms on exit.
• Destroying the Nydus entrance or individual exits does not destroy all units in the canal.  Destroying all entrances or exits does.

As you can probably imagine, there are a ton of ways to work this structure in your Zerg play.  Here are a few of my favorites…

• The most obvious use is popping one in the back of an opponent’s base.  Since all you need is vision, you can sit an Overlord behind their minerals, and pop up Worm exits at will.  The exit rally points are useful here, as they allow you to stream units to a specific location upon exit.  I personally enjoy streaming about 30 Zerglings directly into my opponents mineral fields!
• Along similar lines, you can also use them to support attacks.  If you have an ally attacking someone, you can easily pop a Worm exit right next to their units.  You can also use them to aid in Zerg air attacks.  IMO, Zerg doesn’t have a good air-to-air answer for light air units.  This can make costal assaults with Brood Lords tricky.  Hyrda, on the other hand, tear through light air, but obviously aren’t able to transverse chasms or cliffs.  One solution is to pop a Worm exit immediately when you begin your assault, and stream Hyrda mid battle.
• Nydus Worms give you a great way to counter attack quickly.  Lets say you just tore through a nasty Terran MMM attack, and want to counter before your opponent rebuilds.  Pop a Worm right next to your existing units, then immediately pop another in your opponent’s base.  If things get too heavy, use the Worm as an escape route to preserve your valuable units!
• Use Worms to support you expansions, especially remote ones.  Connecting your main base and expansions with canals has two huge advantages.  First, you can easily dispatch a large ground force to defend an attack.  Second, you can easily transport a huge batch of drones, and get the expansion up and running very quickly.  Much more quickly than building individual drones at the expansion.
• You can also use them to help marco manage your unit production.  Often times I find my self with two or three remote expansions that I don’t use for unit production.  What a waste!  But if you have a Nydus setup at each expansions, you can set a rally point from each expansion’s Hatchery to it’s Worm.  Now any new ground units will stream into the Worm, and they become available at any other Worm.  Have all your hatcheries under one hot key, and you can easily make new units during battles.  Further, if you build a Worm exit at the battle scene, all the units you just made can be streamed directly into the fight!

When used properly, Nydus Networks can be devastating.  That said, there are a few good counters…

• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Killing the exit before it finishes building is by far the easiest way to defeat a Nydus attack.  For Terran players, placing a Siege Tank in your minerals works well.  Photon Cannons for Protoss and Spine Crawlers for Zerg also effective. Of course, there’s no substitute for having a good set of eyes.
• A similar, riskier way to deal with the problem is to camp a force of units just outside attack range of the Worm.  Since units exit the Worm individually, you may find yourself in a situation were one unit at a time streams into your force.  You can quickly eradicate the would be sneak attack, and counter with a force of your own.  The cannons on top of a Planetary Fortress actually do this by default, and are an excellent way to defend Terran expansions from Zergling Nydus attacks.

So there you have it.  If you’re a Zerg player, you can almost certainly find a way to benefit from the Nydus Network.  I’d love to hear strategies and counters that other people have come up with.  Post a comment if you’d like to share!

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Tagged as: Counters, Nydus Canal, Nydus Network, Nydus Worm, Strategies, Zerg