Vertigo is still the newest addition to the pro map pool and has therefore not gone through as many meta-iterations as other, long-time members of the active-duty map pool. This is certainly also one of the reasons why people try to steer clear of Vertigo still, even though it has been quite some time, a problem every "newest" map has until a different map becomes the "new newest". To help you out with this, I've gone and looked at Vertigo from many different angles, have watched quite a few matches and came up with a bunch of useful meta and off-meta flashes to help you with your flash-arsenal on Vertigo.

In this article, you'll find ten flash line-ups - five on each side - and you'll not only find a video of the line-up, but also an explanation as to how difficult the line-up is, a bit of context on the intended usage in the round, as well as a pros-cons list. Please note that all of these flashes are performed on 128 tick and could pop at slightly different locations on 64 tick.

The difficulty rating ranges from very easy (intuitively throw-able with no practice) to very hard (you will need to invest time and be mechanically sound to throw the grenade reliably) and is intended to give you an overview over the line-up you're looking at.

T-Side

A-Ramp to Sniper

Difficulty: Medium (with a jumpbind/double-key jumpbind) since it requires a bit of timing

Usage: Useful whenever you want to advance towards A, but it can only be thrown safely when you have already cleared Sandbags as well as Secret a bit, which means that you'll need a bit of time before you can throw this flash safely.

Pros:

Fast line-up once learned
Sniper player won't even see the flash coming
Pretty much no time to react
You can advance during the time the flash is flying

Cons:

Can be unsafe, depending on the round circumstance
Theoretically, the other A player can warn the Sniper player
Only reliably blinds Sniper

T-Mid to Mid (aggro)

Difficulty: Very Easy

Usage: Especially useful in the early-round, when both you and the CTs are fighting for the Mid control that the CTs so desperately need on Vertigo.

Pros:

Incredibly reliable
Fast and very easy
Won't blind your teammates if you are the first one into Mid
Since you can peek right afterwards, CTs even turning around is an advantageous situation for you

Cons:

Can be heard by the CTs
If your timing is off, you can blind yourself

Tunnels to B-Stairs

Difficulty: Easy-Medium if done fast (with jumpbind/double-key jumpbind)

Usage: Most useful when your teammates try to go out on B-Stairs early-round, this line-up is still useful when you take your time and go towards B later on in the round, being a reliable flash that won't blind your teammates watching Catwalk or similarly placed positions when entering B-Stairs.

Pros:

Rather easy for the effect it provides
Although dodgeable by attentive CTs, this line-up will still give your team a big advantage if they go out just as the Flash pops
Safe for your teammates

Cons:

Can be heard by the CTs
Can be seen by the CTs

Mid/Conn to B

Difficulty: Easy

Usage: This line-up will mostly be used during the later sections of the round, especially when you are in a lower-number situation like 3v3 or similar compositions. Your team should clear out B-Stairs before you use this flash since it requires the CTs to stand on/behind B when they're defending from a further back position as B-Stairs.

Pros:

Easy and fast
Safe, once you've cleared out Mid
Will give your team the advantage when running onto B since they won't be blinded by the flash when coming up B-Stairs
Gives you the ability to fake aggression B before going Mid to A, maybe with a teammate
Pretty much impossible to see

Cons:

People can dodge this flash just by standing behind things
Unsafe, if you haven't cleared out Mid

51 (Plateau) to A (entry)

Difficulty: Very Easy

Usage: This line-up is really useful whenever you go A. Just be sure to let your teammates know that the flash pops in front of them, and not behind them, as is common in pugs and low-level games when going out A.

Pros:

Dodging this flash is pretty much impossible if the CTs are in the most common position on A
Very Easy and fast, once you've taken a bit of control towards Secret and Ramp/Sandbags
In regard to safety, this line-up is okay for an execute flash

Cons:

Won't really blind the Secret player hiding and waiting for the crossfire to catch your team off-guard
Can be unsafe if the CTs are an aggressive bunch of people

CT-Side

Jungle to Ramp Aggro

Difficulty: Easy

Usage: Shouldn't be used right off the bat unless a teammate is aggressively holding the first part of Ramp and should also be used in collaboration with a CT close at Ramp, maybe someone hiding at Sandbags, to cripple the incoming A-take.

Pros:

Can be thrown from a safe distance from Ramp
Is a pretty fast line-up if you're playing close to Jungle, at Sniper or Ninja anyway
Almost impossible to dodge for the Ts setting up

Cons:

Just like every aggressive flash popping where the Ts are setting up, a good anti-flash set-up will have a T always ready to react to an incoming flash
If you are playing two guys on A, preparing for A aggression with this flash gives the Ts a timing to sneak through Secret and catch you off-guard

Backdoor to A retake

Difficulty: Easy

Usage: Useful whenever you have lost or are currently losing control of A, either to initiate the retake after the bomb has gone down or during the bombsite take of the Ts, should reinforcements already arrive from Mid or A. You can go out with this flash, which means that dodging this flash by turning around is almost just as bad as getting flashed.

Pros:

Easy and fast to pull off
Can be used to destroy the bombsite take, should your teammates be in position
All things considered, you're pretty safe when throwing this flash should the bombsite take just have been initiated

Cons:

If the Ts keep pushing, they'll catch you setting up this flash
Can be seen or heard, which allows the Ts to hide behind cover before you can peek them

CT/Top Mid to Window

Difficulty: Easy

Usage: This line-up can be used whenever your teammate in Mid tries to peek towards B-Stairs, but also when you're currently trying to retake B and you're coming through Mid. Also useful as a fake when retaking B, giving the impression that someone will jump through Window anytime now, while you walk through CT to B.

Pros:

Easy and safe, should you have control of A and Mid
Gives the Mid player the possibility to peek without having to worry about a bunch of angles at once watching him
Can help you give false signals to the enemies

Cons:

If the Ts are rather low on the stairs at B-Stairs, they'll not get blinded
If the CT stands at the wrong position, he may block the flash
If the CT jumps too fast, he will be blinded by your flash

Back of B to Sandbags (support flash)

Difficulty: Easy, once you understand the flash

Usage: This line-up can and should be used whenever your Mid player is hiding behind Sandbags and Ts are exiting T-Mid.

Pros:

Easy and will never blind your teammate if he is looking the correct way
Not really dodgeable
Gives you an intense and safe-ish play to do when the Ts keep going out Mid

Cons:

If the Ts are already past Sandbags and watching towards CT, they'll just get alerted to the position and turn around
Can give away your position to people coming up B-Stairs

Ninja A to Secret repeek

Difficulty: Very Easy (you don't need to be too exact)

Usage: Can be used to get a free kill towards Secret, especially when the Ts are constantly pushing Secret or leaving one T in Secret to lurk. Flashing in your Teammate that way will certainly blind any T hiding in Secret.

Pros:

Impossible to dodge should they not be standing anti-flash
A very safe set-up
A lot of wiggle room on the set-up, meaning that you can throw this flash on a whim

Cons:

If they see this play once, they might wait for you in an anti-flash position
Gives away your position from Ts sneaking through Ramp

Flash Your Way to Victory

Since you now have the ability to strike blind the eye of the lion that is your enemy, you will have an easier time helping your teammates find an opening or a new gap in the aggression of the Ts to abuse and win more rounds that would've been lost before. Using these flashes sporadically and not overdoing it too much in a single game is the key to victory: Having a wide enough arsenal to not to run out of ideas will never give the Ts the ability to fully adapt to your plays.

If you still need a few Vertigo smoke line-ups to help limit the access points of the Ts and possible positions of the CTs, feel free to read my article about those right here.

You can hop on our #Digscord and share your thoughts with our staff and management or hit me up on Twitter if you have any kind of feedback regarding this article or any of my other work!

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