Welcome back esteemed readers! I know, it’s been a while but we are back in action with some thorough analysis of your favorite pro teams T-side default strategies. Sounds strange and unfamiliar? An introduction to the topic can be found here and Part 2 covering EnVyUs on de_cache, as well as Part 3 featuring VirtusPro on de_mirage are still up for your enjoyment.

With France and Poland checked off our lists, let’s turn our attention to four legendary Swedes and one Finnish bot. The Ninjas in Pyjamas, even since their days in CS 1.6, were known for strong performances on maps that most did not consider as crowd favorites. de_nuke was a staple in their infamous 87-0 win streak and some voices ushered the hope, that the reintroduction of de_train to the competitive map-pool in 2015 would restore the faltering CS:GO giants to their former glory.

While train failed to invigorate the team like their fans might have hoped, NiP still boasts 29 wins versus 18 losses on the revamped map netting them a 61% win-ratio. Reason enough to examine their default setup when trying to destroy the nuclear cargo on the trainyard. But, as someone called ‘SunTzu69’ once said to me in matchmaking: “Why do you play the map if you don’t even know the callouts?! It’s called hotdog!” Let’s first learn about the battlefield.

Inspecting the conflict zone

In case of map layout, Train is an interesting case. The usual three lane setup with a connector and middle area is not present this time. Instead, the opposing parties start on diagonally arranged corners of the map, giving them access to a longer lane that connects one side of each bomb spot.

The Terrorists start out closer to the A-Bomb site and have nearly immediate access to the “outer” site through T-Connector/T-Main. Their back lane starts off directly at their spawn with the long stairs, leading them into B-Halls or Showers, which offer another access point to A at Popdog, as well as two entrances to the “inner” B-Bomb site at the “lower” ramp and “upper”.

On the other side of the map, the Counter-Terrorists are faced with a distinctly similar layout. Starting literally next to B-site, the CT have access to their back lane via the stairs, leading them to A1 and A2, for which everyone seems to have different callouts. Which you will only notice once you try to cross from Popdog to E-box and get picked off. CTs are further blessed with a third access point to the outer site through Z-Connector, constituting the middle of the map.

With this layout and the time it takes player to get from his spawn to the respective choke point, we have a relatively clear cut distribution of map control at the start of each round. However, Ivy (here in purple) stands out as one of the few areas on the map where a pressuring Terrorist only has to worry about very few possible angles and is thus marked as contested territory.

Combining this starting map control with the fact that most of de_trains choke points are so narrow they can be covered by a single smoke, is the reason why the Counter-Terrorists tend to still be favored on Train in most matches. Nevertheless, there are at least five choke points to take care of and only five available smokes, giving the Terrorists a sizable fighting chance, unlike other maps in the competitive map pool – looking at you, Inferno! Of course, the introduction of longer round timers into the competitive scene diminished these the impact of these points to some degree, but that is a story for another day.

NiP’s default

By the time this article was written, NiP had already signed Jacob ‘pyth’ Mourujärvi but no demo on train was up for analyzing. We therefore resort to one of last year’s matches for these remarks, specifically NiP’s closely contested loss versus G2 (today’s FaZe Clan) in Stage 3 of the FACEIT League 2015.

In this match NiP was able to clinch 11 of the 15 T-rounds, all of which were won eliminating all defenders. Out of the only four planted explosives, not a single one had the chance to go off before the round reset. This speaks to highly aggressive Terrorist play, as well as very fast paced pushes. Therefore, the Ninjas focus nearly solely (14 out of 15 rounds) on the A-site. Their default is build to give them the needed map control at the choke points where they are planning to push, while covering all other angles the CTs could push.

Due to the proximity of the outer Bomb-site to the Terrorist spawn, NiP is able to establish a very tight stacked default setup: 1-2 players covering Ivy, and1-3 setting up in T-main, while the remaining players split into Popdog and the stairs at B-Halls. Though this distribution surrenders the vast majority of map control, it can be completed in as little as 10 seconds (depending on how far the Ivy-Player is pushing) and still counters any backstab attempts.

During the course of the Terrorist side, NiP tends to not only switch the players on the different spots but the Swedes also vary in their focus on different choke points. Their repertoire includes two man pushes through Ivy, as well as three player takes via T-Main. Popdog represents the narrowest access point to the outer bomb site and is therefore only pushed by one player at a time.

Going into detail

In this section all players, their positions, smokes and flashes, as well as different angles are usually presented one by one. But because NiP does not designate their members onto fixed positions, we will this time focus on the worked choke points themselves, starting with Ivy at the top of map.

- Ivy: The miniature aim arena

Ivy is one of these choke points that we see on a multitude of maps: a small, relatively short corridor the ends of which can be reached by a rushing CT or T at roughly the same time, dependent on spawn. In most instances however, the defending Counter Terrorist is either a bit faster to the corner or has to possibility to smoke and/or nade the corridor against a possible rush.

NiP deals with this situation by watching the choke point in either an aggressive (left) or extremely passive and drawn back (right) manner. If the spot is played by entry fragging specialist Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg, we tend to see a much more pick oriented approach as when Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg is covering from back in CT spawn.

Depending on the direction the team is leaning towards in the round, Ivy can also be pushed by two of the Ninjas. A popflash into the corridor from Christoper ‘Get_RiGhT’ Alesund, his second-man-in and friberg can even trespass a possible smoke with minimized risks.

- T-Main: The Anteroom

It is here that de_train's old reputation as sniper heavy map still shines through. Centered around Aleksi ‘allu’ Jalli’s AWP up to three players can set up shop in the docking room.

The Finn is essentially tasked with three responsibilities: Try to pick off anyone in the line from Ivy to T-Main, make sure no one pushes over the blue trains and assist in the execution of the A-take. Because T-Main is primary an AWP spot, it is often smoked off. For this case, Allu neatly uses the wooden pallet at the back wall to gain some height and with that a fraction of vision as we see above.

Because this choke point is not only the widest, simultaneously most covered and offers greater versatility to the attackers, it is the access point for largest part of NiP’s force in many rounds.

- Popdog: You can hear someone taking falling damage!

In warfare, the party which holds the higher ground is usually at an advantage. For CS this is also true, at least where ladders are involved. Moving up ladders in CS:GO is either incredibly noisy or incredibly slow, neither of which is a good idea if you can expect someone to aim at the top of your head once you start to emerge.

For the Ninjas in comfortable sleeping attire, the player to watch the ladder at Popdog is in most cases their in-game leader Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström. From where the manhole to the ladder is held, does not make too much of a difference as you still have a significant advantage against the inaccurate aggressor on the ladder.

When the time comes to push Popdog Xizt, always throws the same underhand popflash (seen above). This blinds all defending CTs in Popdog without giving them any time to react.

- B-Halls: Where I ran out of one-liners

The Terrorist’s only feasible way onto the B-Bomb site stands cold, alone and forgotten, apart from an occasional visit from Xizt. With the Ninjas’ focus nearly exclusively on outer, the only concern for the team at this choke point is a possible backstab from the defender on B.

Xizt, already tasked with securing Popdog, also takes on this chore. Depending on the speed of the execution, he tends to move down the stairs towards the halls and hold ramp and upper from there before turning back to Popdog. The rare exception to this apathy are rounds on which allu is not able to afford an AWP. The designated sniper then secures upper but makes sure not to push too far into the open.

So, why mostly outside?

If we take a short look back on the map’s layout, one can begin to understand why most matches on train are centered around the outside area. Let’s compare the characteristics of both bomb sites from the terrorists point of view:

A-site

Adjacent to T-spawn
Attackable from Main, Popdog, Ivy, A1, A3
Smokeable from safety of spawn
Mostly sterner CT resistance

B-site

Adjacent to CT-spawn
Attackable from Ramp and Upper, Z-Connector
Many angles not smokeable
Mostly less defenders present

At first glance it doesn’t seem to bad right? Sadly, the short rotation times for the Counter-Terrorists through Z-Connector tend to negate the fact that most teams only field a single defender for the inner Bomb site. In addition, pushes onto B can be punished severely by well timed Molotovs and Nades.

However, all of this could be forgiven would you not have to effectively take the A-site to gain access to more than two choke points leading to B. If you have one site already in your control, why not just plant there? This question might have caused a few IGL and coaches to tear the “de_train B”-labelled page from their playbooks for most situations.

Inner still can be a viable option in some cases as Na’Vi show us in this beautiful, claustrophobic execute. But if you find yourself planting the bomb at the end of that train in a matchmaking game, better know what to do next and have after plant positions called.

Conclusion

I hope you were able to take something away from this rather lengthy rambling of mine and now know a bit more about NiP and maybe the T-side on Train. If you have read the previous issues in this series already, you might have noticed that while EnVyUs was very cooperative, it has become increasingly harder to mold the pro teams defaults into an easily presentable framework. So let me know which one you liked better in the comments below, on reddit, in a personal message, letter or telegram! Next time we’ll continue the trend of ignoring Inferno until it leaves the competitive map-pool and have a closer look at the Terrorist side of Luminosity Gaming on de_overpass.

Until then, rush B!

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