Mirage is a map that many teams struggle to gain momentum on T-Side. T-Side can be extremely difficult, especially if you’re uncoordinated. Note, that this strategy you probably can’t use in a matchmaking game, but rather with an organization and coordinated team. This strat, which In the below video, you can see how Counter-Logic Gaming (CLG) takes mid against Fnatic. This is specific strategy is what CLG uses as their default on Mirage.

The main idea of this strategy is to smoke off catwalk and to take control of mid. This allows the T’s to take either site and keep the CT’s guessing. The roles of each of your players is vital to this strategy. Your lurker will be either holding a passive angle on A-ramp or holding palace awaiting a push. Your lurker should not be peeking at any point while the rest of the team is taking over mid control. Your entry, support, and your AWPer should be the ones taking mid control. The IGL should be holding an angle in B-site apartments that allows you to make mid round calls and concentrate on the other players positioning. After the smoke is gone, your setup should end up something like this.

[Courtesy: CSGOBoard.com] - Note: These setups may vary, for example, your lurker at A may be in palace.

From this strategy, you can split A or B. This is done often in the video of CLG and Fnatic I posted above. For an A-Take, you can easily split A by doing something like this.

[Courtesy: CSGOBoard.com]

The player that is in B apartments will go out of B apartments and go back through Terrorist spawn and meet up on A-Ramp with the lurk player. From there, they will be smoking CT spawn to prevent an AWPer from picking them as they enter and using a molotov under palace to move the player out of position from there for an easy kill. These players should easily enter the site since most of the attention will be drawn to the middle area of the map. Note, that the smoke and molotov should not be thrown until the middle players are ready with their smokes and are also ready to enter the site.

The players in mid will want to smoke off sniper window and Catwalk so they can easily make it up connector. From there they will want to be clearing jungle, stairs, and the rest of the site. From there the bomb can be planted for A Ramp, Connector, or Palace. The players taking the site should have plenty of time to take up nice post plant positions and set up strong crossfires to prevent any CTs from re-taking the site.

Taking B is essentially the same thing, except instead of smoking catwalk, the T’s will be smoking connector. Another difference is that the lurker on A ramp or palace will be rotating into B Apartments to split the B site. The players in Apartments are going to want to double flash over as well as molotoving van and if possible, the corner of arches. The players coming up A ramp should be able to get some easy kills on the CTs rotating off of van, one's distracted on bench, and the ones on site who are concentrated on the B apartment T’s. The setup should look something like this.

[Courtesy: CSGOBoard.com]

This mid strategy can be used in many forms and use repeatedly in games. This keeps the CTs guessing because it allows you to hit either site very easily. The CTs will not want to stack a site due to the fear that the mid take could result in either site being hit. Teams may also run variations of this or even use this as a fake to hit a site as a team instead of splitting it. All in all, this strategy should make T sides much easier for an organized team of players who are willing to learn and play their roles.

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