Season 5, which will start on December 19th, will no longer feature the maps Abyssal Caverns and Nerazim Crypt. Their place will be taken by Arid Plateau (2-player) and Entombed Valley (4-player).
Arid Plateau (2)
Arid Plateau is a two-player map with the spawning positions being in the bottom right and top left. The natural expansion is tucked behind two chokes and is just under the ramp to the main. The player than has different options in expanding further, the one being taking the base closest to his main as third and then the adjacent low-ground base as fourth to create a compact four-base composition. One can also choose to spread to the left/right and take gold and normal bases at the adjacent corner.
There are two watch towers on the map that will prove important tactical positions as they cover both the low-ground and gold expansions, as well as half of the center. The middle area itself is wide in its majority with two high grounds in the middle to create chokes and hence more opportunities for positional-based play. One tricky thing that will stem from such a wide open center will be the difficulty in taking and holding the gold base.
Entombed Valley (4)
Entombed Valley will be one of those four-player maps constructed in such a way that spawn position imbalances are removed to a greater extent. The distances between the natural bases are quite long even in horizontally adjacent spots so the potency of early rushes is tuned down to a bearable level.
Each corner holds easy three bases, with the choke to the third being blocked by destructible rocks. Two large ramps are leading up to the first two expansions and the pattern of expanding is in a way similar to that on Tal'Darim Altar.
Once again we see a wide open center area with a single watch tower in the middle that can monitor the movements through the main corridors from the natural towards the center, as well as the two rock-blocked expansions to the left and right of it.
Blizzard are also considering using some of the maps from the TL.net map contest in the upcoming ladder seasons should they find such a battlefield that meets their standards.
Links
Battle.net - Source
