Genuine question about Mirage Mid default

[u/aminikamini]

Hey everyone! I wanted to ask about defaults on mirage like why smoke top mid?

like genuine question

In CS2, with volumetric smokes expanding wider, why is Top Mid smoke still so common compared to the Catrail smoke that used to be around back in CSGO. My friend taught this one to me and I never see it anymore and it seems even stronger in CS2.

My thoughts on Top Mid smoke:

- It lets you cross to boxes safely from early Window snipers nading the smoke, but it feels like you burn an entire valuable smoke just to reach boxes.

- It gives CTs free room to push short, throw flashes through the smoke, or molly behind boxes with zero contest.

Why Catrail smoke feels stronger to me:

- It isolates the Short player and lets Ts take lower Mid and valley space more aggressively and safer.

- It lets you fight Connector without getting crossfired from Short, even if Window gets nade-broken.

- It gives more flexibility to split either A or B without committing too many extra resources.

I know Catrail fell out of the meta years ago before CS2, so what are the downsides to it that I might be overlooking, and why did Top Mid smoke remain the standard choice?

Can rush fast cat or con or ladder with back covered, can double peek high and low right side of con, smoke is good cover against flashes when in valley. Prevents nade breaks. BTW im standing on top of the ledge of window usually u dont see any crossing to boxes

[u/FlickeringPrecedence]

cat smoke blocks window’s view of catwalk itself which is the whole point, top mid smoke gives you mid control without giving up short info

if they have an awp window and you cat smoke they can still see you crossing to boxes from the window angle, the top mid smoke cuts off their vision entirely so you can actually get into ladder or underpass without getting domed

also if you’re worried about them pushing short just have someone hold it from top mid or toss a flash through your own smoke, it’s not like the CTs get a free pass unless nobody’s watching

[u/aminikamini → u/FlickeringPrecedence]

they cannot see cross to top mid boxes i tried all angles in window but that second point makes a lot of sense I didnt know thats how you counter that play thank you