"Check your ledge, or risk checking into smackdown hotel later. Right T_Mac?"
-Fractal_Wave
|
| Will SnowSquall lose again? | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 11/26/99 07:11 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for SnowSquall: 7.4828 |  | Regular Starcraft
The Players
~~~~~~~~~~~
Naixyrhp: Random Orange Terran @9:00
SnowSquall: Random White Protoss @6:00
Map: Lost Temple.
Pregame Briefing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In case you wonder about the title, it seems like I've regressed in the last week. Maybe I just need a break, but I've consistently been losing.. and not just losing, but losing BADLY. Fresh off a very sound rout administered by the hands of none other than Mark4, I fled to regular SC, just to play some "simpler" games and to hang out in StratForumRegs for a while.
I hadn't played Naixyrhp in quite a while, and he used to regularly beat me. So when I saw him in StratForumRegs, and he asked for a 1v1, I eagerly jumped at the chance to lose yet again. Naix is a microing fiend, and I remember a particurlarly galling loss where he broodlinged all 12 zealots in a 12 zealot attack on one of his expansions. Fortuantely I wouldn't have to worry about queens this game...
Early Game a.k.a. Snowy must be stupid, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I commenced with probe production, and my early build looked like this:
7 Pylon
10 Gateway
14 Pylon
15 Zealot
19 Forge
20 Zealot
22 Pylon
I scouted with the probe that made the first gateway, and since I scouted clockwise I found in the first place. I got a good look in his camp, and after seeing a trio of marines, I resorted to the bag of tricks: the ~offensive~ assimilator.
This worked nicely because it kept his attention elsewhere for a while. Meanwhile his SCV met his death at my ramp courtesy of my initial 2 zealots, and could not get a look inside my base to know that I was skimping on gateways. This was critical, for I had a siginificant edge in recon.
Armed with such knowledge, I had been saving up extra minerals and only making probes to compliment my intial 2 zealots up to 24 control. When I reached 400 minerals, I placed a nexus in my natural, and followed up with a pylon right above it. When the pylon warped in, 2 cannons were laid down on either side of the pylon. Naix had finished off the assimilator about 15 seconds prior to the starting of the nexus, and my scouting probe left in his natural got intimate with several gauss rifle shells shortly after.
Now it was a race.. do the cannons warp in before the 8 marines arrive on the scene to administer a dose of smackdown? I impatiently wait -- it seems in times like this that the buildling time is increased! I move my 2 zealots out in front of the warping cannons, and as the marines arrive, I engage. Glancing at the cannons, I see they are 75% done. One zealot goes up in a puff of smoke, and Naix is dancing the lead marines back to the rear of the group. One marine dies to the psi blades, but also goes up in a puff smoke to join his brethern.
Warp cannons, warp!
I'm greeted with 5 healthy marines, and 2 marines at 8 health as I hear the wonderful sound of 2 cannons warping in. Naix doesn't stick around to admire it, he simply runs his marines past the cannons, losing one more. The nexus has already warped in and about 5 probes carry on mining as the marines head up my ramp into my main. Another zealot is building in my sole gateway as the 6 marines head over to the probe line to target practice. Fortunately my count of probes had to be at least 20 at this point, and I'm able to kill the 6 marines with the loss of only 3 or 4 probes. The zealot that pops out of my gateway assists in dispatching the last 2 marines, and my probes return to mining.
With my expansion safely secured by the 2 cannons, and a zealot, I continue to pump probes from both nexii, rallying the ones from my main to my natural. My 2nd gateway now goes up, and is quickly followed by a 3rd, and a cybernetics core shortly thereafter. In about 5 minutes, I have at least 35 probes mining, and I warp in assimiliators at both bases, while contiuning to spend my minerals solely on pylons and zealots. As soon as I get the needed gas, I lay down a citadel of Adun and research zealot speed when it warps in. I also start on the +1 weapons upgrade.
Middle Game.. or doh! What's that in my main?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I notice this orange dot all of a sudden on the northeastern edge of my plateau... treachery! 2 barracks are producing marines, and Snowy's a victim of the infamous rax float. Luckily I had just put down 4 cannons around my nexus, all covering each other and my workers - to be safe from any drops or cloaked wraiths. So I just bided my time a few more minutes and took 8 zealots up and killed the group of marines and forced the barracks to float back to his main. Nice idea -- if he'd have had an SCV up there as well.
Zealot speed completes around the time I begin my 4th and 5th gateways. A 2nd forge goes up so I can work on the +1 armor upgrade. I send a token zealot over to Naix's natural, and run into about 20 marines in my 2nd natural. I engage the marines with a control group of zealots, emerging with 5 left. One heads off to Naix's natural, while 2 others head to the other 2 start positions. I find a command center at 12 with a bunker just being finished, but no marines are around. I gather up another control group of zeals (having 5 gates, they sure do add up fast!) and head up that way. He's reinforced with marines inside the bunker and brings another 8 or so up the ramp after I run in, but I simply target scv's that are repairing the bunker and then surround it and overwhelm it. The command center floats away to the east.. reminding me I need some sort of air transport.
Therefore I start on 2 robotics facilities and the templar archives I had started warps in at this time and I research storm and immediately make 5 high templar. My first shuttle ferries 8 probes over the the bottom right isle, where I start my 2nd expansion. Meanwhile I build a reaver and an observer since I have both a support bay and an observatory now. Lets not forget the 15 zealots and 5 high templar sitting in my natural either.
Naix isn't going to just sit there and let me amass forces however -- he starts a tank push on my natural with 3 tanks and a control group of marines. The speedy zealots (which are now 1/1) hanging around my natural run out and make quick work of it, and after the arclite cannon and gauss rifles stop firing, one weary zealot stands. He immediately volenteers for scout duty, and is obliterated by a pair of tanks on Naix's ledge. I did catch a glimpse of a bunker in his choke however -- sure evidence an expansion must be underway or already in operation.
My first observer is blown away by a turret by Naix's CC, and I note a bunker/tank/tower defense. Regardless, I load up my shuttle with a reaver/zealot/high templar, and head over, dropping the zealot, then the reaver, then the high templar. Not only did the reaver manage to get one shot off into the SCV's, killing a cluster, I was able to use both storms before losing everything, including the shuttle. Probably 75% of the SCV's perished in the suicidal drop.
Late Game, or I'm getting bored with containment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'd been contiuning to pump straight zealots from my 5 gateways, and they were now upgraded to 2/2. Every once in a while I'd throw a high templar into the mix, and I rallied these forces to Naix's 2nd natural. It was probably 2 full control groups of zealots and 5 high templar that made their way into his natural, greeted by a few bunker and tanks on the ledges. High templar targeted the tanks, storming 3 of them into oblivion, although several died to focused arclite fire. Meanwhile I forced Naix to lift off his command center, and I proceeded to his ramp where I met firebats stationed on hold position at his ramp. Rather nasty for zealots. Fortunately I had the luxury of being able to throw away troops at this point, and slowly whittled them down, aided by a psi storm. The ones in the bunker took a little more time, but they too fell.
I started expansions at both the 3 main, and my 2nd natural, just looking for an excuse to use my minerals at this time.
Another pair of reavers were dropped in Naix's main, and found that he hadn't replaced the tank. Brave SCV's rallied to the Terran call for arms, and fusion cutters flared mightly, but in the end the SCV's succumbed to the scarabs.
To summarize the end, many more zealots overran his main, and scouts finished off his floating buildings. Yes, scouts! This is regular Starcraft, remember? A control group of scouts is a pretty sight to behold...
Lessons learned
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--Hmm, I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this possible build. Everyone's heard of Grrrr's early expand build against Zerg. But what about against Terran? If you can take your first couple of zealots, and NOT LOSE THEM, or use them to buy time for your first 2 cannons to warp in, wouldn't you be set? Since cannons really abuse marines? Even if they are able to get marines past the cannons, at this point you should have 15-20 probes and another zealot building in your gateway, which, if microed properly, should hold. Then once that's over with, you have 2 bases quickly at speed, and can tech to speed-upgraded zealots right away and high templar. Or goons, if you prefer I guess, but I've always liked zeals/high temps better. One takes your minerals, one takes your gas, and you get high templars left over for psi raids. I would guess this all depends upon the terran's scouting ability though. It was key that I killed his SCV before he could get into my main and see, and also that I kept him distracted with the offensive assilimator. I need to run a few tests to see if the following is true: Can you warp in cannons when you see troops come down your enemies ramps, and have the cannons complete in time for their arrival?
Keeping in mind that I didn't exactly execute this build smoothly this game. I need a more precise and tight build order for it.
If this is a stupid idea, please let me know. I'm admittedly not very good at this game yet and I'm experimenting with different things now to see how I can do. Against zerg, it's doable.. against toss, it's suicide, but terran I'm not sure. I think this would be very viable if the terran is going heavy metal, since it skimps on marines and the terran hopes to expand relatively early as well. You're just matching them, and earlier to boot. Naix noted that as soon as he lost his intial batch of marines, he felt like he was always behind. | | Battle Shots! | 
Which building in this group doesn't belong?
Probe power, baby! That zealot had just arrived on the scene.
Ah yes.. nothing like a good electrical storm. Or two.
I'm almost POSITIVE that reavers > SCV's
Final stats. The game took all of 28 minutes.
|
|
|
|
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
