"Cheers, ~Cattle-Spread'nLov'nInTheWorld-Bruiser~"
-~CattleBruiser~
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| The Weremuppet Archives: The Battle for Sherwood Forest | | | Author: | | | IP: | 98A68500XXXX | | Date: | 01/07/00 11:01 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Weremuppet: 6.4286 |  | Here we go again! Though Wererhynadon plays a smaller part than usual in this game (His best race is Protoss, but when he plays Protoss with me the game is so often in our favor that it isn't worth reporting) I would call it one of our best games ever. Again, no pics, so use your imagination. And if you think you've read any of these reports under the name of some guy named Cuptoman, chances are he's me, so don't think I'm being a plagarist. Enough chat, on with the story!
THE WEREMUPPET ARCHIVES: THE BATTLE FOR SHERWOOD FOREST
Once again it's a harrowing tale of battle and blood from Weremuppet! It was, once again, a normal night of battle for my patner Wererhynadon and I, and as we are oft to do we started a 2v2 on Sherwood Forest. Here's the setup:
Weremuppet(Me), Green Terran, NE (A position often turtled)
Wererhynadon (My usual patner), Yellow Zerg, South
VS.
BlueTerran (I forgot his name), Blue Terran, NW
Bubba (I think), Purple Protoss, West
As usual, I told my guests to fight to the death. Nobody ever listens to that part.
As the game started off, I was eager to try out some new tactics. I got my usual defenses up, and from there proceeded to get multiple Vultures, with which I began planting Spider Mines at every feasable mining spot. At the same time Wererhynadon, who doesn't usually play Zerg, but is skilled if given time to get into the Mid-game, was getting some Hydralisks and had already expanded (As is his wont). With most of the expansions under the recon of Spider Mines, I was given time to scan out our enemies. Blue, like myself, seemed to be a fleet person, and was developing Wraiths. And as for the Purple, he seemed to be big on infantry, mainly Zealots, Dragoons, and High Templar. He never developed Scouts.
Being in the mood for new tactics, I decided to try a tank drop idea I had had that day. Building two Dropships, I put within the first one six marines and two firebats, and within the second a Seige Tank and two Vultures. My plan was to use the Vultures to lay down some Spider Mines to slow any forces that might defend, and use the Marines to back up against Wraiths while the Firebats slaughtered peons. While the main objective of this drop was Blue, I had planned to drop in from below Blue's main base, and a quick Scanner Sweep revealed that Purple was building a colony in the area between himself and Blue. So, in response, I sent my attack there first.
The colony fell with ease, though I left behind with it my Spider mines. I then sent the attack onward to Blue. Upon landing, I withdrew the Dropships and proceeded to wreak havok. The Marines, backed by the Vultures, destroyed the incoming Marine defenses. The Firebats, freed to do their work, slaughtered Blues SCVs. Any Wraiths that were sent in were crushed. However, while the damage this attack did was great, it still fell to defending Seige tanks, though with heavy losses to my blue Terran foe.
At this same time our enemies had expanded into the middle of the map, while I had expanded to the northern position, as well as the colony below me. However, my nothern effort was spotted, and soon destroyed by the vicsious forces of my foes. Wererhynadon was fairly well entrenched in the south, and had begun building towards an Mutalisk/Guardian/Overlord combo. While I busied myself with a turret perimeter (This was a while ago, give me some slack) and the beginnings of a Battlecruiser fleet, Wererhynadon sent his M/G/O into the middle of the map, doing a huge ammount of damage and destroying several colonies. However, while admiring the firepower he wrought upon his enemies, I noticed, coming out of the fog, bathed in energy, one of the most feared enemies in all of Starcraft, a High Templar.
It was something out of a movie. I shouted to him quickly to watch out, but he could not respond in time, and his Guardians and Mutalisks fell to multiple Psi Storms, their energy searing the flesh of the Zerg fliers. There was not much I could do to help him. My Wraith Squadron that I had had for colony hunting had fallen in a follow-up attack on Purple. And now Blue was pushing an offensive on my Western front, using the northern position as a colony and staging area for his attack. He had some Towers already up, and a Battlecruiser in position, which had already Yamatoed one of my Turrets. This aggression would not stand.
Sending in Two Battlecruisers and a Science Vessel, I EMPed the Battlecruiser, so as to eliminate the possibility of a Yamatoing of my own Cruisers, and then proceeded to fire both my Cruisers Yamato cannons at Blues'. With only four hit points left, it died quickly. I then proceed, with little trouble, to destroy the nothern colony, and with my Scanner and Spider mines we were keeping the enemy confined to the middle.
By this time, I had six Battlecruisers built, and I sent them on a campaign to destroy Blue's main base, escorted with a shuttle containing two SCVs and two Ghosts, as well as a pair of Science Vessels. The Battlecruisers plowed fairly quickly through what defenses Blue had left, and he retreated those buildings he had that could fly, but with most of his base still emaciated after that initial Tank Drop and a Wraith strike, there wasn't much left for him there. He retreated into the middle, limping like a wounded Bengalaas.
However, all was not going entirely in our favor. When my Battlecruiser fleet, still on its long campaign, arrived at Purples main base, I was able to see, with a quick Scanner Sweep, that he had High Templar there, as well as cannons on all sides. Knowing that my fleet would fall to Psi Storm, I had to eliminate the High Templar. Since I had two Ghosts with me, I decided that I could drop them and then have them assassainate the Templar. (Why I didn't simply Irradiate them I'll never know.) However, the cannons would detect and destroy my Ghosts. So, while bringing my Battlecruisers up to destroy the Cannons so I could land my Ghosts and kill the High Templar, I pulled in a little too close, and my entire fleet, Dropship included, was Psi Stormed. As can be imagined, not much survived. Needless to say, I was getting worried. What I saw next made it worse.
While I was doing all this, Wererhynadon had come under multiple attacks, and his main base, as well as his western colony, had fallen. With only his SE colony left to mine from, I suggested that he build a Hatchery in my well defended base, where it would be very difficult to destroy. He did so, and it was a good thing, for not much later the enemy comes in and destroy Wererhynadon's SE colony for good. While I had expanded twice more to middle positions, they were both hunted down by Marines and destroyed. At the same time, I had enough Wraiths to hunt colonies with, and enough Comstation energy between my two Command Centers to keep any new expansion in check, but at the same time was thwarted to expand myself. Things were approaching a standstill. Neither of us could really colonize, nor could either of us really attack. Wererhynadon was virtually dead, and my main forces were few. Nonetheless, despite the gridlock, it was still a 2v1, with Wererhynadon having only 8 minerals, a drone, and a Hatchery to his name, and so I was on my own. Things were stacked against me.
That's when I began to notice, via Comsat, that Purple and Blue were prepping for massed assault. Purple had dozens of Zealots and Dragoons, and Blue was backing them up with Goliaths, Marines and Science Vessels. Realizing this threat, I began to build Vultures, digging into my surplus of minerals. The Vultures, four in all, began to lay down a layer of Spider Mines in front of my base, which served to slow down their offensive, as Purple felt it neccessary to send Zealots towards the Spider Mines, then cleverly lure them past his Dragoons where they could be dealt with.
Since Wererhynadon had an Overlord nearby, no Observers could get in to spot for the Spider Mines since my Wraiths would kill them, and this slowed the enemy down greatly. I also at this time began to get some more support Goliaths, as well as 12 more Marines for defense. I was also helped by having the high ground on my side, especially for my tanks. I had hoped to deter them from this, but slowly they got the mine cover away, and it was only a matter of moments before I would be tested.
From my battlements I saw before me columns of Zealots, Psi Blades humming, with Dragoons behind them bouncing in anticipation of my destruction. Blue painted Goliaths and Marines flexed their trigger fingers, ready for my blood. A Zealot, perhaps a hero among them, took a step forward, and of those hundereds of feet every single one followed suit. And with that, they stormed the hill.
Two Bunkers, each filled with three Marines and a Firebat, my Two Seige tanks, my squad of Marines, my Spider Mines, my two Goliaths, and my four Vultures stood against a tidal wave. First up poured the Zealots, crying fierce battle hymns. Even the blasts of Arclite cannons only weakened their shields, and it seemed as if nothing would stop them. But as they moved up the crowded ramp, they felt their bodies get torn apart by the substantial Marines and Goliaths behind the bunkers, and as the flames from the bunkers poured upon their bodies, they had no choice but to submit to the honor of a death in battle.
The Dragoons were next. They had died once, and so they would die again. Tank ordinance poured down on them, with the fire of machine guns finishing off their exoskeletons, leaving them to bleed blue upon the grass that was my territory.
Alongside the Dragoons were the Goliaths. These brave pilots, however, were in over their heads, and many a walker found itself with its legs blown off from underneath. They felt their deaths served a function when they saw an overhead Science Vessel succeed in irradiating the Marine Squad that threatened them so, and in their death throes they thought victory had come.
Lastly were the Marines, who wondered if their deaths would have any meaning. Alas, they would not, as they were chewed up before they could even deliver a shot.
The last sound the Commander and the Praetor heard was that of a Dragoon snapping apart, dying its second death. Their attack had failed. Weremuppet lived.
I lost a bunker, but not its crew, a tank, two of my Vultures, and my Marine Squad. My foes didn't feel defeated yet, and so tried again halfheartedly, but I remembered that my Wraiths had returned from a recent colony hunt, and they mopped up what was left of the attack. The tides were turning.
Purple, becoming impatient, said he was getting ready to die or leave. I realized their wills were crushed, but I reminded Purple that we were to fight to the death. After some confused talk intercepted between the two, it soon turned out that Purple killed his own buildings rather than face me again. That's a compliment. Things were looking up again.
What was left after that was not much. Wererhynadon, sending Drones all the way from the heart of my base into the northern expansion, was building up to get a new Hatchery. Blue, now confined to the middle, was having his expansions come under fire from my Wraiths. I managed to expand to the SE, and there got a Nuke Silo going, as well as some Ghosts. After taking one Nuke and with me just about to drop the second, Blue said GG and left. With Wererhynadon virtually dead, and with me without an large main force, we had won.
THE MORALS OF THE STORY:
Failure is in the eye of the beholder: If my foes had really wanted, they probably could have fought on to win, but they got impatient and bored and didn't think clearly. This benefited me greatly, as their ill planned head-on attack didn't even begin to penetrate my base.
Attack the weaknessess, not the strenghts: If I had tried for a direct assault on Blue, I would have failed. Instead, I slipped in Tanks, Marines, Firebats, Vultures, and Wraiths, which all met with devestating success. A defense is only as good as its weakest side.
Recon saves you: Without having placed Spider Mines everywhere early in the game, I would have had no way to curb the wild expansion of our foes. And later on my Comsats became vital in keeping my enemies from expansion. With those extra resources they would have been able to afford another attack, but as it was we were at a standstill as to what happened next.
Hope you enjoyed it!
-Weremuppet
NOTE - Just as a random point, I was thinking about how Engineering Bays are called e-bays. The President of E-Bay.Inc, Pierre Omydier or something, went to my high school, and spoke at our graduation because some people wanted to hit him up for money. He was terrible. He said "This is how I became a billionare, do what ya like." Just a piece of trivia for you. At least he's a good ol' Marylander. GO MD! Enough of this... I'm tired... |
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