"I'm your man until I get killed or you find somebody that can do the job better."
-Mark4
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| Dire Consequences | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 11/05/99 05:11 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 3, Max: 8, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for HardDrive99: 7.3000 |   | Map: Dire Straits
Players: Grinder (randomed to green Zerg bottom left)
HardDrive99 (randomed to Terran top right)
Preview:
I count myself quite fortunate as the company that I work for lets us play computer games on our lunch hour. It's a nice perk and lets us socialize over a good game of Starcraft. So I get to play the same players quite often... kind of like a in-house clan if you would. Grinder is probably the 3rd best player of the group and is hands down the best zerg player we have. Loves macro in his game. I'm the 2nd best player and my strengths are that I'm flexible and like to surprise people with new tactics or little used strats. The two following match ups show my Terran game against his Zerg game on Dire Straits. In two previous games earlier in the week I have been unable to best his Zerg swarms with my noble Terran armadas. Will today be any different? Part one follows.
Opening Moves:
Since we both went random it makes the initial build order of a terran kind of slow. You need to build a flexible enough build order to hold off a protoss, zerg or terran opponent without any early scouting info.
I start to order up SCVs and move quickly to putting up two depots and a gas refinery. On this map I typically build my buildings in a tight defensive ring so that any zerg or protoss drops will cause minimal damage. Wall ins are a terran strength. I quickly decide that I must scout Grinder to see what he's up to. Instead of moving to an academy for a quick com sat I decide to produce minimal attacking units until I get a wraith in the air. This way if he's zerg and poking around with an overlord I get some free kills.
As my first wraith materializes I send it south to scout out the South East starting location. Why not go with good old, lucky clockwise scouting? On route I run into an overlord coming from a slight SW direction. That tells me two things... Grinder is zerg and he's in the bottom left start. I kill the overlord, build two more starports and another rax for M&M ground assaults. As I kill the overlord I continue west and kill another wayward overlord on a quick retreat to his base. Cloaking just finishes researching as hydras move to engage. Just in time to get a few more kills until Grinder retreats to his spore colonies. Two more wraiths come online and I send my slightly damaged one home for repairs. I expand to the south and order up to more star ports. If you're going to have an air war against a zerg you have to have production and upgrades.
My two wraiths encounter a zerg expansion on the 6:00 small island. I'm able to kill the overlord but am turned away from peon kills by a spore colony and some hydras. I order up two shuttles and send out an M&M squad to eliminate the zerg brood.
Terran In Control:
Escorted by my expanding wraith fleet the two shuttle land safely on the very edge of his newly created creep. Stim and the drugs get my marines cooking with gas. Zerg drones burst like popcorn and forces Grinder to put up some sunkens to hold the druggies back. I kill an extractor and wait for reinforcements from my main base. Two shuttles bring in more marines and a lone siege tank. Grinder has been trying to push me out with sunkens and I need some artillery support. Seige fire opens the base up but I decide I need a little more speed on that base-cracking so I send over two more tanks. As the arc-lite cannon rounds fall, the base and creep are extinguished. First blood and victory goes to the terrans.
As I push to the left I spot another expansion going on line on the larger island just above the 6:00 position where my marines, tanks and medics were rejoicing. My tanks rolled up to the edge, guarded by marines and started opening fire across the strait. Spore colonies, drones and sunkens quickly get liquified.
The sky goes dark as a huge muta wave rips into the tank wall. Two seiged tanks burn to the ground as the marines stim, wraiths cloak and a fine red mist of muta blood covers the ground. I expand to the small island at 12:00 and quickly scan other locations. No wonder Grinder gave up the 6:00 island so easily... he started expansions at 9:00 and at the North West starting location.
Wraith raids keep him honest and have a huge toll on his overlords. SCVs are constantly repairing wraiths and science vessels sent out on raids.
Party's Over:
Just as I think I have the game in hand a cluster of devourers appear supporting the muta, overlord groups. The wraiths are no longer cloaked and I have to retreat and make quick hit, run and repair attacks. The micro is taking a toll as I don't have chance to retaliate or take his expansions offline. A wave of guardians, mutas and devourers descend over my 12:00 expansion... would you have guessed where I transferred my probes from my mined out main? There... Stim, wraiths, goliaths and irradiate punch huge holes in the incoming swarm. I turn him back but at a heavy cost.... half my wraiths are no longer and the remaining ones are deeply in the yellow. As I turn to repair them another huge wave crashes over the island... my stalwart defenders are slain where they stand. Chalk one up for the ne'er do wells.
Map Control:
I'm in a bit of a bind as I only have one functioning mineral expansion. I quickly build command centres at the SE start location and the large right central island. Wraiths and science vessels attack, flee and counter attack Grinder's ever growing swarm. 3 BC's come online and I yamato his fledgling 12:00 expansion start and start to push it over with supporting wraith fire. Mutas, devourers and overlords resist and slowly stop the advance. As I retreat Grinder pushes into my right large island expansion. As this island is critical for map control my wraith and BC fleet responds.
Defensive matrix and stim are use liberally to hold off the incoming guardians, devourers and mutas. But to no avail... swarms of reinforcements push back my best micro-management efforts. Another expansion is down sized by the swarm.
I feel the pinch of losing the map control battle with my wraiths playing an ongoing game of hit and run against his troops, structures and supply. Grinder simply shrugs it off and produces and upgrades his muta battle groups. I get pushed back towards my SE expansion island where a group of turrets give me some brief respite.
Remember the Alamo:
Guardians, mutas and devourers move in to the bottom right. The turrets burn with bright yellow flames as the wraiths dance with muta death. Stim and irradiate kill handfuls of zerg. Carapaces lay strewn on the ground... the turret group falls in a muffled explosion. The bottom right expansion is no longer. I'm left with only one operational expansion to Grinder's many... wraiths and sci vessels move to defend as the approaching armada moves in. Yellow guardian fire blanket my marines who kill mutas indiscriminately. Wraiths slay overlords and guardians and push back the muta force briefly until their mana runs out. Without their protective cloak the glaive blades of the mutas seek revenge. The command centre is destroyed along with my hopes and any opportunity of reprisal. I offer a good game and surrender to another terran vs zerg defeat on Dire. I ask for a rematch and Grinder is quick to accept.
Things Learned:
- Terran air is powerful but you cannot give a zerg the opportunity to expand and control the map because it ultimately ends in your defeat. A couple drop ships of M&M's on islands just after my first victory would have won me the game and kept Grinder contained.
- Small victories do not mean large victories. Instead of focusing too much of my attention on that one island push I should have realized things were in control and moved towards map control of my own.
- You cannot always win. How you accept defeat and learn from mistakes make you a better player and person. Besides you can always get that rematch! | | Battle Shots! | 
1st blood is always the sweetest
Holding on to an expansion island... for now
Last expansion in flames... time to re-think strategies
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