"Ancient Chinese proverb: One neighbor builds a fence. Two neighbors enjoy it"
-Heartcutter
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| A new way of dealing with that tank push. | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 10/13/99 12:10 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for .Praetor: 8.2987 |  | *WARNING WARNING: The following report does not contain any modified screenshots ala YRM or EFY. In fact, it has no pictures whatsoever. Frankly, the author is a stubborn fuddy-duddy who has no intention of learning how to use this new-fangled HTML stuff.*
I was just coming back from tennis (I won a set 7-5), when I found some ICQ messages from Cashew-of-Doom. Stupid new ICQ program doesn't put me on away automatically. Anyway, after talking about sports for a bit, we get on b.net. It takes me forever to log on, as I play with a p100 and 16 megs of ram. On the up side, this gives me an excuse to play fast only, which improves my skill exponentially.
So Cashew creates the game in NWTR, on the Rivalry observation map. After some confusion as to who is actually playing, Cashew and I team up against Johnny_Vegas and -=I_own_whoop=- (aka Bob~the~Newt). Persian' is observing.
Cashew draws top left, and selects Protoss.
I (.Praetor) draw top right, and randoms to Protoss.
Johnny_Vegas draws bottom right, and selects Terran.
-=I_own_whoop=- draws bottom left, and randoms to Terran.
Persian' is a freaky eyeball.
After a few minutes where Persian' almost lags out, the game settles down and we all taunt each other and decide what the heck we're going to do here. I tell Johnny I think I'll o-cannon and carrier him, and other chat passes back and forth, much about the age of my computer (4 and 1/2 years, that's 90 in human years) and my lack of sound. I get a pylon out somewhere around 8, and go back to mining. A little while later, an orange SCV winds its way into Cashew's base and has a look around. Checking the diplomacy screen, we find that the SCV is -=I_own_whoop=-'s and that we are facing Terran.
At this point Cashew decides on zealots to reavers, while I decide on zealots to dark templar (and, of course, eventually carriers. I am inherently an air man.) -=I_own_whoop=- finds me soon after, and remarks happily that he and Johnny are facing a double Toss. Expressing his prediction about the matchup, he announces "gg." I tell him that it's not over yet, and not to exect the usual from Cashew and I.
After starting two gateways, I scout and find Johnny starting a nice wall-in with a barracks and bunker. Hmm, heavy-metal anyone. Actually, I already knew he was doing heavy-metal. The game was on Rivalry, after all. Cashew's probe scouted -=I_own_whoop=-, who was the real wild card. The scout showed just a few marines, but two barracks with one (maybe two) on the way.
Not happy with this prospect, I tell Cashew to attack NOW. This was rather foolish, as my first two zealots were not done yet. They are shortly though, and I send them out when Cash is ready. Belatedly, I realize that my announcement of attack was done publicly, due to bantering earlier. However, my scouting pays off, assuring me that Johnny will be able to send no significant reinforcements. We proceed with the attack.
It is somewhat delayed, what with waiting until we have seven zealots. Luckily, -=I_own_whoop=- has decided to wall in his CC with barracks rather than occupy his choke. Cashew and I walk around the barracks and enter the base from the side, with only one of my zealots taking minor damage.
Bellowing, the zealots charge -=I_own_whoop=- marines, which numbered from ten to fourteen. (Do zealots bellow? They have no mouth. In Phoenix Legion I shall theorize that the mouth is hidden because it is situated under the chin near the position of the human larynx.)
Anyhoo, the zealots charge forward, managing to get to most of the marines before the SCV's could get in the way. This is crucial, as -=I_own_whoop=- has abandoned concentrated fire to get his SCV's in on the action. Given the position of the zealots, I think concentrated fire could have been the better option. After the game, -=I_own_whoop=- expressed his belief that he did not micro during this initial attack well enough.
I ignore the large part of my zealots, making sure one takes out an SCV building an academy, as I do not want any firebats (or medics) suddenly appearing during this battle. I also find my fourth zealot (should have been the eight of the attack) and use these last two to do some damage after the main attack fell, taking all of -=I_own_whoop=-'s marines and a good number of SCV's to the great beyond.
Going back to my base, I have a ton of minerals and no money. Oops. I already have an assimilator, and start a cybernetics core, another pylon, and a forge. When the forge is done, I start a cannon, sandwinched inbetween two gates, two pylons, and the cybernetics core, all of which are positioned somewhat near my choke. I send the warping probe down to the middle right (3:00) base to expand. There, it starts a nexus and a pylon. With my next two hundred minerals, I build two more zealots, and breathe a little easier.
Cashew has some troops around, and neither of us are expecting any trouble out of -=I_own_whoop=- soon, though he is by no means out of the game yet. I start three cannons guarding the southern choke at my expansion. A vulture breezes by, without disturbing my expansion. Gee, I bet it is going to lay mines?
Not too worried, I start one goon at my base, in case the vulture decides to run around my cannon. I also start another cannon at the top of my pylon's range at my expansion. At home I get the level 1 ground weapons upgrade. Content, I start a Citadel of Adun. Is Heavy Metal the counter to Dark Templar by a Protoss?
No. Heavy Metal is the counter to EARLY Dark Templar by a Protoss. I, on the other hand, have early expanded, and am confident in my warriors from Shakuras. Besides, I didn't have any better ideas. Cashew is a bit more active, and defensible. He sends a goon over to take out the vulture which is enjoying a nice break at the top of my expansion area. Two mines and a vulture grenade later, the dragoon is soup. Well, duh. Cashew having cleared the minefield, I send down my goon, and destroy the vulture, as well as the SCV repairing it. How did Johnny get an SCV all the way around there anyway?
Rather than figure out the plans of a master, I start a robotics facility in my base, after a templar archives is about half the way from warping in. I am pumping probes at my expansion, happily mining minerals. Cashew also starts a fairly early expansion, at the middle left (9:00) area.
At first he just has a pylon and three cannons, the Nexus comes later. In his base, I see a robotics facility, so I assume he will have reavers soon. Two of Cashew's zealots find Johnny's barracks down on his low ground, so he's got factories ready to go. They kill a marine, and beat on the barracks in frustration, before Cashew orders them away for unknown reasons.
Soon afterwards, a bunker (and then a missile turret) is seen in progress across the bridge leading to my expansion. I see it, but am content to build two dark templar, and start a shuttle. A little bit later, Cashew sends me a warning message, telling me Johnny is starting a tank push on my expansion.
I calmly tell him, "I know." Cashew asks what I am going to do about it. "I'm going to let him tank push me." Understandably, Cashew wanted confirmation of this radical statement. I simply asked him how I should stop a tank push. He replied that he didn't know. I explained exactly. I can't do anything about it, so I'll just let it happen, and pursue an offensive route that will punish Johnny_Vegas for devoting resources to attacking me. Cashew remained somewhat skeptical, and indeed Persian' (the observer) repeated my statement "I'm going to let him tank push me" at least once after the game.
Supremely confident in my strategy (for probably no good reason, I just knew I couldn't stop the tank push), I continued. When my shuttle was finished, I loaded it up with three dark templar and a zealot. The zealot was called in from Shakuras to synchronize arrival times of four infantry units rather than for any strategic reason. I started two dark templar, loaded up, and sent my shuttle off. It went through the middle part of the map to avoid hostile troops.
At this time, I pulled a probe away from my expansion and started a nexus and a pylon at the northen middle (12:00) expansion to replace the one that was now being bombarded by a tank that had 'Johnny_Vegas Base Demolisher I' in stylized lettering on the side. Cashew, my faithfull ally, sent over two dragoons to kill the vulture pounding on my nexus and pylon at the replacement expansion, as well as letting me know that he had been scanned, so now would be a good time to use Dark Templar in stopping the tank push. While the advice was technically sound, I decided against that course of action, and made sure my shuttle landed my troops safely, and sent a few dark templar (and maybe a zealot or two) down south to check out 6:00, through the middle, of course.
I land my troops on Vegas' plateau successfullly, and advance into his base. The first thing the scares me is a turret by his command center behind a wall of depots near his command center. The second thing that scares me is a tank just behind that turret. Luckily for me, those were the last things that scared me. Johnny didn't even have a comsat station. He must have sacrificed it and an academy for early tanks. I sent in my troops and killed the tank, rather than the turret, first. I think it got off only one shot, though it might have had two. The turret was quickly destroyed as well, and my troops started chasing SCV's, but then returned to attack Johnny_Vegas Command Center, as the SCV's were rather speedy. Lazy Protoss.
I go back to my base and start two stargates. Think I'm going to win this with just dark templar? Not on your life. Well, maybe. On the mini-map I notice green at the southern (6:00) expansion, and find two of my dark templar slashing at a Johnny_Vegas command centert there.
I have lost a few probes at my expansion, along with the three cannons guarding the choke. I retreat the rest of them to my new expansion, starting a few cannons there, and they start mining despite the fact that the nexus has not fully warped in yet.
Cashew is just telling me to "get the peons," obviously referring to Johnny's main base, when the message "Johnny_Vegas has left the game" comes up in yellow lettering. What the hell? I wonder if he got dropped.
Just then there is a knock at my apartment's door, and I go get it. It is Anjum (from India), one of the RA's (resident advisers, fellow students who organize things and get free room and board). He is looking for my roommate Ali (from America), who is away but is also apparently on the intramural basketball team. Anjum does find Ali later on that day, just to let you know. Anjum also talks to Toni (from Sweden), another roommate of mine about volleyball, and myself about the liklihood of the International House's chance of kicking major ass in intramural soccer (I live where they stick all the foriegn people and weird americans who like accents and people discovering the simplicy of american swearing for the first time. I-House students also smoke alot).
Uh... yeah. So anyway, I come back to the game and find the victory screen. Goody. Actually not, I would like to have fought the game out more, but I'll take the win. I won't report the stats, since they are inaccurate with a large amount of time my computer ran when the game was already over.
Appaently -=I_own_whoop=- quit in despair after Johnny_Vegas quit in despair.
*Disclaimer* Yes, I know this report is silly, being largely about one tactic of sure, let the enemy do what he wants, and partially about me thinking Johnny was still in the game. Frankly, I would probably give it a silver.
Analyzing the game to this point: Cashew and I were definitly in the lead. Both he and I had a second base going, whereas neither of our opponents had that same advantage. Indeed, Persian' reported that the Terran's stated strategy was to "take 3 and 9." However, -=I_own_whoop=- certainly had a decent army, as he had been quiet for awhile, and while the first attack had been disadvantageous, it had hardly been debilitating.
Cashew had just got his nexus for his expansion, and it was not yet fully online. I had a relatively productive expansion, however, I had the extra cost of reproducing the first one in the north. Also, I had not added the assimilator for either of my expansions, and the book of Heartcutter says only to watch out for a Protoss with lots of gas =). (I've never used High Templar much anyway).
As Johnny_Vegas meantioned in a comment, there is something disheartening about having both your bases under attack by dark templar with no detection. I agree, however, I know that his opponent had a comsat, and Johnny still could build turrets, perhaps evacuating to a productive base at his natural. Indeed, his push was going to go straight through my expansion, so while Johnny was going to be set back, he would suffer no troop losses. While the tide had shifted substantially in favor of the Protoss team, the Terran team still had a reasonable chance of a comeback, and Johnny at least owed -=I_own_whoop=- a good 'ole college try.
On the other hand, I was about to warp in my fleet beacon =).
Your humble scribe,
'Praetor' Fred Wilson |
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