"There are so many ways to annoy a Zerg player, it's not even funny. Actually, it's really funny, so I retract my previous statement."
- mattzarella's The FFA Effect
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| 3way FFA on Ice | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 11/03/99 07:11 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 3, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for HardDrive99: 7.3000 |  | Map: Winter Conquest
Players:
TomFoolery : Purple (Random) Terran 12:00 start
Grinder: Red (Random) Protoss 2:00 start
HardDrive99: Green (Random) Protoss 10:00 start
Opening Moves:
Since Winter Conquest is such a large map and expansions so essential I decided to go scouting on my 9th probe. It was a toss up between 12:00 and 8:00, so I choose clockwise. As I scout I drop down a gateway and an assimilator while keeping probe production up.
I get lucky in finding TomFoolery building a rax at the 12:00 natural. Looks like a ballsy starting strategy securing his choke and his natural expansion all in one swoop. I couldn't let that go uncontested so I moved my peon to attack his building SCV. I start zeal production at home and send them to guard my ramp to prevent scouting attempts into my base. TomFoolery moves his injured SCV from the rax so I attack the rax for a bit of mischief and then a healthy SCV wards of my probe. I circle to the right hoping to draw TomFoolery from my true start location.
At the 2:00 start I find Grinder as Protoss with a double gateway in progress. My peon matador eludes his slow footed zealots who didn't guard his choke very effectively and tried to lead them back to TomFoolery's start. That’s always a nice strategy in FFAs... if your opponents attack each other they are not attacking you. Unfortunately, Grinder doesn't take the bait so I send my probe home. I've doubled up my gateway as well as I've already fallen behind in the zealot production to Grinder. In addition I take an early expansion with shield battery at my natural. So far no one has scouted me.
I send 4 zealots to TomFoolery's wall in and see that it's covering up all the holes with a bunker right in the middle. Looks like a turtling terran to me so I focus on teching up and expanding. Right now I view Grinder as the bigger threat.
Mid Game:
I throw down a cyber core, and templar archives as soon as possible and start my 1 attack upgrade and goon range. I place a couple of goons at my main to ward off drops as I send another probe to start another expansion at 8:00. Finding it empty I start a naked expansion and quickly send two goons over to help secure the area along with a couple photon cannons.
I send over 6 zealots with speed upgrade to see what Grinder has going and to make sure he doesn't grab too many early expansions. He's taken the 3:00 start now with a huge wall in of cannons. My zealots get damaged a bit by cannon fire so I park them in the 3:00 natural to let their shields regenerate before pushing up the ramp. And then I hear the sounds of dark templar attacking my zeals. I beat a hasty retreat back to my natural, pump out a few dtemps of my own and warp in an observatory. Seeing cloaked units just became very important.
Both expansions are in full swing amd I send some dtemps out to keep track of the other expansions. I still pump zeals as I have abundant minerals. I hear the sound of sieging tanks and realise that TomFoolery has dropped a tank and marine squad in the upper plateau of my base (I hate the oval shape of the 10:00 start). I send in a goon to draw the tank’s arc lite cannon fire. A dutiful templar follows with a storm that sends the tank into shrapnel. But Tom micros his M&M squad around and starts to attack my peons. 2 lone photon cannons give him some pause but not before I hear the awful shrieks of probes being sent to Shakuras. In an effort to distract him I send a couple zeals to his wall in and order the other vengeful zealots to end his marine incursion. But not without a loss of probe life for me. I bring two more high temps to my main to defend and place down a couple more cannons. I make sure that they cover the north plateau better this time. Once sieged, twice shy.
My dtemps are under attack at 6:00 and my observer spies another red observer and about 12 enemy zealots. My dark twins are quickly dispatched by the overwhelming ground force. I can't let Grinder get one expansion ahead of me so I send 10 zeals in retaliation and perform a reaver/high temp drop at his 3:00 expansion. All his expansion probes get a rude awakening as do a number of freshly produced goons. I save my shuttle but leave the drop there to distract Grinder as my 10 zeals close to do battle with his 12. 10 vs 12 isn't great odds but I have the upper hand in upgrades and microed this battle better. This is when micro > macro. As the walls of opposing zeals go up on the low ground I command 2 zeals to attack 1 opposing zeal each. I'm left with 3 zeals after Grinder’s final zealot is dispatched… until a reinforcing goon squad marches in. This is when macro > micro...
And I'm under attack in my main base... I quickly pan over and see the shimmer of cloaked wraiths have destroyed a lone cannon and my gas probes. A quick psi storm gives TomFoolery second thoughts and he beats a retreat as reinforcing goons arrive.
I've lost 6:00 now and my observer sees it start to go into production. I bring 2 shuttles over in 2 trips and drop off 3 reavers, 2 templar and 2 zeals. I fry the probes with the blue lightning of death and start popping some defending goons with my reavers. If you can’t get them through the front door make sure you stab them from behind.
End Game:
Back in my second expansion I drop down 4 starports and a fleet beacon. Since I see that Grinder doesn't have any air right now I think it's time to take the upper hand in carriers. My attacking force at 6:00 is repulsed finally but not before I almost take the nexus offline. In the mean time TomFoolery has taken the upper left cliff expansion and has come across Grinder's expansion attempt in the right cliff base. As they war briefly with each other, my carriers and upgrades complete. I send 3 over to level the 6:00 base once in for all with 2 shuttles bringing in goon and zeal ground troops.
A lone arbiter cloaks 3 templar which start to storm my carriers but my observers and focused fire save the day as all my carriers survive, though deeply in the red. My ground troops hold the ramp and I shuttle over a probe and send the carriers back to a shield battery. 3 new carriers join my 3 blimp veterans and they move back to 6:00 to take out Grinder's counter attack. Goons on high ground plus interceptors annihilate Grinder's counter force and leave 3 reavers as easy targets on the low ground. I request a few more carriers and again reaver drop on Grinder's 3:00 expansion. The carriers move in and the 3:00 back is levelled. A quick reaver drop on the right island and Ginder leaves the game.
A wraith fleet descends destroying my shuttle and reavers. I guess Grinder was getting squeezed on both sides. One of the big dangers of FFA games and middle expansions. Everyone wants a piece of you. I queue up a few more observers and see the wraith horde take out my new natural expansion at 8:00. As I'm almost completely mined out except there this is a serious threat. I’ve got ~200 minerals in the bank and only one barely functional expansion as my 8:00 natural was where I maynard transferred most of the probes from my main. 2 newly generated carriers and a psi storm send TomFoolery into retreat but my peon line is eliminated. Feeling the pinch of almost no minerals I transfer a few probes around and add a couple corsairs to my carrier group. I push towards the left cliff expansion of TomFoolery's and move 2 goons and templar underneath for support. In comes the wraith fleet and a ghost lockdown's 2 carriers. Two very lucky storms remove all of the wraiths though and as I add 4 more carriers to my battle group TomFoolery concedes defeat and we exchange good games.
Things Learned:
- FFA's are totally different then 1 vs 1's or melees. You have to stay focused on attack and defence at the same time as you never know when the other opponent will step into the ring and ruin your day. Some times having a good defence helps because it makes the would be attacker look for easier prey (your other opponents).
- Expansions are key. By limiting and removing early expansions you can keep yourself ahead of you opponents both in resources and morale. Choosing expansions is even more important in a FFA game. The more central it is the more likely you're going to be facing off against two (or more) opponents defending it.
| | Battle Shots! | 
Micro takes out macro... well until those reinforcements arrived
Carriers, high ground and better upgrades spell disaster for Grinder's counter attack
3:00 expansion is obliterated. Only about 200 minerals in the bank though...
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