A SERIOUS GAME (FOR ONCE)
INTRODUCTION:
You know the feeling you get deep down inside when you know you've just played a great game? It's kind of a warm, happy afterglow. The same kind of glow that you feel as you're lying naked in your bed, inhaling that cigarette smoke, knowing that the girl next to you is completely satisfied.
Well, that's how I felt after this game. Even though I stupidly didn't snap any screenshots, I still felt the overwhelming urge to brag about it so here goes...
PREPARING FOR BATTLE:
The map I created this ladder game on was Dire Straits. My soon to be opponent joined the game and immediately chose protoss as his race. I forget his name so from here onward he will be know as Lame Protoss Boy or LPB for short.
Now my theory has always been that when playing against a protoss player on islands you have two basic choices:
1. You can choose protoss and duke it out with goon/reaver drops.
2. You can go random and try to hit him early and hard with whichever race the good lord blesses you with.
I opted to go with option #2.
I crossed my fingers three times as the 5 seconds to game time counted down. As the map centered on my top left starting position, I saw a command center and 4 SCVs. Doh, I got terran.
Thinking quickly, I chose my strategy, wraith containment. My hope was that I could contain LPB long enough with my wraiths to secure an early expansion. I would need to outresource him to win.
My build order was depot, refinery, rax, factory, 2 starports. As soon as the first starport was complete, I immediately started the add on and researched cloak. When I had 4 wraiths at my disposal, I sent them off to the east in search of LPB's main base of operations. I had a dropship queued in one starport and a wraith queued in the other.
My wraiths found the top right corner empty and headed off to the south. Meanwhile, back at my base, my dropship had finished and I loaded it up with 2 marines and 2 SCVs. I flew them over to the top middle expansion island and began a command center and a bunker.
I HATE HOT DOGS!!
My standing forces at my base were 1 wraith and 2 in the queue when the 2 reavers landed right behind my mineral line. That sneaky LPB had found me first and his reavers were beginning to fire deadly scarabs into my SCV line. I quickly ran my SCVs away, then took my lone wraith, right clicked on the first reaver, then shift-right clicked on the second reaver.
Now I was free to micro my counterattack. I hotkeyed over to my 4 wraiths. They were just arriving over the bottom right island. I moved them around to the back side and flew over the mineral line and Voila, there was LPB's probes mining merrily away.
The bottom left section of his mineral line was covered by a cannon. However, the right side of the mineral line was open for assault. In fact, I didn't even have to cloak my wraiths because his only air defense was static.
SHOOT 'EM UP!!
I put my wraiths on hold over his assimilator and the probes that didn't get shot down were forced to evacuate. Feeling comfortable with the pressure I had put on him, I clicked back to my base where the reavers were still sitting in my mineral line firing scarabs at random buildings. My lone wraith had the first reaver in the red and my next 2 wraiths picked that opportune moment to fly out of my starports. Gleefully, I flew my 2 reinforcements over to the reaver attack and quickly finished off the reavers. Then I brought my SCVs, who were still grieving over the losses of their brothers, back to mining.
At that moment, the "Your forces are under attack" alarm sounded and I pushed the spacebar. LPB had managed to warp in a defensive cannon within range of my offensive wraiths while I had been back microing at my base. I quickly hightailed it out of there and was able to escape with all four wraiths alive. As I flew north, my wraiths gathered some useful intelligence. LPB had 2 stargates with the production lights blinking.
Knowing that my wraith containment days were numbered with corsair production starting, I ordered 2 of the SCVs back at my base to start construction on 2 more factories. I also started work on an armory. I produced two more dropships and got my expansion up and running.
I brought my 4 wraiths back to my base where they joined forces with the 3 triumphant wraiths who had saved my base from LPB's reavers. Then I sent them off to check for protoss expansions. I checked the right middle island first, nothing. Then I flew over to the bottom middle island. Jackpot!! The island was inhabited by a lone probe, a warping pylon, and a warping Nexus. LPB immediately cancelled both buildings and I shot up the helpless probe.
I continued flying my wraiths around looking for expansions, but eventually, I got busy microing at my base. I suddenly realized that I hadn't checked the bottom middle island for awhile and I scanned it. Doh! There sat two freshly warped in cannons and 8 corsairs floating over a freshly made Nexus. I was relieved however because gas production hadn't started and there were only 2 probes mining. I was still way ahead on resources with my fully operational expansion. I quickly started a 3rd command center at the south end of my island. I needed to keep ahead in the expansion race.
GOLIATHS IN DA HOUSE
I decided that the time to strike was now. I would hit his main and try to beat him into submission. My strike force consisted of 8 range upgraded goliaths with +1 attack and 7 wraiths.
I dropped my payload on the north end of his base. I attack moved my goliaths south and they ran into four cannons and 2 carriers. Their pathing got confused and they split up into 2 groups of four. They took down a couple of the cannons but couldn't do much more. I tried to take down the carriers with my wraiths but they faced cannon fire and shortly thereafter, 8 corsairs that had been guarding LPB's expansion flew in. 3 out my 7 wraiths escaped and my goliaths were toast.
Luckily my dropships escaped and when they arrived back at my base, there were 12 goliaths standing ready and alert to do my bidding. I don't know how I managed to keep troop production up, but I wasn't complaining. I quickly loaded 12 goliaths into 3 dropships, queued up some more goliaths and wraiths and took my 3 wraiths to escort the 12 goliaths for another assault on LPB's main base. While they flew across the map, I floated my now finished 3rd command center down to the middle left island expansion.
As my 12 goliaths charged into the protoss base, I was delighted to see that LPB had not rebuilt the cannons that I had destroyed on my last visit. With the 12 goliaths, I quickly destroyed the 2 remaining cannons and then ran into his probe line where I started taking out probes.
At that moment, the "Your base is under attack" warning sounded. I looked over and saw 6 carriers attacking my brand new command center at its new post on the middle left island. A few interceptors fired on the command center, but then LPB must have realized that if he didn't hightail it back to his main, he wouldn't have one.
Soon the carriers were back at his main wreaking havok on my spread out goliaths. I wasn't microing them because I was back at my base loading up another payload of 12 goliaths. I escorted them with 6 wraiths. Then I queued up some more goliaths and wraiths.
AN OLD FASHIONED BLIMP BEATING
I landed my 12 new goliaths on the north edge of his island for the 3rd time. Then I scanned his base. He still had 5 carriers and quite a few corsairs, but no cannons. My scan picked up a lone observer sitting a little to the right of his corsairs. I quickly charged my goliaths and wraiths forward, all aiming for that one observer.
As the observer exploded into blue flame, I cheered and then started laying into the carriers. At first, LPB tried to fight off the goliaths with his carriers. However after 2 quickly exploded from cloaked wraith fire, he tried to fly them to the saftey of his expansion where he had some cannons for cloak detection. He never made it, my goliaths and wraiths had a field day popping those blimps 1 by 1 until they were all dead. Most of the corsairs were dead too from random goliath fire.
I then proceeded to raze his main with my goliaths.
He didn't give up though. He still had that bottom middle island. I scanned it and saw that he had almost the entire surface covered with cannons. The only place where cannons didn't cover the island was where the Nexus and 1 lone Stargate sat. I chuckled to myself and quickly built 4 siege tanks. Then I shuttled them over to the middle left island expansion. They seiged up on the south end of the island and started firing over the water at the cannons.
A couple of scans gave the tanks enough sight range to take out most of the cannons on the left side of his island giving my 6 dropships plenty of breathing room to deliver a 24 goliath drop payload on his ass.
When the goliaths landed, he left the game.
Ahh, now that was refreshing!!
/me lights up a cigarette.
Drefsab
Disclaimer: The author of this story does not really smoke. The cigarettes were used for humor purposes only. Any attempt to copy the author of this story could result in bad breath, yellow teeth, and severe lung damage.
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
