"Taking 12:00 was an ethically clean question. The zerg were going to get theirs as well. "
-Heartcutter
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| ScoutCraft is NOT dead! | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 07/10/99 11:07 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for .Praetor: 8.2987 |  | During a discussion on Shockwave's forum, Hooman was wanting to know how to assault a Protoss island defended by cannons and templar. I replied that it is simple with some d-webs, and a goodly number of scouts to kill the templar and dodge storms.
I was joining a ladder FFA on temple, and the other players all chose Protoss. I had one thought:
Carrier Rush.
Carrier Rush.
Carrier Rush.
Map: Temple.
Red Protoss, Right starting position (chosen).
White Protoss, Left starting position (chosen).
Blue Protoss, Bottom starting position (chosen).
Me, .Praetor, Protoss, Top starting position (random).
Now what beats carriers? Right. I had an epiphany. If corsair and scouts did well on Protoss islands, why not in a major Protoss game? So, from the beginning, I was aiming at one thing: SCOUTS!!
Yes, I was playing Brood War.
Knowing it was an FFA, I started out with my usual cannons-first double nexus strategy.
Yes, I was at the 12:00 start position.
True, it is possible for the enemy to run past your cannons, but only if they are willing to take significant potshots. Besides, I'm a betting man. So, I do my normal four cannon, 17 probe start. For the 12 o'clock position, that means putting a pylon at the FAR edge of your plateau, in the nice plyon-sized space availiable there. The first two cannons go right next to the pylon, and on the other side of the ramp, making a passage space available. The other cannons go on the small passageway to the natural. There is just room from the pylon. The first cannon hugs the cliff, and the other one is a single spot behind, making them look diagonal.
When I have 17 probes, that's a lot for eight mineral patches. Soon, I have 400 minerals, and I start another nexus. My nexus probe goes out scouting, and I take one of minerals to create a pylon. While that pylon is warping, I build two assimilators. When they are done, I take 4 off my main's minerals and put them off gas. I start a gateway. Fo the next while I pump probes from two nexi, and start a core.
My scouting probe finds that neither red nor white have started at their natual, they both have some zealots, and a cannon by their main nexus. White also had some goons, red more zealots. Red finds my base, and deduces a carrier rush. I found that humourous.
Blue, for a wonder, is even MORE spread out than I am. He has four spaced cannons covering the entrace to his mineral only and natual patches.
When my core is done, I start a citadel, and another gateway. I continue to pump probes. Before the citadel is done, I start a robo factory, and another pylon. I put a few cannons by my main nexus, and eventually get a spread out line in front of my tech. This is more for observer, detecion reasons than for any real expectation a cannon wall could stop an attack. WHen my citadel is done, I start an archives. When my robo fac is done, I start an observatory and a shuttle. I start on the air attack upgrade at the core. Having alot of minerals after I start the storm upgrade and four templar, I also queue up some zealots and load up two probes into my shuttle. One shuttle goes to the cliff by my natural, where I start a pylon and get three cannons soon. I take my other probe to the top left island, and start a nexus and five pylons. When the pylons are done, I do the standard cannon ring, and also two cannons on the inside, to prevent against a reaver in a shuttle accompnied by hallucinations. You'd be amazed how well that can work. At my main, I have four templar, I send two to my natural, shuttle two to my island, and call up 4 more templar - one dark. I also get two observers, research the obs technology, and queue two more zealots.
Whew. Now I start my first Stargate, for my eventual master plan. I set my observers to find out stuff, starting with the other island. It is occupied by red. Another observer sees a cannon wall at red, and a natural starting. An attempt at cannoning the ridge is cut off by six advancing dragoons from white who shoot down my shuttle. Another observer stands by Red's mineral natural, and my Dark Templar patrols between my mineral natural, and White's in the south.
I have four stargates, four corsair. I start a fleet beacon, and start SCOUT production. I start two more stargates. It's amazing, but the money isn't going down the drain.
=)
I have the second level upgrade on all air-related stuff (including sheilds), d-web researched, and both scout upgrades at the fleet beacon. When I have enough, I take twelve corsair, twelve scouts, and two observers outside the red island, shooting down a white observer. I d-web the cannons, shoot up a few templar, and tear up in general.
Textbook Praetorian island strategy vs Toss. Red does sneak in another shuttle of templar, but I dodge their storms, shoot them, and patrol my corsair above the island. Things are looking good =).
Unfortunately, White has decided to take advantage of my main force's absence. He brings up what looks like 12 arbiters, but are reduced to three with a single storm. His arbiters detour from the storm, luckily for me, and three recalls are done in quick succession. I am cool, calm, and knowledgable that this could be the end. I double click on my templar, and let my three cannons in range die quick, noble deaths. White has brought in at least 24 goons, probably more.
Textbook Psi-Storm abuse. I have the three templar selected, and storm in three places, spread apart. Right over the center of the three recalls.
=)
Storm Storm Storm
Storm Storm Storm
Storm Storm (already got rid of hallucinated arbiters)
Goon blood made a small lake. I took the eight scouts sitting by my gates and killed the arbiters. My zealots stopped running now, and finished off the goons with my scouts.
Total losses? Three cannons, eight zealots.
Enemy? Over two control groups of goons, three arbiters, pride.
Think about it. Mass goon player loses to scout player. Muahaha. White surrenders.
When I have two arbiters, two control groups of scouts, and a control group of corsair, I mop up red, starting with his natural expansion. I d-web cannons nearby, stasised two templar, assassinated two templar, and razed the base. At one point he tried to intervene with carriers. Six carriers.
Hehe.
I lose one scout.
To un-dwebbed cannons.
I have to wait one time to kill a group of cannons, 'cause I'm out of d-web energy. Then I just send up the scouts and show him why cannon walls don't work. Even without d-web.
When half his base is gone, Red surrenders.
I replenish my losses, with the exception of one arbiter, and start an expansion at my min-only natural, sending excess probes there. I wait a bit, and I have 200 supply, much of it now in zealots, and have fully upgraded air.
I attack blue from the side, to avoid his thickest cannons.
When a sufficient hole in Blue's cannon wall is breached, he sallies out with his corsair, a full control group. I let them engage my corsair, who shred the enemy due to massive upgrade advantages.
Hehe.
I waltz into the rest of his base, killing cannons and waiting for d-web. He sends almost twenty zealots at my mineral only expansion. They die to cannons, a storm from my ridge, cannons behind my probe line (in case of drop, one at that sweet spot behind the minerals, and two on the other side of the nexus. I also sent in several zealots to clean up. My zealots then continued to blue's mineral only expasion.
They didn't do too well.
My scouts finished up though. It was textbook. D-web cannons, advance, kill templar, kill d-webbed cannons, kill stray un-dwebbed cannons, d-web next group of cannons.
Repeat as necessary.
Blue actually did the best storming against me, killing two scouts and heavily damaging several others. I sent my scouts to my sheild batteries at home
=)
After one hidden pylon, and an attempted expansion at white's old natural, blue was eliminated, and my scouts stood victorious.
One note: Mass wraiths often work for me as well, but that is much different from mass scouts. If anything, scouts are much like that old muta horde. Unlike wraith, which have a similar ground attack, but are expendable, the scouts just keep building and building up, until they get to that unbeatable critical mass.
Course I did get lucky vs the goons. If they had landed elsewhere, the slaughter would have been lessened. I still would have probably d-webbed most of my base and taken em out with scouts and storms anyway (add in a stasis or two).
Long live the SCOUT (vs Toss anyway)!!!
.Praetor
www.sclegacy.com/phoenix/ |
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