"Nice, except for the fact that all you chess pansies are a bunch of map hackers."
-Mark4
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| Rematch on The River Styx | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 11/26/99 09:11 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for SnowSquall: 7.4828 |  | Regular Starcraft
Map: Bridge over the River Styx
The Players
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SnowSquall: Randomed to Terran at the top
Naixyrhp: Randomed to Zerg at the bottom
Pre-Game
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Naix no doubt had a bitter taste in his mouth from the rather one sided rout in the first game. He said he thought he'd played well.. and actually, he did after he let me have my natural. Problem was, that was the game right there. ;)
Anyhow, I selected Styx for the rematch. I dont know about ya'll, but this has got to be my favorite board. I really can't explain why, I just like it. Maybe it's from my old days of being a master at chess - you've got the bottom vs the top, with 2 expansions on each side, and then the middle to control. Too bad Starcraft isn't chess though.
Early Game
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I smiled as I cloned my first 4 scv's to gather minerals. I'm a terran player at heart. It makes me cry to actually have to kill a terran like I did last game. I just hope I don't have to fight another terran. TvT games are such snoozers.
8: Depot
11: Rax
13: Rax
14: Depot
18ish: Rax
21ish: Depot
Thus went the initial build, or very close to that. I placed a bunker right below my CC, and rallied all marines below that. The nice thing about Styx is that you can defend your natural with your main, unlike a map such as temple which is the reverse. More on that later.
My SCV that made the initial depot headed south on the interstate.. a very empty interstate. Not used to that. Reaching the bottom, I saw creep.. and moved in closer to see both a pool and another hatchery morphing. Having got all the recon I need (I'm very safe at home for a while), I have the SCV go over to the natural, and hide underneath a tree behind the minerals - blending in on both the map and the minimap.
I keep pumping SCV's and depots and when I save up 400, I start a CC at my natural. That's right kiddies, another early expansion. It's safe until the zerg can drop it..muties aren't really a concern with marines around. About a half minute after I start the CC, I can barely see a hatchery starting at Naix's natural.
An academy and engineering bay are constucted, followed shortly by a 4th barracks. Stim and weapons upgrade are researching, and my expansion CC has completed and I maynard 8 SCV's over while building more from both CC's. I build a barracks at my expansion, and use it to fill up 2 bunkers covering my minerals there. Shortly after I add two turrets as well. Comsats are added on to both, and I scan the zerg main... seeing a hydra den, a morphing lair, and maybe a dozen hydralisks standing around. It looks awfully bare, if you ask me.
So I round up 2 control groups of marines, and head on down. Unfortunately the wonderful pathing of attack-move sends about half down each of the 2 main bridges. I'm cursing because I run into about 6 hydras halfway down the right bridge, and my other dozen marines dont make it over there to support until the original dozen have died. Sigh. Why can't they just follow directions?
Just as I had moved them out, I was greeted by:
Naixyrhp: So, finally attacking me, eh?
(after I moved the stragglers back)
Naixyrhp: Yeah, that's right, go on back. ;)
Middle Game
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This reminded me I should be teching, so I started a factory.. added a machine shop, researched seige mode, and I made 3 tanks in succession. One headed over to my natural, another behind my bunker at my main, and another was going to accompany another 24 marines down the left ramp -- but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd put down a starport during that time, and made a wraith, and found his prying overlord and almost had it killed before a dozen hydras came up and blew the wraith out of the sky before I could retreat it. This was right at the 2nd natural of mine on the right side of the map just above the right bridge.
Meanwhile my 4 raxes are constantly pumping marines, and as I start a science faciilty, I add another engineering bay. When it completes, I have both upgrading, and continue to do so the remainder of the game. I research irradiate and begin construction of a science vessel.
Now back to those 24 marines and the lone tank -- which are headed down that left ramp. Why's that? Because I scanned his second natural and saw an expansion that had just got underway. By the time I got there, 3 sunkens had pushed the creep quite a ways father out than it had been. So I obliged by seiging the tank and slowing pushing in. Naix apparently had switched to zerglings for a while, as hoardes of them were coming in.. but 2 dozen 1/1 marines make quick work of them. I continue my slow push into the base, tearing down the hatchery, and managing to pick off some drones that weren't able to flee in time.
I pause to regroup and attend to matters at home, as about 2 dozen hydras/lings were streaming toward my main. It's a good thing I've become much better at producing troops and rallying them while I'm attacking someplace else, because I had another 2 dozen marines standing around with a tank to support them. He's able to kill most of my standing forces but ultimately, the tank punishes him.
Right after that my little sortie at his 2nd natural is interrupted rather rudely by half a dozen guardians! Doh! I retreat my tank all the way back to my main while my marines slowly retreat as I bring 3 wraiths and a SV down. I irradiate one guardians that's clumped with 2 others, but the other 3 are spaced apart nicely. Meanwhile my wraiths cloak and dive in for the kill, but overlords are nearby and more hydras chase my wraiths away after popping 2 more guardians. I stim my marines and charge in and pop 2 more.. leaving one wounded one left.
I pause again to regroup, and add a physics lab to my sci facility, and up my starport count to 3, and add 2 armories as well, and begin upgrading both weapons and armor on ships. Once the lab addon completes, 3 battlecruisers begin, with yamato researching. I have 2 SV's, and scanning at the bottom end of the right bridge, I see a couple of queens. I shift-queue an irridiate from each SV, and get back to the business of starting a new base, at my 2nd natural on the right side.
Marines are 2/2 at this point. I build a bunker and move a tank down to support the CC that's in the process of being built, but a veritable string of lings stream in, and force me to cancel the CC before I can get the rest of my marines down there to squash them. I start making 1 firebat for every 3 marines now.
I restart the CC there, and this time I'm able to complete it in peace. It's up and running almost instantly since my main is now mined out and I use those SCVs. 3 BC's have completed, and I immediately start 3 more. I like the idea of BC's on Styx because they can kill hydra's much more efficiently on the bridges than marines can. Plus, Naix had shown several queens, and I figured my tanks would be broodling bait.
Slowly but surely 3 more BC's complete and join the other 3 at my 2nd natural. I'm scouting around with my original squadron of 8 wraiths, and find 2 hatches in the center, one mining minerals, and one mining gas. The one mining gas is unprotected at this point, so I cloak the wraiths and move in, picking off the drones and working on the hatchery. Many more hydras stream in with overlords for detection and force me to back off. I now send the 6 cruisers down with 2 dozen marines and firebats along for the ride. As I reach halfway down the right bridge, I run into his mineral only hatch which is protected by 2 spores, a sunken, and a veritable swarm of lings and maybe a dozen hydras. I yamato the spores and move in with the marines, which engage the hydras and lings.... and proceed to be nullified as 2 dark swarms are cast. Panicking, I retreat my cruisers, fearing a plague at this point, and my marines meet a gruesome death under the swarm. Fortunately the firebats that came along proved to be VERY useful, killing more than their fair share of zerglings.
Ding.. ding. That's the sounds of the marines and firebats hitting 3/3. Meanwhile the cruisers are 1/1 and halfway on the way to 2/2, and 3 more are building. I scan and locate the burrowed defilers, and irradiate 2 of them, and then move in a pack of 12 firebats backed up with 12 more marines. More dark swarm is casted, marines and firebats are ensnared, and when the cloud settles, hardly a hydra or zergling is left when my last infantry unit falls.
This however was a diversion as 2 more control groups of assorted infantry went down the left ramp and abruptly stopped Naix's expansion at his 2nd natural which he had just got underway again.
Late Game
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He's still holding the center more or less, but he's paying a terrible toll in resources for it. Most of the fighting has been on his ground, and I intend on keeping it that way. Those infantry units at Naix's 2nd natural tried to press into his main, but were ensnared and finally taken down by a few hydras and another group of cracklings.
Naix decided he had to do something about the initiative, and started pushing up the right side of the ramp. Dark swarms were placed over my bunker, and ahead of it as well, and zerglings moved in for the kill. The 2 tanks I had stationed behind the bunkers still were able to kill lings under the swarm via splash damage, and in a rare fit of intelligence, I'd filled that bunker with 4 firebats. I also had more firebats standing around, as I figured that my 6 cruisers (with 3 more just completed and about to join them) could help handle any hydras. The lings just keep coming and the bunker finally falls as do all the firebats.. and the tanks... and then the swarm drops and the cruisers are able to repel the lings before any serious damage is done to my mining SCV's. I note with just a touch of concern that I've probably mined 2/3rds of the minerals out, and that's my only resource spot left.
I'm really hoping that Naix is hurting for resources more than I am now, though.
I begin another push down the right bridge where he had attempted to restart his hatcheries and resource gathering. Yet more swarm follows as my cruisers move in, but I'm able to pick my spots with cruisers, and I'm not confined to the bridges like marines are. I once again yamato the defensive colonies, and finally, I'm able to break through with more firebats and marines and take control of the center resources. Just as the last few hydras fall, Naix hits my clustered cruisers with a perfectly placed plague. #$)(#*$)(*!
The cruisers retreat to my 2nd natural and with all of my remaining SCV's there, are able to be repaired in short order. I immediately start a new CC in the center by one of the mineral-only spots, and when it completely, the rest of my SCV's head down to mine.
I scan around, irradiate a few scattered queens and defilers, and head back down with my cruisers on the right bridge, while more assorted infantry go down the left bridge. The cruisers successfully engage more clusters of hydras, and defilers are quickly assassinated by my squadron of wraiths that are still hanging around. The infanty actually meets its end by Naix's main, as liberal use of ensnare is enough to let cracklings and hydras overwhelm them, but as the infantry falls and my 9 cruisers approach (picking off a few drones that were trying to distance mine the lower center resource patch - cute) Naix shares this:
Naixyrhp: I'm tapped out.
Naixyrhp: 28/1273
And thus concludes a very thrilling game that was up in the air until almost the very end. I had mined out my main 3 bases, and Naix had mined out 2 of his and almost had mined out the 2nd natural before I had managed to shut it down. The center patches were also halfway mined.
Very well played on his end.. espcially the excellant use of queens and defilers. I won this one solely because I was able to barely keep up with unit production.. although I never really play that smoothly, I kept my mistakes relatively minor. Naix also kept up with unit production and supported them nicely. He also upgraded them to match mine, as at the end, all units were 3/3.
Lessons learned
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--BC's on Styx really kick some ass, since they can pick their spot to engage hydras. Keeping in mind this is regular SC.
--4 firebats in a bunker > attempt to break through choke via darkswarm. I think he was suprised to see that, and the firebats surrounding the bunker. Definitely not cost effective for him.
--Need to watch more carefully when I send units off on an attack on Styx. They love to split and go across both bridges...
--Early expand seems to be a no brainer on this map as long as you keep scouting units from getting past your main...
--I was outresourced as you'll see, but I picked my fights wisely. On such a narrow choke-filled map like this, fighting in the right spots saved me a lot of units. THEN I could throw them away against expansions. The times where I lost badly was when I tried to push down the right bridge, because he had the choke advantage. Eventually I just forced him to come to me and emerge from the choke, or I would have just yamato'ed everything.
--Damn, BC's are nice to use again. No devourers to worry about. :)
| | Battle Shots! | 
The SCV hiding in terror.. but lived to tell the story!
Oh, did I mention I was going to BR this...?
I lied. SCV's reparing the BC's after being plagued. You'll noticed I'd just mined out that base and was starting the one I secured in the center.
Bad drones! No distance mining for you!
Outresourced.. but in control of the game with smart attacks.
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