"Skill is imbalanced"
-Whoop
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| Death Comes Unexpectedly - Part One | | | Author: | | | IP: | 210-56-9XXXX | | Date: | 02/17/00 11:02 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 9, Min: 9
Lifetime Rating for Carnal XTC: 7.6000 |  |
Battleground: Lost Temple
Contenders: Native Bunz (12:00 Protoss), ShakaZulu (6:00 Terran), Peons of the World Unite! (3:00 Zerg)
Greetings, and welcome to Part One my latest tale of and conflict and conquest. The game started out like any other, but several twists of fate throughout put each player on the verge of victory and well within the reach of Death’s icy grip. Although it was a close match, there would be no prize for second place…
Early Game
 Peon went for his standard issue 2-hatch(to the natural)/early ling build, wary of other expansion attempts. He sent an overlord and 6 early zerglings to the Protoss base in an effort to distract his foe while simultaneously assassinate key structures. Though not as successful as it had been in the past, they managed to kill a zealot or two while buying him the time he needed to get his spire up and running.
Bunz got a gateway and forge, followed by 3 zealots at his choke. Feeling secure enough in his early defense, he got a second gateway and a cybernetics core, going for… Dragoons and Zealots! Once again, Bunz amazes us all with his tactical insight and creative take on the game.
For most of the game, ShakaZulu’s actions remained a mystery to the other 2 players, as they were preoccupied with each other. He got an early barracks and bunker, followed by 2 factories. But I’m not going to spoil the surprise of what was yet to come; when the cat’s away, the mice are at play…
Air? Already?
Indeed, while Bunz was churning out the predictable zealots with a sprinkling of dragoons, Peon had built 2 sunkens, 14 lings, and 3 mutas (with 5 more in the works). Where did the rest of the minerals go? He had discovered that the coveted extra starting spot had not yet been harvested. Just as this new hatchery completed, Peon eyed a large mass of Zealots heading towards his base.
 Sensing a bum-rush, Peon sent his mutas to start hitting the goons with focused fire, meanwhile moving his lings above his sunkens, where they could either lure, block the ramp, or hit the predisposed zealots on their flanks. Unfortunately, the battle was not to be, as Bunz sensed potential loss and scurried back up to his main. With the newly completed 5 mutas (plus the original 3), Peon gave up chase and relocated his strike to the mineral patch of his Protoss foe.
 Bunz brought 3 goons to take on this force, but neglected to focus the firepower on the mutas, unlike his more micro-practiced adversary. In stark contrast, Peon was using hit-trading mutalisk dancing to make the most of his forces. In the end, Peon won out with no losses.
Now Bunz, realizing the folly in his ways, built several cannons within his base, the most immediate of which were disposed of before they could get a shot off. He also began making High Templar, bane of mutalisks the world over. At Peon’s home base, he just kept churning mutas (and drones at the 9:00 expansion).
However, at this point, rather than eliminate the Protoss nexus, he opts for a decisive frontal assault on the 12 zealots at the choke. When asked about this later, he said, “They were bothering me, so I decided to kill them.” This play, however, proved to be the first turning point in the game. He gave his foe just enough time to get the 2 templar that would thwart the attack yet-to-come.
Regardless of the final outcome, the attack was somewhat a success. Peon had intended to use this attack of lings and mutas to take down the choke, providing free entry for whatever ground forces he had. The longer he took in razing the base, the harder it would be to kill ShakaZulu…
The Plot Thickens…
No sooner had he committed to the attack than he saw a mass of purple dots at his main. The mutalisks tore ASS down to the mass. Peon moved his screen to he mass, and upon seeing the 6 Goliaths and 3 siege tanks, the mutalisks tore ASS out of there. In another twist of circumstance, Death turned away from Bunz’s front door, ran across the street and kicked open ShakaZulu’s.
First things first, Peon focus-fired all stationary defenses so that he could minimize the concentration required in the assault. ShakaZulu’s tanks volleyed at the defenses. Next, Peon grabbed his peons in overlords and transported them to the lower right and upper left island expansions. ShakaZulu’s Goliaths shot down some of the overlords while the tanks blasted away at the last remnants of the expansion. The two queens that he had started before the battle finished just in time, managing to elude the Goliaths’ hellfire.
 Meanwhile, back at Shaka’s base, the defenses, supply, and SCV’s had been eliminated. He was now faced with the option of running back to save his base or fighting on in hopes of killing off all buildings first. His decision was to finish off the Zerg main, and hope that it was all he had. One of the finished queens ran down to the mutalisk assault and taught ShakaZulu humility; Within moments of its arrival, Peon was the proud owner of an Infested Command Center.
ShakaZulu had begun his attack on the defenseless hive, targeting surrounding tech structures first. Peon quickly grabbed the probes at his expansion and built a defiler mound, ultra den, and queen’s nest. Not a moment too soon, as the hive fell shortly after, along with the last pieces of ShakaZulu’s main.
The Race with Death
Both foes were now without their main, Death flailing his scythe after them. Peon frantically beat on the defenses, and, upon their disintegration, brought a queen over in hopes of speeding up the destruction – every second would count… He erected hatcheries on the islands, in case something unforeseen should happen.
The Goliaths moved in… The Tanks planted themselves at the ideal range… Peon broodlinged in desperation and – suddenly all was silent, save a beep and three words:
No words can measure the ecstatic joy of Peon. The mutalisks that destroyed the last structure were met as heroes and the prize Command Center landed in the safety of Peon’s newfound home. However, dark fears still lingered; They had won the battle, but the war was far from over…
Lessons Learned:
1. Be agressive; it's rare that someone will attack youwhen you're attacking them.
2. Sometimes they will attack you anyways, and in these cases, you must be prepared with a good defense, lest you fall to the might of a skillful drop/peon raid.
3. It takes minutes to lose it all.
4. Using focused fire and hit-trading will allow you to maximize the effectiveness of your units.
Please join me next episode for Part Two of this game, where Bunz is left to fend for himself versus the damaged Peon. Until then,
--XTC |
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