The Start of of Ladder Record

Finding a ladder game these days isn't easy. Opening up the ladder games on the list and looking for one to join shows me 4 games to choose from, including one called 2V2 NEWBIES TEMPLE!!!!!. While temped to join that game, I decided to create a game of my own. 1:1 1000+ it would be called. No luck. Brood War Ladder channel. No luck. Upon creating a game once again I am greeted by {X}_Demon. Demon's normal games were 10-0-0 and his ladder games were 0-0-0. This doesn't tell me anything about him, he could be a pro or the biggest comp-bashing BGH whore ever to create a ladder game. Well, you can't be too choosy about your opponents with the ladder in this condition, so I started up the game. I chose Protoss and got the left (9:00) spot, and Demon chose Zerg and got the right (3:00) spot. Armed with a box of Hot-and-Spicy Cheez-Its and a few words of wisdom from Mark4, I begin the game.

Guessing the Tech Choice

Seeing my opponent's selection I decided to go with a standard PvZ build. It went something like this:

8 Pylon
10 Gateway
12 Gateway
13 Zealot
15 Pylon
25 Gas

I scouted with the probe that made the pylon. First I scouted 6:00, then spotted him at 9:00. Scouting his base revealed he went hatchery in the main on about 12, and then gas, then pool. That is a absolute sign of tech. Back at home, my build order is interrupted by a drone building an extractor on my gas. This happened at 16 control. I used my first zealot to attack the extractor and continue to scout Demon's base. I'm determined to find out exactly what he's doing. If he's smart, he'll try to hit me with quick mutas and keep me from expanding. All I know is that my opponent is teching and doesn't want me to get gas any time soon.

My old scouting probe isn't dead, despite several drone attempts by Demon to put an end to him. I have 4 zealots and his pool just finished. I also killed off his offensive extractor and made a gas of my own. Time for some offense. I rally my gateways to just outside my natural, so they can get to his base quickly or defend if needed. The last scouting attempt by my probe reveals 6 lings on the ramp. I never got by his lings to see if he got lair yet, but right now I'm assuming he's teching fast. I've started a cybernetics core back home as I send my 4 zealot force out for an attack. In the middle of the map my Zealots meet 6 lings and tear them apart. Demon tried to run his lings away, but got caught up in some of the structures in the center of the Lost Temple and lost all but one of his lings.

Still unsure about his tech choice, I start a forge and make a pylon at my natural. I don't want to get contained by his tech units and am prepared to turtle up with my natural if I have to. I don't want to get stuck with 1 base. In the center of the map, my zeals meet up with about 8 lings. Whenever a zealot is getting hit by lots of lings, I pull it back and send it right back in. I notice Demon does the same with his lings, once they get damaged he pulls them away and sends them back. My 4 zealots still beat his 8 lings with no losses, and head toward the zerg natural. I meet up with about 10 lings again on the way there. They kill one zealot and pull some obvious delaying moves. Knowing that I won't win this little batlte, I grab my healthiest zealot and send him into the Zerg main in a final desperate attempt to see this guy's tech choice. I see a lair and hydralisk den. Lurkers.

Lurker Soup

All this time, I had been delaying making a citadel until I could see what his tech choice was. Now that I see lurkers, I immediately make a robotics facility. Rather than lose my two remaining zealots I send them back home to my natural, where I now have 2 cannons warping in. As I leave, I catch a glimpse of a hatchery building at his natural. Back at my natural, I'm attacked by 5 lings and 4 hydras, but they are quickly done away with my 3 zealots and 2 cannons. I get an observatory, start +1 weapons upgrade, and a nexus at my natural. I expect that the next attack I see will be a large number of hydras with lurker backup. As my nexus finishes I transfer a dozen probes to it, and start the dragoon range upgrade. I also make a cannon next to my main nexus covering my probe line. I don't want to see any lurkers there. I start a shuttle. I need a clear cut advantage in this game. I plan on cannoning his cliff above his natural Right about now, 15 Hydras and 8 lings attack my 4 zealots, 6 dragoons and 2 cannons at my natural. Demon focusing fire with some hydras to take out cannons and dances around my zealots.The power of the goons and cannons manage to take out his forces, leaving me with 5 dragoons and 1 zealot.

Throughout this attack, I've cannoned my opponent's cliff, far enough away that hydras can't reach it, but close enough to kill a drone that comes to get minerals. I also start a citadel and eventually templar archives. I'm not a big fan of reaver tech, and templars are a univeral counter. As the cannons on the cliff start killing drones, Demon respondes with a universal "=[".

Finishing the Game with a Bang

I start a 3rd and 4th gateway and a 2nd forge as I feel the power of my fully functional expansion. Storm research starts and so does a 5th gateway. I'm starting to get pretty confident that I'm going to win this game. I load a probe into the shuttle and drop him on the 6:00 main, and start a nexus and 2 pylons at the ramp. If I can secure this base, the game will be mine. Just then, about 25 hydras, 2 lurkers and 12 lings attack my 10 goons, 1 zealot and 2 templars at my natural. The templar that is up on the ledge near my ramp lets loose a huge storm, which turned the tides of the battle to my side. I won the battle with 1 zealot, 6 goons and 2 high templars.

I send the zealot to the top start to see if he has expanded. Bingo. A fledgling expansion with 2 hatcheries and 5 drones mining. 4 hydras take care of my zealots and the drones start sunken colonies. 6:00 is fully online with probes transfered from my main, and I now have 8 gateways pumping 1/1 toss ground. I send my ground troops to attack him 12:00 expansion and kill the dozen defending hydras. With that, Demon pulls the plug.

I'm pretty pissed about the disconnection at that point. Luckily it wasn't a double disc, and recorded as a DRAW in my records. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any and all input on my strategies.