"Going all scouts didn't work out. Go fig."
-Bob_the_Newt
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| Fizban_ vs Mark4... Timing Tricks | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 08/08/99 07:08 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 8, Max: 10, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for YourRoleModel: 9.3626 |    |
Prelude:
YourRoleModel... well, I don't know about that. Of five games that I had played last night, all five resulted in big, fat losses. I think my game is improving though.
Kind of depressed, I returned to channel "nohunters" and ran into Fizban_. If you look closely at Fizban's record, you'll deduce that he isn't very good, but if you play Fizban... well, let's just say that the name, PAPA SMURF might have been a better name for this deceptively good player.
Fizban_ asked me if I'd report on one of his games, and I agreed. FIRSTLARRY and Mark4 were potential opponents, but FIRSTLARRY had to go to bed or something, which left Mark4. Wrestler4Life offered to play if Mark4 could not play, and ended up being a second observer. The four of us went off to start the contest.
The Setting:
 Mark4 and Fizban_ ruled out The Found Temple before the game. Somebody had a copy of the Fading Realm for observers, and the opponents agreed to battle there. Apparently, Fizban_ had stomped on Mark4 not unrecently, and various SmAcK was talked in the chat room. Personally, I've lost to both of these players, but I lost to Fizban_ a little more efficiently... therefore, Fizban_ was my pick to win tonight.
Fizban_ started as Terran in the Northwest while Mark4 started as (I'll give you three guesses) Protoss in the Southeast. Although observers are supposed to remain silent, I offered Mark4 the following advice, "Mark4, you should kill the guy who attacks you first!" It seemed like good advice at the time.
Scouting Troubles:
Strangely, neither player went for "two" of their primary troop buildings with a supply building first. Fizban built a Barracks, Depot, Academy, and Refinery, while Mark4 built a Pylon, Gateway, Core and Extractor. Tech anybody?
As Fizban_ paced his Command Center looking for his missing hat, he absentmindedly ordered one of his SCVs, a thrill seeking young man named, Tasselhoff, to go and scout the opposing forces. Tasselhoff journeyed around the map, following the winding, Z path to Mark4's base. When he arrived, he began pocketing information and was caught by a probe.
"But I thought you wanted me to have this information? What did I do wrong?" Tasselhoff exclaimed. While he and the probe scuffled, Tasselhoff heard the strangest sound... the probes were all singing "radio free zerg".
"You aren't going to believe this Fizban_"
Wisely, the probe was ordered back into the mineral line after reducing Tasselhoff's hitpoints to 35, enough that another probe could kill him... a very expert strategy when dealing with a harrassing SCV.
Mark4 also ordered his first zealot to the middle of the map, hoping to intercept the SCV on his way home. Unfortunately for Mark4, this zealot, named SirRobin the Brave, was a little paunchy in the waistline, and neither he, nor his probe companion could catch the fleeing Tasselhoff. Mark4 defended his charge, saying that it was all that "armor" slowing him down... yeah right... armor. Sir Robin continued his chase, while the probe continued singing the praises of Sir Robin the Brave Zealot.
Brave Sir Robin ran into a force of 3 marines, 2 firebats, and a medic, along with Tasselhoff, who turned around to taunt the now cowardly "Zealot" and his probe companion... who was now singing about the cowardly exploits of Sir Robin.
A Matter of Seconds:
Fizban's Mini Pimp Squad consisted of Caramon and Sturm, the Firebats, Tanis, Flint, and Riverwind, the Marines, and Kitara the Medic. Just as it looked like Sir Robin and his bardish probe might reach safety, Fizban_ cast them a "stim" and they overran and killed the two Protoss units. Fizban's forces continued forward into Mark4's base, which was defended by a single Dragoon. The Dragoon ran up to meet them, fired a shot, then retreated. At this point, if Fizban continues after the dragoon with stim, he'll kill it before it can become emersed in the probe line, and he will kill all of Mark4's probes. (The medic and firebats make probe retaliation impossible.) Fizban_ must have sensed a trap though (cannons or more goons maybe?), and he retreated to Mark4's choke and started to bunker him in.
If only Fizban knew that a shuttle and reaver were already in the works, I think he would have continued forward.
 After building a bunker and barracks at Mark4's choke, Fizban's party of warriors skirts the northern fringe of Mark4's base and makes it's way into the Probe line, successfully killing about eight probes before dragoons and the probes themselves win the day. Firebats really kill probes quickly. As successful as this attack was at this point, what if it had come just minutes earlier?
During the attack, Mark4's shuttle and reaver had already flown north to the northcentral part of the Fading Realms. The shuttle hovered there ominously while awaiting further orders from home. The orders were delayed by the Fizban_ attack, but the delay did not prove costly to Mark4.
GOGOGOGO Reaver!
Fizban did see the robotics support bay with his attackers, but probably assumed that the shuttle was still building, with a reaver to follow. Fizban had built a factory, and was frantically building a starport when trouble landed in the form of a Korean-Speaking-Giant-Metal-Pillbug... or if you prefer, a Reaver.
Fizban_ tried to feed the reaver, but he fed it too rapidly.
Mark4's excellent reaver placement, behind the mineral line near a small gap in the center of the crystals, allowed him the protection of the minerals and a way to shoot at the workers or attacking marines. Even when Fizban did successfully approach, the reaver was loaded back into the shuttle and dropped farther away, past some obstacles, like the minerals. The reaver and shuttle had been stripped of their shields, but all of Fizban's reserves were dead. If the SCV's can survive until the wraith pilot arrives, Fizban_ is back in business. SCVs ran like the wind but in the end were caught and killed... just seconds too late, a wraith popped out, which killed the shuttle and reaver.
As always I've used my multi-lingual skills to translate what I could from the Reaver for you, but Korean is a difficult language, and I may have missed a word or two.
Fizban's Alamo:
Tasselhoff and a bunker full of Marines were left with the impossible task of holding Mark4 in his base while Fizban_ rebuilt all of his probes and recovered from missed mining time. Needless to say... even with good micromanagement, this task was impossible.
Mark4 proceded with the devastation of the Terran Base...
Lessons Learned:
A - Timing is everything when good players are involved. You'll notice that one on one matches between the best players are usually short, because good players know how to punish mistakes.
B - If Fizban takes out Mark4's probes early, Mark4 can still reaver drop, but the game remains undecided.
C - I can see things when I watch a game that I can't remember to do when I play the game myself... I guess practice makes perfect.
D - This game wasn't a two hour Free for All, but a game like this has small, subtle moments that have increasing effects over time, and I thought that posting it would be a useful example of the absolute crucialness of timing. Another example of a battle report like this is Maynard vs Boo, by Fuzzy the Bear, on GameGurus.
Watch the minimap battle again!
After the game, Fizban_ told me not to post this, but Mark4 told me to post this game anyway... I felt that the humorous moments and subtle timing issues made this a worthy game, in spite of it's short length. Obviously, I decided to post.
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