[BW] The Joy of Terran: Spirit of Python

So here I was on the map Python.


This map is probably the most popular map in BW alongside Lost Temple. But there is a secret to this map that not many are familiar. To achieve victory on this place, one must pray to the Gods of the Serpents, asking for cunningness, patience, swiftness, and strength of a python. Without embodying the spirit of python, you cannot win here.

Before the game even began, I felt like I was at a disadvantage. I don’t know anything about my opponent, but I know that my TvP is my bane. But I do not avoid my weakness. I face it like a man in attempts to improve it. I may not have been confident of winning, but I was not scared of losing. No.

So my opponent, vYv.Probe, spawn at 12 as peach protoss, a color that signifies indecision, softness, and weakness.


I, however, spawn at 2 as green terran, a color of life, the color of the serpents!


My first plan was to open up with FD (because that is what I’ve been practicing for a while) and scare him out a bit (lol). But my opponent had the fortune of scouting me on the 1st try, and upon realizing that I didn’t wall in, he sends a zealot to pressure me.

damn it!

I was supply blocked (-_-) and I only had 2 marines at the time, so this zealot was a pain in the butt, which forced me to build a vulture asap rather than adding a machine shop. But once the vulture came out, I easily cleaned up the zealot AND his 2nd zealot



I scouted him last (QQ), but because he made 2 zealots(both of which came into my base) I was able to gain access into his main.

haha!

Like every protoss in this kind of close air position, I saw him putting up a robo on 1 base, probably for a quick reaver.
My scouting scv got in, but my vulture couldn’t as that fat dragoon blocked off the ramp.


I know I said I was doing a FD, but for whatever reason, I put down a 2nd factory, after scouting his robo. (should have just went with FE…)


I know fast reaver counters 2 fac, but this wasn’t even a 2 fac that was aimed at timing push or anything. I was thinking, I’m going to stay defensive with 2 fac (lol), and if I can kill his reaver without taking too much damage, I might be able to get a timing!(wishful thinking…or is it?)
And I indeed find out that he is going reaver with my floating barrack

Yeah I knew it

I’ve lost to reaver on python many times before, too much probably. So I overreact by putting a huge turret wall all around my base, even though I have enough units to defend from 2 factories.


Meanwhile, Protoss takes his natural as he is getting ready to harass with his reaver.


He sees my ring of turret, but for some reason, he decides to force something happen (bad decision)


He loses a shuttle, reaver and 2 zealots. I lose 1 marine.
The scenario that I drew in my head came into reality. (magical!) and I took no time to gather all my troops and move out.

This is e-han timing! I think…

His dragoon forces and my army clashes at the mouth of his natural for some fierce battle!




Probably not the best fight I’ve microed, but in the end, I destroy his army with 1 vulture and 2 tanks to spare with constant reinforcement.
I mine the base of his ramp and begin my strangle hold on him.



Also, I take this time to start my own natural.


I knew I was in a very advantageous spot, and I was in no mood to lose this, I built anything to turn his base into a jail.


His dragoons can only watch in despair as my contain gets tighter and tighter, just like a python strangling its prey.


He tries to break it before it gets too late, but it already is too late.


You know, there is a Terran Pro player called Mind, and he is one of my favorite Terran players (other than Flash of course) Why? Well… because of these games
As you can see, this guy knows the true beauty of Terran: how to make a jail out of his opponent’s base, and this was exactly what I was planning on doing. As time passes by more and more, his base turns more and more into a jail.



He wisely decides that there is no way he can break my contain through the ramp, and ferries his dragoons with 2 shuttles (only to be met with my vultures) I actually should have anticipated this, but I didn’t until my reinforcement vultures met his dragoon.


Back on the ramp, my floating barrack and ebay gives me vision, making his base feel even smaller for him


He knows he has to take an expansion somewhere, and with that abundance of shuttles, he takes the 1 oclock island.


However, I do not give him any breathing room, as I now set up my tanks on top of the ramp to give even more pressure.


Unfortunately for me, his dragoon bombs and splash from my own tanks instantly cleans my two tanks (QQ)


He continues to elevator more troops down to now a sizeable force


I realized that this force of this size can cause some trouble, so I hastily set up some defense both to my natural and the rear end of my contain.



But what this also means is that his base is pretty much undefended, so I send in some vultures, only to find out that he is ALREADY mined out!

probes are imba miners!

I kill several probes before being taken out by his dragoons that are coming out of his gateways, and he ferries all his probes to his island and tries to take another hidden expansion at 8 O’clock main



Only to get caught by my anti-hidden base cops



Knowing that his main has few units, I once again push up his ramp to mount more pressure and attack his gateways.


And once his dragoons retreat further in, I plant mines around his gateways which happens to be magically devastating for Protoss.



Still at 1 mining base and with his attempt to take 8 O'clock failing, he decides that he needs to take 7 O'clock island expansion.


Because I didn’t bother to make dropship, even though I knew he had island expansion, even though I had starport with addon, this was a good choice for him.
But at this point, having a mining bases didn’t matter, for I was about to destroy all his gateways. He needed to do something with his army that was on the ground and he needed to do it now.
His choices were obviously either to attack my natural, or attack the rear end of my contain and try to break it. He chose the former.


But the gap between our wealth was too great for too long; I was already ready to defend my natural.


Once his dragoon turns into blue goo, he leaves without a gg, frustrated to his bones about how I squeezed every air out of his base.

Winning your weakest matchup feels absolutely great, especially when you mount yourself in a dominant position and extend your advantage from there, slowly suffocating your opponent and sucking any hopes of coming back into the game. Even though he didn't gg, this was a gg (for me). Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!