As promised in my previous blog, here is the game that got me to C! (technically I'd achieved it on one of my alternate accounts but because the game that got C on that one was pretty boring...)

AIV_Funnytoss vs Kaneqqqq, C- level PvZ on Fighting Spirit!

I hadn't realized this until the game was over, but I'd actually lost horribly to this guy a few days ago on Heartbreak Ridge, which made victory all the sweeter. Of course, I feel the map played a big deal in it but I'm not going to let that stop me from getting all conceited here.

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I hate it when I scout him late and go forge first against 12 hatch -_-

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Clearly not a Bisu probe. This game is off to an excellent start! For the Zerg, that is...

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I go for my standard +1 speedlot continuous sair pump build, courtesy of this wonderful thread, except somehow, I forget to get legs. Well, this should end well.

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BW rule of thumb: expand while attacking! ... FUCK! Sneaky lings delaying my third!

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And yes, 8 minutes into the game, I realize that I didn't actually start legs. For those of you who aren't aware of this, a +1 speedlot timing attack should have legs completed at around 7 minutes or so. Still, a crapload of +1 slowlots is still somewhat intimidating, I hope.

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Time to take my 3rd... oh shit, stooooorm!

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Having emerged from the latest skirmish victoriously, I bring my Protoss deathball towards his 3rd, feeling like Bisu. Doesn't he stay on two bases for awhile, being aggressive with his army?

That's right, I learn from the best. Expand while attacking!

... that purple blob at top right doesn't look promising.

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Goddamnit, not again! more than 11 minutes into the game and I still can't get my 3rd up.

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I must admit, that is a fairly formidable looking simcity. But screw it, I'm already behind, time to break down that wall! (as it turns out, he was in the process of researching lurker aspect mwa ha ha)

Given his superior economy, one would have expected his reinforcements to swoop in and sandwich my army horribly... but why isn't that happening?

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HERO ZEALOT BLOCKING THE RAMP YEAHHH YOUR DEATH SHALL NOT BE IN VAIN. COME BACK AS A DRAGOON STOIC ONE.

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Having taken down the 4th and one of the hatcheries at the 3rd, what's left of my deathball prepares to meet a gruesome, but honorable death.

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... I HATE when that happens. Now almost 13 minutes into the game, I have had my 3rd denied 3 times. Like a dumbass, I keep sending probes one at a time to their deaths, when a single zealot would have solved the problem easily. For those of you who are intimidated by C- players, here's proof that you shouldn't be: we're still fucking terrible.

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At last I decide to leave a third of my army above the ramp to defend my warping third... how does one hold a ramp against mass hydraling? STORRRRRMS (it was pretty much a couple zealots, 3 dragoons, and 3 HT with two storms each.

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Defiler mound 14 minutes into the game, and I haven't even started my 3rd gas yet. Thankfully, he's pretty much on 2 gas as well, since my previous push was fairly successful.

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Hero zealots deny his third and finish off the wounded hatchery! We seem to be on equal economic footing.

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Are you fucking kidding me? How the hell am I so bad?

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Hero shuttle and zealots move in to deny another base! Unfortunately, they are repelled by swift lurkerling reinforcements before they can take down the hatchery.

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Great, now it's never going down. For the terrible Protoss player, sunken/spore/lurk is as formidable as a 200/200 tank line.

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... isn't it possible to block a backward ramp with a single DT? Perhaps, but clearly I have no idea how to do so.

Lurkers under swarm are pretty much unkillable without reavers and HT, which I have very little of in this convenient location, as I didn't take my 3rd gas until like FOURTEEN MINUTES into the game.

When in doubt (and ideally, quite frustrated), COUNTER! The only positive thing about Dark Swarm is that it's pretty much a huge STORM HERE signal.

Also, mandatory PLAYGUUUUUU

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On paper, a lot of Brood War spells really are ridiculously overpowered. OK, actually Dark Swarm is really dope. What you see here is my 140 supply army reduced to pretty much 7-8 zealots fighting, goons and archons effectively putting up a pretty, but worthless firework show.

But harken! I begin a sneaky 4th at the bottom left! Expanding while attacking, that's right.

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I am forced to beat a quick retreat home, as all I have left are a few Archons in very low health, and a control group of dragoons. At least one thing I have going for me at this point is that I've been quite ahead in upgrades for most of the game - at 20 minutes, he hasn't caught up with +3 carapace yet...

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-cause he's been spending his gas on stuff like drop! Losing your main as a Protoss is a royal pain in the ass because you have to rebuild all those gateways and tech -___-

Zerg just needs to build one puny spawning pool or something to get back into business. Wait... do I catch myself... whining about racial balance? Curses, it must be the SC2 player in me.

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Screw it. When in doubt, counter! It helps when all he has for defense is a single lurker.

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The Zerg somehow spares my tech. "AM I NOT MERCIFUL?" Indeed you are Emperor, but I shall make you pay for your generosity and kindness.

Like I said, C- players are terrible.

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Using the same Overlords and units that trashed all the gateways in my main, he now goes for my 3rd! This cannot stand, zealots to the rescue!

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Conveniently, I lost all my Corsairs earlier and so this defiler lives to fight another day.

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Every smart Protoss creates a strong simcity in the late game. I recall Frozen Arbiter (or some other good player) writing a PvZ guide about that. What could go wrong?

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Oh. That. Stifled by my own wall-in!

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Thankfully, we're both pretty poor at this point and he doesn't have a lot of units in his doom drop. Also, he loses pretty much all of the overlords he used for the drop, hence the supply count.

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... you think I'd learn.

He does forget to target the Nexus though, which is a mistake that will cost him dearly.

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I knew that cannon spam would come in handy!

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When in doubt, STORM!

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Storm in BW is so awesome.

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The shuttle deposits a pair of ninja to dispatch the morphing hatchery at the top right! If I can take this down the game is as good as mine...

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In hindsight, only bringing 2 DTs in that shuttle was a mistake.

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Have no fear, expensive blue ball of death is here!

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He lives!

After I take out the nat of this base, he makes one last ditch effort to take out my army, but i's too little, too late, and he GGs shortly afterwards.

Wow. A ridiculous amount of images as always. I hope you enjoyed this low level battle report, and that it inspires you to get on iCCup and start laddering!

gl hf!

Headshot

United States1656 Posts

May 01 2011 13:45 GMT

Awesome write-up!

metzninja

New Zealand626 Posts

May 01 2011 13:51 GMT

Grats getting to C! Loved the write up and pictures, looks great.

Kiante

Australia7069 Posts

May 01 2011 15:10 GMT

love it

nice game. lol @ the third dying so many times. The amount of times i lose games because i end up being mined out and my third has been denied 15 times is just silly D:

grats on c!

MiraKul

Malaysia498 Posts

May 01 2011 15:30 GMT

..whining about racial balance? Curses, it must be the SC2 player in me.

LOLOLOL'd. :D :D

Nice BR! Why dont you get 3rd at 6 o'clock? That way you only need to guard 1 ramp instead of 2 at 3.

infinity2k9

United Kingdom2397 Posts

May 01 2011 16:14 GMT

Looks like a good game, PvZ is a matchup i really need to play more myself. PvT is soooo much easier. I also have trouble taking my 3rd, i was thinking maybe a defensive reaver build might be good to try in future for this though.

2Pacalypse-

Croatia9517 Posts

May 01 2011 16:28 GMT

Good game!

The only positive thing about Dark Swarm is that it's pretty much a huge STORM HERE signal.

lol this is so true.

Conversion

United States3308 Posts

May 01 2011 18:51 GMT

time to spam dark swarm so tosses waste their storms

:D ...

and denying a protoss' third is all fun and games until they roll you with a 2 base deathball T__T

endy

Switzerland8970 Posts

May 01 2011 19:11 GMT

Nice game ! But how come that wasn't over after you broke his nat ? Even with the battle report it's hard to understand :D

Cracklings are so imba

Stratoss

Czech Republic129 Posts

May 01 2011 19:22 GMT

#10

Haha awesome and enjoyable. I'm look forward to reading some more.

Funnytoss

Taiwan1471 Posts

May 02 2011 14:12 GMT

#11

Nice BR! Why dont you get 3rd at 6 o'clock? That way you only need to guard 1 ramp instead of 2 at 3.

That would definitely be the smart thing to do, but I have this problem of being unable to think as logically in game compared to afterwards. Once that first probe was killed I was annoyed and immediately sent a probe to the 3 o'clock position since I was too lazy to wait until the ling was killed at 6 to try for another attempt.

Nice game ! But how come that wasn't over after you broke his nat ? Even with the battle report it's hard to understand :D

Yea, that's the hard thing about a battle report, trying to decide which parts of the game are worth reporting and which parts you can skip, because you can easily go to 100+ images for a midlength game if you go too deep into detail. Maybe I should upload the replay too.

I never actually broke his nat - I was only able to destroy his 3rd and 4th (which hadn't really been mining yet. I lost my entire army in doing so and I was starting to run low in my main and nat so I wasn't comfortable moving out with a small army to try and go for the kill, deciding instead to play it safe and secure some expansions, since I knew we were both on two bases for the time being.

Kar98

Australia924 Posts

May 02 2011 14:31 GMT

#12

Even though I don't follow BW this was interesting to read

Crais

Canada2136 Posts

May 02 2011 14:55 GMT

#13

Great battle report

You're a good writer, had me laughing my ass off at you trying to take your third

Edit: Also grats on C !!

MiraKul

Malaysia498 Posts

May 02 2011 19:32 GMT

#14

On May 02 2011 23:12 Funnytoss wrote:

Show nested quote +

Cool. Thanks again. I learned something from your BR. "+1speedlots timing should be around 7th min mark." :D

Funnytoss

Taiwan1471 Posts

May 03 2011 00:55 GMT

#15

On May 03 2011 04:32 MiraKul wrote:

Show nested quote +

Cool. Thanks again. I learned something from your BR. "+1speedlots timing should be around 7th min mark." :D

Yeah, if you use the +1 speedlot dual stargate build you can move out with 9 +1 speedlots at 7 minutes, with two sairs building. If it's the "New Bisu Build", you have one or two fewer zealots but a few more corsairs.