[M] (2) Utopia Planitia

This map is designed to have many options for player's expanding pattern. You can take either of the gold bases as your third or the more standard third. Taking the gold bases come with risks however because they are more out in the middle of the map and all mining can be stopped at the low ground gold base when the cooling towers are destroyed. Half of the mineral patches are blocked when the cooling tower at the high ground gold base is destroyed. Mineral patches are not destroyed when the debris falls, normal mining can continue when the debris is cleared. If you take the normal third then there are three options for the fourth, the two gold bases or the more tucked away option with normal minerals. There are many more possibilities that are not enumerated here. The gold bases offer players an opportunity to gain an economic advantage over a standard three base player with the same number of workers when they are taken as fourth and/or fifth bases. However, doing this requires map control.

Also, the name is not just a Star Trek reference it is a real place on Mars. No copyright infringement here!