EPTI am here today to hopefully convince you that in PvT the Oracle isn't just a SCV killing glass cannon to be made and thrown away once Turrets are in place.
Lets start by stating that I am a Masters level Protoss player on the EU server, around 1.2k points, don't let that discourage you about my credibility though as I am returning from a long SC2 break and am yet to climb back up to my normal top 8 spot.
How it all began
I like many Protoss players discovered early on that Oracles are pretty damn good against Marines and SCVs to the point in which they can be rushed out safely and do significant damage. At first I did what we all likely did, killed everything we could and followed up with an all in to take advantage of their pain and suffering with some Voidrays mixed in; But that got boring, I don't like to all in, I also don't like throwing away expensive units.
So I started to play around with building not just 1 Oracle, but 3-4 (normally 4 but we'll get into that later). As we also all discovered, when an Oracle is on the field, Terran players do not like leaving their base until it can be deflected entirely, so how do you think they feel about 3-4 of them roaming around? Normally, fairly damn terrified, and with good reason.
This was my first experimentation with it;
http://drop.sc/349207
As you can see its very poor macro and poorly executed but it was my building point that I developed it from being an all in, seeing its true potential to then find its long term use.
I used to be one of the possibly few Protoss players who simply could not do PvT, even in WoL, I just could not get my head round it and would always struggle, but thanks to this build it has become by far my strongest match up.
What your Oracles are doing
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First off, this is best done with a Proxied Stargate. It doesn't have to be, but it keeps it safe from being scouted by a Reaper. Don't just proxy this in the most efficient places, they're too obvious and are checked almost every time, bring that Proxy back a bit, perhaps nearer to your 4th, somewhere that if scouted, your Stalkers can get over there to stop that Pylon going down. However the main thing is: keep it hidden- make sure you have a straight line to their Main. (Check replays at the end for a better idea of where to place the proxy, or use what you prefer).
I am starting with this instead of the build order for one reason, it is important to know why, before you know how.
Now. The aim of this build is to keep Terran in their base for as long as humanly possible.
To do this you are flying your Oracles around getting them into every spot possible that they can do damage, (Remember to keep an eye out for those Widow Mine shadows though, they one shot Oracles and we don't want this to happen even once if avoidable)
Lets first discuss what we're doing with our Oracles before we look at the population build order.
Your first Oracle bee-lines straight for their mineral line and does whatever damage it possibly can killing as many SCVs as possible. Bring her back out and your second Oracle should meet up with her, fly her in see what else you can do but be careful, they're on alert, however they may be relaxed as your energy should be spent so are not expecting a second in which you can kill more SCVs or even stray Marines (Do not engage a pack of more than 5 Marines), bring her out, your third should now be here. By this point, unless your opponent is completely in shambles, you shouldn't be able to get into any more mineral lines, you can pick off SCVs on the gas if you're feeling up for it and there is no Widow Mine in place of course, do this until your 4th Oracle turns up, this is where the true fun begins.
You now have 4 Oracles, best thing to do... Fly right up to that tech lab which is researching Stimpack, if its undefended, focus it, kill it, give yourself 3 more minutes of breathing room, do this more than once if possible, but do not needlessly throw your Oracles away. That reactor on the Starport/Barracks which is a bit under defended, better focus that down to. You are literally just putting out damage wherever you can whenever you can.
But wait, there is more, Oracles have more than just an attack, they also have my favourite ability of all, Revelation, this handy little spell as we are all aware reveals their units location for one whole minute, you have 4 Oracles, you have energy to spare, so why not keep this active at all times, just fly one in safely pop it down and fly off. This, in my opinion is far superior than Observers which, against good Terrans get spotted and scanned very quickly. With this constant vision of the Terrans units and Medivacs, how will they ever be able to move out or drop you without you knowing about it instantly? simple answer is, they cannot. No more pesky drops catching you off guard, no more looking away for a second to warp in and being over run, you have complete vision of their army and there is nothing they can do about it.
What does this mean then? Be greedy, be as greedy as you've always wanted to be. You killed their almost completed Stimpack, which had to be restarted, you've damaged their economy, you've got complete constant vision of their army, what more could you possibly want in a PvT except the screams of Ghosts as they're killed, which is sure to come later in the match anyway.
I am starting with this instead of the build order for one reason, it is important to know why, before you know how.
Now. The aim of this build is to keep Terran in their base for as long as humanly possible.
To do this you are flying your Oracles around getting them into every spot possible that they can do damage, (Remember to keep an eye out for those Widow Mine shadows though, they one shot Oracles and we don't want this to happen even once if avoidable)
Lets first discuss what we're doing with our Oracles before we look at the population build order.
Your first Oracle bee-lines straight for their mineral line and does whatever damage it possibly can killing as many SCVs as possible. Bring her back out and your second Oracle should meet up with her, fly her in see what else you can do but be careful, they're on alert, however they may be relaxed as your energy should be spent so are not expecting a second in which you can kill more SCVs or even stray Marines (Do not engage a pack of more than 5 Marines), bring her out, your third should now be here. By this point, unless your opponent is completely in shambles, you shouldn't be able to get into any more mineral lines, you can pick off SCVs on the gas if you're feeling up for it and there is no Widow Mine in place of course, do this until your 4th Oracle turns up, this is where the true fun begins.
You now have 4 Oracles, best thing to do... Fly right up to that tech lab which is researching Stimpack, if its undefended, focus it, kill it, give yourself 3 more minutes of breathing room, do this more than once if possible, but do not needlessly throw your Oracles away. That reactor on the Starport/Barracks which is a bit under defended, better focus that down to. You are literally just putting out damage wherever you can whenever you can.
But wait, there is more, Oracles have more than just an attack, they also have my favourite ability of all, Revelation, this handy little spell as we are all aware reveals their units location for one whole minute, you have 4 Oracles, you have energy to spare, so why not keep this active at all times, just fly one in safely pop it down and fly off. This, in my opinion is far superior than Observers which, against good Terrans get spotted and scanned very quickly. With this constant vision of the Terrans units and Medivacs, how will they ever be able to move out or drop you without you knowing about it instantly? simple answer is, they cannot. No more pesky drops catching you off guard, no more looking away for a second to warp in and being over run, you have complete vision of their army and there is nothing they can do about it.
What does this mean then? Be greedy, be as greedy as you've always wanted to be. You killed their almost completed Stimpack, which had to be restarted, you've damaged their economy, you've got complete constant vision of their army, what more could you possibly want in a PvT except the screams of Ghosts as they're killed, which is sure to come later in the match anyway.
The Build Order
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You can't win a PvT with Oracles alone, unless they rage quit at the sight of them (this can happen so I don't rule it out).
Remember, this build order is purely if they're not going 1 base all in or cheesing, at which point you react accordingly.
You may find your own way of doing this, perhaps a better way, this however, is how I do it and it works well enough for me. ChronoBoosted Probes will be mentioned, if not it is just assumed you're building them.
9 Pylon,
10-11 Probe ChronoBoosted,
11 Scout, (if you're comfortable not scouting like myself, don't do this, however do scout if you're not (For those who do scout, get in and get out and go straight to the Proxy location once you've scouted their gas))
12-14 Probe ChronoBoosted,
13 Gate,
15 Double Gas (2 in each),
16 Pylon, Send out Probe to Proxy location if you did not scout at 11
17 Core, (1 more in each gas to fill them)
18-19 Probe ChronoBoosted,
When Core is done Stalker, ChronoBoost it (For the Reaper that is most likely coming)
Proxy Pylon before MSC, after Stalker.
MSC,
Stargate down asap. Bring Probe home, or if you have not scouted at all yet, loop him round to a normal scouting path and check their natural.
Second Stalker, asap, ChronoBoosted,
4th Pylon,
First Oracle should be started asap,
Expand,
Second Oracle as soon as first finishes,
Keep building Oracles until you have 4 of them,
Get two more Gates and your Robotics and start going to Colossus and your upgrades,
3rd 4th Gas,
Once you've kept them busy long enough to tech up and deal damage with the Oracles you can safely take your third, whilst teching to HTs.
Remember, this build order is purely if they're not going 1 base all in or cheesing, at which point you react accordingly.
You may find your own way of doing this, perhaps a better way, this however, is how I do it and it works well enough for me. ChronoBoosted Probes will be mentioned, if not it is just assumed you're building them.
9 Pylon,
10-11 Probe ChronoBoosted,
11 Scout, (if you're comfortable not scouting like myself, don't do this, however do scout if you're not (For those who do scout, get in and get out and go straight to the Proxy location once you've scouted their gas))
12-14 Probe ChronoBoosted,
13 Gate,
15 Double Gas (2 in each),
16 Pylon, Send out Probe to Proxy location if you did not scout at 11
17 Core, (1 more in each gas to fill them)
18-19 Probe ChronoBoosted,
When Core is done Stalker, ChronoBoost it (For the Reaper that is most likely coming)
Proxy Pylon before MSC, after Stalker.
MSC,
Stargate down asap. Bring Probe home, or if you have not scouted at all yet, loop him round to a normal scouting path and check their natural.
Second Stalker, asap, ChronoBoosted,
4th Pylon,
First Oracle should be started asap,
Expand,
Second Oracle as soon as first finishes,
Keep building Oracles until you have 4 of them,
Get two more Gates and your Robotics and start going to Colossus and your upgrades,
3rd 4th Gas,
Once you've kept them busy long enough to tech up and deal damage with the Oracles you can safely take your third, whilst teching to HTs.
What you're looking for and how to react.
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Much like with Phoenix's in PvP and PvZ, your Oracles will scout everything that is happening. What they see, dictates how you respond, so lets go over the most important things you're looking for.
1. Most importantly, more than anything, is that Widow Mine Shadow, one misclick, one mistake, you lose an Oracle for nothing, keep your Oracles alive, the Mine stays in the Terran base and not in a Medivac flying to your base. (A single Oracle will kill a Widow Mine before it burrows if you start hitting it before it starts burrowing. Do not try it if you're unsure if you'll get it in time, its not worth the risk.)
2. Barracks, or Factory? Do they have more Barracks? Add on 2 Gates before Robo. Do they have a Factory? Robo, before 2 Gates. (This is to ensure you have an Observer should they get passed with a Widow Mine in a Medivac) Plus, with their lower Bio production, you can get to Colossus quicker without concern of having too few ground units.
3. If they have their Factory up you may want to consider only building 3 Oracles and getting a Robo up faster if you're nervous about a Widow Mine drop.
4. 3rd CC being build, delay it if possible, Prepare for your own 3rd.
5. Missile Turrets at main and natural. They are moving out to your main with an attack force. Oracles come home, Warp in Zealots and Stalkers, MSC Nexus Cannon, when attack commences, hit at front with army, Oracle beams come from behind, Time Warp to make sure no one survives.
(This should come at a time in which you've got your Robo and 3 Gates, anything before can be cleaned up with a couple Stalkers and MSC Nexus Cannon, if that is the case, use this opportunity to snipe some Techlabs or Reactors)
6. Are they going mech? Colossus, Immortals, you've got that Stargate still alive as its well hidden, throw in some Voidrays.
7. Look at their Marine count, Oracles can handle Marines in low numbers, do not risk an Oracle to kill a few Marines, you want them alive.
8. If you can't reveal the whole army, reveal something important, Ghosts, Medivacs, Vikings.
EDIT: 9. Do not show your hand with the snipe on the Tech lab until you can kill it out right, if you have to pull back and they repair it, it'll be very unlikely you'll get another shot at this.
1. Most importantly, more than anything, is that Widow Mine Shadow, one misclick, one mistake, you lose an Oracle for nothing, keep your Oracles alive, the Mine stays in the Terran base and not in a Medivac flying to your base. (A single Oracle will kill a Widow Mine before it burrows if you start hitting it before it starts burrowing. Do not try it if you're unsure if you'll get it in time, its not worth the risk.)
2. Barracks, or Factory? Do they have more Barracks? Add on 2 Gates before Robo. Do they have a Factory? Robo, before 2 Gates. (This is to ensure you have an Observer should they get passed with a Widow Mine in a Medivac) Plus, with their lower Bio production, you can get to Colossus quicker without concern of having too few ground units.
3. If they have their Factory up you may want to consider only building 3 Oracles and getting a Robo up faster if you're nervous about a Widow Mine drop.
4. 3rd CC being build, delay it if possible, Prepare for your own 3rd.
5. Missile Turrets at main and natural. They are moving out to your main with an attack force. Oracles come home, Warp in Zealots and Stalkers, MSC Nexus Cannon, when attack commences, hit at front with army, Oracle beams come from behind, Time Warp to make sure no one survives.
(This should come at a time in which you've got your Robo and 3 Gates, anything before can be cleaned up with a couple Stalkers and MSC Nexus Cannon, if that is the case, use this opportunity to snipe some Techlabs or Reactors)
6. Are they going mech? Colossus, Immortals, you've got that Stargate still alive as its well hidden, throw in some Voidrays.
7. Look at their Marine count, Oracles can handle Marines in low numbers, do not risk an Oracle to kill a few Marines, you want them alive.
8. If you can't reveal the whole army, reveal something important, Ghosts, Medivacs, Vikings.
EDIT: 9. Do not show your hand with the snipe on the Tech lab until you can kill it out right, if you have to pull back and they repair it, it'll be very unlikely you'll get another shot at this.
Strengths and Weaknesses
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Strengths;
This build more than anything, buys you time, it keeps the Terran busy and in their base. A Terran wants to keep you busy, this build turns it around and gives the power back in your hands.
Constant harassment, one thing Protoss lacked was harassment in PvT that wasn't just throw away units, with these Oracles you can keep harassing all game long.
Constant vision, thanks to revelation, no Terran unit goes anywhere without you having vision of it.
Defend pressures, Oracles with Gateway unit support can take down small numbers of units with ease.
Weaknesses;
The weaknesses in my experience come entirely from player fault rather than build fault, so these can be crossed off if you're confident in your ability.
You're playing like a Zerg does, harassment where possible, full focus on eco whilst teching, reacting to what you see and building units when needed, so if you don't see it coming, and it does end up catching you off guard, you may not have enough to defend.
Expensive, A Stargate and 4 Oracles are not cheap, they are pretty damn expensive, they require a lot of investment.
Micro intensive, and when I say Micro intensive, I mean it, these Oracles should never stop moving, they need to be baby sat all game, if not looked after they can be killed fairly quickly, so Macro will suffer at times as you're focusing on them too much. Players who have superb Macro whilst using units like this, will not have this issue.
Unspotted Widow Mines, Widow Mines one shot Oracles, you miss them, you're gonna be in trouble. Which is one reason you cannot take your eyes off of them.
This build more than anything, buys you time, it keeps the Terran busy and in their base. A Terran wants to keep you busy, this build turns it around and gives the power back in your hands.
Constant harassment, one thing Protoss lacked was harassment in PvT that wasn't just throw away units, with these Oracles you can keep harassing all game long.
Constant vision, thanks to revelation, no Terran unit goes anywhere without you having vision of it.
Defend pressures, Oracles with Gateway unit support can take down small numbers of units with ease.
Weaknesses;
The weaknesses in my experience come entirely from player fault rather than build fault, so these can be crossed off if you're confident in your ability.
You're playing like a Zerg does, harassment where possible, full focus on eco whilst teching, reacting to what you see and building units when needed, so if you don't see it coming, and it does end up catching you off guard, you may not have enough to defend.
Expensive, A Stargate and 4 Oracles are not cheap, they are pretty damn expensive, they require a lot of investment.
Micro intensive, and when I say Micro intensive, I mean it, these Oracles should never stop moving, they need to be baby sat all game, if not looked after they can be killed fairly quickly, so Macro will suffer at times as you're focusing on them too much. Players who have superb Macro whilst using units like this, will not have this issue.
Unspotted Widow Mines, Widow Mines one shot Oracles, you miss them, you're gonna be in trouble. Which is one reason you cannot take your eyes off of them.
Replays
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