An Introduction

Hey guys, my name is Gemini and I'm a Grandmaster Protoss player who has been making guides since 2011 on various sites. The Build of the Week is my most popular series of build order guides that I've been making for about three years now on /r/allthingsprotoss. With the help of TeamLiquid.net and Spawning Tool I'm now bringing my guides over to TL as well!

Each write-up includes build order notes, an explanation/analysis of how the build works, and a VOD section so you can check out the source game and how it should go. I'll also include the Spawning Tool link so that you can practice it in game yourself and download the replay of me doing it. I hope you enjoy and be sure to read the whole write-up before asking any questions as I'm sure some of them will be answered in here!

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[PvT]Trap's 3 Oracle into Chargelot/Storm

Some of you may know that next to HerO, another player stands quite high on my list of favorites. That player is Trap. Now that Jin Air isn't forcing him to play Overwatch as a potential sub anymore, he's been able to fully focus on StarCraft II again. He's already off to a great start this year with a RO16 finish in the GSL and RO12 finish at IEM.

Trap is someone who loves to take standard styles and put his own subtle tweaks on them that revolve around great multi-tasking and counter-harassment to gain edges that he snowballs to victory. This Oracle into Chargelot/Storm style is an excellent example of that. Blink openers dominated the meta after the 4.0 design patch, eventually forcing Terrans into opening with a strong ground force—namely with concussive shell openings. Stargate openers came back into fashion to abuse this shift. Trap executes his own version of the PvT Stargate opener it in a way where he gains lots of small advantages while building up a strong army composition back at home.

Build Notes

Build Explanation

As I stated in the intro, Stargate openers regained popularity after a long period of dominance for Blink builds as Terran began opening with blind-counters. As with any meta-shift, it's inevitable that Terrans will catch on over time, but this build (and other Stargate builds) are still a very strong option to use in combination with Blink openers. I'll use Trap's game against ByuN from the GSL Code S RO32 to help demonstrate.



This build opens up with a normal 19 or 20 Nexus depending on your preference. I believe 20 Nexus is actually better in this build since doing so gives you slightly more gas income (you could just put a 2nd Probe in gas earlier while doing a 19 Nexus if you're more used to opening that way). Regardless, you need that little extra bit of gas to throw down a pretty quick Stargate after opening with a Stalker as your first Gateway unit instead of an Adept. Usually you go for Adepts with Stargate openers, but Trap goes for Stalkers to fake his tech choice while giving himself better overall space control. Stalkers are still more versatile at dealing with early pressure and dish out more damage than Adepts.

Against ByuN, Trap gets a Shield Battery at 36 supply because his original scouting Probe goes in for a second reconnaissance run and confirms a Concussive Shell Marauder opening. Going back in with your initial Probe at around 2:50 is a great thing to get into the habit of since that's right when Concussive Shells finishes. If they opened Reaper instead of Marine then you can go in a little earlier, around 2:15-2:20, to see if they went for a Factory follow up (Terran almost always go Marine-first when they're going for Concussive Shells, so you can use that information accordingly when deciding when to scout a second time with your Probe). You can blindly make this Shield Battery just to be safe if you want, or you can skip it if you're sure there's no early aggression.

After that, your Stargate should be finishing and you can Chrono out your first Oracle. You'll be making three in total with this build since that's how many it takes to one shot an SCV and marine now. They also give you a ton of map presence with Revelation, and provide safety at home with Stasis Traps (as shown by Trap in the example game vs ByuN). You should also get three Stalkers out of the initial Gateway since Warp Gate is delayed a little bit to get that earlier Stargate.

Once you have made your second Oracle, you have to make a decision in terms of how you're getting into the mid game. You can either take a 4:00 third Nexus with the two extra Gateways following shortly after, or you can delay the Nexus a bit and get extra Gateways slightly earlier. My recommendation (and what I provided in the example replay vs the A.I.) is to play safer. There isn't much reason, especially in lower leagues, to try and go for such a greedy third base off only one Gateway and some Oracles. Just get the earlier Gateways and accept that your Nexus will be 20 seconds late. Trap is playing at the pro-level against an opponent he's carefully researched—he's good enough and prepared enough to try and eke out this tiny advantage.

After the third Oracle, be sure to take your natural gasses and also a Forge and Twilight Council. At this point, some skirmishes may occur if Terran opened 3-Rax bio, with some sort of Hellion push, or with a Widow Mine drop. Depending on how well you defend (which should be quite well since you had the ability to scout everything with Oracles and prepare accordingly), there may be an impending push coming to your third. The game can get a little bit tricky at this stage as you should be transitioning to your next tech phase, and it's by no means a cut-and-dry transition.

Transitioning into Storm SAFELY

Once your third Nexus is up and running and you've started the transition into the midgame by getting +1 armor and Charge for your Zealots, you will most likely find yourself in one of two scenarios: (1)A relatively passive game or (2)A relatively aggressive game.

The passive game is quite straight-forward. With Revelation tagged on the enemy army, you should know if you're not being pressured and have plenty of room to breathe. From there, you can easily get to your big Gateway explosion of five Gateways around the 5:30-6:00 mark, along with a Robotics Facility for Immortals or a counter-attacking Warp Prism. A Templar Archives should follow that at around 6:30, and Psionic Storm right after.

However, a lot of Terran players are doing some strong two-base all ins or dedicated pressure builds, especially off of 3-Rax openers. These kinds of strategies hit long before you can have reasonable number of Storm-upgraded High Templar on the battlefield. What we see in Trap's game vs ByuN is some wonderfully patient play that gets Trap a large Chargelot count, with Archons supporting at the front. There's no reason to rush up to Storm if you know you won't be able to cast it enough times defend an attack at your third. Trap continuously goads ByuN's forces into moving forward, and then engages at just the right moment to get on-hit damage from Zealot Charge + a few shots from his Archons. He then pulls back once his shields are running low and ByuN has reflexively started to kite back. By doing this repeatedly, Trap buys himself time to build up an overwhelming force from his Gateway explosion that forces ByuN back entirely.

This is by no means an easy dance to perform, but if done patiently enough, you can find yourself in a great position. Your Robo should finish up during or right before the attack—Immortals provide an immediate boost to firepower, but you can almost instantly turn the tide of a game by sneaking a Warp Prism out just as the Terran offensive starts to lose steam. If Terran fails to break your third base after committing so many troops, then your Warp Prism has potential to do devastating damage with a counter-attack. This is where Trap's play really shines, and against ByuN, he provides an excellent example of how to play counter-harassing/attacking Protoss. If you can get a Chargelot warp in or two at the Terran's undefended third base, then they will be forced to pull back or have their economy crippled.

It's also important to note that you shouldn't be stingy about investing in Shield Batteries during times like these. If you feel threatened or see a dangerous push coming: MAKE A LOT OF SHIELD BATTERIES. Don't try to be cute and get by with only one or two. If they're pushing hard then get four or five of them. It gives you a lot of much needed sustainability in these kinds of drag-out fights.

Once you've weathered the storm, it's time pay the Terran back. With some room to breath, you can afford to finish Psionic Storm and get a few HT's banking energy. In turn, that gives you even more space to take a fourth base. From there you can continue on Storm tech for a while, or you can transition into Colossus tech to round out your composition. With both tech options available, you can initiate the more traditional back and forth late-game PvT that revolves around abusing Terran's lack of answers for either Colossi or Templar at any given time.

(Of course, if at any earlier point in the game, your Oracle harassment, Warp-Prism counter-attacks, or mid-game engagements have earned you a significant lead, feel free to just go f***ing kill him.)

This build is definitely a little trickier than others, and requires some finesse at certain points depending on how your opponent is playing. However, if you execute it well, then you can end up with some great advantages going into the mid game, as well as pretty fast Storm to punish the Terran trend of going for heavy bio play while delaying Liberator and Ghost tech.