On February 02 2010 02:53 Failsafe wrote:
Ok dawg, I'll enlighten you with a TvP story called "Python Is Imbalanced And Terran Is Imbalanced And You Should Win Every Time That You Are Not Playing Stork/Bisu/Movie/G Chizzle."
Yes, it's very hard for you to take another base on Python if you want a gas (and you don't want to make a dropship with its infinite harassment potential or for island taking easy mode). But you CAN take a mineral-only base very easily. Minerals are valuable too. For instance, minerals make vultures, and vultures are imbalanced. You can support your mineral-only from your main - so that's great because you have siege tanks, and those are imbalanced, too. They can shoot all the way from your main to your mineral only, and probably your opponent's mineral only, too. So you can take a third pretty quick if you're willing to work more with vultures which means more harassment.
Harassment on Python is great for exactly the reason you mentioned. The bases are very far apart, and vultures are imbalanced because they move really fast and they lay mini-nukes - 3 mini-nukes a piece. So that's great. Let's suppose you're not feeling creative. You just take your mineral only as a third. Well, that's great for you because now you've got a surplus of minerals and your base is super defended (with tanks in the main defended by turrets). You have some "free" opportunities to harass because you can afford to blow some vultures. So suppose your opponent expands to either bottom right or top left. You've got a bunch of extra vultures (imbalanced; super fast; mini-nukes). Scan the expansion - remember, three bases means three scanners means more information. Yes, scanners are imbalanced. Scan the path to expansion with your extra scans. If there's a path to the expansion, and the expansion has 3 or less cannons, take like 12 vultures, and drive toward it. Lay a bunch of mines as quick as you can (lay them all and write off the vultures as acceptable casualties). Then kill the cannons, rape the probes, and if you have anything left, shoot the nexus.
Chances are, you won't get the nexus. But you will get the two-three cannons and most if not all of the probes. Your opponent will rush to respond, and being a D player he'll lose like half his army to your mini-nukes. So you'll kill like 300-450 minerals of cannons, probably 500-1000 minerals of probes, and probably another 1000 minerals of P army units. And you'll lose 750-800 minerals of vultures (which were expendable thanks to your min-only). You're way ahead.
And what's better is that your opponent sucks. So he'll probably have responded to the vultures late, and he'll have used his entire army. So now, while his army is getting raped by mines and trying to reach your vultures, you can rush across 3/4's of the map with your imbalanced tanks, vultures, and SCVs (yes they are imbalanced too - 60 HP rofl). And build some imbalanced missile turrets (rofl 75 minerals). Lay some imbalanced mines and set up some tanks in imbalanced siege mode. So now, when your opponent's shitty army comes back to his base, already ripped apart by your mini-nukes (and he's lacking the resources at his expansion) you can probably rape the whole thing and win the game right there. If he sees your push and comes after it. You'll know because he'll walk away from the minefield that's currently killing him. So retreat with your push and let the vultures finish off the nexus. You win that option.
But suppose he counters the vultures and then attacks your push. Suppose that somehow you totally suck at microing so you don't win right there. You kill most the shitty protoss army, though, and you're ahead economically so the ending is still in stone. Now the pathetic expansion with its burning nexus is probably repopulating with probes, but he's desperate for minerals because you've wiped out most of his army and his 3rd base hasn't been mining since you raped it. He'll almost certainly neglect cannons altogether or just build 2. With your surplus of non-add-on factories, you'll have a bunch of extra vultures, now more heavily upgraded. So go rape that expansion again - same as before. Kill the cannons, kill the probes. Lay the mines. Kill the army. While the army is away and dying to imbalanced mini nukes, push on the main, again. Chances are, this time your vultures will kill the nexus at the P's third; you'll kill his army, and he'll leave without typing GG because he's so upset about how imbalanced your units are.
Also, remember that during all this what your opponent won't be doing is attacking you. So you can be expanding freely. And remember, you have the min only so you have a bunch of "free" minerals to go ahead and throw down a CC or even 2 (just spread them apart so he can only take out one if he goes offensive).
Also, don't underestimate the use of just sending one or two tanks and a few vultures to raid expansions while you are pushing.
Ok dawg, I'll enlighten you with a TvP story called "Python Is Imbalanced And Terran Is Imbalanced And You Should Win Every Time That You Are Not Playing Stork/Bisu/Movie/G Chizzle."
Yes, it's very hard for you to take another base on Python if you want a gas (and you don't want to make a dropship with its infinite harassment potential or for island taking easy mode). But you CAN take a mineral-only base very easily. Minerals are valuable too. For instance, minerals make vultures, and vultures are imbalanced. You can support your mineral-only from your main - so that's great because you have siege tanks, and those are imbalanced, too. They can shoot all the way from your main to your mineral only, and probably your opponent's mineral only, too. So you can take a third pretty quick if you're willing to work more with vultures which means more harassment.
Harassment on Python is great for exactly the reason you mentioned. The bases are very far apart, and vultures are imbalanced because they move really fast and they lay mini-nukes - 3 mini-nukes a piece. So that's great. Let's suppose you're not feeling creative. You just take your mineral only as a third. Well, that's great for you because now you've got a surplus of minerals and your base is super defended (with tanks in the main defended by turrets). You have some "free" opportunities to harass because you can afford to blow some vultures. So suppose your opponent expands to either bottom right or top left. You've got a bunch of extra vultures (imbalanced; super fast; mini-nukes). Scan the expansion - remember, three bases means three scanners means more information. Yes, scanners are imbalanced. Scan the path to expansion with your extra scans. If there's a path to the expansion, and the expansion has 3 or less cannons, take like 12 vultures, and drive toward it. Lay a bunch of mines as quick as you can (lay them all and write off the vultures as acceptable casualties). Then kill the cannons, rape the probes, and if you have anything left, shoot the nexus.
Chances are, you won't get the nexus. But you will get the two-three cannons and most if not all of the probes. Your opponent will rush to respond, and being a D player he'll lose like half his army to your mini-nukes. So you'll kill like 300-450 minerals of cannons, probably 500-1000 minerals of probes, and probably another 1000 minerals of P army units. And you'll lose 750-800 minerals of vultures (which were expendable thanks to your min-only). You're way ahead.
And what's better is that your opponent sucks. So he'll probably have responded to the vultures late, and he'll have used his entire army. So now, while his army is getting raped by mines and trying to reach your vultures, you can rush across 3/4's of the map with your imbalanced tanks, vultures, and SCVs (yes they are imbalanced too - 60 HP rofl). And build some imbalanced missile turrets (rofl 75 minerals). Lay some imbalanced mines and set up some tanks in imbalanced siege mode. So now, when your opponent's shitty army comes back to his base, already ripped apart by your mini-nukes (and he's lacking the resources at his expansion) you can probably rape the whole thing and win the game right there. If he sees your push and comes after it. You'll know because he'll walk away from the minefield that's currently killing him. So retreat with your push and let the vultures finish off the nexus. You win that option.
But suppose he counters the vultures and then attacks your push. Suppose that somehow you totally suck at microing so you don't win right there. You kill most the shitty protoss army, though, and you're ahead economically so the ending is still in stone. Now the pathetic expansion with its burning nexus is probably repopulating with probes, but he's desperate for minerals because you've wiped out most of his army and his 3rd base hasn't been mining since you raped it. He'll almost certainly neglect cannons altogether or just build 2. With your surplus of non-add-on factories, you'll have a bunch of extra vultures, now more heavily upgraded. So go rape that expansion again - same as before. Kill the cannons, kill the probes. Lay the mines. Kill the army. While the army is away and dying to imbalanced mini nukes, push on the main, again. Chances are, this time your vultures will kill the nexus at the P's third; you'll kill his army, and he'll leave without typing GG because he's so upset about how imbalanced your units are.
Also, remember that during all this what your opponent won't be doing is attacking you. So you can be expanding freely. And remember, you have the min only so you have a bunch of "free" minerals to go ahead and throw down a CC or even 2 (just spread them apart so he can only take out one if he goes offensive).
Also, don't underestimate the use of just sending one or two tanks and a few vultures to raid expansions while you are pushing.