EPT
Warning:
Lower level players beware. This is a high level build/style and will cause lots of dumb losses if you don't have the basics of the game down, such as macro, blink stalker micro, and game sense. However, for anyone who wants to play at the highest level, this is the guide for you.
Also, huge blocks of text incoming. This guide will take you about 30 minutes to finish reading.
Until about 3 or 4 months ago, PVP was riddled with 4 gates, collosi wars, and build order wins. However, recently a new style has emerged quietly. Players who may not follow starcraft or PVP as closely as I do will not have noticed the slight metagame shift, but it is definitely there. This is the style that koreans have been devloping for the past few months. This is the style that predominates the top of each and every ladder. This is the style that Huk has called "the future of PvP." And with that I present to you the robo twilight macro style.
History of the build:
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The first instance I ever saw a robo twilight build was when MC used one in a korean tournament that wasn't gsl back around october of 2010. Then, I saw done by Kiwikaki consistently and so I tried it out for myself. Because I didn't really understand the build, I thought it weak and abandoned it. It wasn't until gstl season 3 when i revisited this build. In the first day of oGs vs Startale, ST.Squirtle's archon zealot stalker immortal army rolled over oGs.Hero's equally supplied zealot stalker collosi army very convincingly. Then a few days later, St.Ace stomped Mouz.Hasuobs convincingly with the same army versus collosi. This got me thinking that it wasn't a fluke and that this style had lots of merit so i began experimenting a lot with it to what I have now.
Synopsis:
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This build is meant to be a safe macro style blink stalker opening that transitions into the late game. Your endgame army should consist of zealot/archon/stalker/immortal in different ratios depending on your opponent's unit composition. This guide will attempt to guide you through to the late game and help you with decision making. Keep in mind that this guide summaries my way of playing robo twilight and is not meant to be the definitive way to play this style.
Why this build?:
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The biggest advantages of this build are as follows:
- The counters of this build aren't as hard. Whereas quick colossus vs fast phoenix can seem impossible and blink stalker can immediately lose to dts, there is no way to get an insurmountable advantage against this build.
- Does not depend as much on gas count. This is basically addressing the fact that Collosi war mirrors depend heavily on who spent the least gas before collosi. Because of this, if you lose the early game build order war, the consequences are not as severe.
- Very skill based strategy. Compared to a collosi build in which it's very obvious what to do at all times, this style requires lots of decision making and has a lot of divergence. Also, your success is directly related to how well you can control blink stalkers and how well you can harrass with them.
How to open:
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Pick your favorite opening PvP build that transitions well into a robo twilight build. My recommendations include MC's defensive 3 gate or a quick gas into 3 stalker rush build. Quick robo builds for defensive purposes aren't ideal, because they force you to get too many zealots and immortals and you don't want to be locked into immortal for the early stages of the game. However, 1 gate robo vs 2 quick gas is an ideal opening for this style. You get a quick robo while not being forced into immortals for defensive purposes. Geiko's defensive 3 gate is another good choice as long as you don't get too many stalkers early on thus delaying your robo. The timing of the robo is very important for this build, as you want scouting information as soon as possible.
Mid game build:
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I will not give a set in stone build as I feel that every game should be different. However, this is a general outline of a sample build. Add your robo as soon as you feel that you are safe from a 4 gate. Your infrastrcuture now should be 3 gates and a robo. Add a twilight council as soon as you feel you are safe from a blink stalker allin. If too many people request a concrete build, I'll post one.
Mid game thought process:
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6:00
At around this time you should have realized your opponent didn't do the fastest 4 gate against you. Feel free to walk your stalkers out of your base a little as the only thing that can catch and kill stalkers this early in the game are enemy flanking stalkers. The 2 threats you should be worrying about right now are a delayed 4 gate and some type of expand build. You should be able to hold a delayed 4 gate rather easily as long as you keep those inital poking stalkers safe. Poke a scouting probe into his base to see whether he has an expo and his unit composition. You can delay this poke if your opponent opened a 2 gas build. If he expo'd, cancel any tech and go for a 4 gate to try to end the game. The read you make with your probe here is very important and inflences your decisions trhoughout the game.
2 zealots: You can probably rule out the earliest blink stalker allins
3 or more zealots: Probably not a blink build at all. Suspect collosi or dts or collosi.
2 sentries: Your opponent is being defensive and you can probably rule out blink stalker allins
3 stalkers: Depending on his opening, this may or may not tell you anything. If he opening 3 stalker rush,
this tells you absolutely nothing
4 stalkers: Robo blink or blink build with 75% certainty.
5 or more stalkers: robo blink or blink build with 99% certainty
more than 250 worth of gas: rule out any type of super fast dts
6:40
The only 2 viable threats at this stage of the game are an extremely delayed 4 gate or a blink stalker allin. The absolute fastest realistic blink stalker allin comes at 6:40 with 8 stalkers max. Suspect this if your opponent got an earlish gas. Most blink stalker allins come at 7:10 with 11 stalkers max. Based on his gas timing, your read with your probe, your observer, and any other scouting you may have, determine if this is a blink stalker build, allin or not. Refer to the blink stalker allin section for a continued explanation of how to deal with this. The rest of your section assumes you've ruled out blink stalker allin.
When your observer comes out, escort your observer across the map with some stalkers as far as you judge to be safe. This is a little vague so let me explain. By escorting your observer, you both protect your own observer from being sniped and catch any enemy observers. The 2 downsides to this are that you might get caught by delayed blink stalkers or your enemy can see your stalker count and make a read that you're going blink. That is why you don't want to be too aggressive with your stalkers and why you might not want to bring all of them. However, if you've made a read that he isn't going blink stalker, say you see tons of zealots, feel free to escort the observer all the way to his base. Do not lose this observer, even if you have to take a roundabout path as this build heavily relies on the read you make with your observer.The rest of the guide assumes you've compeletely scouted your opponent and know exactly what build he went.
At around this time you should have realized your opponent didn't do the fastest 4 gate against you. Feel free to walk your stalkers out of your base a little as the only thing that can catch and kill stalkers this early in the game are enemy flanking stalkers. The 2 threats you should be worrying about right now are a delayed 4 gate and some type of expand build. You should be able to hold a delayed 4 gate rather easily as long as you keep those inital poking stalkers safe. Poke a scouting probe into his base to see whether he has an expo and his unit composition. You can delay this poke if your opponent opened a 2 gas build. If he expo'd, cancel any tech and go for a 4 gate to try to end the game. The read you make with your probe here is very important and inflences your decisions trhoughout the game.
2 zealots: You can probably rule out the earliest blink stalker allins
3 or more zealots: Probably not a blink build at all. Suspect collosi or dts or collosi.
2 sentries: Your opponent is being defensive and you can probably rule out blink stalker allins
3 stalkers: Depending on his opening, this may or may not tell you anything. If he opening 3 stalker rush,
this tells you absolutely nothing
4 stalkers: Robo blink or blink build with 75% certainty.
5 or more stalkers: robo blink or blink build with 99% certainty
more than 250 worth of gas: rule out any type of super fast dts
6:40
The only 2 viable threats at this stage of the game are an extremely delayed 4 gate or a blink stalker allin. The absolute fastest realistic blink stalker allin comes at 6:40 with 8 stalkers max. Suspect this if your opponent got an earlish gas. Most blink stalker allins come at 7:10 with 11 stalkers max. Based on his gas timing, your read with your probe, your observer, and any other scouting you may have, determine if this is a blink stalker build, allin or not. Refer to the blink stalker allin section for a continued explanation of how to deal with this. The rest of your section assumes you've ruled out blink stalker allin.
When your observer comes out, escort your observer across the map with some stalkers as far as you judge to be safe. This is a little vague so let me explain. By escorting your observer, you both protect your own observer from being sniped and catch any enemy observers. The 2 downsides to this are that you might get caught by delayed blink stalkers or your enemy can see your stalker count and make a read that you're going blink. That is why you don't want to be too aggressive with your stalkers and why you might not want to bring all of them. However, if you've made a read that he isn't going blink stalker, say you see tons of zealots, feel free to escort the observer all the way to his base. Do not lose this observer, even if you have to take a roundabout path as this build heavily relies on the read you make with your observer.The rest of the guide assumes you've compeletely scouted your opponent and know exactly what build he went.
After you've scouted his build:
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Blink stalker allin:
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Blink stalker expo:
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Robo twilight mirror:
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Collosi opening:
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Phoenix opening:
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Dark templar opening:
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Chargelot archon opening:
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Immortal expand:
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1, 2 or 3 gate expand:
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Ok, so you've made a read that it's a blink stalker build, but you're not sure if it's allin or not. You may or may not have to skip your observer to survive this depending on your opening. If you do not have an immortal out by the time the quickest versions of this build hit(around 7:00), you're dead. If you do not have 2 immortals by the time later versions of this build hit(around 7:40), you're dead. You also must have a comprable army to your opponent, so keep your macro up on 3 gates and 1 robo. Position your units so that he cannot easily pick off your units and keep any zealots you may have in the back of your army.
Delay your twilight council until you are sure you are safe. If your opponent doesn't have a robo or a forge, then you can go dts. If not, research blink. If your opponent has expanded, allin him and you will surely win with better econ/tech. If he hasn't, you can contain him and expand behind that. However, keep in mind that you should be miles ahead and he shouldn't be able to break your contain. From here on out refer to the blink stalker expo section of the guide if it somehow gets to late game.
Delay your twilight council until you are sure you are safe. If your opponent doesn't have a robo or a forge, then you can go dts. If not, research blink. If your opponent has expanded, allin him and you will surely win with better econ/tech. If he hasn't, you can contain him and expand behind that. However, keep in mind that you should be miles ahead and he shouldn't be able to break your contain. From here on out refer to the blink stalker expo section of the guide if it somehow gets to late game.
Blink stalker expo:
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The general consensus is that a robo twilight build is the best response to a blink build. Generally, I agree with this statement, but I don't think it's always necessarily true. For example, if the blinking player puts down a very early nexus on a big map, say before your twilight council even starts, he can get an econ advantage before your blink finishes. If the robo twilight player tries to allin, the blink player can proceed to delay the robo twilight player's army with a superior stalker count and then fight head on with his econ advantage. An example of this is in Huk vs MC in the replay section of this guide. Huk accidentally let MC see his 1 gate robo build and thus MC was able to throw down a nexus with 3 units on the field.
However, generally the robo twilight player does have a significant advantage over the blink stalker player. Once you are safe and know your opponent isn't going to be able to kill you by blinking up the ramp, you should assess the situation. The key buildings you are looking for are a robo and a nexus from your opponent. If your opponent has no robo or forge and tries to expand, you can try for dark templars while pressuring your opponent.
If your opponent has expanded way before yourself, you must attack your opponent or his econ lead will become too large. Add a 4th gateway and bring a probe with your push. Make sure your army moves as a whole with immortals leading the charge. You do not want your opponent to pick off any stray stalkers of your own with his stalkers. Try to time your push so you hit right after his nexus finishes.
If your opponent has a similar but still faster expo timing than yourself, make a judgement call on whether to allin him or try to play the macro game. Factors on whether to allin include the distance to his natural and whether either of you lost any units in the early game.
If your opponent has not expanded so far, pressure him and expand yourself while not making probes yourself. You should be able to defend any allins and use your econ lead to win the game. Refer to the robo twilight mirror section if your opponent goes for robo/twilight unit composition.
If your opponent transitions to chargelots, expand, don't make additional probes, and keep your stalker count about 2 above his. This allows you to keep map control and harass him and pick off units until charge finishes. Meanwhile, keep your zealot count up so that it's similar to your opponent's but do not research charge. The reasoning is that if charge isn't worth it if your opponent has charge and you have equal numbers, because the zealots will be slamming into each other anyways. If your opponent adds a templar archives, add one for yourself and mirror him with a better econ.
However, generally the robo twilight player does have a significant advantage over the blink stalker player. Once you are safe and know your opponent isn't going to be able to kill you by blinking up the ramp, you should assess the situation. The key buildings you are looking for are a robo and a nexus from your opponent. If your opponent has no robo or forge and tries to expand, you can try for dark templars while pressuring your opponent.
If your opponent has expanded way before yourself, you must attack your opponent or his econ lead will become too large. Add a 4th gateway and bring a probe with your push. Make sure your army moves as a whole with immortals leading the charge. You do not want your opponent to pick off any stray stalkers of your own with his stalkers. Try to time your push so you hit right after his nexus finishes.
If your opponent has a similar but still faster expo timing than yourself, make a judgement call on whether to allin him or try to play the macro game. Factors on whether to allin include the distance to his natural and whether either of you lost any units in the early game.
If your opponent has not expanded so far, pressure him and expand yourself while not making probes yourself. You should be able to defend any allins and use your econ lead to win the game. Refer to the robo twilight mirror section if your opponent goes for robo/twilight unit composition.
If your opponent transitions to chargelots, expand, don't make additional probes, and keep your stalker count about 2 above his. This allows you to keep map control and harass him and pick off units until charge finishes. Meanwhile, keep your zealot count up so that it's similar to your opponent's but do not research charge. The reasoning is that if charge isn't worth it if your opponent has charge and you have equal numbers, because the zealots will be slamming into each other anyways. If your opponent adds a templar archives, add one for yourself and mirror him with a better econ.
Robo twilight mirror:
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A complete mirror can get kind of tricky as very small things can affect the outcome of the game. In a mirror where both players go some variation of robo twilight, you can actually expand despite it being a mirror. You have a few advantages as the expander/defender. First is that he has to walk all the way across the map where he can be vulnerable. Second is that although his gateway units reinforce instantly, his immortals cannot. Next, your opponent will only attack you after he warps in a wave of units from a proxy pylon. This gives you an extra 5-10 seconds to warp in your own units. Finally, as the defender, you can get into a better position than your opponent and can cut him off with forcefields if he tries to attack into you. With all these defender's advantages, you should be able to overcome the deficit that is paying 300 extra minerals for a big overpriced pylon.
The first only works if your opponent either overmade zealots in the early game or lost a few units in the early game. Also, the map must be large. Throw down your nexus after you confirm the builds and from then on make nothing but stalkers. Do not add addition probes until you see your opponent expand as well and add a 4th gateway. If your opponent tries to allin you, slow him down by engaging with your blink stalkers and blinking back when his non-blink stalker units catch up. Repeat this until he gets to your base at which time you should have warped in zealots and at least one immortal. This works because if you have a higher blink stalker count by at least 2, you can force engagments in which the rest of his army cannot fight in. By doing this you can at the very least slow him down and at the very most pick off some units along the way. By the time your opponent gets to your base, your econ will have kicked in to directly engage his army. focus fire his immortals with your stalkers and once those are gone reinforce with stalkers.
The other method works on almost any map that doesn't have an insanely wide choke into your natural, but works especially well on maps with small chokes. Build 3 sentries and fill in the rest with zealot/immortal/stalker. When your opponent attacks, cut his units in half and procede to kill half his army at a time. Again, do not add addition probes until you see your opponent expand as well and add a 4th gateway.
The rest of this section assumes that both you and your opponent have expanded and you're now 2 base vs 2 base. As soon as you see your opponent has his expansion, throw up a forge and mass chornoboost probes. The next part is what I like to call stalker wars, similar to viking wars in tvt. You want to idealy make just enough stalkers so that you have about 2-3 more than your opponent. Doing so will ensure map control, make it easier for you to scout your opponent, and make it feel much safer to do whatever you want at home. Although stalkers are weaker in a final fight, have just 2 more stalkers than your opponent and 2 less zealots won't make too much of a difference. However, be aware that having 10 more than your opponent could cause you to lose the straight up fight.
Focus on upgrading attack from your one forge. Attack upgrades give much more bonus than either armor or shields, boosting units like archons and immortals greatly. Two forges can leave you open to timing attacks and weaken your overall army.
Scout your opponent diligently. Your opponent can still do many versions of 2 base timings. Things you want to look out for include: His probe prodcution, his unit composition and army count, his forge count, whether he has/is upgrading charge, whether he has a dt shrine or templar archives, his gateway count. Respond accordingly to this scouting information.
As soon as you feel safe to do so (this is pretty subjective), switch to a zealot/archon/immortal army. Personally, I never make a zealot until I see my opponent has zealots.
Do not rush charge. In smaller numbers of zealots vs charging zealots, all you have to do is match his zealot count and be reasonably safe.
Do not rush your 3rd and 4th gas. While getting earlier gas might mean 1 extra archon in your army, getting more minerals allows you to be more safe from timings. In addition, you will have extra minerals for an earlier 3rd nexus. If you don't rush your 3rd and 4th gas, you can also delay your templar archives for archons.
Try to time your gateways along with your opponent's. That is, try to add them after your opponent does, but don't delay them too much. With good macro, you can support 6 gateways, a robo, and a forge on 2 base while trying to take a 3rd.
Don't go over 55 probes on 2 base. Your main should mine out rather fast. Anything over 55 probes is a waste, because you'd rather secure your 3rd safely and earlier rather than get it later and instantly saturate it.
Your army should consist of mostly zealot/archon with stalkers left over from the early game and a few immortals sprinkled in. Add more immortals for maps with more chokes and if your opponent has lots of stalkers. However, you should never go over 6 immortals in a 200 supply army. The immortals are just for cleaning up stalkers after the zealot/archon have killed each other and for some ranged damage. In a fight, reinforce with all zealots, as they charge directly into the battle, have a low cd on warpgates, do the most damage out of any unit you can warp, and protect your stalkers/immortals from theirs.
Watch out for dts by having an obs or 2 in your army and making a cannon at all your bases.
A collosi switch from your opponent is suicide as he'll get them too late and in too few number. If you see collosi, add more blink stalkers into your army and snipe them. Also, if you scout he has switched collosi, take a very greedy third as his investment into collosi(robo bay + range) won't have paid off until he has at least 3.
The first only works if your opponent either overmade zealots in the early game or lost a few units in the early game. Also, the map must be large. Throw down your nexus after you confirm the builds and from then on make nothing but stalkers. Do not add addition probes until you see your opponent expand as well and add a 4th gateway. If your opponent tries to allin you, slow him down by engaging with your blink stalkers and blinking back when his non-blink stalker units catch up. Repeat this until he gets to your base at which time you should have warped in zealots and at least one immortal. This works because if you have a higher blink stalker count by at least 2, you can force engagments in which the rest of his army cannot fight in. By doing this you can at the very least slow him down and at the very most pick off some units along the way. By the time your opponent gets to your base, your econ will have kicked in to directly engage his army. focus fire his immortals with your stalkers and once those are gone reinforce with stalkers.
The other method works on almost any map that doesn't have an insanely wide choke into your natural, but works especially well on maps with small chokes. Build 3 sentries and fill in the rest with zealot/immortal/stalker. When your opponent attacks, cut his units in half and procede to kill half his army at a time. Again, do not add addition probes until you see your opponent expand as well and add a 4th gateway.
The rest of this section assumes that both you and your opponent have expanded and you're now 2 base vs 2 base. As soon as you see your opponent has his expansion, throw up a forge and mass chornoboost probes. The next part is what I like to call stalker wars, similar to viking wars in tvt. You want to idealy make just enough stalkers so that you have about 2-3 more than your opponent. Doing so will ensure map control, make it easier for you to scout your opponent, and make it feel much safer to do whatever you want at home. Although stalkers are weaker in a final fight, have just 2 more stalkers than your opponent and 2 less zealots won't make too much of a difference. However, be aware that having 10 more than your opponent could cause you to lose the straight up fight.
Focus on upgrading attack from your one forge. Attack upgrades give much more bonus than either armor or shields, boosting units like archons and immortals greatly. Two forges can leave you open to timing attacks and weaken your overall army.
Scout your opponent diligently. Your opponent can still do many versions of 2 base timings. Things you want to look out for include: His probe prodcution, his unit composition and army count, his forge count, whether he has/is upgrading charge, whether he has a dt shrine or templar archives, his gateway count. Respond accordingly to this scouting information.
As soon as you feel safe to do so (this is pretty subjective), switch to a zealot/archon/immortal army. Personally, I never make a zealot until I see my opponent has zealots.
Do not rush charge. In smaller numbers of zealots vs charging zealots, all you have to do is match his zealot count and be reasonably safe.
Do not rush your 3rd and 4th gas. While getting earlier gas might mean 1 extra archon in your army, getting more minerals allows you to be more safe from timings. In addition, you will have extra minerals for an earlier 3rd nexus. If you don't rush your 3rd and 4th gas, you can also delay your templar archives for archons.
Try to time your gateways along with your opponent's. That is, try to add them after your opponent does, but don't delay them too much. With good macro, you can support 6 gateways, a robo, and a forge on 2 base while trying to take a 3rd.
Don't go over 55 probes on 2 base. Your main should mine out rather fast. Anything over 55 probes is a waste, because you'd rather secure your 3rd safely and earlier rather than get it later and instantly saturate it.
Your army should consist of mostly zealot/archon with stalkers left over from the early game and a few immortals sprinkled in. Add more immortals for maps with more chokes and if your opponent has lots of stalkers. However, you should never go over 6 immortals in a 200 supply army. The immortals are just for cleaning up stalkers after the zealot/archon have killed each other and for some ranged damage. In a fight, reinforce with all zealots, as they charge directly into the battle, have a low cd on warpgates, do the most damage out of any unit you can warp, and protect your stalkers/immortals from theirs.
Watch out for dts by having an obs or 2 in your army and making a cannon at all your bases.
A collosi switch from your opponent is suicide as he'll get them too late and in too few number. If you see collosi, add more blink stalkers into your army and snipe them. Also, if you scout he has switched collosi, take a very greedy third as his investment into collosi(robo bay + range) won't have paid off until he has at least 3.
Collosi opening:
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As soon as you make a read that your opponent is going collosi, throw down your nexus at your natural. You can make this read by either seeing a collosi, seeing a robo bay, or seeing an observer plus a medium number of zealots. Also, start chornoing probes and rallying to your expansion while continuing to produce stalkers off of 3 gates. As your expansion is about to go up, add one gateway, bringing you up to 4. About 2 minutes after your expansion goes up, add 2 more gates, bringing the total to 6. Poke at your opponent to see if you can pick anything off, but don't risk any stalkers. Stay close to your opponent's main atl all times. This does one of two things: Your opponent will feel pressured and delay his expo or you will be in position to base trade if your opponent decides to allin your base. Now at this point, your opponent will either try to one base allin you or attempt to put up an expansion.
Collosi one base allin:
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Collosi into macro game:
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Collosi one base allin:
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Now's the time to base trade. As soon as your opponent leaves blink into his base and
focus his probes as they're trying to escape. Your main goal will be trying to prevent
as many probes as you can from escaping. Also, make a second observer for scouting
after the dust settles in the base trade. Right before your opponent reaches you base,
pull all the probes from your natural and move them to somewhere safe, splitting them up. If your opponent pulled all his probes for the allin, pull all of yours as well. Now, because you're running on 2 bases with aroudn 35-40 probes and still 2 gas, you
should have an excess of minerals make at least 2 nexuses across the map from each other. Your opponent won't be able to leave his last pylon/nexus he probably build at your old base. You should be able to win from here as you have a better econ and map control.
Alternatively, if your opponent allins you very late, you can actually engage him directly
with zealot stalker. Huk actually engaged a much bigger army once with zealot stalker archon and came out ahead.
focus his probes as they're trying to escape. Your main goal will be trying to prevent
as many probes as you can from escaping. Also, make a second observer for scouting
after the dust settles in the base trade. Right before your opponent reaches you base,
pull all the probes from your natural and move them to somewhere safe, splitting them up. If your opponent pulled all his probes for the allin, pull all of yours as well. Now, because you're running on 2 bases with aroudn 35-40 probes and still 2 gas, you
should have an excess of minerals make at least 2 nexuses across the map from each other. Your opponent won't be able to leave his last pylon/nexus he probably build at your old base. You should be able to win from here as you have a better econ and map control.
Alternatively, if your opponent allins you very late, you can actually engage him directly
with zealot stalker. Huk actually engaged a much bigger army once with zealot stalker archon and came out ahead.
Collosi into macro game:
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Before we get started here, it's important to get some facts straight. In equal foods below 200, with equally low upgrades like 2-0-0 or 3-1-0, with the correct ratios, and in not a terribly chokey/narrow position, chargelot/archon/immortal/stalker will consistently beat a collosi based army. The reason you can directly get to this composition is that it has a high fixed cost but low variable cost. Twilight council/blink/charge/templar archives is way more expensive than robo bay/range upgrade, but you can get 22 food of chargelot/archon(7 zealot/2 archon) for the same price you get 18 food of collosi. Thus, you use blink stalker both in order to get an econ advantage and to delay your opponent enough to get over that inital fixed cost hump. Many of you will not believe this, but try it out in a unit tester and see for yourself.
When your opponent puts his nexus down, do not trust that he's trying to play a macro game. For all you know, he could be putting down the nexus and then cancel and allin you. Or alternatively not cancel and still allin you. Whatever the case, keep producing nothing but blink stalker until the nexus finishes and you see him producing probes.
From when your opponent first puts down his nexus to when he finally gets blink stalkers
for himself or when he has just too many immortal/ranged collosi, harrass him with blink stalkers. Try to pick off fringe pylons in his base or even a tech building if he built it too close to the edge of his main. Split your stalkers up and use them like medivac drops, pulling your opponent's army to his main and then attack his natural probes with another set of blink stalkers.
As you see your opponent's nexus go down, throw down your 3rd and 4th gas, but don't add anymore infrastrucutre. When you see your opponent's nexus finish and see him producing probes, you can be resonablely sure that he's not going to allin you. It wouldn't make sense for him anyways and you've had a much better econ for so long. In fact, it's quite normal to be 10 probes up versus your opponent, if not more. At this point, add a forge, a templar archives, start charge, and begin pure zealot/archon/immortal production. Your army should be the 15-20 stalkers you have from early game and the rest all zealot/archon/immortal. Do not overmake immortals, especially if your opponent isn't going many blink stalkers to counter your blink stalkers. The upside of getting blink stalkers from your opponent's perspective is that he gest to deny blink stalker harrass better. The downside is that his overall army will be weaker.
Don't go over 55 probes on 2 base. Your main should mine out rather fast. Anything over 55 probes is a waste, because you'd rather secure your 3rd safely and earlier rather than get it later and instantly saturate it.
The key concept to the end game of this style is that your army is better until your opponent maxes out or he gets really good upgrades. Thus, you want to force engagements in the mid game by aggressively expanding or attacking when you're close to maxed. With that in mind, take your 3rd around when you have 10 or so zealots and 1 or 2 archons. This may sound like suicide, but as you get more experienced with the style, you'll being to learn how strong the unit composition is versus collosi based armies.
If your opponent tries to match your 3rd base timing, attack him with everything you have and you should easily win the game. Try to line this attack up with an upgrade or his third finishing. If your opponent delays his third so that he has a fairly high collosi count, add gateways, wait for yourself to be close to max and win with an attack.
The most important aspect of a chargelot/archon composition vs a collosi composition is positioning. A wide area will allow all your zealots and archons to attack while they spread out to avoid collosi splash damage. It also allows your blink stalkers to blink into his army and target collosi/diversify collosi splash damage. A narrow choke means exactly the opposite and can be horrible for this composition. This is why it should be your goal to force fights in wide areas.
During the fight, you battle micro should be as follows. A move your non stalker units and blink your stalkers to the side of your opponent's collosi, shift clicking and targeting them. Then, warp in reinforcements and chronoboost gateways. Alternate focusing attention between your stalkers and warping in more reinforcements.
As for reinforcements, warp in zealots if your opponent has anymore zealots, archons, or immortals left in his composition. Zealots get to the battle the fastest and are the best overall for dealing/taking damage. However, if your opponent has only stalker/collosi, then reinforce with only stalkers. If your opponent has only stalker/collosi, then you should have already had the battle won, because immortals can take on almost any ammount of stalker/collosi. You should instead be focused on chasing the enemy collosi down, which stalkers do a better job with than zealots. Never warp in templar, as archons take too long to morph and won't contribute much to the fight at all.
As for upgrades, attack upgrades are almost as effective for the robo/twilight player as the collosi player, as archons and immortals get huge bonuses. However, armor and shield upgrades are significiantly more effective for the collosi player, as a large portion of the robo/twight player's dps comes from zealots.
So in summary: Use the mobility of blink stalkers to get an earlier expansion than your opponent. Base trade if he tries to allin you. Use your econ lead to transition to a composition that can beat a collosi based army at foods below 200. Take an early 3rd, which will force your opponent to either allin you before he can fight you or take a 3rd which he cannot defend. If he delays his third, wait for your third to kick in for a while, add gateways, and attack him when you're close to maxed.
When your opponent puts his nexus down, do not trust that he's trying to play a macro game. For all you know, he could be putting down the nexus and then cancel and allin you. Or alternatively not cancel and still allin you. Whatever the case, keep producing nothing but blink stalker until the nexus finishes and you see him producing probes.
From when your opponent first puts down his nexus to when he finally gets blink stalkers
for himself or when he has just too many immortal/ranged collosi, harrass him with blink stalkers. Try to pick off fringe pylons in his base or even a tech building if he built it too close to the edge of his main. Split your stalkers up and use them like medivac drops, pulling your opponent's army to his main and then attack his natural probes with another set of blink stalkers.
As you see your opponent's nexus go down, throw down your 3rd and 4th gas, but don't add anymore infrastrucutre. When you see your opponent's nexus finish and see him producing probes, you can be resonablely sure that he's not going to allin you. It wouldn't make sense for him anyways and you've had a much better econ for so long. In fact, it's quite normal to be 10 probes up versus your opponent, if not more. At this point, add a forge, a templar archives, start charge, and begin pure zealot/archon/immortal production. Your army should be the 15-20 stalkers you have from early game and the rest all zealot/archon/immortal. Do not overmake immortals, especially if your opponent isn't going many blink stalkers to counter your blink stalkers. The upside of getting blink stalkers from your opponent's perspective is that he gest to deny blink stalker harrass better. The downside is that his overall army will be weaker.
Don't go over 55 probes on 2 base. Your main should mine out rather fast. Anything over 55 probes is a waste, because you'd rather secure your 3rd safely and earlier rather than get it later and instantly saturate it.
The key concept to the end game of this style is that your army is better until your opponent maxes out or he gets really good upgrades. Thus, you want to force engagements in the mid game by aggressively expanding or attacking when you're close to maxed. With that in mind, take your 3rd around when you have 10 or so zealots and 1 or 2 archons. This may sound like suicide, but as you get more experienced with the style, you'll being to learn how strong the unit composition is versus collosi based armies.
If your opponent tries to match your 3rd base timing, attack him with everything you have and you should easily win the game. Try to line this attack up with an upgrade or his third finishing. If your opponent delays his third so that he has a fairly high collosi count, add gateways, wait for yourself to be close to max and win with an attack.
The most important aspect of a chargelot/archon composition vs a collosi composition is positioning. A wide area will allow all your zealots and archons to attack while they spread out to avoid collosi splash damage. It also allows your blink stalkers to blink into his army and target collosi/diversify collosi splash damage. A narrow choke means exactly the opposite and can be horrible for this composition. This is why it should be your goal to force fights in wide areas.
During the fight, you battle micro should be as follows. A move your non stalker units and blink your stalkers to the side of your opponent's collosi, shift clicking and targeting them. Then, warp in reinforcements and chronoboost gateways. Alternate focusing attention between your stalkers and warping in more reinforcements.
As for reinforcements, warp in zealots if your opponent has anymore zealots, archons, or immortals left in his composition. Zealots get to the battle the fastest and are the best overall for dealing/taking damage. However, if your opponent has only stalker/collosi, then reinforce with only stalkers. If your opponent has only stalker/collosi, then you should have already had the battle won, because immortals can take on almost any ammount of stalker/collosi. You should instead be focused on chasing the enemy collosi down, which stalkers do a better job with than zealots. Never warp in templar, as archons take too long to morph and won't contribute much to the fight at all.
As for upgrades, attack upgrades are almost as effective for the robo/twilight player as the collosi player, as archons and immortals get huge bonuses. However, armor and shield upgrades are significiantly more effective for the collosi player, as a large portion of the robo/twight player's dps comes from zealots.
So in summary: Use the mobility of blink stalkers to get an earlier expansion than your opponent. Base trade if he tries to allin you. Use your econ lead to transition to a composition that can beat a collosi based army at foods below 200. Take an early 3rd, which will force your opponent to either allin you before he can fight you or take a 3rd which he cannot defend. If he delays his third, wait for your third to kick in for a while, add gateways, and attack him when you're close to maxed.
Phoenix opening:
+ Show Spoiler +
You should have enough stalkers to deny all harrass with this build. You should also have an obs in his base to scout what he does.
If your opponent does not have a robo or forge building and tries to expand you can go for a hidden dark shrine for an instant win.
If your opponent did not expand and got a robo, you can expand for yourself. Add a 4th gate but do not make any probes. Mass nothing but blink stalker and fill in the rest of your minerals with zealots. If he tries to allin, focus fire the phenoix and then you'll be left with all blink stalkers versus regular gateway units. Even if you're outnumbered slightly, you should be able to win.
I actually don't have any experience versus phoenix + robo expand with this build, but here's what I theorize you should do. Collosi is quite a long way from him, so I would go for a zealot/archon composition with one forge and your initial supporting stalkers. Then, take an greedy 3rd because his collosi will be slow and few. Again, focus the phoenix with your stalkers. I'm not entirely sure whether to get immortals with this composition though.
If your opponent does not have a robo or forge building and tries to expand you can go for a hidden dark shrine for an instant win.
If your opponent did not expand and got a robo, you can expand for yourself. Add a 4th gate but do not make any probes. Mass nothing but blink stalker and fill in the rest of your minerals with zealots. If he tries to allin, focus fire the phenoix and then you'll be left with all blink stalkers versus regular gateway units. Even if you're outnumbered slightly, you should be able to win.
I actually don't have any experience versus phoenix + robo expand with this build, but here's what I theorize you should do. Collosi is quite a long way from him, so I would go for a zealot/archon composition with one forge and your initial supporting stalkers. Then, take an greedy 3rd because his collosi will be slow and few. Again, focus the phoenix with your stalkers. I'm not entirely sure whether to get immortals with this composition though.
Dark templar opening:
+ Show Spoiler +
Before you even scout dts, you should be aware of the possibility of dts, how likely they are, and when they should come if they do come. Normally, the dt shrine finishes at at 7:10 with normal first gas timing and second gas coming right after the cyber core. Also, 1 gas mines at about 110 gas per minute. Thus, for every minute he delays his gas, he loses 110 gas. With this information and scouting your opponent's units with either a probe or your own poking units, you can deduce when the earliest dts might possibly come.
Once you see the dt shrine and confirm dts, chorno out a second observer, block your ramp with a few units, and forcefield your ramp if a dt comes before your observer finishes. Leave enough units at your base to deal with 2 dts and add a 4th gate. while your second obs is at your main base, your first should be over your opponent's army. Now, you have a choice to make. you can either kill him now or take an expansion. In most cases, you can directly kill him. From now on, make nothing but stalkers. Your opponent's will most likely transition will probably be charge. If you can catch him without charge, you will kill his entire army with blink micro before charge can finish. If you can't catch him before charge finishes, you can probably still kill him.
If you go for the expansion route, consisently harrass him with your blink stalkers and if he tries to allin you, harrass him with blink and it will be very hard to put up a close proxy pylon. You will probably whittle his army down before he gets to your base anyways. Whatever option you choose, as long as you didn't lose probes to his dts,it will be a very difficult game for you to lose.
Alternatively, if your opponent doesn't have a forge or a robo, build a dark shrine for
yourself and go for the free win.
Once you see the dt shrine and confirm dts, chorno out a second observer, block your ramp with a few units, and forcefield your ramp if a dt comes before your observer finishes. Leave enough units at your base to deal with 2 dts and add a 4th gate. while your second obs is at your main base, your first should be over your opponent's army. Now, you have a choice to make. you can either kill him now or take an expansion. In most cases, you can directly kill him. From now on, make nothing but stalkers. Your opponent's will most likely transition will probably be charge. If you can catch him without charge, you will kill his entire army with blink micro before charge can finish. If you can't catch him before charge finishes, you can probably still kill him.
If you go for the expansion route, consisently harrass him with your blink stalkers and if he tries to allin you, harrass him with blink and it will be very hard to put up a close proxy pylon. You will probably whittle his army down before he gets to your base anyways. Whatever option you choose, as long as you didn't lose probes to his dts,it will be a very difficult game for you to lose.
Alternatively, if your opponent doesn't have a forge or a robo, build a dark shrine for
yourself and go for the free win.
Chargelot archon opening:
+ Show Spoiler +
I haven't dealt with this much. I'll get back to you. You can probably deal with it the same way you deal with dts though as in harrassing and engaging the army and blinking back. I'll update the guide after I have more experience with this.
Immortal expand:
+ Show Spoiler +
Immortal expand is generally not very safe vs any build except this one. However,
that still doesn't mean you can't win with this build. You will not be able to reliably win with an allin, because you invested in more tech than he did. However, you're only really far behind if your opponent got his expansion much earlier than you did, more than a minute or so. Procede to harrass him as much as possible with your blink stalkers until he gets blink stalkers of his own. Then, follow either the collosi portion of this guide or the robo twilight mirror portion depending on his followup.
that still doesn't mean you can't win with this build. You will not be able to reliably win with an allin, because you invested in more tech than he did. However, you're only really far behind if your opponent got his expansion much earlier than you did, more than a minute or so. Procede to harrass him as much as possible with your blink stalkers until he gets blink stalkers of his own. Then, follow either the collosi portion of this guide or the robo twilight mirror portion depending on his followup.
1, 2 or 3 gate expand:
+ Show Spoiler +
You should be able to scout this build before commiting to your robo twilight build.
Cancel the robo, throw down a 4th gate and procede to stalker/sentry 4 gate your opponent.
Cancel the robo, throw down a 4th gate and procede to stalker/sentry 4 gate your opponent.
Good maps for this style:
+ Show Spoiler +
Characteristics of a good map for this style:
Terminus SE
Cross position metalopolis
MLG Shattered temple
Xelnaga caverns
Xelnaga fortress
Testbug
Dual sight
Typhon peaks
The not so good:
Close air metalopolis-hard base trade if you take your natural
Shakruas plateau-too easy to hold your natural with both collosi and forcefields
Backwater gulch-the map is a bit too small for my taste to do this with unless it's cross positions
The ugly:
Close position on any maps- you can't base trade well enough
Crossfire- chokes are too narrow for this army composition
Talderim altar-I've never seen a PvP get to this stage on this map
- Big- You want the potential to base trade
- Not narrow-The final unit composition thrives without chokes
- Hard to defend natural-This build has a hard time punishing greedy expansions
Terminus SE
Cross position metalopolis
MLG Shattered temple
Xelnaga caverns
Xelnaga fortress
Testbug
Dual sight
Typhon peaks
The not so good:
Close air metalopolis-hard base trade if you take your natural
Shakruas plateau-too easy to hold your natural with both collosi and forcefields
Backwater gulch-the map is a bit too small for my taste to do this with unless it's cross positions
The ugly:
Close position on any maps- you can't base trade well enough
Crossfire- chokes are too narrow for this army composition
Talderim altar-I've never seen a PvP get to this stage on this map
Other comments:
+ Show Spoiler +
This general style can also be obtained via a blink stalker expand, immortal expand, or dark templar openings. All the nonspecific late game tips still apply.
Example replays and vods:
+ Show Spoiler +
This part is a WIP. Need to rewatch all these games and find the links plus upload my own replays.
Personal replays:
+ Show Spoiler +
Pro replays/vods:
+ Show Spoiler +
Personal replays:
+ Show Spoiler +
Robo twilight mirror with different styles mid game on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10915
In this replay, I start off behind by losing a few stalkers, but I can still come back by following my guide. It demonstrates a more blink stalker heavy style versus an earlier zealot/archon style. Because I get map control with blink stalkers, I feel more safe and I can eventually win with better upgrades and more econ. Note other differences such as forge timing/gas timing/gateway timing.
Robo twilight mirror into macro game on Antiga shipyards
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10916
My opponent actually opens twilight into robo into expand. This is actually a less safe build but has an advantage over robo twilight on this map. Anyways, it's a good replay to showcase how I think the matchup should be played.
Blink vs Robo twilight on Terminus SE
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10917
I open blink into the zealot/archon/stalker/immortal composition. The general concepts I outline about the late game still apply here.
Robo twilight vs Collosi allin on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/11107
This game demonstrates a very typical game versus a collosi allin. The 2 main things I could have done better are getting a few more collosi out before my base died and getting a 2nd observer out.
More personal replays incoming. Specifically need games versus collosi macro, phoenix, and chargelot/archon.
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10915
In this replay, I start off behind by losing a few stalkers, but I can still come back by following my guide. It demonstrates a more blink stalker heavy style versus an earlier zealot/archon style. Because I get map control with blink stalkers, I feel more safe and I can eventually win with better upgrades and more econ. Note other differences such as forge timing/gas timing/gateway timing.
Robo twilight mirror into macro game on Antiga shipyards
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10916
My opponent actually opens twilight into robo into expand. This is actually a less safe build but has an advantage over robo twilight on this map. Anyways, it's a good replay to showcase how I think the matchup should be played.
Blink vs Robo twilight on Terminus SE
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/10917
I open blink into the zealot/archon/stalker/immortal composition. The general concepts I outline about the late game still apply here.
Robo twilight vs Collosi allin on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/11107
This game demonstrates a very typical game versus a collosi allin. The 2 main things I could have done better are getting a few more collosi out before my base died and getting a 2nd observer out.
More personal replays incoming. Specifically need games versus collosi macro, phoenix, and chargelot/archon.
Pro replays/vods:
+ Show Spoiler +
Squirtle vs Hero GSTL game 1 on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gstl3/vod/65330
This game actually starts with a proxy gate and then transitions into standard play. Although it's not the best example of a robo blink build, this game is significant, because this is the first instance zealot/stalker/archon/immortal is used in a televised game.
Ace vs Hasuobs NASL game 2 on Xelnaga caverns
http://nasl.tv/Videos/ace-vs-hasuobs-week-seven-division-four
This is the original game I based my build/style off of. Although Ace makes many mistakes, his harrass is quite good.
Ace vs Hasuobs NASL game 3 on Shattered temple
http://nasl.tv/Videos/ace-vs-hasuobs-week-seven-division-four
Ace goes blink into expansion into robo and ends up with the robo/twilight composition vs collosi again. This game again demonstrates good harass.
MC vs Inca GSL set 3 on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65709
Both players go Robo twilight, but curiously Inca goes for charge and zealots while
MC goes blink and stalkers. MC catches Inca in the middle of the map with blink but
versus no charge. With proper micro, he crushes Inca's army and Inca has to gg.
Huk vs MC GSL game 1 on Xelnaga fortress
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65750
HUk does this build vs MC's blink expand. However, he keeps his own blink stalkers too much in front and engages MC's stalkers without his immortals, losing many stalkers because Huk has fewer. At MC's expansion, he gets an immortal picked off for free and loses to MC's higher stalker count.
Puzzle vs Tassadar GSL game 5 on Terminus SE
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65763
Puzzle goes for this style versus collosi but turns it into an allin. This game shows the importance of checking probe count/production from both sides of the matchup.
Tassadar vs Squirtle GSTL set 2 on Xelnaga Fortress
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gstls1/vod/65787
Tassadar tries to go for a robo twilight style but plays too greedy and loses to a 11 stalker blink allin at 7:29. Tassadar needed to not make his own twilight council and macro more units from his gateways.
Choya vs Tyler MLG game 1 on MLG Metalopolis
http://tv.majorleaguegaming.com/videos/72842-pool-play-tyler-vs-choya-g1
Choya does this build perfectly until after the first fight when he has a lead. If you want to see a pro execute this build perfectly for the first 10 minutes, check this out. He seemed completely confused by Tyler's chargelot transition and fumbled from there. He made an expo, then canceled it, made a robo bay, then canceled it, and then settled for a dark shrine. I think the smartest decision from that point in choya's build is to expand and match tyler's zealot count without getting charge. Also, harass tyler with your high blink stalker count. Then, you can add a templar archives when you see him add his. Alternatively, it might be viable to keep adding on blink stalkers and try to kill tyler off directly. Choya opted for the middle road, adding more stalkers but not harrassing with them. Also, late game choya tries to transition from zealot archon into collosi, something I specifically warn against doing in the guide.
Huk vs Mana Assembly Summer game 2 on Shakruas Plateau
Replay not yet released
Both players go robo twilight. This is a good demonstration of a typical mirror mid game and shows that the stalker is the dominant mid game unit.
TSL.JYP vs AnyproPrime GSL Aug game 2 on Daybreak
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors5/vod/65876
Demonstrates how to play robo blink vs dt opening. JYP makes a read with his scouting probe, seeing a cannon and leaves his first observer at home while chornoing a 2nd observer.
LiquidHero vs AliveFan Bnet game on Shakruas Plateau
http://sc2rep.com/replays/(P)AliveFan_vs_(P)oGsHerO_shakuras_plateau_sc2rep_com_20110810/12312
Blink opening versus robo into immortal expand opening. Then both players transition into the same unit composition. I believe this is the first pro replay demonstrating the robo/twilight mirror late game. This replay also demonstrates good harrass and the effects of supply blocking your opponent and unpowering gateways in the late game if he has only produced the bare minimum number of gateways.
Huk vs Kiwikaki Blizzcon NA qualifiers game 1 on Shattered Temple
http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/tournaments/us-regionals/matches/sc2/video-archive
Huk goes for a greedy robo blink build, which catches kiwikaki off guard. Kiwikaki goes a more safe robo/twilight build, which is what this guide advocates. Normally, as kiwikaki when you see an observer so quickly, you don't expect blink for a long time. However, Huk makes a bet that kiwikaki won't blink allin him and this gambit pays off.
Huk vs Kiwikaki Blizzcon NA qualifiers game 1 on Xelnaga Caverns
http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/tournaments/us-regionals/matches/sc2/video-archive
Mirror builds as game 1 except kiwikaki defends and comes out ahead after the inital fight. Kiwikaki stays on 1 base and allins huk when huk tries to expand. Because kiwikaki was ahead after the initial engagement, huk is down about 800 resources when the allin happens.
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gstl3/vod/65330
This game actually starts with a proxy gate and then transitions into standard play. Although it's not the best example of a robo blink build, this game is significant, because this is the first instance zealot/stalker/archon/immortal is used in a televised game.
Ace vs Hasuobs NASL game 2 on Xelnaga caverns
http://nasl.tv/Videos/ace-vs-hasuobs-week-seven-division-four
This is the original game I based my build/style off of. Although Ace makes many mistakes, his harrass is quite good.
Ace vs Hasuobs NASL game 3 on Shattered temple
http://nasl.tv/Videos/ace-vs-hasuobs-week-seven-division-four
Ace goes blink into expansion into robo and ends up with the robo/twilight composition vs collosi again. This game again demonstrates good harass.
MC vs Inca GSL set 3 on Xelnaga caverns
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65709
Both players go Robo twilight, but curiously Inca goes for charge and zealots while
MC goes blink and stalkers. MC catches Inca in the middle of the map with blink but
versus no charge. With proper micro, he crushes Inca's army and Inca has to gg.
Huk vs MC GSL game 1 on Xelnaga fortress
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65750
HUk does this build vs MC's blink expand. However, he keeps his own blink stalkers too much in front and engages MC's stalkers without his immortals, losing many stalkers because Huk has fewer. At MC's expansion, he gets an immortal picked off for free and loses to MC's higher stalker count.
Puzzle vs Tassadar GSL game 5 on Terminus SE
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors4/vod/65763
Puzzle goes for this style versus collosi but turns it into an allin. This game shows the importance of checking probe count/production from both sides of the matchup.
Tassadar vs Squirtle GSTL set 2 on Xelnaga Fortress
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gstls1/vod/65787
Tassadar tries to go for a robo twilight style but plays too greedy and loses to a 11 stalker blink allin at 7:29. Tassadar needed to not make his own twilight council and macro more units from his gateways.
Choya vs Tyler MLG game 1 on MLG Metalopolis
http://tv.majorleaguegaming.com/videos/72842-pool-play-tyler-vs-choya-g1
Choya does this build perfectly until after the first fight when he has a lead. If you want to see a pro execute this build perfectly for the first 10 minutes, check this out. He seemed completely confused by Tyler's chargelot transition and fumbled from there. He made an expo, then canceled it, made a robo bay, then canceled it, and then settled for a dark shrine. I think the smartest decision from that point in choya's build is to expand and match tyler's zealot count without getting charge. Also, harass tyler with your high blink stalker count. Then, you can add a templar archives when you see him add his. Alternatively, it might be viable to keep adding on blink stalkers and try to kill tyler off directly. Choya opted for the middle road, adding more stalkers but not harrassing with them. Also, late game choya tries to transition from zealot archon into collosi, something I specifically warn against doing in the guide.
Huk vs Mana Assembly Summer game 2 on Shakruas Plateau
Replay not yet released
Both players go robo twilight. This is a good demonstration of a typical mirror mid game and shows that the stalker is the dominant mid game unit.
TSL.JYP vs AnyproPrime GSL Aug game 2 on Daybreak
http://www.gomtv.net/2011gslsponsors5/vod/65876
Demonstrates how to play robo blink vs dt opening. JYP makes a read with his scouting probe, seeing a cannon and leaves his first observer at home while chornoing a 2nd observer.
LiquidHero vs AliveFan Bnet game on Shakruas Plateau
http://sc2rep.com/replays/(P)AliveFan_vs_(P)oGsHerO_shakuras_plateau_sc2rep_com_20110810/12312
Blink opening versus robo into immortal expand opening. Then both players transition into the same unit composition. I believe this is the first pro replay demonstrating the robo/twilight mirror late game. This replay also demonstrates good harrass and the effects of supply blocking your opponent and unpowering gateways in the late game if he has only produced the bare minimum number of gateways.
Huk vs Kiwikaki Blizzcon NA qualifiers game 1 on Shattered Temple
http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/tournaments/us-regionals/matches/sc2/video-archive
Huk goes for a greedy robo blink build, which catches kiwikaki off guard. Kiwikaki goes a more safe robo/twilight build, which is what this guide advocates. Normally, as kiwikaki when you see an observer so quickly, you don't expect blink for a long time. However, Huk makes a bet that kiwikaki won't blink allin him and this gambit pays off.
Huk vs Kiwikaki Blizzcon NA qualifiers game 1 on Xelnaga Caverns
http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/tournaments/us-regionals/matches/sc2/video-archive
Mirror builds as game 1 except kiwikaki defends and comes out ahead after the inital fight. Kiwikaki stays on 1 base and allins huk when huk tries to expand. Because kiwikaki was ahead after the initial engagement, huk is down about 800 resources when the allin happens.
FAQs:
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Does this build work on talderim altar?
No, and it's more of a style than a build.
How does this build do vs Adelscott's no gas 2 gate build?
Are you fucking retarded?
I tried this build and it failed. What did I do wrong?
Post the replay and I'll tell you.
No, and it's more of a style than a build.
How does this build do vs Adelscott's no gas 2 gate build?
Are you fucking retarded?
I tried this build and it failed. What did I do wrong?
Post the replay and I'll tell you.
I simply wanted to point out, that the colossus-player will gain an advantage the longer the game goes. And later on you could - in theory - add the archives yourself and go for a zealot/archon/colossus composition....which we've seen I think Nani do vs MC at homestory cup 3 if I remember correctly. 
