This will be a short guide. A cute little nAni build will be included as well! Consider it an Easter egg, a Christmas ornament as it were.
The meat
+ Show Spoiler +
Here is a generic opener that gets you a 2nd gas at a reasonable time (21 food, not too shabby), and can go into whatever style you'd like.
9 Pylon
12 Gateway
14 Gas
15 Pylon
17 Core
18 Zealot
21 Gas (2nd)
22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)
25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!
26 Stalker; CB it!!!
29 Tech structure of your choice! or additional gates if youre a scaredy cat
30 Sentry
This will net you a zealot and 2 stalkers by the time any kind of approach comes. Get to the 2ndary ramp asap!
This is the formation you want:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_34.jpg)
This is not what you want:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_29.jpg)
In the first screen capture, the stalkers are at the very lip of the ramp so that they are out of sight and can shoot the probe asap. In the 2nd one, they might have to move after you see the probe in order to start. bad! You might even consider having both stalkers closer to the inside corner of the ramp, still on the lip but hugging the wall where the probe will most likely try to mineral walk through.
Here comes the approach:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_44.jpg)
this game I didn't scout so I waste a few shots on the stalker before targeting the probe. As you'll see, this is fine even if he gets up 2 pylons below the ramp.
Kill the probe, and then kill the stalker. This shouldn't be a problem with any kind of reasonable correct micro:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_54.jpg)
After you kill the stalker for free, kill the zealot while retreating up your ramp. Your sentry should be done now. You want to kill the zealot before his pylons + WG is done to prevent an above-ramp warp-in or you're dead.
Once the zealot is dead, focus down the pylons 1 by 1. Only use your 1st forcefield when he is about to get vision up the ramp:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_17.jpg)
You should only get a 2nd sentry if you're being aggressed. Chain your 2nd ff with the first one:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_24.jpg)
Once the 2nd ff is down, you are in great shape! continue to warp in as many sentries as you need to keep chaining forcefields.
You'll bring down the 2nd pylon as your 2nd ff is in place, and then you've got it! It's really easy to forget your pylon on 32! Make sure you don't, or you might run out of FFs and lose immediately
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_31.jpg)
GG
9 Pylon
12 Gateway
14 Gas
15 Pylon
17 Core
18 Zealot
21 Gas (2nd)
22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)
25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!
26 Stalker; CB it!!!
29 Tech structure of your choice! or additional gates if youre a scaredy cat
30 Sentry
This will net you a zealot and 2 stalkers by the time any kind of approach comes. Get to the 2ndary ramp asap!
This is the formation you want:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_34.jpg)
This is not what you want:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_29.jpg)
In the first screen capture, the stalkers are at the very lip of the ramp so that they are out of sight and can shoot the probe asap. In the 2nd one, they might have to move after you see the probe in order to start. bad! You might even consider having both stalkers closer to the inside corner of the ramp, still on the lip but hugging the wall where the probe will most likely try to mineral walk through.
Here comes the approach:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_44.jpg)
this game I didn't scout so I waste a few shots on the stalker before targeting the probe. As you'll see, this is fine even if he gets up 2 pylons below the ramp.
Kill the probe, and then kill the stalker. This shouldn't be a problem with any kind of reasonable correct micro:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_19_54.jpg)
After you kill the stalker for free, kill the zealot while retreating up your ramp. Your sentry should be done now. You want to kill the zealot before his pylons + WG is done to prevent an above-ramp warp-in or you're dead.
Once the zealot is dead, focus down the pylons 1 by 1. Only use your 1st forcefield when he is about to get vision up the ramp:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_17.jpg)
You should only get a 2nd sentry if you're being aggressed. Chain your 2nd ff with the first one:
![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_24.jpg)
Once the 2nd ff is down, you are in great shape! continue to warp in as many sentries as you need to keep chaining forcefields.
You'll bring down the 2nd pylon as your 2nd ff is in place, and then you've got it! It's really easy to forget your pylon on 32! Make sure you don't, or you might run out of FFs and lose immediately

![[image loading]](http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/alej15/Screenshot2011-12-2417_20_31.jpg)
GG
The potatoes
+ Show Spoiler +
This is most likely common knowledge for a lot of folks, but since I still hear people talking about losing to 4gate, I thought I'd share this little bit. I learned this from nAni at MLG. He did this build:
9 Pylon
12 Gateway
14 Gas
15 Pylon
17 Core
18 Zealot
21 Gas (2nd)
22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)
25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!
26 Stalker; CB it!!!
29 Twilight Council
30 Sentry
32 Gate
32 Gate
32 Pylon
** whatever you need to defend, then a robo and an obs **
If you aren't being agressed, you don't need to warp in anything until you have started your robo! cool stuff.
Anyway, try out this build and see how you like it. nani didn't really cut probes once he started producing units, and he expoed when I saw him do this against HuK after doing damage to HuK's earlier expansion, and then absolutely smoked the poor boy!
The reason this is most/more effective on maps with a 2ndary ramp is that the approach MUST go through a single point, so it's easier to focus down the probe. You can do this to some degree on other maps, as well, but you should NEVER lose to 4g on the maps specified in the intro doing this! gl!
Here is the replay from the screen shots for reference
http://sc2rep.com/replays/download?id=16867
more replays
http://drop.sc/82667
http://drop.sc/82666
if you go robo after 3 gates and twilight, you are pretty safe vs everything but wp rush. you should always check for it when it should come. i miss it this game but still win somehow O_O
do what i did but check for wp a bit sooner so you can cancel your robo if need be
alejP v clashmercyP
9 Pylon
12 Gateway
14 Gas
15 Pylon
17 Core
18 Zealot
21 Gas (2nd)
22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)
25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!
26 Stalker; CB it!!!
29 Twilight Council
30 Sentry
32 Gate
32 Gate
32 Pylon
** whatever you need to defend, then a robo and an obs **
If you aren't being agressed, you don't need to warp in anything until you have started your robo! cool stuff.
Anyway, try out this build and see how you like it. nani didn't really cut probes once he started producing units, and he expoed when I saw him do this against HuK after doing damage to HuK's earlier expansion, and then absolutely smoked the poor boy!
The reason this is most/more effective on maps with a 2ndary ramp is that the approach MUST go through a single point, so it's easier to focus down the probe. You can do this to some degree on other maps, as well, but you should NEVER lose to 4g on the maps specified in the intro doing this! gl!
Here is the replay from the screen shots for reference
http://sc2rep.com/replays/download?id=16867
more replays
http://drop.sc/82667
http://drop.sc/82666
if you go robo after 3 gates and twilight, you are pretty safe vs everything but wp rush. you should always check for it when it should come. i miss it this game but still win somehow O_O
do what i did but check for wp a bit sooner so you can cancel your robo if need be
alejP v clashmercyP
Happy Holidays!
aLeJ