MLG Dallas 2011 Update, Day 1

Hey everyone! There were some awesome matches tonight! First up was Sockeh(P) vs Idra(Z). Sockeh opened up with several fast Voidrays oin Xel'naga Caverns, however Idra scouted them and shut them down very quickly and took Game 1. Idra said in the interview after the matches that he had studied Sockeh's play and had learned he had been favoring that Void Ray opening. In game 2, Shakuras Plateau was the map, the old version, which was odd because MLG was using the new version of Lost Temple. Sockeh again opened with a Stargate but when it was scouted canceled it in favor of a Robo Facility, Fooling Idra into not making enough units however Idra suspecting something, ended up getting Roach burrow and effectively shut down Sockeh's ability to push by using the burrow as a defense measure against his Stalker/Immortal unit comp. Idra got a third, and pushed out for and attack and took the match 2-0.

I also got to see LiquidTyler(P) vs EGMachine(Z). Tyler looked to be in strong form going into this match, however Zerg kept up some high pressure and prevent Tyler from really getting into any solid Tech. Both matches ended the same with EGMachine taking the win.

Not many other games that were very noteworthy, I hope to bring you some info on some great matches tomorrow!

Its important to remember that these first matches were simply there for players to get seeded higher. No one is getting eliminated just yet, the matches will only get better tomorrow.

Also one last thing, I saw Huk while at the Alienware booth showing off my skill and wished him luck! He flew straight in from Korea yesterday and I for one was worried he would be suffering from some nasty jet lag. I wish you the best Huk! Show them what Korean playing is all about!!!!

A Mental Tactic

After watching the Day(9) Daily about the contaminate, it got me thinking about other ways to mentally screw with your opponent. We saw that Contaminate can really screw with a persons macro, which is huge! So what can Protoss do to mess with an opponents mind?

Well for one thing, our options for some effective early harassment are limited. The only real unit that is fast and able to due extra damage to Lightly armored units are the Phoenix, and they can only attack air and a limited number ground targets. The best they can do is harass mineral lines or snipe Overlords/Overseers. So I began looking into Protoss mechanics and how the race differs from the other two. So I thought of the Warping Mechanic, and how it can help Protoss develop some mental tactics against their opponents. In the past I had one opponent who did something similar to what I am about to propose, and I cannot wait to try it in a real match.

What this player did was setup a line of Pylons from his base to about 1/2 to 2/3 to mine. In an effort to allow for quick reinforcements if he is ever pushed back while also creating an advanced warning and scout system to know when I am making my push forward. It also buys him time to regroup, as a Pylon in the middle of nowhere is more threatening than an army retreating. However the amount of minerals lost if you have to retreat can cost you quite a bit. So here is my variation of this tactic.

What if instead of creating a line of Pylons, you actually place proxy Pylons in key places that aren't normally scouted or maneuvered through. It would really benefit someone later on when control of the map is more important. The enemy could come out at places you would not expect to have seen. For example, on Xel'naga Caverns, you could place a Pylon near the visibility reeds at the natural expansion, one at the expansion behind the rocks, and one near the other end of the back door trail behind the visibility reeds. This gives 3 additional attack routes that are not commonly scouted or moved through. It will cause your opponent to scout around and find these Pylons if he indeed realizes that is what you are doing. Warp Prisms work with this as well because they can maneuver, however, they cost twice as much, have a smaller warp field, and do not offer supply.

It is also important to remember that this will not work effectively on every map. Lost Temple for example gives very easily defend-able attack routes that allow a mobile force to move around the map quickly, but hard to implement this tactic as there are no visibility issues or alternate routes. Metalopolis would actually be a good map to implement this on in almost any of the spawn locations, as well as Steppes of War, Shakuras Plateau.

**Edit: After writing this post I stumbled across an article about the new 1v1 maps and discovered that several of the maps I mentioned are not even on the ladder map list**

New Maps in 1V1

Desert Oasis and Kulas Ravine have been removed from the 1v1 ladder pool and replaced with Jungle Basin and Shakuras Plateau, respectively. While Desert Oasis and Kulas Ravine are no longer available for 1v1 ladder games, they remain playable in custom games.

We got some new maps coming into play. I am glad Desert Oasis has been removed. I like using primarily ground based units and the distances between the base as well as the multiple avenues to each others bases was very problematic. Kulas Ravine I was just getting use to, but one thing I noticed that was so much of a huge change, was ALL THE FRICKEN XEL'NAGA TOWERS. Most maps have 1-3, this one had at least 8! The expansions looked to be creative to take and convenient in places, but for the most part, in 1v1, it was just too big of a map.

I still plan on doing a series about the different maps and matchups in the game. I cant wait to start it, but I am also super busy with work and life, this week especially. My computer will probably be in in about 2 weeks, it still has not shipped. I am still practicing in AI games, but for the most part I haven't played a ladder game in about 2 weeks.

One thing I want to seriously practice is my macro. I'm starting to see what causes pro players to decline in certain games and what the purpose of your strategies should be. These little attacks and harassments into each others bases aren't for a win early on, its to mess up the other players macro to a point where his money overflows or his income is so low he has to take a step back to continue.

So this is what im going to do, I am going to concentrate on macro, and only macro. Ill build an army, but only after I am making sure I am building probes, I am expanding, and building Pylons. If I get supply blocked, or miss building a probe, That is a leak I need to plug, if you are making one of these mistakes within 2-3 minutes of the game, chances are your making a ton more later on. The chances for you missing something grows exponentially as the game progresses. Work on those little things, treat looking at your HUD (Minimap, Supply, Resources) the same as checking your mirrors while driving. Its the same concept.