After playing a few ladder games and going 2-1 (the loss being a pretty good game pitting my Zerg against Silent-Strike's Terran) I decide to go into "Observational Mode". NewbieMcnasty is advertising a 1v1 and Stimmed~Tank agrees. I catch the name/pass and join up.

On the Map Rivalry

NewbieMcNasty Brown Terran Lower Right
Stimmed~Tank Yellow Terran Lower Left

Uninvited, I join a game and ask if I can watch. The players kindly allowed me to observe. Sorry, I hope they don't mind me reporting on it but if they don't want me to they can always mail me (E-Mail address not included). Both Players choose Terran so I sit back, and get ready to watch a battle of Terran Gosuness.

Early Game

Both players use quick tech builds and almost totally neglect Marines, which is a standard practice in a TvT. Newbie's build goes along these lines, although counting SCVs is not a favorite passtime of mine, but this is roughly it:

• 8 Depot
• 10 Refinery
• 15 Barracks
• 16 Depot

• 8 depot at choke
• 11 Rax (for complete wall in, as rivalry unlike Temple on requires a single depot and rax to wall off the ramp, at least at Stimmed~Tanks position)
• 12 Gas

So it looks like we can expect some tank action early on. Newbie has only produced 1 marine while Stimmed~Tank has produced 4. Newbie gets double addons as soon as his Factories finish, as does Stimmed~Tank. Both players then get Siege mode and academies, although Stimmed~Tank starts his academy a bit earlier. Both plaers scout eachother. Newbie's scout attempt is foiled by Stimmed~Tank's wallin while Stimmed~Tank's scouting is very successful, as he finds both Factories before being shot down by a lone marine.

Mid Game

Newbie is the first Terran Gosu to make a move. He sends an SCV and 3 tanks down at the far end of Stimmed~Tank's natural, and makes a turret there. Newbie back at home got an early armory for Goliaths and Heavy Metal Upgrades. From his Starport he gets 2 dropships. During this time Stimmed~Tank gets tanks on his hill and some wraiths from his single starport. Both players have begun upgrading their vehicles in their armories, but Newbie started upgrading first which could be a key element early on. Newbiethen expands to the 3:00 spot rather than his natural because it has gas, I assume. Confident in his Tank containment at Stimmed~Tank's natural, he leaves this expansion undefended.

About now Stimmed~Tank realizes that there is about 5 tanks and a missle turret sitting in his natural. Although Stimmed~Tank has the raw forces to beat this, but the fact that tanks that are already sieged eat up tanks that are sieging up in range Stimmed~Tank decides not to try and overwhelm Newbie's containment force just yet.

Newbie now decides to take the first big offensive move of the game. He loads up his 2 dropships with 3 tanks, a Goliath and an SCV. He then drops his attack upgraded payload on the east side of Stimmed~Tank's pleteau, and constructs a missle turret with the SCV. He then sieges his tanks and starts hitting one of Stimmed~Tank's outer factories. Stimmed~Tank sends in tanks of his own from his choke to try to deal with this threat and manages to take out the drop with heavy losses.

Newbie, not one to stop pressing an advantage, unsieges the tanks in Stimmed~Tank's natural and sends them up the ramp along with a group of freshly produced Goliaths. Using cloaking and some tanks, Stimmed~Tank is again able to drive off the attack with 2 tanks and a wraith remaining. Back at home, Newbie has added a 3rd Factory and Second barracks while begining the production of Marines.

With a nice move, Newbie puts 6 Goliaths in 2 Dropships and drops them right on top of Stimmed~Tank's tanks. Since the tanks cannot shoot at close range, the goliaths take them out, and a small pack of marines come up the ramp to help the golies finish off the base.

Analysis