Welcome to this, the latest [ScV] Battle Report. After spamming ~NoHetros for a game to observe and finding everyone AFK, I ventured to the Aus-1 server in the hopes of having better luck there.

Luck, it seems, was on my side and I quickly joined a game between (SK)Morgoth and sexbihua aka [aLt]cOW!!.

Both these players have a strong reputation in the Aus-1 community. (SK)Morgoth has remarkable micro management abilities and his use of psi-storm is fantastic to watch. sexbihua is also a great player whose use of creative strategies can easily catch an opponent off guard. It seemed that a good game was indeed in the making.

(SK)Morgoth was feeling confident and so allowed sexbihua to choose the race match-up. After some discussion, sexbihua resolved that he would control the Zerg swarm and his opponent would command the noble Protoss.

With this decided the count down began and my fellow observers, Martyr, crap700, RApE--AirWalk, crap303 and myself settled down to watch.

As the game began, (SK)Morgoth warped in his Nexus at the 12o'clock start, while sexbihua morphed a Hatchery at the 9o'clock start.

Both player set to work on thier initial build orders which went as follows:

As sexbihua had just started morphing the Hatchery at the top of his ramp, (SK)Morgoth made his first attack with 2 probes and his first zealot. These were met at the ramp by sexbihua's first 6 zerglings and two drones. The zealot accounted for 1 zergling before a second zealot arrived from (SK)Morgoth's base.

After a micro-intensive battle at the top of the ramp, (SK)Morgoth lost one zealot and both probes but a fresh zealot arrived partway through and won the battle. The victorious zealot continued into the zerg main and scored some free hits before it was dispatched by a fresh batch of zerglings.

sexbihua sent fresh drones and morphed the hatchery at his natural, while at the same time sending his now 14 zerlings to the choke just outside (SK)Morgoth's ramp. Seeing 6 zealots at the top of the ramp sexbihua wisely decides not to attack and settles for containment.

sexbihua also begins morphing in a Hydralisk Den and a Sunken colony at his Natural to provide defence and begins creating Hydralisks as soon as the den completes.

(SK)Morgoth has also been busy, adding a Cybernetics Core, Citadel of Adun and a second Gateway. He then sets down a warp anchor for a Templar Archives.

When he has 12 zealots, (SK)Morgoth moves them down assaulting the zerlings in front of his base. After a short skirmish that sees 4 zerglings dead sexbihua retreats the remaining zerlings to his expansion to await reinforcements.

(SK)Morgoth's zealots follows the zerlings, but seeing the sunken colony and fresh hyfralisk reinforcements he errs on the side of caution and places his zealots just beyond the choke to sexbihua's natural.

A calm falls over the battlefield and both players take the time to expand, (SK)Morgoth to his natural and sexbihua to the 6o'clock Main. (SK)Morgoth also throws up a cannon at his natural and 2 in his main to protect against sneaky Lurkers.

Tired of the zealots milling outside his base, sexbihua sends his full force of zerlings and hydralisks to clear out the Protoss troops. Seeing he is outnumbered and outgunned (SK)Morgoth retreats his zealots back towards his natural, where the first two high templar have arrived.

sexbihua's swarm meets the Protoss defenders at the base of (SK)Morgoth's ramp. The first wave of zerglings and hydras crash into the zealots. (SK)Morgoth uses a few zealots to stall the zerglings while at the same time falling back the main portion of his troops and simultaneously storming just in front of the zealots.

The zerglings engaged with the zealots do not move in time and the effects of the storm are... messy. (SK)Morgoth manages to save all of his zealots while all but 1 zergling is killed. The zealots then move in to finish the job.

However, sexbihua had anticipated this course of action and kept the bulk of his hydralisks in reserve and now sends them in. Again the high templar storm but this time the hydras are quicker and most are saved from the psionic ravages.

The zelaots are still mostly undamaged though, and with the help of the cannon at the expansion the zerg attack is halted with substantial loss to both sides. (SK)Morgoth takes the time to add another two Gateways, taking his total to 5

sexbihua's assault does not stop there. while the fighting rages at the expansion, a group of hydralisks manages to slip up the ramp and and into (SK)Morgoth's main where they have a minute of free probe killing before reinforcement zealots and templar (with probe support) drive them off.

(SK)Morgoth throws down a some more cannon at his expansion, while sexbihua begins the morph to Lair at his main and starts a hatchery at his mineral only and at the 6o'clock natural.

There is a brief lull as both players rebuild from the initial fighting, so let's have a look at the map to see how things stand.

(SK)Morgoth goes on the offensive now, sending his new force of zealots, dragoons and dark and high templar out towards the zerg base. they meet sexbihua's zerg forces coming the other way. (SK)Morgoth uses hit and run tactics to draw groups of hydralisks into the path of psi storms.

A furious micro battle ensues as (SK)Morgoth attempts to storm the hydras without having to engage them with his troops while sexbihua dances his control groups around trying to hit the templar without being stormed. In the end it is (SK)Morgoth who displays the better micromanagement and the hydras are driven off or killed.

(SK)Morgoth uses the lull to begin warping in a new Nexus at the 3o'clock mineral only.

During the battle (SK)Morgoth found time to send a lone dark templar to the 6o'clock natural. There it found the unguarded expansion and proceded to chop it to pieces. sexbihua is busy controling his hydralisks and so either does not notice or does not care and the expansion is lost.

sexbihua responds to the loss of his expansion by sending 2 control gorups of hydralisks to (SK)Morgoth's new expansion. The Protoss warriors defend bravely, but Zerg reinforcements turn the tide and the Protoss expansion is lost.

The victorious forces of sexbihua push on again into (SK)Morgoth's natural and are again met by massed zealots and high templar who again drive off the Zerg swarm. sexbihua retreats his hydralisks a safe distance and instead sends in Lurkers to try and clear out the zealots, but some well placed storms see of the crawling beasts.

Despite the constant running battles back and forth across the middle of the map, both players have been steadily upgrading thier troops. A quick check revealed the following:

Having been denied the 6o'clock natural (albeit by one dark templar) sexbihua lays down a new hatchery, this time at the 6o'clock mineral only, and start another hatchery at his own mineral only expansion. The same dark templar, still lurking around the 6o'clock natural comes into play, again removing the morphing hatchery at the 6o'clock mineral only before it can be saved.

Now sexbihua makes his move. He sends a control group of hydralisks straight at (SK)Morgoth's natural. As soon as they engage the Protoss units there he sends 6 overlords full loaded up with hydralisks into the rear of (SK)Morgoth's main.

(SK)Morgoth responds by sending a fresh batch of zealots and templar to combat them. The confines of the Protoss base work against the Zerg and they fall easy prey to psi-storms and zealot blades.

(SK)Morgoth retaliates to the drop by sending his forces out towards the Zerg base again. sexbihua has been using the rally point command for his troops so the Protoss forces run smack into the next wave of Zerg attackers. The Zerg units are clumped together and before many of them even have a chance to move (SK)Morgoth's psi-storm control comes to the fore again and the Zerg units are wiped out.

Each storm is followed by a wave of zealots, ensuring that no Zerg troops are left alive. sexbihua has a massive ecconomy however and can afford to keep pumping troops. He also begins queen production to help stem the templar tide.

(SK)Morgoth moves all his forces to the center of the map, just to the north of the Lost Temple itself. Yet more Hydralisks pour in from all corners of the map as sexbihua's macroing goes into overdrive.

For every gorup of Hydras that arrives, (SK)Morgoth uses his "Storm for 10 mana hack" and blasts them into oblivion, following up with his zealots which are now at 2/0/3. Storm is not enough and (SK)Morgoth realises that he must up his resource intake to stay in the game. To this end he expands again to the 3o'clock mineral only, erecting cannons to help defend it.

sexbihua also expands yet again this time to the 3o'clock main, and, after destroying the dark templar that has been his bane, start a third hatchery at the 6o'clock mineral only. (SK)Morgoth tries to stop the expansion by constructing two cannons at the top of the 3o'clock ramp, but the drone makes it through before they finish warping in.

The Zerg forces try to halt the new Protoss expansion attempt, but again they are denied by zealots, high templar and an Archon and the expansion proceeds. (SK)Morgoth has it operational almost immediately by maynarding around 12 probes from his natural.

sexbihua decides to follow the old addage 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again' and loads up another batch of overlords. Unfortunately for him, (SK)Morgoth has prepared for this eventuality by leaving a group of zealots and high templar in his main.

Two of the overlords explode without dropping thier cargo and the remainder of the hydralisks are dealt with in short order. But not before they destroy (SK)Morgoth's Templar Archives, the target of the drop.

(SK)Morgoth took the destruction of the Archives in his stride and switched to producing Dragoons from his 7 gateways, at the same time sending a probe to start an expansion at the 3o'clock natural. Let's have a look at the lay of the land:

sexbihua has now upgraded his units to be 2/2 and decides the time is right to strike. He masses his forces and assaults the Protoss expansion at the 3o'clock mineral only. Knowing that (SK)Morgoth's templar production is limited, at least for the moment, sexbihua begins to draw off the storms. Both sides move all thier forces to the battle.

The combat rolls back and forth but slowly sexbihua's greater economy and greater macroing begin to push the balance in the Zerg favour. As storms are exhausted (SK)Morgoth is forced to merge his templar to carry on the fight. Eventually the Zerg weight of numbers carries the day despite a fresh wave of zealots arriving just as the Nexus falls.

The loss of the Nexus is a blow to (SK)Morgoth, leaving him with only 2 mining bases to sexbihua's 5. But the Zerg swarm has not yet finished. Fresh hydralisks pour into the 3o'clock expansion, this time with lurkers in support. (SK)Morgoth runs his probes to safety and yet more psi-storms crackle, dispatching the zerg attackers before the probes resume mining.

(SK)Morgoth takes all his remaining troops and moves them to the 3o'clock mineral only, driving off the Zerg positioned there before he begins to warp in a new nexus. Again sexbihua's hydra swarms attack, but this is only a feint, as another group of overlords unloads thier cargo into the heart of the Protoss main base.

Despite a brave defence, (SK)Morgoth realises that all is lost, with his main under attack, his new expansion destroyed and his natural almost out of minerals. Offering a GG, he concedes game 1 to sexbihua.

This was one of the best games I have ever observed. Both players played outstanding games, with (SK)Morgoth's storming skill being a high point. In all seriousness he must have stormed no less than 60 times throughout the game, with the storms accounting for the majority of the casualties he caused.

sexbihua's game showed the power of Zerg macro. At the end of the game he was producing hydras from no less than 11 hatcheries, and despite the number of storms that his opponent could throw at him there was always a new control group only seconds behind. An excellent game by both players, and now the final scores

The game turned out to be very close in the end with (SK)Morgoth less than 1000 points behind his opponent.

And now my awards for the game:

• to (SK)Morgoth goes the "No storm IS only 10 mana" award, 'cause he just used it so damn much
• sexbihua recieves the "100% pure, homogenized, accept-no-substitutes Grade A bad-ass award" because anyone who can take 400 casualties and still win deserves it