SatedSC2 Profile Blog Joined March 2014 England 3012 Posts Last Edited: 2014-12-26 01:13:15 #1 Stupid Shit That Works On Ladder

or The Second Great Book Of Protoss Bullshit





Contents



Introduction

PvP: The "Hyper" 4 Gate

PvT: 1 Gate FE Into 5 Gate All-In

PvZ: 15 Nexus Gate Gate Gate

PvP: Proxy Oracle Into Void-Ray All-In

PvP: 11 Gate 3 Gate Tinman

PvT: #PrayingToInCa

PvZ: The 4-2-2 aka. The Double-Triple-Double

Conclusions



Introduction

How many times have you been playing on the ladder and come across a build that didn't make much sense to you? Something so one-dimensional, so bone-headed, so weird or flat-out stupid that you didn't understand why your opponent thought it was going to work? Even worse, it had worked and you didn't understand why such a stupid build had stomped all over your naive face? For those of you who are aware of this feeling and hate having to feel it, I should warn you that this guide probably won't make you happy. That goes double for people who hated The Great Book of Protoss Bullshit.



Personally, I don't get it. So many people play the ladder as if they think they're playing in a tournament setting. As if their ladder experience is supposed to be comprised of professional players using meticulously refined builds and strategies. As if it's supposed to be full of people whose style they're capable of knowing or predicting or meta-gaming based on their name alone. As if everyone has a style that follows one of the many "standard" guides that you find littering this very forum. As if the people they're playing aren't capable of thinking for themselves or something like that.



Luckily for all the Protoss players on the forum (and unluckily for everyone on the forum, even the Protoss players) I'm not one of those people who like to worry too much about build-order viability. Therefore, given that it's Christmas and I'm feeling in a charitable mood, I'm going to give away some of the stranger builds I've had consistently work for me on the ladder or in clan-wars or in tournaments or... I guess it doesn't really matter where they've worked because they've worked against Masters/GM opponents and so are definitely good enough for ~99% of people who play this game.



I guess what I'm getting at is that people should take heed of strategy guru Teoita's favourite sentiment, examples of which I'm sure everyone has seen at least once in the past. Besides, what's the point in playing Protoss if you're not willing to engage in the dark arts?



How many times have you been playing on the ladder and come across a build that didn't make much sense to you? Something so one-dimensional, so bone-headed, so weird or flat-out stupid that you didn't understand why your opponent thought it was going to work? Even worse, it had worked and you didn't understand why such a stupid build had stomped all over your naive face? For those of you who are aware of this feeling and hate having to feel it, I should warn you that this guide probably won't make you happy. That goes double for people who hatedPersonally, I don't get it. So many people play the ladder as if they think they're playing in a tournament setting. As if their ladder experience is supposed to be comprised of professional players using meticulously refined builds and strategies. As if it's supposed to be full of people whose style they're capable of knowing or predicting or meta-gaming based on their name alone. As if everyone has a style that follows one of the many "standard" guides that you find littering this very forum. As if the people they're playing aren't capable of thinking for themselves or something like that.Luckily for all the Protoss players on the forum (and unluckily for everyone on the forum, even the Protoss players) I'm not one of those people who like to worry too much about build-order viability. Therefore, given that it's Christmas and I'm feeling in a charitable mood, I'm going to give away some of the stranger builds I've had consistently work for me on the ladder or in clan-wars or in tournaments or... I guess it doesn't really matter where they've worked because they've worked against Masters/GM opponents and so are definitely good enough for ~99% of people who play this game.I guess what I'm getting at is that people should take heed of strategy guru Teoita's favourite sentiment, examples of which I'm sure everyone has seen at least once in the past. Besides, what's the point in playing Protoss if you're not willing to engage in the dark arts? On Dec 8 2014 16:00 Teoita wrote:

Ladder is a very different environment than pros playing in a tournament and, frankly, people tend to obsess over whether something is viable or not too much. On ladder you can win with pretty much anything.



At the end of the day, weird styles that work on ladder aren't bad per se, and in fact they are extremely fun to play, but that doesn't make them legitimate/viable/whatever.

On April 14 2014 07:16 Teoita wrote:

I didn't say anything about what's viable at the pro level, my comment was about the average player's ladder builds. At that level, anything can work pretty much.

On June 18 2014 20:39 Teoita wrote:

Show nested quote +

This will not do anything against anyone not in Bronze league.

You'd be surprised at how well Protoss bullshit builds do at every level. You'd be surprised at how well Protoss bullshit builds do at every level.



PvP: The "Hyper" 4 Gate





I was going to write something clever underneath a picture of 4 Gateways but fuck it: This song already nails it.

The 4 Gate is one of the oldest cheeses in the book. People have been using it ever since Blizzard thought that Desert Oasis was a good idea (I'm not entirely sure they got any better at choosing/making maps since then) and I'm pretty sure a lot of people wished that it had died along with that retarded map. It didn't die and eventually it took Blizzard nerfing the crap out of it to stop people from using at the pro level. It still kinda worked towards the end of Wings of Liberty if you weren't playing at the pro-level, but Heart of the Swarm offered up a further nerf in the form of the Mothership Core. The Nexus was now a giant Cannon that a 4 Gate couldn't possibly contend with. The 4 Gate was finally dead...



... except the thing with build orders like the 4 Gate is that they work better the less your opponent expects them. Blizzard didn't kill the 4 Gate, all they did is convince people that it wasn't a good build to use any more and that lead to people discounting it from their list of things that could possibly occur in a PvP. People slowly went from opening with Gateway scouts or 3 Stalker rushes (aka. things that allow you to react to a 4 Gate) to opening without scouting for anything other than proxies whilst going 1 Gate Tech (aka. things that can't react to a 4 Gate). People got this stupid idea into their heads that the Nexus Cannon alone was capable of holding off a dedicated 4 Gate, which is silly when you realise that a Photon Overcharge is just for Christmas (or 60 seconds and that often comes first). The result of this is that a properly executed 4 Gate is still capable of crushing people who don't take it seriously because although Photon Overcharge is a strong defensive ability, it's pretty fucking useless if you still don't have enough units to defend once it runs out.



This isn't even a normal 4 Gate anyway. It's a "Hyper" 4 Gate. What does that mean? It means that you open with 2 Gateways before your Cybernetics Core, which means that after your first Warpgate cycle you'll have 6 Stalkers and 2 Zealots instead of 5 Stalkers and 1 Zealot. Those two extra units don't sound like much but when you eventually end up using this build vs. a standard 4 Gate (or more likely vs. the 10 Gate 3 Gate from The Great Book of Protoss Bullshit) then you'll see how bad ass those two extra units actually are!



Build Order:

9 Pylon



12 Gate



13 Gas



15 Gate



16 Core



17 Pylon



Cut Probes At 18 Supply



@100% Pylon: 2x Zealot



@100% Cybernetics Core: Wargate Research



@250m 100g: Queue Two Stalkers



@300m: 2x Gateway



When Zealots Complete, Send Them To Attack And Send A Probe With Them



Get 2 Proxy Pylons As Close As Possible. Build Order Notes:

Only chrono Probes once when your first Pylon completes. You need the rest of your chrono for Warpgate Research.



You should have enough energy to constantly chrono Warpgate Research. Make sure you chain them up properly else your timing will be late and seconds really count with a build like this.



Rally your two Zealots straight to your opponent's base. Try to force your way up your opponent's ramp so that you can put your proxy Pylons in their main, but don't be too suicidal with your Probe. Getting any proxy Pylons is far more important than getting them slightly further forward.



If they have a Sentry then try to bait the Forcefield with your Zealots. Kinda important not to get perma-Forcefielded out of the opponent's base when you're 4 Gating them.



I don't recommend using this build on 2P maps, but if you do then don't forget to scout your base for proxy Gateways after getting your first Gateway. This build is better used on >2P maps because people seem to scout even less on maps like that; in this case you want to scout for where your opponent's base is after your second Gateway built. This Probe must stay alive to build proxy Pylons so be really careful with it. Replays:



http://drop.sc/390634

http://drop.sc/390633

http://drop.sc/390632

http://drop.sc/390631





The 4 Gate is one of the oldest cheeses in the book. People have been using it ever since Blizzard thought that Desert Oasis was a good idea (I'm not entirely sure they got any better at choosing/making maps since then) and I'm pretty sure a lot of people wished that it had died along with that retarded map. It didn't die and eventually it took Blizzard nerfing the crap out of it to stop people from using at the pro level. It still kinda worked towards the end ofif you weren't playing at the pro-level, butoffered up a further nerf in the form of the Mothership Core. The Nexus was now a giant Cannon that a 4 Gate couldn't possibly contend with. The 4 Gate was finally dead...... except the thing with build orders like the 4 Gate is that they work better the less your opponent expects them. Blizzard didn't kill the 4 Gate, all they did is convince people that it wasn't a good build to use any more and that lead to people discounting it from their list of things that could possibly occur in a PvP. People slowly went from opening with Gateway scouts or 3 Stalker rushes (aka. things that allow you to react to a 4 Gate) to opening without scouting for anything other than proxies whilst going 1 Gate Tech (aka. things that can't react to a 4 Gate). People got this stupid idea into their heads that the Nexus Cannon alone was capable of holding off a dedicated 4 Gate, which is silly when you realise that a Photon Overchargejust for Christmas (or 60 seconds and that often comes first). The result of this is that a properly executed 4 Gate is still capable of crushing people who don't take it seriously because although Photon Overcharge is a strong defensive ability, it's pretty fucking useless if you still don't have enough units to defend once it runs out.This isn't even a normal 4 Gate anyway. It's a "Hyper" 4 Gate. What does that mean? It means that you open with 2 Gateways before your Cybernetics Core, which means that after your first Warpgate cycle you'll have 6 Stalkers and 2 Zealots instead of 5 Stalkers and 1 Zealot. Those two extra units don't sound like much but when you eventually end up using this build vs. a standard 4 Gate (or more likely vs. the 10 Gate 3 Gate from) then you'll see how bad ass those two extra units actually are! PvT: 1 Gate FE Into 5 Gate All-In



Jingle Bells, Repair smells, Bunkers in my way. But Sentries have their energy so Forcefields win the game! HEY!

If you could win thousands and thousands of £££s using only mass Gateway strategies and choice Forcefield placements then you'd do it right? Except you'd be too late since MC has already been there and done that. MC spent most of Wings of Liberty relentlessly crushing his way through countless Terrans and Zergs using only Sentry-heavy Gateway all-ins and it worked for way longer than it should've done. You'd think that people would've worked out a way to stop him from doing it given how simplistic Gateway all-ins are but, much like how I'd love it if people would just stop letting



From the Protoss side of things the idea behind this build is pretty simple. You expand, cut Probes, build 4 additional Gateways and then shove units down your opponent's throat. But from the Terran side of things it isn't all so simple and that's why it works. As far as the Terran is concerned, you're opening with what looks like any other fast-expand build. You're not going to be spending any chrono into Warpgate Research. You're not going to be skipping anything the Terran would expect you to have. You'll have a Mothership Core as per usual. You'll deflect Reaper scouting as per usual. If they poke you early in the game then you'll trigger Photon Overcharge as per usual. They'll see nothing out of the ordinary unless they manage to hit a Scan that sees all your Gateways (Protip: Don't build them next to each other) or manage to sneak a Reaper into your base (Protip: Don't let Reapers into your base when you're cheesing). It's very difficult for the Terran to know that they're being cheesed unless you screw something up and that's what makes this build so dangerous!



Ultimately this build is a throwback to a better time, a happier time, a time before Widow Mines and Mothership Cores ruined PvT, and it works just as well now as it did back in 2010... you know, assuming the opponent doesn't make any of the aforementioned Widow Mines or anything else that happens to be able to cloak itself!



Build Order:

9 Pylon



13 Gateway



15 Gas



16 Pylon



18 Zealot



20 Cybernetics Core



22 Nexus



Cut Probes



Mothership Core, Warpgate Research, Pylon...



Resume Probes



Gas (2)



Chrono Out Either A Sentry OR A Stalker. Then Chrono Out 3 More Sentries (See Notes Below)



@8 Probes On Natural: Cut Probes Entirely



@600m: 4x Gateway (Try To Spread Out Around Base)



Start Getting Proxy Pylons



@100% Warpgate: Stalker OR Sentry. Whichever You Didn't Get First.



@100% Gateways: 5x Zealot (Move Out; Chronoboost ALL Gateways)



@100% Gateway Cool-Down: 5x Stalker (Attack!) Build Order Notes:

I open Zealot before Cybernetics Core because I never cancel the Zealot and so getting the Cybernetics Core first doesn't actually change how fast I can get the Mothership Core. If you're one of those people who likes cancelling Zealots when opening 1 Gate FE then go ahead and get the Cybernetics Core first.



It's probably best not to use this build if the opponent goes gas first since you won't have any detection vs. Widow Mine rushes. Not that using it against Marine/Hellion rushes works any better since they'll scout all your shit and so should be ready for your attack. Besides, you really can't afford to lose any Probes or mining-time if you want to hit a crisp timing, so using this build in the face of certain harassment isn't really a great idea. I fucking hate gas-first openings. I really do.



Chrono Probes 3 times after your first Pylon finishes.



Whether you get a Sentry or a Stalker after expanding is optional. Getting a Sentry allows it to build more energy before your attack whereas getting a Stalker allows you to deflect Reaper scouts easier. Regardless of what you choose to get, it should be chrono'd out and followed up by 3 chrono'd Sentries.



When your natural Nexus finishes, chrono both Nexuses once. After this, don't use chrono on anything other than your Gateways. The first time you do this will be when you chrono all five of them after building the initial five Zealots. Replays:



http://drop.sc/390640

http://drop.sc/390639

http://drop.sc/390638

http://drop.sc/390637

http://drop.sc/390636

http://drop.sc/390635





If you could win thousands and thousands of £££s using only mass Gateway strategies and choice Forcefield placements then you'd do it right? Except you'd be too late since MC has already been there and done that. MC spent most ofrelentlessly crushing his way through countless Terrans and Zergs using only Sentry-heavy Gateway all-ins and it worked for way longer than it should've done. You'd think that people would've worked out a way to stop him from doing it given how simplistic Gateway all-ins are but, much like how I'd love it if people would just stop letting Arjen Robben cut inside onto his fucking left foot, it isn't that easy to stop someone doing something that they're really fucking good at.From the Protoss side of things the idea behind this build is pretty simple. You expand, cut Probes, build 4 additional Gateways and then shove units down your opponent's throat. But from the Terran side of things it isn't all so simple and that's why it works. As far as the Terran is concerned, you're opening with what looks like any other fast-expand build. You're not going to be spending any chrono into Warpgate Research. You're not going to be skipping anything the Terran would expect you to have. You'll have a Mothership Core as per usual. You'll deflect Reaper scouting as per usual. If they poke you early in the game then you'll trigger Photon Overcharge as per usual. They'll see nothing out of the ordinary unless they manage to hit a Scan that sees all your Gateways (Protip: Don't build them next to each other) or manage to sneak a Reaper into your base (Protip: Don't let Reapers into your base when you're cheesing). It's very difficult for the Terran to know that they're being cheesed unless you screw something up and that's what makes this build so dangerous!Ultimately this build is a throwback to a better time, a happier time, a time before Widow Mines and Mothership Cores ruined PvT, and it works just as well now as it did back in 2010... you know, assuming the opponent doesn't make any of the aforementioned Widow Mines or anything else that happens to be able to cloak itself! PvZ: 15 Nexus Gate Gate Gate



I guess my Zealots aren't from the stock that run around yelling, "We cannot hold!" like little bitches.

This is Heart of the Swarm! Or at least it did still work until Blizzard decided to play the role of Scrooge and take #DreamPool away from me just in time for Christmas. Bah bloody humbug! But I've already



#DreamPool or otherwise, this build is still pretty decent on any map that has a 9-tile choke at the natural and also has a relatively short rush distance. I don't think any of the current maps fit that description and that's a shame since it kinda makes this particular build a bit useless, but maps like that might make a comeback in the future (I can only dream). I guess you could maybe get away with it on Catallena or maybe even Overgrowth (if you put your first Pylon in the middle of your wall) but it's not something that I've tried so I can't really recommend it.



The best part about this build is that the follow-up can be anything you want it to be. My personal favourite is a 7 Gate +1 Blink Stalker all-in but you can realistically do anything you want to do. For example, and given that I already mentioned Teoita once in this guide, you could take a cue from his favourite strategy and go for a Dark Templar follow-up (



Build Order:

9 Pylon (Natural Ramp)



15 Nexus



15 3x Gateway



16 Pylon



@100% Gateways: 3x Zealot



@100m: Pylon



@300m: 3x Zealot



@150m: 2x Assimilator



@100m: Pylon



@300m: Forge and Cybernetics Core



@100% Cybernetics Core: Warpgate Research, Chosen Tech Building



@100% Forge: 2x Cannon, +1 Attack Build Order Notes

Chrono your Probes twice after the first Pylon finishes.



Use another chrono on your Probes at 17 supply.



Do NOT chrono the first three Zealots that you make.



Do chrono the second set of Zealots that you make.



Wait for 6 Zealots before you send them across the map. 6 Zealots are really hard for just Zerglings to deal with if they stay grouped together. They kinda wall each other off from being surrounded so it will take a lot more than 6x4 Zerglings to deal with them. Basically, the opponent will need either Spines or Roaches or Queens to deal with them and if they tried to take a quick third base then they're likely in a bit of trouble.



Once you get the Forge and the Cybernetics Core finished, you can go for whatever tech you want. What you should definitely do is get two - that is TWO - Cannons at your natural so that you're safe vs. counter-attacks pokes. Add even more Cannons if you suspect a lot of pressure coming your way. Remember, you don't have Sentries yet and Warpgate is miles away! Replays



http://drop.sc/390644

http://drop.sc/390643

http://drop.sc/390642





This is a really fucking old build that I only started using again because of the existence of the #DreamPool. Shakuras Plateau was such an amazing map back in the day, and part of that was the existence of this very build. Guess what? It still works in! Or at least it did still work until Blizzard decided to play the role of Scrooge and take #DreamPool away from me just in time for Christmas. Bah bloody humbug! But I've already given my opinion on that so I won't go on.#DreamPool or otherwise, this build is still pretty decent on any map that has a 9-tile choke at the natural and also has a relatively short rush distance. I don't think any of the current maps fit that description and that's a shame since it kinda makes this particular build a bit useless, but maps like that might make a comeback in the future (I can only dream). I guess you could maybe get away with it on Catallena or maybe even Overgrowth (if you put your first Pylon in the middle of your wall) but it's not something that I've tried so I can't really recommend it.The best part about this build is that the follow-up can be anything you want it to be. My personal favourite is a 7 Gate +1 Blink Stalker all-in but you can realistically do anything you want to do. For example, and given that I already mentioned Teoita once in this guide, you could take a cue from his favourite strategy and go for a Dark Templar follow-up ( aka. "the correct reaction to zealot pressure is making spores" ). The world truly is your oyster, so much so that you could even play out a macro game after using this opening... although I don't know why you'd want to do something silly like that! PvP: Proxy Oracle Into Voidray All-In



"Void Rays, Void Rays, gotta mass up my Void Rays, everybody's telling Blizz to nerf them, nerf them!"

A lot of you Protosses out there are going to recognise this build because I'm sure that at one point or another you'll have used some variation of it against those filthy Terran fucks. The scary thing is that Protoss is actually more susceptible to this build than Terran (assuming my success rate is to be believed and it probably isn't) as long as you're not unlucky enough to come up against one of the build order losses that this cheese is susceptible to. But that's just PvP, the match-up where absolutely everything seems to have a bloody build order loss.



The general idea behind this build is that you're hitting the opponent with a one-two punch. First you're using the Oracle to stall their economy and (if you're lucky) force them to pre-emptively use up their Photon Overcharge. You're then taking advantage of these things by hitting them with a very crisp Void Ray/Gateway timing. If they lose too much economy to your Oracle then it will be very hard for them to deal with your all-in because simply won't have enough stuff. Similarly, if they were forced to use their Photon Overcharge then they won't be able to buy as much time to get the units required to deal with your Void Ray/Gateway force. This makes things seem simple though because, like I already said, blind-counters always come into play in PvP.



For example, if someone opens Phoenixes then you're probably going to be in trouble because your Oracle won't get anything done and your Void Rays won't even make it to the party. Another example is if someone opens one-base Blink because they're going to be getting a lot of units regardless of what you're doing and those units are going to be able to out-manoeuvre your Void Ray/Gateway force quite elegantly. On the flip-side, if your opponent opens 1 Gate Robotics Facility or builds anything that even remotely looks like a Nexus then you're going to be pretty golden. As for Dark Templar, they're are a wild-card because although you'll technically have detection it isn't exactly reliable, but I love Dark Templar too much to bitch about them.



This truly is a coin-flip build and I'm not going to say anything that tries to mask that. Sometimes you will win or lose with this build because of things that are outside of your control. I don't personally think that this is a bad thing, but it is something to keep in mind.



Build Order:

9 Pylon



13 Gateway



15 2x Assimilator (Put 3 Probes In Each)



17 Pylon



18 Cybernetics Core



20 Proxy Pylon



@100% Cybernetics Core: Proxy Stargate



@100m 100g: Mothership Core



@50m 50g: Warpgate Research



24 Pylon



@100% Stargate: Oracle



@100% Oracle: Void Ray



@450m: 3x Gateway



@100% Void Ray: Void Ray



Warp In 1 Round Of Stalkers



Warp In 1 Round Of Zealots



Attack! Build Order Notes:

Chrono your Probes three times after the first Pylon finishes.



On 2P maps send your 10th Probe to scout for proxies around your base, natural and third-base. After that, send it to the proxy location for your Stargate.



On >2P maps, send the Probe that builds your Gateway to the proxy location for your Stargate.



Chrono the Oracle and both of the Void Rays.



When you send the Oracle to attack, the priority isn't to attack Probes, although you should take the chance to snipe them if it's given to you. The actual priority is to force a Photon Overcharge whilst saving the Oracle, with a secondary priority being to scout what the opponent is going for (the most worrying possibility being a Dark Shrine since you'll 100% need to save the Oracle for detection and should probably transition into a different build).



The only caveat to the above is if they have multiple Sentries when your Oracle moves in. If this is the case then they can't be going for something like Dark Templar and they're probably relying heavily on Forcefields to stop a Gateway all-in killing them. Kill the Sentries even if it means losing the Oracle. Replays:



http://drop.sc/390648

http://drop.sc/390647

http://drop.sc/390646

http://drop.sc/390645





A lot of you Protosses out there are going to recognise this build because I'm sure that at one point or another you'll have used some variation of it against those filthy Terran fucks. The scary thing is that Protoss is actually more susceptible to this build than Terran (assuming my success rate is to be believed and it probably isn't) as long as you're not unlucky enough to come up against one of the build order losses that this cheese is susceptible to. But that's just PvP, the match-up where absolutely everything seems to have a bloody build order loss.The general idea behind this build is that you're hitting the opponent with a one-two punch. First you're using the Oracle to stall their economy and (if you're lucky) force them to pre-emptively use up their Photon Overcharge. You're then taking advantage of these things by hitting them with a very crisp Void Ray/Gateway timing. If they lose too much economy to your Oracle then it will be very hard for them to deal with your all-in because simply won't have enough stuff. Similarly, if they were forced to use their Photon Overcharge then they won't be able to buy as much time to get the units required to deal with your Void Ray/Gateway force. This makes things seem simple though because, like I already said, blind-counters always come into play in PvP.For example, if someone opens Phoenixes then you're probably going to be in trouble because your Oracle won't get anything done and your Void Rays won't even make it to the party. Another example is if someone opens one-base Blink because they're going to be getting a lot of units regardless of what you're doing and those units are going to be able to out-manoeuvre your Void Ray/Gateway force quite elegantly. On the flip-side, if your opponent opens 1 Gate Robotics Facility or builds anything that even remotely looks like a Nexus then you're going to be pretty golden. As for Dark Templar, they're are a wild-card because although you'll technically have detection it isn't exactly reliable, but I love Dark Templar too much to bitch about them.This truly is a coin-flip build and I'm not going to say anything that tries to mask that. Sometimes you will win or lose with this build because of things that are outside of your control. I don't personally think that this is a bad thing, but it is something to keep in mind. PvP: 11 Gate 3 Gate Tinman



I sure wish the Tinman from The Wizard of Oz had a funny quote that I could put here... The Wizard of Oz

I bet that nobody was expecting to see this here. First of all, there's already The Great Book of Protoss Bullshit.



The answer to the first point is pretty simple; I don't expect that everyone reading this guide was around when the first 11 Gate 3 Gate guide was written. Besides, even if they were around back then and even if they did remember that the Tinman build existed, I've modified the build a little since Heart of the Swarm came out. I personally think that this version (and specifically this transition) is much more suited to the modern PvP landscape, the most obvious consideration being the fact that players are much more likely to rush for Dark Templar than they were in Wings of Liberty.



The answer to the other two points was just alluded to; this build isn't as all-in as you might think it to be. It's certainly not as all-in as a 4 Gate or the 10 Gate 3 Gate. Yes, you are doing a very fast attack with 3 Gateways. Yes, you are rushing out Warpgate Research as fast as you possibly can. But no, you are not committing to a full-on all-in. You are setting up a transition into a very solid 3 Gate Robo backbone that you can expand off the back of whilst containing your opponent. The point of this build isn't to flat-out destroy your opponent with the Gateway push, although it's certainly possible to win with the Gateway push against an opponent who is caught off-guard. The point of this build is to force the opponent into a defensive posture whilst you expand and gain the economic advantage.



Here is what I am going to propose to you: This build is actually a macro opening. The replays I'm going to post include several games that go all the way to the pewpewpewlaser stage of PvP and it isn't luck that takes them there, it's design that takes them there. I mean, this certainly isn't a standard macro opening and I won't argue that, nor would I take offence to people saying that it's an aggressive/cheesy opening, but it's that doesn't stop it being something that opens into a macro game. In fact, out of all the builds in this guide, this is probably one of the most stable!



Build Order:

9 Pylon



11 Gate



14 Gas



15 Cut Probes



15 Pylon



15 Core



15 Resume Probes



16 Zealot



@100% Cybernetics Core: Warpgate, Stalker



@20 Probes: Cut Probes



@75m: Assimilator (Do NOT Send Probes To Mine This)



@300m: 2x Gateway



@100m: Proxy Pylon



Queue 3 Probes, Rally Them Directly Into The Second Assimilator



@100m: Pylon (Proxy Or Not Is Optional/Situational)



@100% Warpgate: 3x Stalker



@200m 100g: Robotics Facility



Second Round Of Gateway Units



@100% Robotics Facility: Observer



Mothership Core



If You Think You Can Win Then Keep Warping In Zealots And Stalkers Aggressively



If You Don't Think You Can Win Then Warp-In Sentries And Contain Your Opponent Build Order Notes:

Do not chrono your Probes when the first Pylon finishes. Instead, chrono Probes twice after building the Gateway on 11. You will then have a short Probe cut on 15 supply in order to get the Pylon and the Cybernetics Core. After that you're going to be spending chrono into Warpgate Research.



On a 2P map you're gonna want to scout with the Probe that builds the Gateway for proxies in your base. Use the same Probe to build your second Pylon and your Cybernetics Core. Against proxies outside your main, you should be able to deal with them by chrono boosting out a Mothership Core.



Send your Zealot straight across the map along with a Probe. Do not lose the Probe under any circumstances. If you see a Zealot running at you with a Probe then they're probably 4 Gating or 10 Gate 3 Gating. How to deal with a 4 Gate using this build is covered in the original guide.



Try to get scouting information with your initial Zealot if at all possible (you won't have scouted before this). If it looks like they're going for Dark Templar then still go for the attack so that you force their initial Dark Templar to be at home, but get the MSC faster and get an Observer as soon as bloody possible.



Transition into whatever normal composition you like. I prefer Colossi. Some of the replays show macro play and some of them have the opponent dying to the 3 Gate pressure, but I'm fairly sure you can transition into anything you want... Replays:



http://drop.sc/390654

http://drop.sc/390653

http://drop.sc/390652

http://drop.sc/390651

http://drop.sc/390650

http://drop.sc/390649





PvT: #PrayingToInCa





The Dark Templar in its natural habitat. Causing panic and dodging scans #LikeABoss

Once upon a time there was a Sated and one day this Sated saw a GSL finals. In this GSL finals, the great prophet InCa went for a Dark Templar rush in every single game. The great prophet lost, but Sated wasn't fearful for he'd seen a guiding light through the darkness that was PvZ. Sated went straight onto the ladder and Dark Templar rushed every single Zerg that he played. Although Sated was still in Gold league, meaning his build wasn't as refined as that of the great prophet InCa, the strategy tended to work more often than it didn't. It also tended to make Sated's opponents rather unhappy, and he found this humourous. A love was born.



Fast forward a few years and the very same Sated is playing SeleCT in a tournament. The rational thing for Sated to do would be to go for a safe, standard build so that he could try to get the win later in the ga-WRONG! Playing a macro game against a Korean Terran definitely wouldn't have been the rational thing to do because Sated is shit at PvT. The rational thing to do would be to cheese the shit out of him. So Sated did and Sated won (and he's overly proud of himself for doing so):





#Dirty #Protoss #Bullshit

I'd like to think that the idea behind this build is pretty simple. You rush for two Dark Templar and try to do as much damage to the Terran as possible, whilst simultaneously using the relative breathing space that the Dark Templar buy you to rush out Charge, +1 Armour and 8 Gateways. At around 10 minutes you hit the Terran with a Chargelot/Archon timing-attack that usually hits around the same time they're trying to move out for their Medivac push. A Terran who hasn't figured out what you're doing won't have turtled up behind Bunkers and Supply Depot and will usually die to such a large flood of units, whereas a Terran who has figured out what you're doing will probably have that wall-off ready and be able to hold on and get enough Widow Mines to punish your lack of Colossi. Very simple indeed.



I should note that this build as written trades a cut in Probe production in order to hit a "safe" Dark Templar timing as quickly as possible. You can probably make the cut in Probes shorter (or non-existent) if you skip the Forge and the Cannon, but that leaves you wide-open to Widow Mine shenanigans so I always get the Forge and the Cannon when I'm playing this build on ladder. The cut in Probe production doesn't really slow down the timing that I'm eventual 8 Gate trying to hit all that much but it does leave me with fewer units than I could otherwise have. Whatever. It works the way I do it now so I don't think I'll bother changing it any time soon, but if you want to play even riskier then the option is definitely there.



Build Order:

9 Pylon



13 Gate



15 2x Assimilator (Put 2 Probes In Each)



16 Pylon



18 Core



19 Zealot



22 Pylon (Proxy)



@100% Cybernetics Core: Stalker, Warpgate Research



@22 Probes In Main: Cut Probes



@150m 100g: Twilight Council (Proxy)



@100m 100g: Mothership Core



@400m: Nexus



@100% Twilight Council: Dark Shrine



@50m 100g: Sentry



@150m: Gateway



@150m: Forge



Proxy Pylon, 2 Pylons In Main.



@100% Forge: Cannon In Mineral Line



@100% Dark Shrine: 2x Dark Templar



Resume Probe Production



+1 Armour and Charge ASAP



@16 Probes On Natural: 6 Gateways



@100% Gateways: ATTACK! Build Order Notes:

Chrono your Probes three times when the first Pylon finishes.



Send your 10th Probe to scout for proxies and then send it to wherever it is you want to proxy the Dark Shrine and Twilight Council. I guess you don't really need to proxy them if you don't want to but... I think it works a lot better if you do.



Chrono the Stalker, chrono the Mothership Core and chrono the Sentry.



One of the two Pylons you build in your main after getting the Gateway and the Forge should be capable of warping units into your natural. This is so that Dark Templar can be warped in defensively over the top of a Forcefield on your main ramp, just in case the Terran goes for a really early Marine push that Photon Overcharge can't deal with on its own.



When you resume Probes, chrono the absolute shit out of them. Your Dark Templar should keep the Terran occupied long enough to mean that you don't need any more units at home than you already have.



I'm actually not sure whether +1 Armour or +1 Attack is better. I've used both. Armour would be the standard option but I sometimes think that getting +1 Attack to make the Archons more deadly can be just as useful. Meh. I suppose that you should go with whatever it is that you think is best.



Things can get weird vs. 111 openings from the Terran. Mine drops you can usually deal with pretty well with the aid of some defensive Dark Templar and the Cannon. However, Marine/Hellion builds you'll have a shit load of trouble with. You simply don't have the units required to cover all angles vs. this type of play. Replays:



http://drop.sc/390660

http://drop.sc/390659

http://drop.sc/390658

http://drop.sc/390657

http://drop.sc/390656

http://drop.sc/390703





I bet that nobody was expecting to see this here. First of all, there's already a pretty good guide about this build on the forums. Second of all, I already put a Gateway "pressure" into this guide so why would I need another one of them? And third of all, why use this 3 Gate build when you can hit an even faster timing using the 10 Gate 3 Gate fromThe answer to the first point is pretty simple; I don't expect that everyone reading this guide was around when the first 11 Gate 3 Gate guide was written. Besides, even if they were around back then and even if they did remember that the Tinman build existed, I've modified the build a little sincecame out. I personally think that this version (and specifically this transition) is much more suited to the modern PvP landscape, the most obvious consideration being the fact that players are much more likely to rush for Dark Templar than they were inThe answer to the other two points was just alluded to; this build isn't as all-in as you might think it to be. It's certainly not as all-in as a 4 Gate or the 10 Gate 3 Gate. Yes, you are doing a very fast attack with 3 Gateways. Yes, you are rushing out Warpgate Research as fast as you possibly can. But no, you are not committing to a full-on all-in. You are setting up a transition into a very solid 3 Gate Robo backbone that you can expand off the back of whilst containing your opponent. The point of this build isn't to flat-out destroy your opponent with the Gateway push, although it's certainly possible to win with the Gateway push against an opponent who is caught off-guard. The point of this build is to force the opponent into a defensive posture whilst you expand and gain the economic advantage.Here is what I am going to propose to you:. The replays I'm going to post include several games that go all the way to the pewpewpewlaser stage of PvP and it isn't luck that takes them there, it's design that takes them there. I mean, this certainly isn't a standard macro opening and I won't argue that, nor would I take offence to people saying that it's an aggressive/cheesy opening, but it's that doesn't stop it being something that opens into a macro game. In fact, out of all the builds in this guide, this is probably one of the most stable!Once upon a time there was a Sated and one day this Sated saw a GSL finals. In this GSL finals, the great prophet InCa went for a Dark Templar rush in every single game. The great prophet lost, but Sated wasn't fearful for he'd seen a guiding light through the darkness that was PvZ. Sated went straight onto the ladder and Dark Templar rushed every single Zerg that he played. Although Sated was still in Gold league, meaning his build wasn't as refined as that of the great prophet InCa, the strategy tended to work more often than it didn't. It also tended to make Sated's opponents rather unhappy, and he found this humourous. A love was born.Fast forward a few years and the very same Sated is playing SeleCT in a tournament. The rational thing for Sated to do would be to go for a safe, standard build so that he could try to get the win later in the ga-WRONG! Playing a macro game against a Korean Terran definitely wouldn't have been the rational thing to do because Sated is shit at PvT. The rational thing to do would be to cheese the shit out of him. So Sated did and Sated won (and he's overly proud of himself for doing so):I'd like to think that the idea behind this build is pretty simple. You rush for two Dark Templar and try to do as much damage to the Terran as possible, whilst simultaneously using the relative breathing space that the Dark Templar buy you to rush out Charge, +1 Armour and 8 Gateways. At around 10 minutes you hit the Terran with a Chargelot/Archon timing-attack that usually hits around the same time they're trying to move out for their Medivac push. A Terran who hasn't figured out what you're doing won't have turtled up behind Bunkers and Supply Depot and will usually die to such a large flood of units, whereas a Terran who has figured out what you're doing will probably have that wall-off ready and be able to hold on and get enough Widow Mines to punish your lack of Colossi. Very simple indeed.I should note that this build as written trades a cut in Probe production in order to hit a "safe" Dark Templar timing as quickly as possible. You can probably make the cut in Probes shorter (or non-existent) if you skip the Forge and the Cannon, but that leaves you wide-open to Widow Mine shenanigans so I always get the Forge and the Cannon when I'm playing this build on ladder. The cut in Probe production doesn't really slow down the timing that I'm eventual 8 Gate trying to hit all that much but it does leave me with fewer units than I could otherwise have. Whatever. It works the way I do it now so I don't think I'll bother changing it any time soon, but if you want to play even riskier then the option is definitely there. PvZ: The 4-2-2 aka. The Double-Triple-Double



4 Colossi. 2 Immortals. 2 Bases. There's nothing noble about taking a third base when you play Protoss!

Frankly, this build shouldn't even be in this guide. This build should have a guide of its own. It has worked consistently for me over a good many months against a good many opponents who've used a good many styles. I could talk forever about all the things I love about this build and what it does to the Zerg players who come up against it, but the absolute most important thing about this build is that it's exceptionally good at crushing the one thing that I hate most in Heart of the Swarm:



Frankly, this build shouldn't even be in this guide. This build should have a guide of its own. It has worked consistently for me over a good many months against a good many opponents who've used a good many styles. I could talk forever about all the things I love about this build and what it does to the Zerg players who come up against it, but the absolute most important thing about this build is that it's exceptionally good at crushing the one thing that I hate most in "I don't know who at Blizzard thought INVISIBLE Brood Lords, at LAIR tech, that spawn what amounts to ENDLESS FREE MARINES were a good idea, but whoever it was should be fired." - Sparrowhawk, Battle.Net User

The first stage of this build is to use NonY's 1 Gate FE -> Zealot/Sentry Pressure opening. I'm sure



Build Order: Phase One, Zealot/Sentry Attack

9 Pylon



13 Gateway



15 Gas



16 Pylon



18 Zealot



20 Cybernetics Core



22 Nexus



Cut Probes



Mothership Core, Warpgate Research, Pylon...



Resume Probes



Gas (2)



@50m 100g: Sentry



@150m: Gateway (2)



@150m: Gateway (3)



Complete Wall With Pylons (As Required)



@100% Sentry: Zealot



@100% Gateway (2): Sentry



@100% Warpgate: 3x Zealot (Pressure, Leave One Zealot In Wall) Build Order: Phase One Notes

Chrono your Probes three times after the first Pylon finishes. The next chrono won't be used until you start your Mothership Core. Don't chrono Warpgate Research ever.



The Zealot is before the Cybernetics Core for a reason, but go ahead and switch them around if you like losing to retarded 10 Pools.



Both I and NonY build our Gateway and Cybernetics Core at our ramp for a reason, but go ahead and build it in your base if you like losing to retarded 10 Pools or Speedling all-ins.



You don't need to scout your opponent's base with this build. However, you do need to send the Probe that builds your Cybernetics Core to check for a proxy Hatchery blocking your natural. If there is one, send eight Probes to attack it along with your initial Zealot. It will die before it finishes and before you need to place the Nexus.



Probes to attack it along with your initial Zealot. It will die before it finishes and before you need to place the Nexus. If there isn't a proxy Hatchery in your natural, use the Probe to check for proxy Hatcheries near your natural wall that could be used for a Spine Crawler rush. If the main is big enough, check for proxies inside your base as well. Proxy Hatcheries are the only rush that can really do damage to this opening.



After your Nexus finishes, you will be using chrono on Probes as often as possible without slowing down unit production for the Zealot/Sentry push.



When doing the pressure, be sure not to lose the Mothership Core. That would make the second phase of this build incredibly difficult to execute. The second stage of this build is a secondary pressure using Zealot/Sentry/Immortal. This pressure moves out at around the 9-10 minute mark and looks very much like an Immortal all-in to the unsuspecting eye. In fact, some Zerg players will over-commit so hard to defending what they think is an all-in that they'll fully-gimp their ability to deal with the actual all-in you're looking to hit them with. Anyway, the point of this pressure is to force the Zerg to commit to some sort of gas-units, usually a mix of Roaches and Hydralisks if the Zerg is playing standard, specifically so that the Zerg has less of the gas required to get units that might actually help them against your eventual push. Specifically, you're looking to delay a fast Hive transition into Vipers, but delaying the production of Spire units is also a good thing. You're not really looking to pick a fight with this push because you need the swell of Gateway units you'll have amassed by this stage for the finalé, but trading Zealots for Zerg units is always a good idea if you can hit decent Forcefields. Just make sure not to lose the Sentries since you won't have the time or the gas to rebuild them before the final push.



Build Order: Phase Two, Zealot/Sentry/Immortal Attack

As You Push Out For Phase One, Take Your Natural Gases



Then Get a Robotics Facility



Then Get a Forge



Do All This Without Cutting Probes



Build 2/3 Sentries To Defend The Wall And Kill Overlords



@100% Robo: 2nd Robo, Robotics Bay, Immortal



@100% Forge: +1 Attack



@100% Immortal: 2nd Immortal



@100% Immortal: Move Out To Pressure Again Build Order: Phase Two Notes

During all of this, warp-in Zealots as often as you can without getting supply blocked or delaying Immortal/Probe production.



Cut Probes once your natural is fully saturated.



Chrono the Immortals constantly. Do not chrono anything else after starting Immortal production.



When pushing, only engage if you can get very good Forcefields or if you're sure the trade will be cost-efficient. Try to only trade Zealots; do not trade gas units and especially not the Sentries.



When doing the pressure, be sure not to lose the Mothership Core. Not being able to Recall at this stage would be disastrous, even more so than with the first pressure. The third stage of this build is of course ramming a 4 Colossus 2 Immortal push right down the Zerg player's throat. If this attack fails then you're pretty dead, but in order for the Zerg to defend this push straight-up they'll have to defend each of the two pressures perfectly whilst having the foresight to either rush Vipers out or rush Corruptors out. Neither of these is particularly easy to do when a Protoss is constantly getting in your face because it is very easy for the Zerg to over-react to one of those pressures and screw up their macro. It is very difficult for the Zerg to defend this all-in straight up, much harder than it is for the Protoss to execute it, and so straight-up losses like this are very rare for me.



To be honest, the most obvious ways this build can fail don't even directly involve the final push. The first will happen much sooner than the final push; if the Zerg can rush out Mutalisks without you scouting them in time to respond then you'll usually lose. You're so Zealot heavy for so long that Mutalisks really can ruin your day. They're an annoying unit but it is what it is, so you'll want to transition out of this build and into something else if you scout Mutalisks are going to be on the cards. The other thing you can lose that doesn't directly involve your push are Zerg players who are good at playing base-trades vs. two-base Protoss players, but that honestly depends on how good you are at playing base-trades more than how good this build-order is at dealing with them. This is probably the most frustrating way to lose, to a Zerg who is too cowardly to engage your army and yet still manages to destroy your buildings. Yuck!



Build Order: Phase Three, 4 Colossus 2 Immortal Attack

@100% Robotics Bay: 2x Colossus, Colossus Range



@100% Colossi: 2x Colossus



@600m: 4x Gateway



@100% Colossi: Warp Prism, Observer



Move Out As Warp Prism and Observer Are Building



Melt Some Zerg! Build Order: Phase Three Notes

When you initially move out, you are going to have very little air support for the Colossi. All warp-ins from this point should be Stalkers. Maybe a couple of Sentries for additional Forcefields if you really feel you need them.



Have the Observer follow one of your Colossi. Do not under any circumstances group it with your army. If they're going Swarm Host and you a-move your Observer into a Spore Crawler or into Queens or whatever then you're in a lot of trouble. Waiting for another Observer will usually buy them enough time to whittle down your army and you can't have that.



The Warp Prism also needs babysitting very heavily. I have literally lost games because I've lost the Warp Prism. Bringing a Probe with you to build Pylons is a good way to negate this, but I usually don't do it. I guess I should because using the Warp Prism to protect Colossi or Immortals from getting sniped can be pretty cool!



Most of all, try to engage in a choked up area that enables you to cut their army in half using Forcefields. Try to avoid engaging in a large space. Frankly though, if they don't have the right composition, it's hard for them to deal with 4 Colossi even with a good engagement. It takes a horrendous engagement for you to lose with this push if the Zerg doesn't have either Vipers or Corruptors. Replays:



There are a lot of replays for this build. Like I said, it could probably do with its own guide...



http://drop.sc/390679

http://drop.sc/390678

http://drop.sc/390677

http://drop.sc/390676

http://drop.sc/390675

http://drop.sc/390674

http://drop.sc/390673

http://drop.sc/390672

http://drop.sc/390671

http://drop.sc/390670

http://drop.sc/390669

http://drop.sc/390668





The first stage of this build is to use NonY's 1 Gate FE -> Zealot/Sentry Pressure opening. I'm sure readers of the Protoss Help Me Thread are very aware of how this opening works since I gush about it all the time. As far as I'm concerned, it's the absolute best PvZ opening you can use on the ladder irrespective of how you follow choose to follow it up (it just so happens that my favourite way of following it up is with a two-base Colossus all-in), and that's because it's completely safe against anything the Zerg can throw at you early in the game. The idea behind this stage of the build is to force the Zerg to make units so that you can slow down droning at the Zerg player's third base. Sometimes you will be able to kill the third base and that's amazing; sometimes you'll be able to snipe some Queens and that's amazing; sometimes the Zerg will have skipped their Roach Warren so they'll be forced to make a ridiculously inefficient amount of Zerglings and that's amazing; but most of the time the Zerg will make an efficient number of Roaches and you'll have to Recall out. That's fine, that's all you went out there to do. The important thing at this stage of the game is not to lose either the Sentries or the Mothership Core because you'll need them later. Simply trade your Zealots as cost-efficiently as possible and then Recall the Sentries out of there!The second stage of this build is a secondary pressure using Zealot/Sentry/Immortal. This pressure moves out at around the 9-10 minute mark and looks very much like an Immortal all-in to the unsuspecting eye. In fact, some Zerg players will over-commit so hard to defending what they think is an all-in that they'll fully-gimp their ability to deal with the actual all-in you're looking to hit them with. Anyway, the point of this pressure is to force the Zerg to commit to some sort of gas-units, usually a mix of Roaches and Hydralisks if the Zerg is playing standard, specifically so that the Zerg has less of the gas required to get units that might actually help them against your eventual push. Specifically, you're looking to delay a fast Hive transition into Vipers, but delaying the production of Spire units is also a good thing. You're not really looking to pick a fight with this push because you need the swell of Gateway units you'll have amassed by this stage for the finalé, but trading Zealots for Zerg units is always a good idea if you can hit decent Forcefields. Just make sure not to lose the Sentries since you won't have the time or the gas to rebuild them before the final push.The third stage of this build is of course ramming a 4 Colossus 2 Immortal push right down the Zerg player's throat. If this attack fails then you're pretty dead, but in order for the Zerg to defend this push straight-up they'll have to defend each of the two pressures perfectly whilst having the foresight to either rush Vipers out or rush Corruptors out. Neither of these is particularly easy to do when a Protoss is constantly getting in your face because it is very easy for the Zerg to over-react to one of those pressures and screw up their macro. It is very difficult for the Zerg to defend this all-in straight up, much harder than it is for the Protoss to execute it, and so straight-up losses like this are very rare for me.To be honest, the most obvious ways this build can fail don't even directly involve the final push. The first will happen much sooner than the final push; if the Zerg can rush out Mutalisks without you scouting them in time to respond then you'll usually lose. You're so Zealot heavy for so long that Mutalisks really can ruin your day. They're an annoying unit but it is what it is, so you'll want to transition out of this build and into something else if you scout Mutalisks are going to be on the cards. The other thing you can lose that doesn't directly involve your push are Zerg players who are good at playing base-trades vs. two-base Protoss players, but that honestly depends on how good you are at playing base-trades more than how good this build-order is at dealing with them. This is probably the most frustrating way to lose, to a Zerg who is too cowardly to engage your army and yet still manages to destroy your buildings. Yuck!There are a lot of replays for this build. Like I said, it could probably do with its own guide... Conclusions

I am



Anyway, I really don't have too many conclusions to draw here. The only thing I would say is that, much like The Great Book Of Protoss Bullshit, these builds aren't something that can be used repeatedly against the same opponent. As much as I'd love things to be different, there's only so far stupid builds can get you. You'll eventually hit a wall if you're incapable of fitting more standard builds into the mix, especially if you have any hopes of getting far in tournaments. But I don't really have any hope of that so there isn't a problem, and I find playing like a cunt to be much more rewarding than playing like everyone else.



All that's left to say is...



I am not a conjuror of cheap tricks , but I am trying to rob people. Mostly of their ladder points, but also of some of their dignity and pride. At least I'm assuming dignity and pride are being robbed based on the amount of bullshit I get for using these builds. It's as if people feel like they've been cheated. Shame...Anyway, I really don't have too many conclusions to draw here. The only thing I would say is that, much like, these builds aren't something that can be used repeatedly against the same opponent. As much as I'd love things to be different, there's only so far stupid builds can get you. You'll eventually hit a wall if you're incapable of fitting more standard builds into the mix, especially if you have any hopes of getting far in tournaments. But I don't really have any hope of that so there isn't a problem, and I find playing like a cunt to be much more rewarding than playing like everyone else.All that's left to say is... Masters Protoss | Twitter: @Sated86 | Currently representing @DGeSports | Better to die on your feet than live on your knees...