[EveEase]

Clan War Recap - NRV VS SPR by nRv.eASe

02 JAN 2012
CLAN WAR: NERVE GAMING VS TEAM SUPREME
BEST OF 9 – GSTL FORMAT – MLG/GSL MAPS

This late-night clan war between 2 great teams managed to produce some interesting action. Here are the games recapped by eASe of nRv!

Game 1: Churlz VS RsSPR (ZvZ – 12:00 vs 02:00 on Metalopolis)

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Spawning close-by-air on the top of Metalopolis, both players’ overlord immediately scout each other, and both opt to go for the exact same 14gas-14pool build.


After the first few sets of lings, RsSPR took his natural. Churlz had a specific build planned up – 1 base roach-ling all-in based on either doing a lot of damage to put him ahead, or outright killing RsSPR. Churlz did a good job denying all early game scouting with his queen and lings blocking the ramp. However, the block at the ramp failed to deny the second scouting attempt of RsSPR as the queen returned to inject larva, and a lone zergling manage to see all the roaches Churlz was trying so hard to hide.


Knowing that the element of surprise is now gone, Churlz moved out with 9 roaches and rallied lings to reinforce the attack. RsSPR managed to get 2 spine crawlers up at his natural. Due to Churlz devoting all his resources to the attack, he had an equal number of zerglings as RsSPR, and the only hope RsSPR had was to get off great detonations with his 2 banelings and hoping he had enough lings to clean up the roaches.



However the banelings were too far from the battle and Churlz successfully microed his lings away from the banelings and allowed the roaches to deal with them easily.

The following stream of units and abit of back and forth micro allowed Churlz to wrap up Game 1 in favour of nRv!

Score: nRv 1 – 0 SPR

Game 2

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Game 2: Churlz VS SatuSPR (ZvZ – 10:00 vs 05:00 on Shakuras Plateau)

Spawning on opposite corners of the map in another ZvZ, Churlz opened with the same gas-pool build while SatuSPR chose to hatch-first given the long distances and relatively easier to defend natural. Upon scouting the hatch-first build, Churlz pooled up 300 minerals for the good ol’ “proxy-hatch cancel into spine crawler” at the natural of SatuSPR.


Unfortunately for Churlz, SatuSPR was looking at his natural and caught the glimpse of the hatch cancel and immediately knew what was going on.

SatuSPR's vision

SatuSPR responded perfectly, sending 4 drones to take out the spine crawler before it could finish and before any lings came to reinforce. After cancelling the spine crawler, Churlz was really hurting in the early game, having to save 300 minerals, delaying his queen, zergling speed and building of lings/drones. In addition, having to cancel these 2 structures cost a total of 100 minerals, which was huge so early into a mirror matchup.

Churlz followed this early game disadvantage with his own natural, making a few defensive banelings. However, Churlz might have felt to be too far behind at this point, and threw down a roach warren and made 7 roaches to push.

At this point, SatuSPR has managed to get a quick lair and grab all 4 of his gases, with clear intentions of going mutas. Spotting this attack coming all the way across the map gave SatuSPR enough time to get up emergency spine crawlers at his expansion. With some great queen and spine positioning, SatuSPR managed to keep Churlz’s roaches from going up the ramp, only allowing some lings to runby. Taking the full damage of those spine crawlers, SatuSPR defended the attack very well taking minimum damage.


After the failed attack, Churlz was even further behind with 18 drones to SatuSPR’s 32, and SatuSPR already started his spire, while Churlz was still on hatch tech with low economy. From that point on, SatuSPR easily fended off another desperate ling-bling attack by Churlz, and attacked with his big muta-flock and evened up the series for SPR!

Score: nRv 1 – 1 SPR

Game 3

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Game 3: Twinkletoes vs SatuSPR (PvZ – 11:00 vs 05:00 on Antiga Shipyard)

Both players opened standard in this matchup, spawning at cross positions. Twinkletoes opened Forge FE while SatuSPR went for the ageless speedling-expand. Upon scouting the fast expansion, SatuSPR opted for a quick third instead of trying any aggressive build to punish the protoss player. Twinkletoes went for a quick +1 ground attack while adding 4 more gateways going up to 5. SatuSPR had a perfect overlord scout and managed to see all 4 gateways building and immediately knew what was to come his way.


With his build being scouted and the absence of any proxy pylons around the map for Twinkletoes, he opted to add a Robotics Facility, take a fast third and warped in a round of sentries. Having already made a bunch of roach-lings in preparation for the attack that never came, SatuSPR managed to catch a few units of Twinkletoes out of position, and Twinkletoes could not save his units with his sentries still in his base. SatuSPR forced a cancel on the third and contained Twinkletoes up his natural ramp on Antiga.


Things continued in SatuSPR’s favour as he managed to snipe the forge that was upgrading +1 armor. At that point, SatuSPR had taken the middle base and was 50 food ahead of his protoss opponent when Twinkletoes just restarted his third base. The next move-out by Twinkletoes in attempt to establish some map presence turned out to be disastrous as a huge roach-ling army caught and destroyed the protoss army of stalkers and sentries.


Losing his army and behind economically, Twinkletoes calls GG and SatuSPR takes Game 3 for SPR!

Score: nRv 1 – 2 SPR

Game 4

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Game 4: FlyingBanana vs SatuSPR (TvZ – 12:00 vs 02:00 on Shattered Temple)

Having proven both his ZvZ and ZvP, nRv sent out FlyingBanana for a TvZ on Shattered Temple. Both players opened extremely standard, with a 15hatch by SatuSPR and reactor hellions into expansion for FlyingBanana. After making 4 hellions, FlyingBanana started tank production while adding on more production. With 4 hellions, the terran managed to delay the creep spread of SatuSPR from ever taking off, even though the zerg had 2 spines and 2 queens at the natural, as the zerg did not leap his spines forward.


Giving up map control, SatuSPR went for a quick lair into spire in his main, but FlyingBanana arrived at the front of the zerg’s naturals with a scary army of marines and 2 tanks. SatuSPR was caught off guard from having no scouting information at all. When the tanks were already sieged with Bunkers on the way, zerg’s Baneling Nest and Spire were still building. FlyingBanana slowly inched his army forward safely, with a great spread of tanks, bunkers, marines and those initial hellions.


After making a round of mutalisks and banelings, SatuSPR decided it was time to break the contain. Unfortunately for SatuSPR he did not research baneling speed, and slow banelings received a few volleys from the siege tanks, while being forced to explode on bunkers and a tank. With reinforcing zerglings, SatuSPR finally managed to clear out the army in front of his natural.

At this point, zerg was behind in 6 workers. From then on, both players continued to macro hard, FlyingBanana getting double engineering bays for upgrades and getting a third CC which was used to take the gold base. SatuSPR expanded to the corner expansion and then took the gold after, while harassing with mutalisks. FlyingBanana was able to repel the harass successfully with quite a number of turrets in good locations.

Securing the gold, FlyingBanana was 40 food ahead and nearly max. He turned to multi-pronged drops to keep SatuSPR on his toes. He managed to deny the fifth base for SatuSPR while sniping the Spire with another drop in the main, stopping +2 air attack upgrade too.



When he finally pushed out with marines tanks medivacs, FlyingBanana was nearly max while SatuSPR was at 160 food. Despite managing to barely clear up that army, the next push with 3-2 marines against 1-2 lings and 1-0 mutas proved too much for the zerg. With some nice micro, FlyingBanana managed to force the zerg to GG, claiming Game 4 for nRv!


Score: nRv 2 – 2 SPR

Game 5

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Game 5: FlyingBanana vs NoThanXSPR (TvP – 10:00 vs 02:00 on Calm Before The Storm)

SPR sends out a protoss player who picks Calm Before the Storm, and playing to the map, both players open economically, with FlyingBanana going for a 1rax gasless FE while NoThanXSPR went for nexus-first. NoThanXSPR then decides to take an extremely quick third base before warpgate research is even done, expanding with 2 stalkers and 2 gateways. After the third base, NoThanXSPR went into double forge and chronoboosted +1/+1.

After finishing all the infantry upgrades, FlyingBanana pushed out to the map with 2 medivacs and some marines marauders, while taking his third behind this. By that point, the production of NoThanXSPR has caught up and managed to crush the attack with some nice forcefields.


FlyingBanana then attempted to drop harass the protoss, and somehow both players failed to notice this drop flying over the protoss army while it was destroying the rocks.



It turned out great for FlyingBanana, as that drop was able to deny the fourth of the protoss when the army moved away. The very same drop was later on able to snipe the Robotics Bay of NoThanXSPR, delaying Colossus production. FlyingBanana’s superior macro was also on display, hugely overtaking the protoss in food despite NoThanXSPR’s economical opening build. With a great spread, FlyingBanana was able to crush the army of NoThanXSPR, taking a 60 food lead.


After remaxing very quickly, FlyingBanana did not push the issue, instead allowing NoThanXSPR to turtle up and remax while adding High Templars and Colossus together. However the max army of FlyingBanana had no ghosts and this resulted in carnage for the terran army.


The terran’s food plummeted and did little damage to the protoss ball of death. NoThanXSPR took the opportunity to march directly to FlyingBanana’s base, preventing reinforcements from gathering. Even with a large bank, the terran was unable to gather a strong army anywhere. FlyingBanana GGs out of the game and NoThanXSPR claimed Game 5 for SPR!

Score: nRv 2 – 3 SPR

Game 6

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Game 6: sudragon vs NoThanXSPR (PvP – 02:00 vs 08:00 on Xel’naga Caverns)

A back and forth series so far between the 2 clans so far, nRv sends out sudragon to take on a PvP on Xel’naga Caverns. NoThanXSPR opened pretty standard while sudragon opened with a rather unorthodox build, going pylon – gate – gas – gate – core before the second pylon. When NoThanXSPR’s scouting probe enters sudragon’s base, he must be confused by the opener, and was immediately worried of 2gate zealots, dropping a forge + cannon next to his nexus, making 2 more zealots before finally building his Cybernatics Core.

However, those gates were not proxied, thus requiring the units to walk all the way across the map. Also, NoThanXSPR saw that gas was taken, thus it cannot be mass zealots. Dropping another gate after his core and just building units as normal would have been the right option, but in the heat of the moment made a costly decision to get a cannon.

Instead, sudragon was going for a different variant of the 3-stalker rush, getting a zealot and 3 stalkers and pushing the front. NoThanXSPR was in a bad spot with only 2 zealots against stalkers that can kite all day and pick off pylons and probes. NoThanXSPR had to pull probes to defend and lost 6 probes, a huge deal in PvP. By the time NoThanXSPR got enough stalkers of his own to hold off the attack he was at a big disadvantage in every area, having a weak economy, no tech and no way to put on pressure.


In a commanding lead, sudragon techs to colossus and takes a hidden base at the 9 o’clock. NoThanXSPR spends a lot of time and resources getting his worker count back up before his production could kick off again, and went for an immortal + gateway units army, while getting +1 attack from the forge.

NoThanXSPR manages to scout the hidden base and moves out to take it out. Having map control, sudragon manages to evacuate his probes, and meets the army of NoThanXSPR in the middle and proceeded to crush it with his Colossus numbers.


Both players had taken their natural, but after losing his army, NoThanXSPR could not hold the next wave of units with Colossus and surrendered Game 6 to nRv as sudragon once again ties up the series!

Score: nRv 3 – 3 SPR

Game 7

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Game 7: sudragon vs MasterSPR (PvT – 08:00 vs 02:00 on Dual Sight)

With the series even again, we go to Dual Sight for one of the strangest PvT games I’ve seen. MasterSPR opted to go for an interesting build that I’ve not seen for a while – cloak ghost rush. This rush is followed up by a strong marine-tank timing off 3rax 1fact on 1 base. Conversely, sudragon goes for his own version of cloak units by rushing to DTs and taking an expand off them.


Making just 1 ghost, MasterSPR managed to skirt round the vision of the towers and negate the map control of sudragon, getting his ghost to the naturals of sudragon, cloaking and started to kill of probes. Meanwhile, sudragon warps in DTs at a proxy pylon and destroys the wall-off on the terran’s ramp, due to him not having enough energy for a scan, having spent energy on mules for the second part of the attack with marines and tanks. The DTs then proceed to wreck havoc in MasterSPR’s base, killing units and SCVs, even after scanning and killing off 2 DTs, 2 more walk into the base after that, managing to decimate the terran’s base.



Despite the ghost managing to get 18 probe kills, he was about to run out of energy, and sudragon got the better end of cloak units as he takes down another game for nRv!

Score: nRv 4 – 3 SPR

Game 8

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Game 8: sudragon vs RockSPR (PvP – 02:00 vs 08:00 on Antiga Shipyard)

SPR sends out RockSPR as their final ace player. In a PvP, sudragon sticked with the same build that won him the previous game, DT rush into expand. Unfortunately for him, RockSPR opened with a quick Robo and had an observer out before DTs could get into his base.


RockSPR proceeded to push with a sizable gateway army with 1 colossus, while managing to hold off a small DT zealot archon counter into his main, winning him the game easily for SPR!

Score: nRv 4 – 4 SPR

Game 9

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Game 9: nRvHavoC vs RockSPR (TvP – 08:00 vs 02:00 on Terminus SE)

Down to the rubber match, nRvHavoC engaged RockSPR in a TvP on Terminus SE. Unfortunately for RockSPR, he scouted nRvHavoC last on this huge map, and did not gain any information at all as marines were out to deny the probe. The terran opened with a 2rax build, reactor on first and tech lab on second, opting for an uncommonly quick combat shields instead of getting concussive shells for marauders. RockSPR opened with a 1gate expand build and went for a Robo before adding 2 more gates.

By the time the first stalker reached the front of nRvHavoC, he was ready to push with 7 marines and 2 marauders, while adding 4 SCVs to tank damage. This attack reached the natural on RockSPR right before his gateways were done, and the terran managed to get into a great position while placing down bunkers to guarantee a nexus kill. Having not enough units to deal with this, RockSPR retreated up the ramp.

Gaining this sizable advantage, nRvHavoC retreated. Behind at this point, RockSPR added an immortal to his sentry heavy army and pushed for the terran’s base, hoping to do some damage while adding a warp prism with the intention of bypassing any bunkers if the terran too his natural. However little does he know that nRvHavoC had no intention of taking his expansion. Instead, he added a factory producing siege tanks while building more marines, explaining the choice for a quick combat shields upgrade. RockSPR also skipped observer to get his immortal and warp prism out faster.



Using forcefields to hold off the terran army, RockSPR managed to transport all his units in the corner of nRvHavoC’s ramp, while warping in more units. When nRvHavoC finally decided to engage, he added a few SCVs to buffer some damage. Despite some very nice forcefields to cut the terran army, nRvHavoC’s high marine count managed to tear through the army of RockSPR, forcing him to only barely escape with his warp prism and immortal.


Knowing that a push of bio-tank was imminent, RockSPR added a Robotics Bay to get a colossus out to defend. The terran hit a money scan and knew exactly what RockSPR was planning. As nRvHavoC pushed out, RockSPR dropped 2 immortals into the terran’s base, but only managed to pick off a few SCVs. However, the protoss then lost his warp prism and 2 immortals to a few stimmed marines and SCVs.


Without those 2 immortals, the situation looked grim for RockSPR as the terran push reached the front of his base. Some forcefields manage to slightly delay the terran army, waiting for the colossus to finish. Sieged up in a great position, nRvHavoC focused fire on the Robo and managed to kill it before the colossus could finish, leaving RockSPR with no hope of holding off this attack.


nRvHavoC takes the final game and the win for nRv!

Final Score: nRv 5 – 4 SPR

Review

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Churlz > RsSPR
Churlz < SatuSPR
Twinkletoes < SatuSPR
FlyingBanana > SatuSPR
FlyingBanana < NoThanXSPR
sudragon > NoThanXSPR
sudragon > MasterSPR
sudragon < RockSPR
nRvHavoC > RockSPR

Overall it was an interesting back and forth series with a wide variety of games and builds. Both teams had great showings and in the end nRv narrowly wins out.

This is my first time writing a recap of games, hopefully it will be an enjoyable read for everyone, and any comments or areas for improvement will be greatly appreciated. Also thanks to crAzerk for answering some of my questions regarding formatting.

GG to everyone!

Quick Comments

	Reere:	epic write up~~!
	TCPKiaSu:	loved it
	cruxBsK:	ant read sounds like an epic series! GG both teams
	Snx.FigJig:	great write up!

[TAEdgE]

Nice writeup! Good to see sudragon still DT's more then ever!

[SLCN.StoicWilly]

Epic series!! The games are really fantastic!!

[AxSGRiM]

Gg! Gj spr!

[sRFullstop]

Woah really nice games, thanks for write up.

[ROOTPetraeus]

Great write up! Still got it, eh Satu?