The earlier post regarding how to defend against proxy Oracle sets the basic of what should be done in that situation. Recently, Flash added something on top of the standard reaction discussed previously, and I think it is worth discussing.

As I have mentioned in part 1, the key structures against a proxy Oracle are Engineering Bay (Missile Turret) and Bunker. More importantly, if you go for a tech build, you need to pull Scvs out of gas in order to put down these defensive structure. While all these are standard and good, they are based on the fact that you do not scout opponent’s base early enough. By that I mean that you would have put down the Command Centre after a Reaper expand by the time the Scv reaches opponent’s base. This is because either it’s not a two player map, or you send the Scv out after the Barracks is completed. There is nothing wrong with that, but what Flash did was built on gathering information slightly earlier.

In the vod above, Flash sent his Scv to scout at 14. In my opinion, this is the ideal scout timing for a two player map for TvP for several reasons. First, this allows you to scout an early Gateway and chronoboost Zealot pressure, and reacts better. Second, if opponent gets a Nexus first, you can just continue Reaper to punish him or her. Third, if opponent does a standard one Gateway expand without getting a Zealot (which can be cancelled later), you can put down an Engineering Bay at the natural to block it. What I am going to discuss next is perhaps the fourth reason, which is playing against proxy Oracle.

When the Scv arrives in opponent’s base and deduces that it is proxy Oracle, the Reaper is not out yet and you haven’t put down a Command Centre. Flash’s reaction is to put down a Supply Depot and Engineering Bay, then Bunker. The Supply Depot is usually placed after the Command Centre for a single Reaper expand build, so it is important to put that down if you are not going to build a Command Centre immediately. As mentioned earlier, you will need to pull Scvs out of gas in order to have enough mineral for the defensive structures, but in this case, the mineral from the Command Centre goes into these structures. Thus, you do not have to pull Scv out of gas. The gas will then be spent on a proxy Factory.

The proxy Factory is obviously for Widow Mine “run by”. It is likely that Protoss does not notice the Widow Mine until it has fired, because there is no warning and the attention is likely to be on the Oracle. More importantly, the Widow Mine is going to be more painful than a rotten wisdom tooth, because the best answer is to get the Oracle back for detection. This is not what Protoss want to do.

In the game, Flash just went one base play by putting down the second Barracks. Alternatively, you can put down a Command Centre to transit to a standard game. Below is another game by Flash versus Classic with proxy Oracle and proxy Factory.

This game is slightly different because Flash couldn’t scout the main base due to the wall off, so Flash just continued the build order by putting down the Command Centre. I think Flash planned to do a proxy Factory anyway regardless of Classic’s build due to the map feature, as he put the proxy Factory down before the Reaper scouted Classic’s main. The Reaper gathered information that it is likely to be a proxy Oracle, and Flash did the standard reaction.

I know that both vods involve proxy Oracle into Tempest. I don’t want to discuss it because I have no idea what the best response is, as there really isn’t a vod that gives a convincing answer. Thus, this post is mainly about the proxy Factory as a reaction against proxy Oracle.