[G] QTIP’s guide to defending the 1-1-1 (PvT)

... -_-

1 Rax (reactor)
1 Factory (techlab)
1 Starport (techlab)

The unit composition you will be facing generally consists of marines, tanks, banshees and possibly a raven. It is important to consider that there are many variations of this. A raven is a possibility, cloak is a possibility, helions are a possibility, and SCV’s are a possibility. This build is made to be solid against all of these variations.

The 1-1-1 typically opens up with banshee harass in the mineral lines, followed up by a marine / siege tank/ banshee push that sets up outside your natural. It hits as early as 8 minutes and presents a unit composition that is difficult for Protoss to deal with at that point in the game.

The first step in stopping this build is getting as much scouting information as humanely possible.

Common Terran openers (credit to mazqo)
- 1rax cc (no gas)
- 2rax (1 reactor 1 techlab)
- Banshees (2 gas, marines)

Very few Terran players will show you both raxes building when executing a 2 rax, or throw up a factory and 2 gases in the face of your probe. You will have at the very least do two rounds of scouting, and must be as persistent as possible.

Your first round of scouting should mainly be centered on the gas timings of the Terran.

Is the gas done before the barracks? Is there no gas at all? Normal gas timing?

If you see no gas before the marine forces you out, you are facing the 1rax CC. If you see that the gas is starting before the barracks, you will know that tech your opponent is favoring tech. If you see a standard gas timing, then you cannot draw any conclusions.

After your probe is forced out, try to poke at the front / sneak back in for more information after a minute or so. This second round of scouting is CRITICAL. As you poke up the ramp, try to get a glimpse of the marine count. If you see 3-4 marines at this point and they take out your probe instantly, you should be wary of a banshee opening. If you see a marauder / reaper (by luck) you can breathe a sigh of relief, the chances of a 1-1-1 coming just dropped by about 99%. If you see just a single marine at the ramp, you can take a gamble and try to get your Probe inside his base in time to see if there is a factory/ 2nd rax on the way.

If you see any of the following (credit to mazqo):
- Reapers
- Marauders
- Early expansion
- No gas

Then chances are that the 1-1-1 is NOT coming. If your scouting probe is denied, or you see a factory, then it is a possibility.

Back at your base, I strongly suggest you open with Stalker-sentry-sentry (stolen from MC). The initial stalker will quickly deal with the scouting SCV, and two sentries are sufficient in holding 2 rax pressure before your WG finishes. (You will need two gases for a smooth build order) Send your initial stalker to any Xel’naga towers to spot for units.

If I am worried about a 1-1-1, I will either do one of these two openers.

1 Gate – FE - Robo
Or
1 Gate – Robo – FE ***

The idea behind this opening is knowing that you can skimp on units. If you sense the 1-1-1 coming, he will try to deny scouting (possibly a bunker) and will have no effective units (marines, unsieged tanks) to deny your expansion. The only thing that you have to worry about is banshees.

I prefer 1 Gate – Robo – FE. It allows me to get out a slightly faster observer, and in the case of some early aggressive push, I probably won’t have to go through cancelling my Expo. Try both out, and see what you are comfortable with.

Once your robo is up, I like to chrono out TWO observers. This is completely stylistic, and others may prefer just a single observer. Two observers I find is simply safer. On maps/spawns with long distances, your observer may be getting to your opponents base when the banshee is halfway to yours. Also, during the critical engagement where the game will be decided, Terrans with Ravens may snipe your observer and cloaked banshees will end the game. A second observer can be useful.

When your observer gets to his base and sees the 1-1-1, immediately look for cloak to be researching on the tech lab. Remember, there are variations of this build, and you want to be prepared for all of them.

Continue to make workers until the low 30’s, and throw up an additional 3 Gateways. Once your 2nd observer is out, immediately start producing immortals when possible. Your gateway units from this point onwards should be zealots and sentries, and just enough stalkers to shut down the banshee harass.

Ideally, you want to be on 4 producing gates and 1 robo with constant immortal production.

If you aren’t confident vs the 1-1-1, I suggest you save your chronoboost for immortals, and your Warpgates.

*** If you KNOW that 2 rax is coming, then both of these builds are NOT optimal. 1 gate - FE - Robo will straight up die to 2 rax, and 1 gate - Robo - FE will lead to a delayed expansion. I suggest other builds like an aggressive 1 Gate - FE - 2 more gates, or safe 2 Gate Robo.

Why no stalkers?
+ Show Spoiler +

Around the time your 2nd/3rd immortal is in production, you will begin to see the Terran move out. Retreat your stalker and try to shadow the army’s positioning without losing your observer. Continue to warp in zealots/sentries, and position your immortals behind the zealot/sentry force, but in front of your stalkers.

The biggest thing here is the engagement. If things went perfectly, all of these would happen.
i) Pop guardian shield

ii) Forcefield Marines to prevent retreat

iii) Engage tanks while unsieged

iv) Focus fire all immortals/stalkers on tanks

v) Warp in stalkers after tanks are cleaned up

vi) Win

Unfortunately, not all of us can do execute this with perfect timing and micro. Instead, many of us will make an utter mess of this engagement, and barely come through. Therefore, let’s focus on what you NEED to do, or you will almost certainly lose.

i) Pop Guardian Shield:

Your zealots need to live as long as possible. Tank splash will hit the marines too.

iv) Focus fire immortals on tanks:

Tanks and Immortals are high-priority targets for both you and your opponent. As such, they will be the first to die in the engagement. Marines / banshees will target down your immortals, so make sure each immortal shot is not wasted. If tanks are left and your immortals are gone, you’re in a bad position.

v) Clean up Banshees with additional Stalker Warp-in

We’ve all had that one warp-in we wish we could have back. You need to deal with the banshees as soon as you can – don’t be dumb and make more zealot/sentry.

THINGS TO NOTE:

--- If you see SCV’s pulled, your forcefields are even more important. Be prepared to cut them off from the ball to deal with them separately (without producing terran-favored forcefields), and forcefield on top of a tank to prevent repair.

--- Do not be afraid to pull your own probes if it means breaking the contain. Yes, your economy will take a dump, but you have Two Nexus’ and you have chronoboost. You are still in a good position.

--- Do not overreact to the banshees. Minimize banshee harass with as few stalkers as possible.

--- If you can execute a flank, and engage in a favorable position where the tanks are relatively unprotected, you can crush this attack very easily. On certain maps (Shattered temple, Xelnaga) , low-ground zealot warp-ins from pylons in your main can be used to backstab tanks if the marines are out of position.

--- If you are very confident in your micro and unit control, many advanced players will attempt to pick off units as the push approaches (forcing multiple siege/unsieges, and buying additional time). This is an advanced tactic that can be highly successful in the hands of a skilled player, but you need to be extremely careful to not lose precious units.

http://drop.sc/23286

Typhon peaks. The build plays out pretty much exactly how I explain it in the guide.

http://drop.sc/23101

He opens up helion drop which I am completely unprepared for. Nevertheless, comes with a 1-1-1 push later.

http://drop.sc/23102

Try to ignore my bronze-league forcefields here. Standard 1-1-1 with Banshee opening.

Please provide me with replays! I am nowhere near perfect in holding this build off and would love to have some better reps.

Here is a list of some potential builds that can have success against the 1-1-1.

Key word here is CAN, I do not recommend them as they are not entirely safe.

- Phoenix Opening / forcing early PDD (very risky if hit by two base timing attack and difficult to execute)

Opening Phoenix vs a Terran who opens Banshee is a build order advantage, but does not always play out well. Though they shut down the Raven / Banshee part of the composition, lifting tanks isn't easy with a large number of marines as support. MC used this opening vs Thorzain at MLG, who simply switched to vikings and continued his push for the win. Also, opening Stargate is somewhat risky as well. If you don't do enough damage, you will die to any kind of 2 base timing with MMG.

- Fast colossus (non 1-base)

I've seen this work only in some occasions. In most cases, the combination of banshees + target firing from siege tanks is overwhelming. If you lose your colossus, you will lose the game. You will have very little gateway support. This is a strategy that is quite difficult to pull off. Without thermal lance, there is almost no good way to engage marines with sieged tanks and banshees for support. The beauty of a heavy zealot/sentry/immortal composition is that Tanks aren't particularly good against any of them.

- Blink stalker openings

This can be a dangerous opening vs Terrans who are reliant on marine defense, and allows for mid map engagements to pick off units before they reach your base. However, this is more of an opener that you do without much scouting, and therefore has its own risks. Additionally, an early twilight will delay your Robo, making you very weak to cloaked banshees.

I will be updating this section with critique that I find to be valid and will attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. If you have a question, please feel free to post in the thread, but I also suggest you peruse this section to see if it has been addressed.