1 Gate Reaver

[e][h]1 Gate Reaver

Strategy Information

Creator(s):

Intotherain

Matchups:

PvT

Type:

Opening

Popularized by:

unknown

The one Gateway Reaver build is one of the most traditional forms of Protoss harassment. It is a rather aggressive opening, designed to deal devastating economical damage to the Terran. Furthermore, the immediate threat the Reaver poses, is often used to keep the Terran from attacking early on.

Build Order

The Build Order for the One Gateway Reaver opening is only a rough guideline, the noted list is one of the more conservative and safer variations.

"One Gateway Reaver"
8 - Pylon 10 - Gate 11 - Assimilator 13 - Cybernetics Core 15 - Pylon 18 - Dragoon (build continually from now on until you have 4-5) 20 - Dragoon Range Upgrade 21 - Pylon 26 - Robotics Facility (when 200 gas) 29 - Pylon 34 - Observatory; build Observer when it finishes 37 - Nexus at Natural
How To: Read Build Orders

• What you build when your Robotics Facility finishes depends on your playstyle. Variations include getting Shuttle + Support Bay right away or even skipping Goon Range in favor of a very fast Reaverpush.

Application

There are different way to perform the Build Order. Generally speaking, a Protoss player has to make a trade-off depending on the gathered intel. Whenever he has to count with an early push by Terran, the Reaver production might be delayed. Regardless of the Terran's reaction, the Build Order makes sure that the Dragoon Range Upgrade and the Robotics Facility finish at around 33 or 34 supply.

Usually, the Protoss will try to build a Reaver and one Shuttle as fast as possible, in order to attack the Terran in the very early stages of a game. The sooner the initial harass begins, the higher the chances are that Terran has no static defenses to keep the Reaver out of the base. In the same breath, an initial attack by Terran might have to return, or not leave the base altogether.

However, if the Terran plays aggressive himself, the Protoss might have to use the Reaver to defend his own base, or if the Terran opens with a Starport (drop) opening, he'll have to cancel the harass and use the Reaver as support for the ground army. In the case of Terran using Dropships, any Reaver drop can be defended easily by adding a Wraith.

Protoss can always add a bit variation to the build order. The Robotics Facility can be built sooner, when the Dragoon Range Upgrade is skipped. Sometimes the Air Weapon upgrade is researched instead, to trick scouting SCVs. If this is the case, the upgrade has to be canceled whenever the scout was killed. Additionally, if the Protoss builds up to five Dragoons, he can use these first units to attack the Terran at the front and attempt to break the Terran's defense with the help of the reaver totally.

The transitions after the first harass follow the overall logic of the match up. A Protoss can try to expand once or twice, depending of the damage dealt. It is not recommended to force the success of a Reaver drop. If turrets are already up, the Protoss can still use the Reaver as an additional unit in support of the ground army.

Countered By

Hard Counters

• Terran opening with Drop / Wraiths

Soft Counters

• 2 Fact JoyO Rush
• Siege Expand

Counter To

Soft Counters

• FD Terran
• 2 Fact Gundam Rush
• 2 Fact Vulture

Notable Maps

Reavers can be used on nearly any map. This opening doesn't depend on special map charasteristics. However, some maps support Drop strategies more than others, especially those, with large main bases or long distances between main base and naturals, which are hard to cover with Turrets only. Most of these maps are outdated and not used anymore. A perfect example of an outdated map with large bases would be Katrina or Forte.

Notable Games

	Nony	FPVOD using a one Base Reaver Build, variation of one Gate Reaver. Tutorial focusses on Reaver control.
	Unknown
	Date: 2008-11-11
gaia	Patch: 1.15.3	VOD

External links

• see also: Reaver Drop (Article)
• pushbreaker guide by Bluzman
• Reaver tutorial by Legionnaire