PvT 20 Food 1 Gate Fast Expo

Going fast expo as a Protoss player against Terran opponents can be a daunting task a majority of the time. Protoss players generally do not start with a 16 Nexus fast expo in the PvT matchup due to the huge risk involved as Terran players can generally exploit the weakness of Protoss early game by doing a well time two / three Barracks timing push. The double Barracks push with a Reactor and Tech Lab push is a very common strategy by Terrans and in fact probably the most common Terran strategy in the TvP matchup. Once the Terran has put some pressure at the Protoss player, Terran can generally expand safely behind the pressure.

As a Protoss player, it is generally safer to go for a 1 Gate expansion. Do take not on the maps when pulling this 1 Gate expansion. You generally want to go for a fast expansion on larger maps such as Tel Darim Altar, Shakuras Pleateau, cross spawn locations on maps such as Metalopolis etc. Starting with a 1 Gate expansion in close position can be very risky and unforgiving.

Why is going for a fast expansion as a Protoss in PvT is risky. The main weakness of Protoss is its weakness in chasing out the scouting SCV early in the game. SCV can outrun Zealots for centuries. Thus, Protoss has to wait for the first Stalker to deal with the souting SCV. The SCV can generally gather lots of information at the early stage by scouting the Protoss build order. First thing will always be the number of Assimilators taken by Protoss. This will reveal a huge information to the Protoss tech path.

In the current metagame of PvT, more Terrans are opting for a 1 Barracks Expansion build. If you are doing a 2 Gate Robo or 3 Gate expand, you will generally be very behind if you fail to apply any pressure to the Terran player. Doing a 1 Gate 30 food expansion is very common nowadays. However, LiquidHuk has been performing a new variation of 1 Gate expansion on 20 food. The initial version of Huk involves pulling Probes off gas after mining 50 gas and focusing in minerals for a fast expansion at 20 food. The new version gathers 100 gas.


Build order (tweaked)
9 Pylon
(2 Chrono on Probes)
13 Gateway
15 Gas (Mine for 100 gas)
16 Pylon
17 Core
20 WarpGate Research (Chrono Boost all)
20 Nexus (Resume mining gas)
20 Stalker
22 Probe
23 2 Gateways
25 Stalker
25 Pylon
When Warpgate is done Warp in 3 Stalkers and Pressure Terran

Generally this build cuts Probes at 20 food for a fast expansion. You will be slightly behind at this point. However, your expansion and Chrono Boost will make up for this once your expansion is done for a stronger mid game plan.

Why is This 20 Food 1 Gate Fast Expansion good?
The obvious answer is its ability to get the Warpgate complete asap the same time as a 4 Gate for both offensive and defensive measures. Going for a 16 Nexus delays your Warpgate research for eons and you can easily die to pressure if the Terran is pulling SCVs with this bio ball. Having such an early expansion gives you superior economy for the mid game which. One of the strongest point in this build is the ability to pressure while expanding. With your 5 Stalkers, you can continue to poke the Terran's front wall and pulling back when armor has been depleted.

Things to take note when doing this build
As you will be scouting with the 13 Gate Probe, often times you will not know the Terrans tech path due to wall ins and late scouting location. Thus, you should pay attention to when does the Terran sets up his expansion. Keep pressuring with your Stalker to determine his army composition. You wouldn't want to lose to a one basing Terran which is very common.

In case the Terran is going for a fast Bunker with a 1-2 Marauders, 1-2 Marines and 1-2 SCV for Bunker, you generally want to just wait for more reinforcement instead of engaging so early. Just let the Terran player focus down the Nexus. Wait for more units to engage and before your Nexus falls. You try to engage as late as possible while keeping your Nexus alive. Do not be afraid to pull Probes to hold off the push. If you lose  your expansion at this point, you will be very much behind.

When to You this build?
The perfect scenario for this build to work is when the Terran is going for a gasless 1 Barracks Fast expansion. This is a very common Terran build nowadays on large maps such as Tel darim altar and Shakuras Plateau. You Stalkers can poke around his front and focusing down any repairing SCVs or Marines.

Generally this build works best on large maps and cross position spawns.

What to transition into?
You can transition into your mid game PvT strategies such as Robos or Twilight Council techs or even Stargate Void Rays or 6 Gates.

What to do if Terran is 1 basing?
In general if you scouted that the Terran player isn't taking his expansion after seeing yours, be prepare to hold off his push. Your Stalkers poke can give you lots of information regarding the Terran army composition. If you only sees Marines, do expect Tanks or Banshees. Thus put down a Robo. If its Marauders and Marines, you would want to Put down 1 more additional Gate making a total 4 Gate. Generally, the Stim timing push is very scary. Gather up as many units as possible before the pushes come.

Once you held off his push without losing too many Probes, you will be very much ahead.

Good Luck and give this PvT 20 Food 1 Gate Fast Expansion build a try in your online games.