Team Liquid Map Contest #19: Winners

5th place

“El Dorado” by Eclipse

Similar to Golden Wall, the bottom part of the map is sealed off by mineral walls, but rewards you by offering easy to take bases and a watch tower. The gold bases on each side with only one geyser are part of this wall and the mineral line is exposed at the back.

The middle wall has mineral patches of only 5 value, so it’s easy to open but can also be sealed off again by destructible rock towers. There are additional rock towers at the bottom gold base which can be used to block the ramps for some additional defenders advantage and give more incentive to be taken during the game.

• 13 blue, 2 gold near each main with only one geyser and a gold at the bottom center. (16 total)
• Golds near main act also as mineral walls, mineral lines are exposed at the back. These golds are also blocked from expanding by two 10 value mineral patches that first have to be mined out before taking the base.
• Ramp on the natural plateau leading down to the sealed off bottom area is blocked by 2 lines of 10 value mineral walls.
• Mineral wall in the center with only value of 5 each but can be sealed off again by destructible rocks
• Rock towers covering ramps at the bottom gold base
• Watch tower in the center covers both main rush paths through the center, can see if the gold bases on the left and right are taken and see if the rock towers at the bottom gold are being damaged.

Changelog after TLMC Test Tournament:
+ Show Spoiler [Click to read] +

4th place

“Silverflame: by KillerSmile

Mining out the triangular 3rd base and destroying a rock leads into a safe halfbase behind your spawn position. Your natural has an opening blocked by 2 decaying spawning pools. The middle features small bridges, rocks, a watchtower, and a healing shrine behind a rich gas base.

Notable elements: Backdoor to halfbase in the back blocked by big rock and minerals of the triangle base. Backdoor to the front natural blocked by a double row of neutral spawning pools. Spawning pools can only be attacked by 1 melee unit at a time and expire after 4 minutes in the game, at which point you can use the path to better access your 3rd base and more easily expand towards the bottom left of the map, where a healing shrine hides behind a rich gas base. Short rush distance rewards an aggressive playstyle, while the halfbase in the back is a good fallback option. In case of a contain you can destroy the big rock and mine the triangle base from the back.

3rd place

“Sacred Isle” by Patches

Inspired by Zen, this map features many diverse expansion paths. Each expansion path on Sacred Isle has various pros and cons, from their strategic location, resources, and safety. The pocket base leaves the main base vulnerable to drops, so taking the pocket may help defend against drops while being an overall safe option. Taking the rich gas base provides further protection against drops but puts you closer to your opponent.

The mineral walls contain rich mineral nodes that each take 2 trips to mine out, while opening up these paths makes your natural more vulnerable, they allow you to move your army more freely and expand in various directions.

The tight chokes have been combined with LOS blockers and acceleration zones to shorten some rotation distances, while also creating an interesting dynamic when it comes to engaging your opponent’s army.

2nd place

“sugomA” by HyperONE

sugomA is a modern interpretation of Ulrena.

Notable elements:

• Narrow bridges between triangle 3rds with IZGs permit scouting and early rushes, but cripple larger armies. Open areas on both sides buffer against siege pushes. Additional narrow bridges with AZGs lead to the almost-island base. The entrances into both sets of narrow bridges are lined with 1-hex crates to make walloffs more difficult.
• IZGs slow air travel between mains.
• Blackburn-style IZG choke in the middle lane. High-ground region to the left checks the power of the low-ground rich base.
• Reduced-value geyser-only island bases (4 geysers, 1000 gas/geyser).
• Xel’Naga Healing Shrine encourages use of the leftmost lane, and breaks the lategame split map in lieu of a base.

1st place

“Anomaly Found” by OmniSkeptic

This map sets out to give the player maximum choice of base expansion patterns. In order to force players out of turtling positions, up to 8 bases have -33% reduced mineral/ gas count, especially the bases clustered around the center of the map (new to TLMC19). The rocks at the natural base have had their HP reduced upon game start to make it easier to break that set of ramps in the mid-late/game (new to TLMC19). Healing shrines reside in very conservative positions in the corners of the map.

Destroying rocks in the center of the map allows for more opportunities to flank fortified positions. Some expansions feature exposed mineral lines to provide the enemy with extra opportunities to break strong defensive setups. Bases with reduced resource counts have red warning lights on the geysers and the aesthetics of the mineral fields differ. Special thanks to Acheron and the Bing Bong Exports GMs.

Notable elements (PER SIDE):

• 3 gateway wall at natural
• Variety of expansion patterns
• 1 half base
• 2 -33% reduced (750-patch-only) resource bases
• 1 -33% reduced (750-patch-only) single rich gas base
• 1 Healing Shrine
• 1 Acceleration Zone
• 12 Identified [REDACTED]

Changelog after TLMC Test Tournament:
+ Show Spoiler [Click to read] +