Starcraft 2 3-Gate Blink Stalker Build Order

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The 3-Gate Blink Stalker build is a one base build that excels in Protoss versus Protoss matches. It gives the Protoss player quick access to Stalkers with the Blink ability, a skill that in the hands of a good player can significantly improve the value of a Stalker.

Below, you will discover the best build order for this strategy as well as the best way to execute this strategy. Finally, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this build so you have a better idea of when to use it and when not to use it in Starcraft 2 matches.

3-Gate Blink Stalker Build Order

Here is the build order:

9/10: Pylon
13/18: Gateway
15/18: Assimilator x2
16/18: Pylon
17/18: Cybernetics Core
21/26: Zealot
23/26: Pylon
23/26: Warp Gate Research
25/26: Sentry
27/34: Twilight Council
29/34: Stalker
30/34: Gateway x2
30/34: Blink (use Chrono Boost on Blink)
32/34: Stalker
32/34: Pylon
34/34: Stalker
34/42: Pylon

At this point, Warp Gate tech will finish as will your 2 additional Gateways. Warp in a round of Stalkers as Blink is finishing and then initiate your attack. Blink will finish up when you get across the map. You will want to drop a proxy Pylon or two near the Protoss main in order to reinforce with warp ins of Stalkers.

You will be somewhat vulnerable to attack up until about from about the 5:45 mark to the 6:45 mark when Blink finishes. This is where the early Sentry comes in - it should have enough energy for two Force Fields, allowing you to wall off your ramp for 30 seconds. Warp in additional Sentries if needed to extend the Force Field wall off.

Executing the Build

In order for this build to work properly, you need to be able to get the most out of the Blink ability. After all, if you do not get good use out of the Blink ability, you would be much better off just going for a Robotics Bay or Stargate instead of the Twilight Council. Below, we will discuss the two most effective ways for using Blink with this build.

Attacking from the Side

When attacking with Blink Stalkers, you do not want to engage the opponent's army in a head on attack. The reason is that since you went for Blink, your opponent's army is likely to be a little stronger. Instead, bring a Sentry with your Stalkers when you go out to attack. Use this Sentry to use the Hallucinate ability to Hallucinate a Phoenix. This Hallucination can provide you with vision of the high ground, allowing your Blink Stalker to Blink up into the enemy's base and bypass their entrance entirely.

Your Blink Stalkers then can run in and kill as many Probes as possible before the enemy knows what is happening. When they pull their units back to defend, you can just run away with your Stalkers and Blink back down to safety without risking any units. You can then attack from the front, or from a different part of the base, whittling down the opponent slowly.

Another good target for side attacks is Pylons. If the enemy is powering all their Warp Gates off of just 1 Pylon, you can snipe the Pylon to block reinforcements for the next 30 or so seconds that it takes the opponent to rebuild the lost Pylon.

Blink Stalker Micro

When you do confront enemy units, you need to micro your Blink Stalkers appropriately in order to get the best results out of them. The premise behind good Blink Stalker micro is simple: as Stalkers get hurt, Blink them to the back. The new healthy Stalkers in front will then step up to take damage, while the hurt Stalkers in the back will still do full damage. By the time the rotation gets around for the original hurt Stalkers to come back up to the front, they will theoretically have been regenerated at least a portion of their shields from not taking damage for 10 seconds.

Of course, pulling this off is easier said than done. You need to use the health bars to spot which Stalkers are taking damage and quickly Blink the hurt ones back one at a time. This takes a lot of practice, but if you use Blink Stalkers in every game for many games in a row, you will eventually get good at saving them. If you only use this build occasionally, your Blink Stalker micro will likely never be that great.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The 3-Gate Blink Stalker opener is very balanced, so it fairs well against most Protoss openers. There are however one opening strategy which this build is very strong against as well as one opening strategy which this build is weak against. These will be discussed below.

Strengths: Void Rays and Oracles

A Blink Stalker opener fairs very well against early Stargate play. The Blink ability allows the Stalker to chase down and kill enemy Oracles. It also allows the Stalker to avoid Void Rays while Prismatic Alignment is active as well as provides the Stalker the ability to chase down enemy Void Rays while Prismatic Alignment is on cooldown.

Immortals

The biggest weakness of the Blink Stalker build is the Immortal. Immortals are good versus Stalkers no matter how well the Stalkers are microed. If you went for 3-Gate Blink Stalker and your opponent is going for 2-3 Warpgates and a Robotics Facility and starts pumping out Immortals, you need to change your strategy.

Any of the other tier 2 tech paths works good against Immortal play. Zealots and Archons are strong versus Immortals as are Void Rays. Phoenix can also help against Immortals since Immortals can be lifted by the Phoenix.

You can still use your Blink Stalkers for harassing attacks if the enemy gets Immortals, just do not try to engage Immortals directly with your Stalkers. You can use Blink Stalkers to harass the opponent to slow them down while you work on a new tech path of your own to help

Additional Info: Dark Templar Rushes

While DT rushes are not really a weakness for the Blink Stalker opener since this rush can easily be countered with minor adjustments, it is something you should know about. If the opponent DT rushes, you will have to get out an Observer. Use the Sentry's Force Field ability to wall the ramp off in order to keep Dark Templar out of the main while you work towards an Observer.

Conclusion

The 3-Gate Blink Stalker is a solid opening in Protoss versus Protoss matches. It has very few weaknesses, and even if your opponent does go for Immortals, you can delay the opponent with good Blink Stalker harassment so you can change your tech path and get some units out that are more suitable for fighting Immortals.