CNC Generals

The GLA vs CHINA base swap is when a gla is forced to pull back its units, sell its buildings, and try to destroy and rebuild in the china base. If done correctly, the two players will end up fighting the game as if they were placed in opposites spots.

A Base swap should only be played when a china is charging with a fast or hard gat th. It’s a maneuver I highly recommend as a last resort. China has the upper hand because of the fast build time of the units and structures as well as the probability of china having a massive gat th. However this is a only a slight advantage due in part to GLA’s quick units, cheapness, and tunnels.


A GLA base swap is very difficult and can only be mastered through reputation. It puts both players in an uncomfortable position that most are unfamiliar with. For a GLA to win the game in oils are nearly a must (it can be done with 0 or one, but it's much more difficult - see first replay). Chances are that a build order with a fast gat th will not check or stop the oil grab, therefore grabbing the oils should be relatively easy. However if it is played right from the china’s end, GLA will lose its base as an expense. You have to delay this process as much as possible without sacrificing scorpions or techs. I recommend using RPG troopers from tunnels to help knock out the gats while tunnels knock out the TH's. This should buy u enough time for ~3 scorpions, 1 tech, and a rocket upgrade.

A very important part about a base swap is having deep tunnels on the flanks.

Here

Or here (but preferably both)

China will not have many gats or ths protecting its base from the back end if it charges hard at the start. A good china will have at least 1 gat and try to kill your workers as they are building tunnels. These gats should be viewed as meat to GLA as a scorpion with rocket can reduce this to scraps in a matter of seconds, leaving ur 1 tech with a grenade launcher as a TH Stopper. With these 3 scorpions + 1 tech, you should be able to rip through the defenseless china base, killing one of two dozer's which should be located on the china’s unsafe supply flank, either sitting there waiting to be killed or trying to escape (see screen shot). During this time GLA should also be building Ads, Supplies, and tunnels as quickly as possible. If china doesn’t re-attack up the middle, harass its supplies / dozer's.



SELL, SELL, SELL ! don’t forget to sell your ad and supply as china charges. Don’t sell ur tunnels as they can be used to slow down and eat away at the gat th. Salvage your workers by putting them in tunnels so you don’t have to rebuild them once you setup ur supply in the new spot. You can also run your workers up the flank and build demo traps in order to slow the gat th down a bit.



Building a palace is not as easy during a basewap. If a china has a gat th, chances are it will charge right back up the middle, trying to reclaim its original position. If you build a palace, it will be ripped through as soon as its built, thus ending the game. In a situation like that, don’t build a palace and use this extra money to harass and gain map control. However, if a china stays back, sets up migs, prop center, etc. Building a palace would be the most beneficial as a gla cant compete vs a teched up china in a low tech state. (rep #1 – low tech vs gat th) (rep #2 – high tech vs camping / teched china).



So your swap went well, you have 1-2 oils, and china has a slight advantage with its massive gat th roaming the desert. Now you have to go back to the basics of GvC. Harass the china’s econ and keep him from collecting in the middle. Most china’s are disoriented after a swap and are desperately trying to keep everything together while going right on up the tech tree. This should give you enough time to tunnel up in the middle and maybe even build a supply 3rd supply in the middle ( see rep #2) while moving up the tech tree yourself. On the other hand, if a china regains it’s composure and re-attacks with a gat th, be prepared to swap again. (see rep #1) The gat th will only get bigger and bigger and the more you sacrifice scorps / techs, the harder it is to comeback. If you have 2 oils, you should be able to base swap once more, but 0-1 oil is much more difficult however it can be done. Attacking this head on will get you no where. Instead attack it indirectly by hunting dozer's and supply trucks. You will force the gat th to go forward, backwards, and all around while u take the middle and build a palace.



Don’t forget about cash bounty. Most base swaps accumulate tons of gens points so get a cc up and collect a profit while doing your best to stay alive. Never give up! It might sound cliché but look at reps # 3, 4 and tell me otherwise. This means building a base on the flank, or surviving merely by oils, never give up.

Link to the base swap replays!