Among the ladder maps in Starcraft II, Xel’Naga Caverns has got to be one of those maps that makes players both confident and nervous at the same time. It’s a fairly familiar 1v1 map with relatively short distances between players. There are various features that can be used for some sneaky tactics, but it does lend a lot to frontal assaults most of the time. This map sees a lot of aggression, making it a setting for quick games.

Map Description

Official: “The natural expansion is vulnerable to attacks. Further expansions are even more difficult to defend. Use of the Xel’Naga towers provides vision over a large portion of the battlefield.”

Main bases are in the bottom left and top right positions with ramps leading to the natural expansions. The naturals themselves are fairly open, excluding the split in the middle of the entrance. There’s also an entrances at the borders of the map, which can be used for various tactics. The size of the map itself is fairly small, so quick attacks can be frequent.

Beyond the rocks from the naturals, there are more expansions below with wider ramps, making them hard to defend. They’re good options to take as third bases, although harder to defend since they’re relatively far away from the main base. Below them, there are the gold bases, which are blocked off by rocks. When you’ve destroyed the rocks, you can take them for bigger income. However, they’re very open, so a lot of players don’t opt to get them, despite the advantages.

There are two features in the middle of the map, each having a Xel’Naga Watchtower. The wall-like features themselves can be settled upon by units, so units can be blinked or dropped on top for elevation. These watchtowers can be taken to view most of the middle and a bit of the outside edge of the wall features.

At the sides, there are two more expansions that lead towards the aforementioned back passages. They can be taken as hidden expansions, but it gets dangerous when spotted since attackers can use the passages to flank and surprise you, and the ramp is fairly accessible. The passages are hidden by brush, so hidden proxy pylons and cannons are possible.

Features

On the upper left and lower right corners of the map, there are passages covered in brush to the natural expansions. Lots of flank attacks and proxy buildings can be done in these backdoors, making it notable features to consider in this map for any match-up. The entrances of these passages can be blocked off with pylons or supply depots to prevent surprise attacks from the side.

The main bases are fairly big, although not as big as those of Nerazim Crypt. Still, you can expect a lot of drops in your main, so things like building placement and unit positioning are crucial to intercept those attacks. You can also expect proxy pylons for cannon rushes and gateways, which are some of the cheeses that you can encounter in this map.

The natural expansions are fairly exposed, so fast expand builds are less viable since they’re easily scouted and exploited in this map. A lot of one-base strategies are common in Xel’Naga Caverns, so Terrans and Protoss tend to do well here. Zergs will get a late expansion, but can still put up a fight with good defenses.

Various expansions can be taken for a third base in this map. The most obvious choice is the gold expansion, which is fairly open and closer to your opponent, so it’s quite risky. There’s also the safer expansion behind the rocks, which is still quite accessible, so drops and frontal attacks are common in the mid-game. With drops, they can land on the high ground and attack your workers in the mineral line with ranged units. Finally, there are those at the right and left of the map, where the passages are.

All of these third base options are risky, which is why a lot of players opt for quick games here.

Strategy

Protoss can take the gold expansion or the the one behind the rocks. The back passages can be walled off with pylons for extra security. Main armies usually can take the middle of the map and control it from there. However, it’s also common for Protoss to go 4-gate in this map quite often due to the close distances.

Terrans can wall off the main, especially against Zerg. They can take the gold expansions with planetary fortresses, so they can safely acquire minerals with little worry for harassment. From there, it usually leads to a slow push with mech or quick pokes with marine-marauder-medivac composition.

Zergs will have difficulty in defending the gold expansion due to the watchtowers extending the range of siege tanks. They usually take the expo behind the rocks and macro up. This is more recommended for Zerg since it’s harder for enemy attackers from retreating. There’s also the option of taking the side expos due to the close air distance, so they can attack with mutalisks when things go fast enough.

Early proxy buildings happen quite often in this map, so much that it’s really a part of the strategy here. This is why players should scout their own bases regularly for signs of cheesy play. These proxies are either for early attacks or merely for hiding from the view of the opponent, often with tech buildings like starpors or dark shrines. By hiding them, the player can then surprise his opponent with something he may not be expecting, like cloaked banshees or dark templars for harassment. Proxy bunkers are also common in this map, so Terrans do have that extra cheese option. Protoss can defend against these with force fields and build orders that focus on making large gateway armies quickly.