Welcome



Hi, I am a casual Starcraft 2 Terran player in top 8 Masters, that watches the GSL, MLG, Dreamhack, IEM, and most big tourneys which feature top-tier Koreans. My Terran openings and builds are highly influenced by Korean players as I love watching their crisp play and sick timings. I believe opening build orders should be well-planned with tight timings for optimal supply. My favorite Terran players are currently KTFlash, ST_Bomber, IMMVP, and MVPKeen. I like to practice a handful of openings for each match-up over and over again so I can refine my play and timings and know the best responses to deal with and adapt to various situations. Here are my favorite Terran build orders. Here are some of my replays.

Monday, October 1, 2012

TvP: Proxy Marauder Rush


This is one of my new favorite openings against P on one-player maps. It's been utilized a lot in the GSL and tournaments in general. It is a very scary rush that Protoss just can't micro against and therefore can't afford even the slightest greed or the Marauders will kill everything. Although it may seem all-inish (it is if it gets shut out cold, so don't let this happen), I like to always transition in case the P knows what they're doing and I just can't break the ramp.

10 supply
11 rax (proxied)
12 gas
14 OC
14 tech lab
14 supply
14 Marauder
16 Concussive Shells (SCV is delayed, but drop the mule)
+ 2 rax
+ fac/port

* Constant Rauder production until 4-6
* Constant SCV/depot production

EXECUTION: I usually like to move out at 2 Rauders, but you can use your first to poke, the most IMPORTANT thing you need to keep in mind with this rush is to NOT GET SURROUNDED and keep your SCV alive so you can bunker when it's safe. You need to constantly micro the Marauders: poking, picking off what you can, when you can, being aware if the P pulls probes - just kite backwards running down the ramp if you need to. If the Protoss is inexperienced with the rush he may try to engage you down his ramp with a Stalker and Zealot, two Marauders will always win with micro. If you weren't able to kill him, fall back to your bunker and build an in-base expo with the first 400 minerals. Then, I usually build another bunker, start stim at the proxy rax, then 2 rax at home. If you aren't confident that there is enough time for stim to finish, research it at one of the new raxes being built at home.

While this is all going on, if you were not able to find and kill the scouting probe - scout for it/pylons and consider falling back earlier because Warp Gate's bypassing the bunker is now an issue.



IN GENERAL: If you were able to push the Protoss back up his ramp and kill a few probes/units, you will be economically ahead because your expo is that much faster, now you just need to stop his all-in/pressure that he follows up with 95% of the time. Build a bunker or two. I usually see blink Stalkers, Warp Prism, Immortal busts, or DTs.

Replay 1: http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=272222

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Condemned Ridge First Impressions

Terran is a race based on early aggression whether it be in the form of pressure or early harass, you cannot sit back on your hammock with your sunglasses like P/Z, you need to get something done or you just fall behind in economy. This map is a huge middle-finger to Terrans, not only is it HUGE, but it lacks chokes and has three very close, easy, bases with a central pathway that makes it a no-brainer as to where the defensive position should be. This map looks essentially like an open battlefield map with bases on the outskirts. Without much pressuring and positional options, the lack of strong reinforcing mechanics like larva inject or warp-ins will really show here.


This is hands down the worst map in the pool for TvZ, IMO. Short of a Terran all-in, Z can safely take and defend a third off a bunch of Queens. I can play Daybreak, Tal'darim, Ohana, Shak etc. just fine with pressure/harass, but this map seems heavily Z favored, goodluck getting anything done past mid-master. Close 3 bases with a central big pathway, open wide center, big airspace, my god... The open center means tanks won't be as good short of perfect control, flanks will be inevitable, and there is really only one path of attack dependent on how you spawn - into a big open area. The airspace means drops will not be very good, because they will see it,  and Mutas will have a field day; so the one Viking seems imperative here to try to deny the insane OL spread that will happen. "But, what about the ridge at their third!" Well, the only way to get anything there is going to be with a mass Medivac drop, which they will spot. Against a competent Z there is no way you're walking up there. But look at it this way, if there is Muta harass you'll get to merry go-round your Marines up and down the ramp to defend, then up and down your other two ramps.

I'm a bit less gloomy about TvP here, it doesn't seem to put Terrans at any significant disadvantage. The Protoss third, though close, is not as easy to take as there is so much open area meaning FF's won't be as good and spreading against the deathball much easier. In this case the air space will be to the T advantage with drops, Protoss will have to watch a lot of areas, especially the ridge at the third, it looks to be pretty abusable. Haven't played much TvP here, but looks okay at first glance.

If I had only one veto, this is it.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

TvP: Engagements

One thing a lot of Terran players are really lacking in on the NA server is their engagements and micro. It seems common for players to mis-attribute losses to other things like macro, build order, strategy. Yes, while those things are always in need of improvement, I feel like engagements in TvP can make or break an entire game, or at the very least, have lasting repercussions. What really took my standard TvP play, which was in ruins for a good while, was that I started focusing more on my engagements and micro, less on my macro. Suddenly, in my mid-late game, I did so much better playing standard against P: I didn't feel like I was playing from behind and I felt more confident putting on pressure and controlling the map, less scared of any all-ins because of my new found control. There were several things I drastically had to improve on to get better at TvP.

1. FF's: Don't ever get caught by them, ESPECIALLY before medivacs come out or you can insta lose. When you get Medivacs you can pick up pretty safely if they don't have blink. Most don't have it early-mid usually sticking to a more standard Zealot/Sentry/some stalks & immortals comp, something quite abusable by MMM. You can really abuse ledges, especially if they have tech near. This is the biggest thing I've improved on, always trying to juke out the FF's, run around it, use it against the P, etc. It really does make or break engagements.

NooOooo!

2. Medivac drops: Don't ever ever lose them early, so it is imperative to watch them early on if you try; I have just stopped doing early drops altogether since decent P's knows the timings. However if they go the Collossi route, it becomes much easier to abuse drops while your main army/Vikings are moving around. If HT's are out it's a lot riskier to drop, less you scan first. When your first two Medivacs come out (and your next two rallied), this is usually the best timing to put on pressure/attack because it's just before their AOE comes out.

3. Kiting/Surface area: So important, always do this, it is a free way to increase the effectiveness of your army. Unless your army is substantially bigger the Chargelots need to always be kited and isolated as much as possible while not getting trapped from FF's. Running to chokes where surface area is reduced as much as possible (if there is no AOE out). Once they get Collossi/HT, spreading and picking where your engagement happens becomes insanely important in trying to reduce the AOE damage as much as possible and make the Protoss have to funnel his units towards you. This is why concaving on ramps is always an amazing defensive position.

4. Storms: Admittedly still the hardest thing I need to work on; in my constant storm dodging and Ghost control. A proficient Storm user is going to mat the area with storms, this is why dodging and Ghosts are absolutely needed to deal with them or you will just melt. Unless you can take out/drain most of the HTs, I would personally just straight up kite/run back, not engaging the army if given the choice. We should abuse the fact that HTs are much slower, this is a good way to get the P to pull back.

In conclusion, the best way I've believe to improve one ones TvP is to always watch the army and micro the !@#$ out of it if P army is near. If you need to look away, make certain you won't get caught off guard by having your army in a retreating/defensive position. Yep, meticulously watching your main army control in TvP should help anyone improve in standard MMM play, as a bonus you will often see that blur and get to kill an observer. Don't get me wrong, you still need a good foundation in macro, scouting, timings, etc, but engagements should be #1 priority. TvP late game is tough, so you really need to be on top of everything, but most of all your engagements.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

TvZ: 1rax FE into Hellions

Everyone knows the Hellion expand, this is a slight spin to it that is a bit more greedy as you go CC after rax, then rush to factory, but more economical. I've always wondered about the true viability of CC after rax in TvZ, but MarineKingPrime showcased it brilliantly at MLG Columbus 2012 easing many of my doubts. Especially with the much bigger maps we've been seeing, you are much less likely to die to any sort of early rush.

10 supply
12 rax
15 Marine
16 OC
16 CC
16 gas
17 gas
17 depot
18 Marine
20 Marine
22 reactor (on the barracks)
23 OC
24 bunker
+ switch fac onto reactor ASAP

* There are slight deviations to this build, for example if they send an early drone scout you might want to trap it in with a second depot before CC or deny the scouting. NOTE: Don't worry too much about the supply numbers and hitting things perfectly, as long as you keep on time with the pace of the game you're fine.

EXECUTION: This is a economic variant to the all-to-standard Hellion opener that you might prefer on bigger maps if you aren't going for some 2 base timing. The first few Marines can hold off any Zergling pressure, you still need to scout for the normal Zerg cheese, if they lay an expo you are pretty much safe to anything assuming you react properly, if they do some one base crap, I would probably just not take my gas at all and drop 2 extra rax and some bunkers. There are still a lot of Zergs that get cocky and try to just overrun your Hellions with lings, so I would recommend at least 6 with this build since it becomes insanely cost-inefficient to try to take them out with just speedlings. After the rax is floated off the reactor I generally like to follow it up with a tech lab, a 'rauder, and stim assuming I'm not meching. Any Hellion opener is just so amazing in TvZ, you will eventually learn to not die to any Zerg all-ins after enough practice and be able to keep the Hellions alive for so long; which is why it's so amazing in TvZ.

IN GENERAL: I'm undecided on which opener I prefer, the Hellion FE is safer and the Hellions come out so much faster; but as I've said before, as the maps get bigger and Zergs get better, you should not expect to get any drone kills, only contain the Zerg/force units long enough for whatever you're doing. I think CC before fac may eventually become the new standard, the first 2 Hellions pop only 20~30 Blizzard seconds slower. In addition because you take both gasses so early, Unless you want a fast starport/ebay for ups, you can pull 4 SCVs off gas after your fac and reactor are building or you will get a huge gas bank; re-apply later.

Replay 1: http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=262195
Replay 2: http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=263299

Friday, March 9, 2012

TvT: 1-1-1 3reaper 1hellion Cloak Banshee

Although it has been around for a while, it was when I saw  oGs_Supernova do it at the IEM Season VI World Championship at Hannover when I really got interested enough to try it. This is still a relatively new build that I've been doing, but I have been having great success with it, especially against fast expand builds. It is insanely aggressive and very micro-intensive, you have to be so careful to continue macroing properly while executing this build.

10 supply
11 gas
13 rax
16 tech lab
16 OC
16 Reaper
17 fac
18 gas (2nd)
20 Reaper
22 supply
22 Hellion
24 port
+ swap port with rax ASAP and begin Banshee/Cloak

Immediately at the end of this build order you will have around 400 minerals and no gas (this may vary a bit), I usually drop the Command Center at this time, however there is always the option to go ahead and one-base all-in or build a bunker and some Marines to be safe and get a later Command Center.

EXECUTION: This is a very very micro-intensive build that is optimal on Reaper-friendly maps such as Tal'Darim or Shattered Temple and can not be afforded sloppy control. The are many ways to execute your attacks from this build, I like to pop up with with first Reaper to scout, see what I can do, then get it out alive. Once your Hellion pops you can opt to attack, even up the ramp if they don't have a bunker or simply use the Hellion on lower ground to cover Reapers up on higher ground - you can be really creative with this, the idea is do kill as many Marines as possible for the Cloak Banshee follow-up that can do massive economic damage. IMPORTANT: Killing an SCV building something is great because it slows down the other Terran's tech/production.


IN GENERAL: This build can transition into anything: bio, mech, sky Terran, as it ends with the infrastructure for any; however, you are very light on units early on since you tech up so quickly and go gas first. This shouldn't be too much of a problem since your Reapers/Hellion should control the map early on and your Cloak Banshees that follow (build at least 2). Although this is a very aggressive build that usually causes a player to be overly passive, you should always play a reactionary game and be mindful of counter attacks. Also, a well-executed proxy 2rax can outright kill any gas first opening, especially this one since you skip the first marine for the faster tech lab.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

TvZ: 1rax Reaper Expand

**** As of patch 1.4.3.2, this build is deprecated. The 2 range increase on Queens means they now completely rape Reapers ****

One of my favorite builds I first saw it's true potential when SlayerS_MMA showcased it in the second GSTL. It is, for good reason, overshadowed by the Hellion expand, but is not without its advantages. I really like this build on smaller maps like Xel'Naga and Shattered Temple. A lot of Zergs delay speed for a good while, so you can sometimes get a few Drone potshots off and another advantage of the build is an earlier CC than a Hellion expand would allow. In addition, you are much safer against fast Roaches because you already have the tech lab down and can scout their main for the Warren. You also stop building them after 1 or 2 and go straight into marine production with a fast stim. It is an opening that requires good multitask to keep your Reapers alive and slightly weaker to b/ling busts than the Hellion opener.

10 supply
12 rax
13 gas
15 Marine
15 OC
16 supply
16 tech lab
20 CC

After you plant your CC, start two additional raxes when you have the money, then another depot ASAP. Start stim shortly after and constant marine production. Sometimes I like to reactor a rax early when I know there's no all-in coming.



EXECUTION: Whether you build one Reaper or two, it's up to you. The job of your Reaper(s) is to scout and control the map before speed is out. The advantage of two Reapers is that they can one-shot lings. Your first Reaper can be used to scout the main base or harass the natural, it is imperative you don't lose your Reapers before your natural is properly defended with a bunker or you will be totally in the dark.

You can follow the Reaper expand up any way you want, but I love love love to follow it up with a 3rax stim push. It punishes greed and if you kept your first two Reapers alive, you will mow down any Spine Crawlers that the Zerg might have (engage them if you don't see enough units to defend). If you are able to keep the Zerg from seeing it coming, you can outright end the game or do massive damage. Don't plan on getting your marines out of there, just maximize the amount of damage you do while macroing properly; running behind the mineral lines is a great way to reduce surface area from zerglings.

IN GENERAL: This is a strong build that can lead right into a macro game, sometimes giving you an advantage. At worst you will be on even footing. It's a great reactive build to the two most common all-ins Zergs would pull on smaller maps. If you spot a Roach Warren, start Marauder production, if you spot a bling bust, build bunkers and wall them off leaving a hex off space so they don't take AOE damage. If you hold their all-in, you'll be way ahead and can probably end the game with a 4rax. If they don't all-in, you can put on some pressure, possibly get an advantage, but at the very least remain on even ground. The 3rax stim push comes at a time Zergs tend to drone up like mad. NOTE: If you spot a speedling expand (rare) before your tech lab is making, ditch this build and use the Hellion expand. Also, scout for a fast third always.

Replay: http://www.gamereplays.org/starcraft2/replays.php?game=33&show=details&id=242565