[G] Hyungry Hyungry Roaches (Rough Draft)

Good day ladies and gentlemen of Team Liquid! Welcome to a guide featuring an aggressive appRoach to Zerg versus Terran.

I've made many mistakes in StarCraft II. Too many. But thankfully I've always been able to follow the best advice I've ever been given: Just make Roaches and A-move.

This simple philosophy has had a hugely positive influence on my play, and studying professional players has shown me the best way to do it. I’ve been confidently playing Roach-based styles against top master/grandmaster Terran opponents since early Wings of Liberty.

The exact build detailed in this guide is what I have been using – for better or worse it’s got a little Tang in there – but it is influenced by timing attacks used by Zergs at the pinnacle of professional play. I believe it is highly efficient and effective in the current HotS meta, and if you look closely, you might see some Hyunderlying influences.

This style revolves around two timing attacks:

+1 Speed Roaches (9:00-10:00)
+2/+1 Speed Roach-Hydra (13:00-14:00)

As you'll see from the replays, this style gives Zerg a lot of safety and flexibility in the mid-game. There's no scrambling to deal with Hellion/Hellbat aggression -- Roaches are out in time to hold most attacks, and you can even put on varying degrees of pressure with +1 Speed Roaches.

To hit the two timing attacks, it is important to follow two key economic benchmarks:

44 Drones (16 + 16 + 12) full mineral saturation on two bases, with four gas geysers
60 Drones (16 + 16 + 16 + 12) full mineral saturation on three bases, with four gas geysers

The build order detailed below is a safe and optimized way to reach 44 Drones by 6:45. Off of this economy, Zerg can choose how aggressive to be with +1 Speed Roaches. It is entirely reasonable to stay on 3-gas and simply try to break your opponent. You might scout them being greedy or simply want to mix it up; either way you should be using a relentless aggressive +1 Speed appRoach a percentage of the time.

But we will not explore the all-in version in this guide. Instead, our goal is to make only enough Roaches to secure and hold a reasonably-timed third base (8:00-9:00) so that we can reach 60 Drones by 10:30-11:00. The 44 Drone economy is sufficient to tech quickly, build defensive Roaches, saturate a third, and store enough gas to get all the necessary upgrades. The 60 Drone economy is sufficient to max quickly with Roach-Hydra. If you make only 6-10 Roaches, it is possible to saturate your third base by 10:00-11:00, then hit your opponent with a nearly maxed-out Roach-Hydra army by 14:00.

Build Order

9 Overlord
14 Spawning Pool (1:55)
16 Hatchery (2:45)
15 Queen
17 Zergling (1Set to scout)
18 Extractor Trick/Drone (16 drones @ main by 3:30)
19 Overlord
19 Queen
21 Zergling (1Set to deny scout)
22-24 Drones (One rallied to gas geyser)
24 Gas (4:10~)
23 Queen (@ Natural ASAP)
25-32 Drones (Rally 3 from inject to fill gas by 5:00)
32 Overlord x2
32-46 Drones
46 Lair (5:55)
46 Double Gas + Evolution Chamber (6:00)
44-52 Drones
52 Roach Warren (6:20 – Second Evo optional to wall bigger maps)
51 Last Gas
51-52 Drone

**Reach 44 Drones by 6:45 -- Full 2 Base Saturation + 4 Gas **

52 Overlords x3
Start +1 Missile (6:40)
Start Speed (7:20)
52-68~ Roaches (Make as many +1 Speed Roaches as you need to defend natural and third from Hellions (6-10) or push out to attack (12-20+). Spores are optional here too against Banshees, just replace the Drones.
68 Third base (7:45-8:00)
67 Hydra Den (7:45-8:00)
You can make as many Roach/Hydra as you need to safely saturate your third base. I default to 8 Roach / 4 Hydra, but against more aggressive opponents I’ll make a lot more before droning third. Aim to have 4+ Hydralisks out by about 9:30 to defend with the Roaches/Queens.
Start second Evo around 9min or when +1 is very close to done.
@+1 Missile start +2 and +1 (9:20~)
Begin Hydra upgrades while you have +2/+1 researching.

**Reach 60 Drones by 10:30 -- Full 3-Base Saturation with 4 Gas.**

Gas should be tight but if you feel too starved, start a 5th gas.
Start mass-producing Hydralisks and Overlords. Once you become gas starved, which into Roaches and Overlords.

**Arrive at Terran's third base with +2/+1 Speed Roach-Hydra between 12:00 and 14:00. Go for the jugular -- army, production, economy.**

Hyungry Hyungry Roaches Replay Pack (15 Games)

Here are three replay analysis videos that go into greater depth about this style:

Hyungry Hyungry Roaches Replay Analysis #1
Hyungry Hyungry Roaches Replay Analysis #2
Hyungry Hyungry Roaches Replay Analysis #3

Thank you all for reading this guide and for supporting me over the years. This may be one of my final HOTS guides, but I look forward to continuing SC2 coaching and content production into Legacy of the Void. I love this game and this community too much to give it up.

Written by Tim "Tang" Clark
Produced by All-In Academy