• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 15:31
CEST 21:31
KST 04:31
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash10[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy18ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 30-Apr 5): herO, Clem, SHIN win0[BSL22] RO32 Group Stage3Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple6Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research8Weekly Cups (March 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises3
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (May 30-Apr 5): herO, Clem, SHIN win Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2)
Tourneys
GSL CK - monthly team event Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Season 4 announced for March-April StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) WardiTV Mondays
Strategy
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Frigid Storage Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 520 Moving Fees Mutation # 519 Inner Power Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone
Brood War
General
ASL21 General Discussion Pros React To: JaeDong vs Queen [BSL22] RO32 Group Stage so ive been playing broodwar for a week straight. Gypsy to Korea
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Ro24 Group F Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [ASL21] Ro24 Group E
Strategy
What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game General RTS Discussion Thread Darkest Dungeon
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread The Chess Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread NASA and the Private Sector Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Loot Boxes—Emotions, And Why…
TrAiDoS
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Electronics
mantequilla
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1571 users

8 rax = cheese?

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 Next All
DJONES
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
United States218 Posts
December 19 2009 04:06 GMT
#1
My standard opener for TvZ is an 8 rax into mech.

After using it on many players, and having lots of bm thrown my way for "fucking cheese", I have to ask:

Why is 8 rax considered cheese?

It doesn't really set you behind very far in terms of economy, but it's upside is great.

2-3 marines, and 1-2 scvs are at his base before the spawning pool finishes.

The zerg is then forced to make a choice.

They either have to pull almost all of their drones, and lose 3-4 of them.

or

Stall and make around 14-16 zerglings to surround the bunker.

Either way, the bunker and early rax have already paid for themselves, in addition to allowing you to dictate the pace of the game early on.

Why is this not considered a standard opener for TvZ?
facebook.com/DJONESisagod
geegee1
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States618 Posts
December 19 2009 04:12 GMT
#2
i would Consider something like 8 rax a standard opening now because of the fact that its kinda saying 9 pool is a cheese in a way. you are applying pressure but not killing the zerg if he hatch. the same for zerg if he 9 pool and attacks you. he is also applying that pressure and there is a minimal chance for either build to win.
pew pew
da_head
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Canada3350 Posts
December 19 2009 04:13 GMT
#3
what's stopping him from sending those 14-16 lings to your base?
When they see MC Probe, all the ladies disrobe.
LaughingTulkas
Profile Joined March 2008
United States1107 Posts
December 19 2009 04:16 GMT
#4
Even if it was "cheese" who cares? The point of the game is to win. There is no other criteria for success (perhaps "fun" but it's more fun if you win right?).

Otoh, unless it's an all-in, I wouldn't call it cheese. Cheese is generally something that if countered, you're screwed. In this case you are just applying early pressure to disrupt and then going for a solid follow up. Not cheese, IMO. Oh, and I'm a zerg player too, so I'm trying not to speak with bias.
"I love noobies, they're so happy." -Chill
Nytefish
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United Kingdom4282 Posts
December 19 2009 04:18 GMT
#5
Well I guess it's like when a protoss 1 gate proxies or gas steals or both.
If you're on the receiving end you'll want to call it cheese.
No I'm never serious.
Jonoman92
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
United States9107 Posts
December 19 2009 04:24 GMT
#6
8 rax isn't cheese, and even if it was, people who complain about cheese are just stupid noobs.
Jonoman92
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
United States9107 Posts
December 19 2009 04:26 GMT
#7
No build is truly cheese in fact really. I just watched a rep from TL's rep section where Oystein goes 6 pool and the game ends up being a close 40+ minute match.

The reason why I think it's silly to call 8 rax cheese is because it's not allin at all really.
StylishVODs
Profile Joined December 2005
Sweden5331 Posts
December 19 2009 04:28 GMT
#8
No its not cheese, but you can make it a cheese by pulling all of your scvs without enough info!
According to Reach, he is the fastest learner he has ever seen. He start bw only like 2/3 years ago. Infact, his bw history knowledge is so limited, he didn't even know what the map Guillotine was.
phaleos
Profile Joined December 2009
Australia105 Posts
December 19 2009 04:31 GMT
#9
I don't think this is cheese. 8BBS is, but this is more of just utilizing every building to their max efficiency. Obviously, mech doesn't require marines, so what's the point of having that barrack sitting in your base?
The very essential of quoting... is not having one.
meeple
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada10211 Posts
December 19 2009 04:33 GMT
#10
Its hard to say what cheese really is... as Chill said in as he closed a thread in the recent past. I wouldn't say its cheese until you make it an all-in like pulling scvs like Stylish said.
AzureEye
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States1360 Posts
December 19 2009 04:41 GMT
#11
Its hard to define cheese.

But the fact that Terran can open up 8 rax and fail the rush and still come out ahead makes some Zerg player mad at the imbalance. You can easily transition to mech and lift off the rax so you don't even lose your building lol. Just the fact that its not risky at all and its great non-standard opening, used to make me more pissed off when I used to play Zerg
Terrans who whine: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=107788
2minutevictory
Profile Joined December 2009
United States89 Posts
December 19 2009 05:01 GMT
#12
it's cheese if it works
lazz
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Australia3119 Posts
December 19 2009 05:02 GMT
#13
8 rax isnt cheese.

bbs or proxy rax is cheese
Floophead_III
Profile Joined September 2009
United States1832 Posts
December 19 2009 05:06 GMT
#14
I'm going to have to say that if proxy'd it's cheese because if they pool first you lose the game hands down. If you do 8 rax in base it's not really cheese. I also feel that if you do it on a 4 player map it's fairly cheesy since you need to scout super early to make it guaranteed effective. It has happened to me as zerg on python and honestly I do feel that it is cheese there since if they pool first and you're streaming rines and have 2 scvs out you are screwed.
Half man, half bear, half pig.
3clipse
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
Canada2555 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-19 05:29:33
December 19 2009 05:29 GMT
#15
Who cares if it's cheese? Pointless classification. Everyone sets a different bar for the level of early aggression considered "standard", and they're all arbitrary and absurdly stupid in a game of strategy where the norm is always changing to defy what is expected.
Mastermind
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
Canada7096 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-19 05:29:36
December 19 2009 05:29 GMT
#16
On December 19 2009 14:02 lazz wrote:
8 rax isnt cheese.

bbs or proxy rax is cheese

Ya, I gotta agree with this.

When someone criticizes you for winning a certain way, just ignore them and laugh to yourself because your opponent is a whinny little bitch.
DefMatrixUltra
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Canada1992 Posts
December 19 2009 05:33 GMT
#17
It wins the game or it doesn't. There is no cheese.

Some builds are less stable than others, and this will contribute to losses. Avoiding losses is a good idea, so playing stable builds is a good idea.
789
Profile Joined October 2009
United States959 Posts
December 19 2009 05:38 GMT
#18
I concur with pretty much everyone here. 8 Rax by itself isn't cheese. It's a more aggressive opening then your standard 10 rax, doesn't make it cheese. Funny thing is they yell at terrans for turtling, and then when they do an aggressive opening its cheese. You can make an 8 rax into cheese tho ... smthn like bbs with massive scv pulling I'd consider cheese. I'm not sure I would even consider a standard 8 rax bunker rush with an scv or 2 cheese anymore. How else is terran supposed to punish the other races for 12 pool/12 nexus.
Member of Hyuk Hyuk Hyuk Cafe! He's the next Jaedong, baby!
hyst.eric.al
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States2332 Posts
December 19 2009 05:55 GMT
#19
it doesnt really matter; and it isn't cheese. your opponent is just angry he/she(yeah right) lost.

its a strong counter to zerg standard 12hatch vs T, so it would be stupid NOT to go it if you are good at it.
Leta , BeSt, Calm fan forever! 김정우, I am sorry I ever lost faith in you.
NotJack
Profile Joined December 2009
United States737 Posts
December 19 2009 06:32 GMT
#20
8 rax makes zerg mad because of how much it isn't cheese; and by that I mean if it's countered it's not a big deal.

I'm fine with it, but that's probably the main reason.
1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 4h 30m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 610
BRAT_OK 147
UpATreeSC 140
Hui .115
goblin 20
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 3546
Mini 748
Shuttle 309
ggaemo 228
actioN 207
firebathero 145
Dewaltoss 120
Soulkey 117
910 25
GoRush 6
Dota 2
monkeys_forever270
Counter-Strike
pashabiceps2053
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu342
Other Games
Grubby3100
summit1g1867
FrodaN1251
B2W.Neo566
ArmadaUGS136
C9.Mang0119
Sick75
Mew2King54
Trikslyr48
Organizations
StarCraft 2
angryscii 21
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 18 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 21
• Reevou 7
• intothetv
• IndyKCrew
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Kozan
StarCraft: Brood War
• Azhi_Dahaki28
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV1307
• lizZardDota291
Other Games
• imaqtpie1067
• Scarra458
• Shiphtur234
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
4h 30m
Replay Cast
13h 30m
Kung Fu Cup
15h 30m
Replay Cast
1d 4h
The PondCast
1d 14h
CranKy Ducklings
2 days
WardiTV Team League
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
WardiTV Team League
3 days
[ Show More ]
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
BSL
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
WardiTV Team League
4 days
BSL
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Wardi Open
5 days
GSL
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Elite League 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W2
IPSL Spring 2026
Escore Tournament S2: W3
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
RSL Revival: Season 5
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.