• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 07:41
CEST 13:41
KST 20:41
  • 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 Flash8[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy12ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple5Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research3Weekly Cups (March 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises3Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool49Weekly Cups (March 9-15): herO, Clem, ByuN win4
StarCraft 2
General
What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2) herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Season 4 announced for March-April StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) WardiTV Mondays World University TeamLeague (500$+) | Signups Open
Strategy
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Frigid Storage Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
Mutation # 519 Inner Power The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone Mutation # 517 Distant Threat
Brood War
General
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Pros React To: SoulKey vs Ample ASL21 General Discussion RepMastered™: replay sharing and analyzer site
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro24 Group E [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Ro24 Group D [ASL21] Ro24 Group C
Strategy
What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread 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
TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread
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
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Money Laundering In Video Ga…
TrAiDoS
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 2728 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
WardiTV Team League
11:00
Group B
WardiTV349
TKL 91
IndyStarCraft 88
Liquipedia
Afreeca Starleague
10:00
Ro24 Group E
Rush vs PianO
Flash vs Speed
Afreeca ASL 10057
StarCastTV_EN306
LiquipediaDiscussion
Sparkling Tuna Cup
10:00
Weekly #125
Classic vs CreatorLIVE!
TBD vs ByuN
CranKy Ducklings187
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SortOf 116
ProTech115
TKL 91
IndyStarCraft 88
Rex 71
trigger 52
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 11317
Bisu 6788
EffOrt 1074
actioN 637
firebathero 488
Hyuk 452
Stork 406
JYJ 266
Sharp 265
JulyZerg 149
[ Show more ]
Barracks 141
Backho 132
Larva 121
ToSsGirL 121
sSak 111
Dewaltoss 92
Snow 77
Bale 55
HiyA 52
Sea.KH 29
Nal_rA 17
[sc1f]eonzerg 17
Noble 16
GoRush 12
Terrorterran 12
SilentControl 9
Dota 2
XaKoH 579
BananaSlamJamma373
Counter-Strike
shoxiejesuss740
zeus490
x6flipin325
byalli320
allub244
markeloff102
edward52
Other Games
singsing1686
B2W.Neo857
Liquid`RaSZi822
Pyrionflax183
Lowko173
crisheroes131
Sick98
Mew2King76
QueenE17
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 284
Other Games
BasetradeTV55
StarCraft: Brood War
lovetv 14
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• musti20045 15
• CranKy Ducklings SOOP4
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• iopq 5
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV300
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
12h 20m
Replay Cast
21h 20m
Afreeca Starleague
22h 20m
BeSt vs Leta
Queen vs Jaedong
Replay Cast
1d 12h
The PondCast
1d 22h
OSC
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
TriGGeR vs Cure
ByuN vs Rogue
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Maru vs MaxPax
BSL
4 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
4 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
BSL
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Acropolis #4 - TS6
WardiTV Winter 2026
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
CSL Elite League 2026
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 1
ASL Season 21
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
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
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

CSL Season 20: Qualifier 2
Escore Tournament S2: W1
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
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
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
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.