• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 11:16
CET 17:16
KST 01:16
  • 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
Clem wins HomeStory Cup 285HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info3herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational14SC2 All-Star Invitational: Tournament Preview5
Community News
Weekly Cups (Jan 26-Feb 1): herO, Clem, ByuN, Classic win2RSL Season 4 announced for March-April7Weekly Cups (Jan 19-25): Bunny, Trigger, MaxPax win3Weekly Cups (Jan 12-18): herO, MaxPax, Solar win0BSL Season 2025 - Full Overview and Conclusion8
StarCraft 2
General
Clem wins HomeStory Cup 28 HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview Stellar Fest "01" Jersey Charity Auction StarCraft 2 Not at the Esports World Cup 2026 Weekly Cups (Jan 26-Feb 1): herO, Clem, ByuN, Classic win
Tourneys
HomeStory Cup 28 $5,000 WardiTV Winter Championship 2026 RSL Season 4 announced for March-April PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar) StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly)
Strategy
Custom Maps
[A] Starcraft Sound Mod
External Content
Mutation # 511 Temple of Rebirth The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 510 Safety Violation Mutation # 509 Doomsday Report
Brood War
General
StarCraft player reflex TE scores [ASL21] Potential Map Candidates Can someone share very abbreviated BW cliffnotes? 2024 BoxeR's birthday message Liquipedia.net NEEDS editors for Brood War
Tourneys
Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 1 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Strategy
Zealot bombing is no longer popular? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Current Meta Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2
Other Games
General Games
Diablo 2 thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread EVE Corporation Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
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 Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread YouTube Thread The Games Industry And ATVI Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Quickbooks Payroll Service Official Guide Quickbooks Customer Service Official Guide
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Play, Watch, Drink: Esports …
TrAiDoS
My 2025 Magic: The Gathering…
DARKING
Life Update and thoughts.
FuDDx
How do archons sleep?
8882
James Bond movies ranking - pa…
Topin
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1372 users

[G] Winning TvZ

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 Next All
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
August 02 2010 01:00 GMT
#1
It has come to my attention that 116 of you are having trouble with the TvZ matchup. If you are one of those 116 people, this thread is just for you. Here, I will teach you how to win this oh so terrible matchup and help you realize that it is actually really quite fun to play. So, are you ready to start some major ass kicking? Damn straight. Let's get started.

So, everyone knows Terran has lots of cool flashy units they can play around with, more than any other race, in fact. They have hellions which hard counter zerglings, marauders which hard counter roaches, thors which hard counter mutalisks, and siege tanks which hard counter hydralisks. But that's not all. The absolute best part about Terran is that they have literally a billion openings they can choose from, each just as viable as the next. And, what's even better, the map pool makes some of these openings just that much harder (or even, dare I say it, impossible) to defend against. You find yourself spawning on Lost Temple or Kulas Ravine? Go 8 rax reaper or thor drop or siege tank drop. Or maybe you're playing on one of those new maps where the ramp is light years away from the natural? Do a nice reactor hellion opening, or even just take a page out of the Protoss's book and do a simple 1 base all-in attack.

Here's a little guide for your options:
Thor Drop (use exclusively on Lost Temple and Kulas Ravine):
10 supply
12 rax
13 gas
15 OC/supply
@ 100 gas, factory
take your 2nd gas ASAP
@ 50% factory, get a tech lab on your rax
@ 100% factory, build an armory and switch your rax and fac
start building hellions for early pressure and try to force him to over-commit on defense
build a starport when gas allows
get a viking for some sweet ovie hunting, then build a medivac
build a thor when the armory finishes
drop the thor on the natural ledge and kill his expo
congratulations, you win!
take your expo and transition into a unit composition of your choosing (I personally prefer marine/marauder/medivac/thor)
Replay
Replay

8 Rax Reaper (use on any map):
8 rax
9 gas
11 supply
tech lab when rax finishes
nitro packs with next 50 gas
keep building reapers
have your scout SCV build a bunker somewhere in his base (at his ramp if he's on 1 base, at his natural if he's on 2)
add more rax and keep building reaper
micro your reapers - like hellions, micro'd reapers beat any non-lair unit zerg has due to range and speed
snipe key buildings - you'll be surprised how fast 8+ reapers kill a spawning pool or a spire or a roach warren
congratulations, you win!
Replay

Igniter Hellion Drop (use on any map):
10 supply
12 rax
13 gas
15 OC/supply
@ 100 gas, factory
take your second gas ASAP
tech lab on your rax next
@ 100% factory, switch fac and rax and build a hellion and start infernal pre-igniter research
starport with your next 100 gas
medivac once starport is done
feel free to pressure with your first few hellions (force sunks at his nat) as long as you don't lose them - they're precious
once your medivac is out, you should have 4 hellions ready to drop into his main
drop your hellions in his main and fry all his drones
congratulations, you win!
Replay
Replay

A note on the replays: Keep in mind that I'm a diamond level Zerg player offracing as Terran against equally skilled opponents.

Just three openings, you ask? Don't be silly! You see, I'm not going to tell you all of the wonderful secrets this deep and mysterious race has to offer! That, my friend, is for you to discover on your own. I'll give you a little hint, though. As long as you're spending all of your money and getting your units out in a timely manner (as fast as possible), anything's viable (except maybe a battlecruiser rush). Want to try hellion into banshee into viking? Go ahead, it will probably work. Or a marauder hellion attack on maps with a short rush distance? Go for it!

I am just speaking from my own experience as both a Zerg player and a TvZ player. This is a matchup you really should not be losing, especially in the current map pool, as long as you're not playing someone light years better than you. For any of you Zerg or Terran players who don't believe me, I'm up for any and all challenges. So thanks to Blizzard, for making such a fun and diverse matchup. I've only played about 20 games so far in TvZ, but I'm loving every minute of it! I have so much control over the game flow, and I have so many possibilities. Blizzard, you've really outdone yourselves this time!
knyttym
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States5797 Posts
August 02 2010 01:12 GMT
#2
Nice guide. I'm sure this will boost all of you struggling to at least 60% win rate in this matchup.

Also if your opponent doesn't immediately leave after the hellions get dropped, start making cloaked banshees.
SubtleArt
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
2710 Posts
August 02 2010 01:16 GMT
#3
I love TvZ. So many options and almost any early tech path works
Morrow on ZvP: "I'm not very confident in general vs Protoss because of the imbalance (Yes its imbalanced, get over it)."
csfield
Profile Joined October 2008
United States206 Posts
August 02 2010 01:22 GMT
#4
rigged
I know that I have never once considered how my TV viewing habits impact the progression of civilization. --Bibbit
RandomBS
Profile Joined July 2010
United States130 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-02 01:27:58
August 02 2010 01:23 GMT
#5
thors which hard counter mutalisks


False.


Stop 1a'ing


Your obvious butthurt and scathing sarcasm over not being able to beat terran as zerg really shows through the entire post. TL staff should be above posts like this. Race switch or get good.

User was warned for this post
"an intelligent zerg will go 2 hatch, my build was designed to take advantage of that and so lost because he went 3 hatch. going 3 hatch is utterly retarded for the reasons i just explained so yes i did lose because he did something dumb." -idra
Calamity
Profile Joined June 2010
Canada161 Posts
August 02 2010 01:25 GMT
#6
On August 02 2010 10:12 kNyTTyM wrote:
Nice guide. I'm sure this will boost all of you struggling to at least 60% win rate in this matchup.

Also if your opponent doesn't immediately leave after the hellions get dropped, start making cloaked banshees.


Oh that's just plain rude lol

Harassing zerg enough will kill him psychologically and if he has a lot of expos, it's just that much better for you.

One cool build that mrlie3 posted a while ago that used early ghosts to nuke tech structures. If the zergs neglects to get an overseer, two nukes will put him back so far. And snipes can handle hydras and mutas pretty well if you have good mouse control (which I don't )
Betaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
fdsdfg
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1251 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-02 01:32:31
August 02 2010 01:27 GMT
#7
On August 02 2010 10:16 SubtleArt wrote:
I love TvZ. So many options and almost any early tech path works


And Zerg can't scout which tech path you're going! So Zerg has to waste so many resources defending against all of them. This is especially useful when the counter is more expensive than the tactic (LT cliff drop)

On August 02 2010 10:23 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
thors which hard counter mutalisks


False.


Stop 1a'ing


Your obvious butthurt and scathing sarcasm over not being able to beat terran as zerg really shows through the entire post. TL staff should be above posts like this. Race switch or get good.



With a perfect split, 4 mutalisks are about even with 1 thor.

With more of both, the numbers move to favor the thor (because the mutas inevitably need to enter splash range to focus fire).

That's not a counter?
aka Siyko
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
August 02 2010 01:29 GMT
#8
On August 02 2010 10:23 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
thors which hard counter mutalisks


False.


Stop 1a'ing


Your obvious butthurt and scathing sarcasm over not being able to beat terran as zerg really shows through the entire post. TL staff should be above posts like this. Race switch or get good.


Thors do counter Mutas quite well? One thor (300/200) easily beat 3 mutas (300/300) and as the numbers get bigger, more mutas become affected by the splash.
infinity21 *
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
Canada6683 Posts
August 02 2010 01:30 GMT
#9
In my defense, I play T lol
Official Entusman #21
RandomBS
Profile Joined July 2010
United States130 Posts
August 02 2010 01:31 GMT
#10
and as the numbers get bigger, more mutas become affected by the splash.



Like I said, stop 1aing. Split them.
"an intelligent zerg will go 2 hatch, my build was designed to take advantage of that and so lost because he went 3 hatch. going 3 hatch is utterly retarded for the reasons i just explained so yes i did lose because he did something dumb." -idra
fdsdfg
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1251 Posts
August 02 2010 01:33 GMT
#11
On August 02 2010 10:31 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
and as the numbers get bigger, more mutas become affected by the splash.



Like I said, stop 1aing. Split them.


How many mutas can be in range of a thor without allowing themselves to eat splash damage?

It's not a rhetorical question, the answer is about 6
aka Siyko
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-02 01:34:56
August 02 2010 01:34 GMT
#12
On August 02 2010 10:31 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
and as the numbers get bigger, more mutas become affected by the splash.



Like I said, stop 1aing. Split them.


Are you contributing anything? You'll find your "randomBS" statements not appreciated. As numbers get bigger, it's harder to split, especially flying units. You're response is the equivalent of saying "storm doesn't counter hydra in BW, you just storm dodge and split them." With the exception you don't even go that far in depth with your response.
knyttym
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States5797 Posts
August 02 2010 01:35 GMT
#13
On August 02 2010 10:23 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
thors which hard counter mutalisks


False.


Stop 1a'ing


Your obvious butthurt and scathing sarcasm over not being able to beat terran as zerg really shows through the entire post. TL staff should be above posts like this. Race switch or get good.


Lurkers may not hard counter marines but I'm not going to risk attacking into 6 of them even with micro.
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
August 02 2010 01:35 GMT
#14
On August 02 2010 10:23 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
thors which hard counter mutalisks


False.


Stop 1a'ing


Your obvious butthurt and scathing sarcasm over not being able to beat terran as zerg really shows through the entire post. TL staff should be above posts like this. Race switch or get good.

For any of you Zerg or Terran players who don't believe me, I'm up for any and all challenges.

I'll play either matchup: ZvT or TvZ. Up to you.
RandomBS
Profile Joined July 2010
United States130 Posts
August 02 2010 01:36 GMT
#15
Indepth eh? Well according to the OP all I have to do is follow those build orders and I'll win instantly every single game! So I didn't think indepth would be needed in this thread. To be completely honest it sounds like saracen just got facerolled on the ladder by a few terrans and made this thread to vent his rage.
"an intelligent zerg will go 2 hatch, my build was designed to take advantage of that and so lost because he went 3 hatch. going 3 hatch is utterly retarded for the reasons i just explained so yes i did lose because he did something dumb." -idra
fdsdfg
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1251 Posts
August 02 2010 01:37 GMT
#16
On August 02 2010 10:36 RandomBS wrote:
Indepth eh? Well according to the OP all I have to do is follow those build orders and I'll win instantly every single game! So I didn't think indepth would be needed in this thread. To be completely honest it sounds like saracen just got facerolled on the ladder by a few terrans and made this thread to vent his rage.


So the OP isn't detailed - that's your defense for being as vague and combative as possible?
aka Siyko
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-02 01:41:46
August 02 2010 01:40 GMT
#17
On August 02 2010 10:36 RandomBS wrote:
Indepth eh? Well according to the OP all I have to do is follow those build orders and I'll win instantly every single game! So I didn't think indepth would be needed in this thread. To be completely honest it sounds like saracen just got facerolled on the ladder by a few terrans and made this thread to vent his rage.


I'm saying your response to other people in the thread with retarded comments such as "stop 1aing" and repeating it isn't clever. I would say Saracen's OP is far in depth enough, giving precise build orders AND replays.

Your posts are bad enough that I've been on the border on deciding whether or not to report them (I didn't, fyi).
RandomBS
Profile Joined July 2010
United States130 Posts
August 02 2010 01:41 GMT
#18
On August 02 2010 10:37 fdsdfg wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 02 2010 10:36 RandomBS wrote:
Indepth eh? Well according to the OP all I have to do is follow those build orders and I'll win instantly every single game! So I didn't think indepth would be needed in this thread. To be completely honest it sounds like saracen just got facerolled on the ladder by a few terrans and made this thread to vent his rage.


So the OP isn't detailed - that's your defense for being as vague and combative as possible?


Yes, the entire point of my shitty troll posts are that this is a bad, inflammatory It thread, and the OP should really be ashamed for making it. And he knows it. It's the kind of thing a new poster like me would be flamed/suspended for.
"an intelligent zerg will go 2 hatch, my build was designed to take advantage of that and so lost because he went 3 hatch. going 3 hatch is utterly retarded for the reasons i just explained so yes i did lose because he did something dumb." -idra
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-02 01:46:11
August 02 2010 01:45 GMT
#19
On August 02 2010 10:41 RandomBS wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 02 2010 10:37 fdsdfg wrote:
On August 02 2010 10:36 RandomBS wrote:
Indepth eh? Well according to the OP all I have to do is follow those build orders and I'll win instantly every single game! So I didn't think indepth would be needed in this thread. To be completely honest it sounds like saracen just got facerolled on the ladder by a few terrans and made this thread to vent his rage.


So the OP isn't detailed - that's your defense for being as vague and combative as possible?


Yes, the entire point of my shitty troll posts are that this is a bad, inflammatory It thread, and the OP should really be ashamed for making it. And he knows it. It's the kind of thing a new poster like me would be flamed/suspended for.


I don't know Saracen very well, but I've seen tons of staff humor inserted into plenty of threads. Ever see Chill's posts?

He included an relatively precise build order guide on a matchup, and was referencing how he thought it was amusing some people thought the MU was balanced in favor of Zerg. Clearly the poll shows the majority opinion is clearly the opposite.

If someone made a guide with this humor referring to ZvP in BW prior to the Protoss Revolution by Bisu, everyone would understand it. The humor originates from a general consensus amongst players that TvZ is in favor of T. All I've seen you done is not use humor, but have "shitty troll posts," that you admit to. Which is the kind of thing a new poster like you is being flamed for and would be suspended for.
infinity21 *
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
Canada6683 Posts
August 02 2010 01:46 GMT
#20
We obviously need to have a show match between Saracen and RandomBS to determine who is right.
Official Entusman #21
1 2 3 4 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 45m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Harstem 223
TKL 216
RotterdaM 110
Rex 108
trigger 50
MindelVK 0
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 3946
Rain 2996
Jaedong 1354
EffOrt 1334
Larva 702
Stork 521
Shuttle 408
Hyuk 181
ggaemo 180
Leta 142
[ Show more ]
Soulkey 132
Mong 129
sorry 83
Hyun 82
Snow 65
Backho 39
ToSsGirL 38
JYJ 28
Rock 25
yabsab 23
Terrorterran 20
Shinee 18
Yoon 18
GoRush 15
scan(afreeca) 15
Free 15
IntoTheRainbow 12
SilentControl 11
ivOry 8
eros_byul 1
Dota 2
qojqva2091
syndereN254
XcaliburYe93
Counter-Strike
fl0m3197
markeloff89
oskar46
kRYSTAL_25
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King86
Other Games
singsing1683
hiko901
DeMusliM427
Hui .217
crisheroes173
KnowMe116
ArmadaUGS75
Trikslyr29
rubinoeu7
Organizations
Other Games
BasetradeTV139
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• poizon28 30
• IndyKCrew
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• Kozan
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• FirePhoenix7
• Michael_bg 7
• Pr0nogo 2
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV456
League of Legends
• TFBlade1464
• Stunt558
Upcoming Events
Big Brain Bouts
45m
goblin vs Kelazhur
TriGGeR vs Krystianer
RotterdaM110
Replay Cast
7h 45m
RongYI Cup
18h 45m
herO vs Maru
Replay Cast
1d 7h
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 19h
Replay Cast
2 days
Wardi Open
2 days
Monday Night Weeklies
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
The PondCast
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-02-05
HSC XXVIII
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

CSL 2025 WINTER (S19)
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Acropolis #4 - TS4
Escore Tournament S1: W7
Rongyi Cup S3
Nations Cup 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
eXTREMESLAND 2025
SL Budapest Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S1: W8
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
WardiTV Winter 2026
LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals
FISSURE Playground #3
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League Season 23
ESL Pro League Season 23
PGL Cluj-Napoca 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.