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By OpTiKDream
Hi TL, my name is Lloyd Kim aka “OpTiKDream” and I’m a high masters terran player from Team OpTiK. This will be my first written guide on TL and I'm very excited to present an aggressive terran opening. This build allows you to apply early pressure while keeping tech routes open for a later transition. Not only is it one of my favorite openings against zerg, but I've also seen professional players like ST_Rainbow use it.
In the current metagame of TvZ, there are two main types of builds that allow for of pressure/aggression: 2 Barracks (Marines + SCV + Bunker) or Factory with Reactor (Hellions). 2 rax can be a strong early pressure opening, however it does have some drawbacks. If you over commit, which I'm sure many of you have done, you end up losing your entire marine army and hardly doing any damage to zerg. The zerg can then either freely drone or all in with everything he has. Basically, the 2 rax feels a bit flimsy and in my opinion is becoming less and less effective.
Reactor hellion is good, however most Zergs should know by now when to expect hellions. They will likely put up a spine or two by then, possibly even walling off using evo chambers/macro hatch. The hellions won't do any damage other than deny creep tumors and gain temporary map control.
The build I'm introducing allows for earlier aggression than reactor hellion AND easier tech transitions compared to the 2 barracks. In addition, this build requires heavy micro and multitasking, which means by practicing this style you'll improve those skills. The effectiveness of this pressure will truly shine when your micro is up to par.
Here is a link to a tutorial video that I produced with TangStarcraft: http://www.twitch.tv/tangsc/b/311978564
Opening Build Order:
+ Show Spoiler +10 depot
12 barracks (Constant Marine Production, no add-on)
13 gas
15 orbital
16 depot
18 factory (First 100 gas goes to factory. Remember constant Hellion Production, no add-on)
21 depot
The key thing to remember is constant production on the barracks, factory, and command center - there shouldn't be a second of wasted time!
While keeping constant production and building a starport with your second 100gas, you should be able to afford your expansion CC between 6:30 and 7:15. (During your marine/hellion production, the first available 400 minerals should be used into a command center.)
Zerg Expectations:
+ Show Spoiler +So if zerg scouts your gas, they will automatically assume you are going to go factory (most likely reactor hellion expo). The zerg will keep in mind that they will have to throw down a spine crawler at some point before reactor hellions pop out. However, our attack will come abit earlier than the normal timings of a reactor hellion, expand because we are going to put pressure using our first initial 3 marines. There is no real way of telling if this is a normal reactor hellion play or a rax/fac. Their only info is gas so that makes 2 rax out of the question and allows the possibility of reactor hellion expo or 1/1/1.
Execution:
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Oqhj3.jpg) The aggression begins. All rally points are set to the front of the zerg natural. Move out immediately when your 3rd marine finishes. With your barracks and factory rallied towards the front of the zerg expansion, you're ready to apply some non-stop aggression. Your scouting SCV should be kept alive to be used to tank some initial damage for the marines until hellions arrive. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hvMa8.jpg) When you arrive, make sure the marines are ALIVE and UNHARMED as much as possible. The strength of the pressure will escalate ridiculously when your units reach the “mini death ball” state, so try to keep them all alive. Do lots of little pokes, but don't over-commit. If there are any spines constructing, try taking those out as well because if those spines finish, the aggression is basically halted. The spines are not likely to be up by the time the 3 marines will come, because hellions won't arrive until later (greedy zergs will stay greedy). The only time they will have spines ready by the time those marines come is if you 2 rax. Using the marines you have, do lots of kiting and deal any free damage you can until hellions arrive. Make sure the marines are at a good distance between enemy Zerg units that are approaching the marines (remember you want your units to be alive and unharmed). Your initial 3 marine pressure will trigger an alarm to the Zerg (no droning, but lots of Zerglings!) Normally if this was a 2 rax pressure, you might eventually get overwhelmed by the sheer Zerglings count if you over-commit. However, we have the perfect unit rallied that won't be overwhelmed by Zerglings anytime soon… hellions. Not only do hellions deal good splash damage to roast Zerglings, but they move really fast and zerg can't have speed that early. Your 3 marines will be safe once the hellions arrive. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/4IfnZ.jpg) Help has arrived! At this point, killing zerglings should be easier with the assistance of hellions. Don’t forget that more hellions and marines will come assist you. Once again, don’t overcommit and keep units alive with as much HP as possible. The more you force zerglings to be created, the more economic advantage you have. For every zergling you kill, you force another to be remade instead of a drone. For every queen you kill, you force the zerg to remake that queen and reduce their production capabilities and stall lair tech. For every spine you kill before it is established, you can continue your aggression. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TW7nA.jpg) A supply lead, worker lead, and Command Center on the way… AND the aggression is still going ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1yakg.jpg) Banshees delay a 3rd base, allowing the supply and economic lead to grow. In addition, a big marine tank medivac army is coming in the next 2-3 minutes. ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pIXzp.jpg) 36 workers killed, 3 base terran vs 2 base zerg with 50 supply lead. Yup the aggression helped no doubt.
Transitions:
+ Show Spoiler +The beauty of a build like this is it's versatility – if your multitasking is solid, you can transition into any number of options based on the amount of damage you do and the scouting information you gain. Just remember that this isn’t too different from a reactor hellion opening other than, obviously, you build no reactors which allows you to produce earlier units. Any transition you normally do after reactor hellion can still be executed.
Option One: 1/1/1 Banshees (with or without cloak)
If you kill a queen or two with your early marine/hellion aggression, or even if you just want to continue applying constant pressure, banshees are a great option. You can add in a starport with your first 100gas after the factory and start producing banshees. Cloak is optional, you may do additional damage and force spore crawlers, but it is a significant investment.
For me, banshee transitions are my favorite because they force the zerg player to produce queens/spores (thus slowing their tech / droning). Banshees can also be used defensively in the event the zerg opponent goes for any type of roach timing attack or all-in (Zerg units can't attack air until lair). There are other small advantages, too, like placing a banshee at the zerg player's 3rd or clearing the xel-naga.
Option Two: Marine/Tank/Medivac
During your marine/hellion aggression, the first available 400 minerals should be used to build a command center. It will be up to you to determine, based on how many units you have and how much damage you deal, if you want to create your command center directly at your natural or in your main. Start a tech lab on the barracks and a reactor on the factory, thencreate 2 more barracks. By the time the reactor is finished, swap the factory with a barracks and start making a reactor on the 3rd barracks. The barracks with the tech lab should start researching stim (and combat shields afterward). Start a tech lab on the factory and create a starport. Make sure you get the 3rd gas geyser once your command center is finished. Whenever you can, also get double e-bays in order to keep even or ahead in upgrades. Once you get a steady marine army with 3 tanks, you have the option to push towards his 3rd base to take it down or sit back and grab a 3rdbase.
Option Three: Heavy Mech Transition
Rally the marines/banshees/hellions to the zerg front and constantly pressures with the 1/1/1. Start an expansion by 6:30. After expanding, put down 2 factories and an armory and starts massing hellions for a while, and eventually swapping buildings around top give the factories tech labs and using the starport to make a reactor. The ultimate goal is MASS hellion/thor. Eventually, you add a 3rd base and gets to a total of 5 factors producing tanks/thors/hellions until maxed. Keep constant upgrades on the armory to reach 2-2 by the time of the max-out push, at which point you can basically A-moves a giant mech army.
Replays:
+ Show Spoiler +
Q&A:
+ Show Spoiler +NOTE: I've answered these questions myself, but encourage others to share their insights.
1. Is this build an all in?
No, it’s not an all in. If you want to call this an all in, you might as well call a reactor hellion an all in. It's a versatile and aggressive opening, with plenty of viable macro transitions.
2. What maps is it best to use this build on?
Any map that features a short-mid rush distance. If the map happens to have a open natural, its even better. (Such as metapolis, shattered temple)
3. How can a zerg know if it’s a reactor hellion expo or a marine hellion pressure?
They honestly don’t. Even if they know its coming, they literally have like 20 seconds to respond to it. They can only know if they see a reactor is being made after the 2nd marine (Marines are guarding).
4. So… instead of 2 rax, its 1 rax 1 fac aggression?
Yes it is. Instead of your 2nd and 3rd marine from that 2nd rax, it’s a hellion. Hellions are fast, splash damage, rallys to your destination faster compared to your marine rally. So in a different sense, this aggression is better than 2 rax and allows higher tech abit easier as a transition compared to 2 rax.
Feedback Poll:
+ Show Spoiler +Poll: Is this build better or worse than standard reactor hellions?I think the reactor hellion pressure is a more effective opening. (17) 55% I think the 1/1/1 without add-ons is a more effective opening. (14) 45% 31 total votes Your vote: Is this build better or worse than standard reactor hellions? (Vote): I think the 1/1/1 without add-ons is a more effective opening.
(Vote): I think the reactor hellion pressure is a more effective opening.
Courtesy of www.TangStarcraft.com
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I used to use this style, but it's incredibly cheesy. It relies entirely on the zerg player skipping the standard spine crawler and delaying ling speed a lot. The medivac variation is a better followup than cloaked banshees as well, which is how rainbow has been doing it more recently. I much prefer MKP's gas first reactor rax+hellion+medivac build, which also leads into an expansion better than rainbow's build.
That said, in lower leagues or against players who cut corners even just the first 3 marines and hellion can end the game, so it's a fun micro build that can be worth practicing just to improve your unit control skills.
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Have you ever tried this going gas first to get the hellion that much faster?
I used to do it all the time a few months ago in low master, and i had a remarkable amount of success with it (getting a significant amount of damage done) with just marines+hellions.
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On March 18 2012 04:45 HyperionDreamer wrote:
Have you ever tried this going gas first to get the hellion that much faster?
I used to do it all the time a few months ago in low master, and i had a remarkable amount of success with it (getting a significant amount of damage done) with just marines+hellions.
i dont do gas first cuz it delays marines alot. Those marines are important for initial pressure.
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On March 18 2012 04:43 oOOoOphidian wrote:
I used to use this style, but it's incredibly cheesy. It relies entirely on the zerg player skipping the standard spine crawler and delaying ling speed a lot. The medivac variation is a better followup than cloaked banshees as well, which is how rainbow has been doing it more recently. I much prefer MKP's gas first reactor rax+hellion+medivac build, which also leads into an expansion better than rainbow's build.
That said, in lower leagues or against players who cut corners even just the first 3 marines and hellion can end the game, so it's a fun micro build that can be worth practicing just to improve your unit control skills.
Well medivac is good too but the reason why i like banshees better is because if a zerg does some kind of counter attack (roaches?), banshees help alot. Its just safer play. Medivac wont really save you from a counter all in if you do good amount of damage on the zerg.
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3 marines when standard hellion expand is only 2? if zerg has any scouting at all in their top master experience they would know that its not normal.
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On March 18 2012 04:56 Honeybear21 wrote:
3 marines when standard hellion expand is only 2? if zerg has any scouting at all in their top master experience they would know that its not normal.
No there are some players who do 3 marines then get reactor for hellion play. I know major sometimes does this.
U honestly cant look at the rax making the 3rd marine with 2 marines guarding. Unless you really willing to sack a overlord just to see the barracks lol (Not worth it)
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While the banshee can be helpful defensively, it tends to be poor offensively. This particular opener was used a lot in the past for cloaked banshee builds or 2 port and most zerg players will react with blind spores/extra queens, especially when they see you targeting down their queens. If you scout a roach all-in coming you can pretty easily transition into banshees anyway. The medivac play simply lets you do a lot more damage and lends well to blue flame drops later. Cloaked banshees are a good way to open into mech, but both ways have their advantages and if you go for medivacs it is less of an investment that can do more damage.
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On March 18 2012 04:59 OpTiKDream wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 04:56 Honeybear21 wrote:
3 marines when standard hellion expand is only 2? if zerg has any scouting at all in their top master experience they would know that its not normal. No there are some players who do 3 marines then get reactor for hellion play. I know major sometimes does this. U honestly cant look at the rax making the 3rd marine with 2 marines guarding. Unless you really willing to sack a overlord just to see the barracks lol (Not worth it)
I do 3-4 marines into a reactor, because I do 16 gas. He's 100% right, 2 is standard, but not always true.
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On March 18 2012 05:08 oOOoOphidian wrote:
While the banshee can be helpful defensively, it tends to be poor offensively. This particular opener was used a lot in the past for cloaked banshee builds or 2 port and most zerg players will react with blind spores/extra queens, especially when they see you targeting down their queens. If you scout a roach all-in coming you can pretty easily transition into banshees anyway. The medivac play simply lets you do a lot more damage and lends well to blue flame drops later. Cloaked banshees are a good way to open into mech, but both ways have their advantages and if you go for medivacs it is less of an investment that can do more damage.
For every spore they make u killed drones. For every queen you force out , their lair can stall. Its always good 
Plus banshees can be used to camp at their 3rd. They need lair units to knock out that banshee, it is going to stall their economy alot. No matter how hard they drone, they are still on 2 base while you can get 3rd.
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Maybe it's me, but the stream tutorial has very choppy audio in the early stages of the video, it lasts about until the end of the video.
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On March 18 2012 05:19 LiLSighKoh wrote:
Maybe it's me, but the stream tutorial has very choppy audio in the early stages of the video.
That's my fault, sorry for the audio quality. I hope you get value out of it.
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On March 18 2012 05:19 LiLSighKoh wrote:
Maybe it's me, but the stream tutorial has very choppy audio in the early stages of the video, it lasts about until the end of the video.
@30:18 - the audio is fixed if that helps
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This is not a new build, and Zerg players should be making 2 lings after their pool pops so that they can see things like this coming.
My typical 7 roach push deals with builds like this very efficiently. That being said, there is a moment, after the drone scout and before the lings where Z is completely blind. Mixing something like this in every now and then COULD catch some greedier Zergs offguard, so its not a bad build by any means.
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On March 18 2012 05:21 TangSC wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 05:19 LiLSighKoh wrote:
Maybe it's me, but the stream tutorial has very choppy audio in the early stages of the video. That's my fault, sorry for the audio quality. I hope you get value out of it.
It actually gives a lot of value. My current TvZ build is Boxer's TvT build, speed reaper/3 helion drop, into mech. I'll have to try this out. Thank you all for writing up a guide
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On March 18 2012 05:13 OpTiKDream wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 05:08 oOOoOphidian wrote:
While the banshee can be helpful defensively, it tends to be poor offensively. This particular opener was used a lot in the past for cloaked banshee builds or 2 port and most zerg players will react with blind spores/extra queens, especially when they see you targeting down their queens. If you scout a roach all-in coming you can pretty easily transition into banshees anyway. The medivac play simply lets you do a lot more damage and lends well to blue flame drops later. Cloaked banshees are a good way to open into mech, but both ways have their advantages and if you go for medivacs it is less of an investment that can do more damage. For every spore they make u killed drones. For every queen you force out , their lair can stall. Its always good Plus banshees can be used to camp at their 3rd. They need lair units to knock out that banshee, it is going to stall their economy alot. No matter how hard they drone, they are still on 2 base while you can get 3rd.
The point is that if they have a spine or speed your initial pressure does no damage and they can easily afford to build one extra queen and two spores without delaying their lair. The banshee path can't put on adequate pressure to really delay the zerg like the build is meant to, especially if the initial harass fails.
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On March 18 2012 05:33 oOOoOphidian wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 05:13 OpTiKDream wrote:On March 18 2012 05:08 oOOoOphidian wrote:
While the banshee can be helpful defensively, it tends to be poor offensively. This particular opener was used a lot in the past for cloaked banshee builds or 2 port and most zerg players will react with blind spores/extra queens, especially when they see you targeting down their queens. If you scout a roach all-in coming you can pretty easily transition into banshees anyway. The medivac play simply lets you do a lot more damage and lends well to blue flame drops later. Cloaked banshees are a good way to open into mech, but both ways have their advantages and if you go for medivacs it is less of an investment that can do more damage. For every spore they make u killed drones. For every queen you force out , their lair can stall. Its always good Plus banshees can be used to camp at their 3rd. They need lair units to knock out that banshee, it is going to stall their economy alot. No matter how hard they drone, they are still on 2 base while you can get 3rd. The point is that if they have a spine or speed your initial pressure does no damage and they can easily afford to build one extra queen and two spores without delaying their lair. The banshee path can't put on adequate pressure to really delay the zerg like the build is meant to, especially if the initial harass fails.
Well thats why this build is designed around maps, not because its a set mechanical build. If their natural is wide and open, they need more than 1 spines just to defend. Also you units can camp outside his base to "scare" him. If you constantly rallied your units and he sees your units, you might get worried if he starts pushing regardless of spine or not. Its same case as 2 rax where the zerg has spine up but marines are constantly rallied and you never know if they just burst in. Should you drone or make zerglings? eitherway the "possibility" of the threat is always there that keeps the zerg uncertain.
this build is always good to have as a best of 5 or something, not because its a mainstream build that will overtake reactor hellion. Its always good to have a build other than 2 rax to punish zerg while retaining a higher tech. I understand your point why you believe it isnt a good build, but i believe it isnt as bad as you think. While zerg is on 2 base, the terran can get really greedy just because no aggresion will ever come out of the zerg if they just sit there defending with loads of spines and spores. Infact, thats kinda the goal we want
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You are responding as though I have never used this build. My TvZ was almost exclusively this build for months until I noticed glaring problems with it. The medivac followup is simply much better at shoring up the weaknesses and keeping it strong. Yes on a map like metalopolis it is slightly easier to do the harass in the beginning, but if the spine is positioned properly it still shuts down the entire harass and if the zerg gets speed the build falls apart. With a medivac you can deal with speedlings and ignore spines. While 3 queens targeting the medivac can also shut that down, as most zergs have learned, you can simply go home or deny creep, which is something banshees don't really accomplish as well. In general my advice was that if you plan to go mech, going cloak banshee off this opener makes a lot of sense (which is what rainbow does most of the time), but if you are going bio it is a suboptimal build that is very gimmicky.
As I mentioned before, MKP's gas first reactor rax marine/hellion/medivac build is even stronger than either of rainbow's variations (cloak banshee or medivac), as it has a lot more marines and hits faster. He often follows up with unsieged tanks and some fairly bizarre pressures while expanding. He did it at least once in GSL and a few times in online tournaments. I recommend looking into that build.
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On March 18 2012 05:55 oOOoOphidian wrote:
You are responding as though I have never used this build. My TvZ was almost exclusively this build for months until I noticed glaring problems with it. The medivac followup is simply much better at shoring up the weaknesses and keeping it strong. Yes on a map like metalopolis it is slightly easier to do the harass in the beginning, but if the spine is positioned properly it still shuts down the entire harass and if the zerg gets speed the build falls apart. With a medivac you can deal with speedlings and ignore spines. While 3 queens targeting the medivac can also shut that down, as most zergs have learned, you can simply go home or deny creep, which is something banshees don't really accomplish as well. In general my advice was that if you plan to go mech, going cloak banshee off this opener makes a lot of sense (which is what rainbow does most of the time), but if you are going bio it is a suboptimal build that is very gimmicky.
As I mentioned before, MKP's gas first reactor rax marine/hellion/medivac build is even stronger than either of rainbow's variations (cloak banshee or medivac), as it has a lot more marines and hits faster. He often follows up with unsieged tanks and some fairly bizarre pressures while expanding. He did it at least once in GSL and a few times in online tournaments. I recommend looking into that build.
well, thats just matter of opinion then.
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Maybe it's the bias I have towards anything that's churned out of a Tang collab but I feel like this is a very sub par build. I feel like if you're going to open rax, fact, expand, you can either go reactor marine and get more marines, go reactor hellion and get more hellions, or choose this sort of middle of the road not-a-lot-of-marines-and-not-a-lot-of-hellions. It seems to rely on being unconventional to do damage. What's the reasoning for not getting a reactor?
Also, do 3 marines really do that much damage? (the following is speculation) I feel like a queen and a couple drones are more than enough to hold, and by the time the hellion arrives, the spine is done/almost done. Your opponent imo had horrible spine placement in the ss. Why was it all the way on the left? Why not, i don't know, guarding the entrance to the main?
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On March 18 2012 06:20 phiinix wrote:
Maybe it's the bias I have towards anything that's churned out of a Tang collab but I feel like this is a very sub par build.
Well that's not very nice  I don't think the build is sub-par in any way, it's not entirely uncommon or unconventional to do this sort of style. As mentioned in the guide, pros like Rainbow frequently open without add-ons.
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On March 18 2012 06:20 phiinix wrote:
Maybe it's the bias I have towards anything that's churned out of a Tang collab but I feel like this is a very sub par build. I feel like if you're going to open rax, fact, expand, you can either go reactor marine and get more marines, go reactor hellion and get more hellions, or choose this sort of middle of the road not-a-lot-of-marines-and-not-a-lot-of-hellions. It seems to rely on being unconventional to do damage. What's the reasoning for not getting a reactor?
Also, do 3 marines really do that much damage? (the following is speculation) I feel like a queen and a couple drones are more than enough to hold, and by the time the hellion arrives, the spine is done/almost done. Your opponent imo had horrible spine placement in the ss. Why was it all the way on the left? Why not, i don't know, guarding the entrance to the main?
Not having a reactor = you can have alot more units in the short run. This way u kinda stall long enough for hellions to kick in for harass. Watch the replays to see if the queen + drones can really defend it, cuz its cant
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Should drop a tech lab and get maras + shell to really kill queens. It works.
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On March 18 2012 09:12 iAmJeffReY wrote:
Should drop a tech lab and get maras + shell to really kill queens. It works.
The transition is up to you. Infact you can make up your own transition if you want. The idea of this opening is that there is a timing where you just attack with marine and hellions. W/e happens afterwards is up to you 
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On March 18 2012 09:20 OpTiKDream wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 09:12 iAmJeffReY wrote:
Should drop a tech lab and get maras + shell to really kill queens. It works. The transition is up to you. Infact you can make up your own transition if you want. The idea of this opening is that there is a timing where you just attack with marine and hellions. W/e happens afterwards is up to you
Yes, I know. I do such an opening, but I do 12 rax 14 rax 15 gas, marines until 100 gas, then fac, then tech lab + mara and shells. That way hellion comes out with hellions, take a few scvs for repair and go mara hellion marine pressure, forgo the banshee and go into a faster expo. Just saying, it's just another rax and delayed fac, yet still early enough to continue the pressure before/right as speed finishes.
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On March 18 2012 09:33 iAmJeffReY wrote:Show nested quote +On March 18 2012 09:20 OpTiKDream wrote:On March 18 2012 09:12 iAmJeffReY wrote:
Should drop a tech lab and get maras + shell to really kill queens. It works. The transition is up to you. Infact you can make up your own transition if you want. The idea of this opening is that there is a timing where you just attack with marine and hellions. W/e happens afterwards is up to you Yes, I know. I do such an opening, but I do 12 rax 14 rax 15 gas, marines until 100 gas, then fac, then tech lab + mara and shells. That way hellion comes out with hellions, take a few scvs for repair and go mara hellion marine pressure, forgo the banshee and go into a faster expo. Just saying, it's just another rax and delayed fac, yet still early enough to continue the pressure before/right as speed finishes.
I like that concept, I used to hellion/marauder a lot in TvZ. If you move into marauders with upgrades, is your expansion any earlier than banshees?
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I feel like this has a lot of potential, but I feel like that doing the reactor hellions could be better.
If you follow it up with the 1/1/1, I feel like it is strongest. I know not if the whole timing gets thrown off by getting the reactor, but I feel like if you go with what people will expect and then deviate you will do more damage. I, personally, will generally have built my spine at 5 minutes no matter what and extra queens incoming, I don't know the timing on that.
How would this build respond to that?
How map dependent is this?
What happens if the person is going to attempt roach/ling aggression? It feels like there could be a weakness should the aggression be aggressed upon itself. Roach/Ling is stronger than marine/hellion due to the HP and speed differentials involved. (Roaches have more HP, lings have more speed, can outrun and pin the units so the roaches can hit them, unless I am misunderstanding the situation)
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On March 18 2012 14:10 Hossinaut wrote:
I feel like this has a lot of potential, but I feel like that doing the reactor hellions could be better.
If you follow it up with the 1/1/1, I feel like it is strongest. I know not if the whole timing gets thrown off by getting the reactor, but I feel like if you go with what people will expect and then deviate you will do more damage. I, personally, will generally have built my spine at 5 minutes no matter what and extra queens incoming, I don't know the timing on that.
How would this build respond to that?
How map dependent is this?
What happens if the person is going to attempt roach/ling aggression? It feels like there could be a weakness should the aggression be aggressed upon itself. Roach/Ling is stronger than marine/hellion due to the HP and speed differentials involved. (Roaches have more HP, lings have more speed, can outrun and pin the units so the roaches can hit them, unless I am misunderstanding the situation)
U hitting them before they do roach ling aggersion. By apply aggresion, u will mess up their timings and stall it (or even kill them before they get the chance to).
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I see, and apologize for my misunderstanding. What is the actual timing on your attack? A spine should be up by 5:50 if I understand correctly.
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On March 18 2012 15:11 Hossinaut wrote:
I see, and apologize for my misunderstanding. What is the actual timing on your attack? A spine should be up by 5:50 if I understand correctly.
U have 3 marines to stall for the first hellion to come before that spine is ever up. The guide shows that mine landed at 5 minutes of game time
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This build would probably rape a zerg if they dont get a spine at like 4:30~ to protect vs helions etc. Also what if the 15h 15g 15p with speed first, wouldn't speed kill almost everything? Do great indirect damage but it doesn't look very all in at all, it looks like a mild eco pressure (the naked rax and factory push at 5~ i mean)
All in all nice guide and i could see this being really strong
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On March 18 2012 15:21 iiGreetings wrote:
This build would probably rape a zerg if they dont get a spine at like 4:30~ to protect vs helions etc. Also what if the 15h 15g 15p with speed first, wouldn't speed kill almost everything? Do great indirect damage but it doesn't look very all in at all, it looks like a mild eco pressure (the naked rax and factory push at 5~ i mean)
All in all nice guide and i could see this being really strong
Thats why you have hellions lol.
Either way speed shouldn't be done till like 7 minutes in game i believe.
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It will put you really behind, but I think you can kill the ground assault. I know not if it would be able to deal with the banshee followup, however.
It seems very strong for sure.
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This build is not very good.
Every. Single. Zerg. will assume cloak banshee if they see early marine helion pressure with no add ons. 1-2 spine crawlers stops this build and he's free to drone because building 1 marine and helion at a time is nothing.
if you're going to do a build like this you might as well proxy the rax. hell dedicate a ton thinking it's a 2 rax and your banshee will come as more of a surprise, see idra vs bomber MLG.
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This is a very old build of Brat_Ok. Was using it long time ago, but better zergs started to get that initial spine crawler and not delay speed. Also, they would make additional queen (in total of three or more) which totally shut downs medivac elevator and even more banshee play (most of them assume Banshees if they see add-on-less factory).
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Watched the replay vs Zelniq. I can't see this working against any zerg at the high masters level. A good zerg will either throw up a spine crawler by default that finishes before the timing hits, or be aggressively taking the watch tower with his initial lings and see the attack coming well before it hits. It does punish the greedy high diamond to mid masters zergs though, who are super reliant on timings and don't bother to scout what you're actually doing past, "I scouted a gas! Finish my spines by 6:00." >.> I might play with this a bit and keep it in my pocket for a playhem tourney or two, but I have my doubts on its longevity as a standard opener.
If you're looking for a build to hit them with more units than they're expecting at an odd timing, I think going for more like a reactor rax + reactor fac + medivac build that hits before lair is finished is a much more effective way to go. Rather than trying to hit them with a few units at an awkward early timing and just hoping they didn't build anything at all yet, it hits at a time where most zergs only have a few lings and *maybe* a roach warren (which you will have scouted by now) with so many units it's hard to deal with, especially if you drop them in the back. In the very worst case forces a ton of units right about the time they're trying to ramp up their gas production for the mutas/infestors they're planning for in the midgame.
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On March 18 2012 21:05 Huragius wrote:
This is a very old build of Brat_Ok. Was using it long time ago, but better zergs started to get that initial spine crawler and not delay speed. Also, they would make additional queen (in total of three or more) which totally shut downs medivac elevator and even more banshee play (most of them assume Banshees if they see add-on-less factory).
On March 18 2012 21:05 ArcticFox wrote:
Watched the replay vs Zelniq. I can't see this working against any zerg at the high masters level. A good zerg will either throw up a spine crawler by default that finishes before the timing hits, or be aggressively taking the watch tower with his initial lings and see the attack coming well before it hits. It does punish the greedy high diamond to mid masters zergs though, who are super reliant on timings and don't bother to scout what you're actually doing past, "I scouted a gas! Finish my spines by 6:00." >.> I might play with this a bit and keep it in my pocket for a playhem tourney or two, but I have my doubts on its longevity as a standard opener.
If you're looking for a build to hit them with more units than they're expecting at an odd timing, I think going for more like a reactor rax + reactor fac + medivac build that hits before lair is finished is a much more effective way to go. Rather than trying to hit them with a few units at an awkward early timing and just hoping they didn't build anything at all yet, it hits at a time where most zergs only have a few lings and *maybe* a roach warren (which you will have scouted by now) with so many units it's hard to deal with, especially if you drop them in the back. In the very worst case forces a ton of units right about the time they're trying to ramp up their gas production for the mutas/infestors they're planning for in the midgame.
This is interesting. I feel like the reason its able to be dealt with so quickly once you know it exists is because the followup CC is late- if it was possible to expo faster with this, while applying the pressure, I feel like it would be stronger. I must concur with the point concerning the banshee followup, however, if the factory and star port are out of sight range of the ramp, it may give you a few moments of hesitation before the Zerg realizes that hellions and marines are only coming one at a time.
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What happens if your aggression fails? Wouldnt it be gg?
I like this build but it would take really good control and micro to be able to win and be ahead. I feel if the zerg just happens to not play greedy or blindly builds a roach warren because he/she sees a fact or a gas then its gg.
Personally, (from watching high play and being diamond myself,) I dont see this working even at my level, yet alone masters. It might be effective from bronze to gold.
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On March 19 2012 03:31 xUnSeEnx wrote:
What happens if your aggression fails? Wouldnt it be gg?
I like this build but it would take really good control and micro to be able to win and be ahead. I feel if the zerg just happens to not play greedy or blindly builds a roach warren because he/she sees a fact or a gas then its gg.
Personally, (from watching high play and being diamond myself,) I dont see this working even at my level, yet alone masters. It might be effective from bronze to gold.
I'm confused about your argument, xunseenx. You say the build would take good control and micro to be able to win/get a lead, but that it would only work in bronze-gold? Wouldn't you agree that it can be a very strong build for a master level player who has developed strong micro and multitasking, and also a good build for lower-level players looking to improve these aspects in their game?
Also, I feel like people are over-estimating how much of a commitment it is to go for this early pressure, because you can still start your expansion CC as early as 6:30 and play out a macro game without banshees. Even in the worst-case scenario when you do no direct damage with the initial marine/hellion pressure, you're guaranteed to force extra defenses (most often zerglings) which means you won't be in a severe economic deficit.
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isnt it more viable to pull scvs out of gas after 100 because u only build ... marines, hellions, command center? and after cc put em back of course? the banshee follow up doesn't seem to be the most important aspect of the build i understand...?
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I don't think that when you are trying to improve several aspects in order for a build to work it will help low level players improve.
Actually, I know this to be the case, having many lower level friends who try to improve, and doing a bunch of things at once just degrades every aspect of their play.
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Very nice build ive been enjoying alot of success with it. I think worth noting is if you take every1 out of gas after the 100 for fact, you get a like 4:40-4:50 expo which is reallllly nice.
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On March 19 2012 04:57 Hossinaut wrote:
I don't think that when you are trying to improve several aspects in order for a build to work it will help low level players improve.
Actually, I know this to be the case, having many lower level friends who try to improve, and doing a bunch of things at once just degrades every aspect of their play.
For me it was a build that I used to get my multitasking up to par. Handling all the micro required for this build while also macroing and teching to banshees and then expanding is quite a challenge.
Due to the build being gimmicky and vulnerable I switched into macro heavy builds and different pressures such as 2 rax or marine/medivac, but practicing this build is definitely something that can improve your abilities, even if it is not a very optimal build.
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On March 19 2012 04:34 piiiT wrote:
isnt it more viable to pull scvs out of gas after 100 because u only build ... marines, hellions, command center? and after cc put em back of course? the banshee follow up doesn't seem to be the most important aspect of the build i understand...?
You could if you want faster CC.
Just remember guys this build is mainly good to practice micro. Regardless of results or not (we all have opinions on that), its a build the helps practice micro.
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thanks, used that against high diamond, was really useful ,10x times better than 2 rax, keep making guides! I enjoyed it.
Thank you again.
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For you who thinks this isn't a viable opening because the replays provided are ridiculously old here are 2 games in a row I just played on ladder.
drop.sc/135978
drop.sc/135979
Both games I'm at my opponents base before spine has even started. Could be because I'm plat? I don't think so. I end up losing both games later on because I have no idea how to play TvZ.
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Have not tried the build yet, but as as a Master Terran I will!
Based upon the original post, I am wary about being able to keep those 3 marines alive and preventing the spine from finishing... But you've wrote a good post! I'll try it and report back.
TheNewblar
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Very old style of TvZ, 5 marine hellion. it delays your expansion and you don't have the creep delaying capabilities of reactored hellion, but you do have a lot of options to go for.
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i've seen bomber do this, it's not a bad build. i personally would not use it however, as the potential for damage doesn't seem as high as with reactored hellion.
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On March 19 2012 09:36 Gamegene wrote:
Very old style of TvZ, 5 marine hellion. it delays your expansion and you don't have the creep delaying capabilities of reactored hellion, but you do have a lot of options to go for.
5 marines? I am guessing you mean after the first wave of reinforcements (2 marines + hellion)?
I think u still do have creep delaying capabilities because u still have some hellions out. U dont need a army of hellions to deny creep
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HAHA i did this and worked like a charm!!! didn't have any problems, and zerg did everything you said.. the got greedy and went for drones drones drones!!!! he even had two zerglings but i foucsed them down. he also had a spine that was half way done. when i was pushing he pulled he queen off to help but was trying not to lose it... then my hellon got there and it was over.. great build vs zerg i'll be using it on small/ mid maps. i went for expo as well everything was perfect timing.
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On March 20 2012 03:27 Creeesta wrote:
HAHA i did this and worked like a charm!!! didn't have any problems, and zerg did everything you said.. the got greedy and went for drones drones drones!!!! he even had two zerglings but i foucsed them down. he also had a spine that was half way done. when i was pushing he pulled he queen off to help but was trying not to lose it... then my hellon got there and it was over.. great build vs zerg i'll be using it on small/ mid maps. i went for expo as well everything was perfect timing.
Great to know we have someone positive pulling it off nicely :D
thank you for the compliments!
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On March 19 2012 22:03 OpTiKDream wrote:Show nested quote +On March 19 2012 09:36 Gamegene wrote:
Very old style of TvZ, 5 marine hellion. it delays your expansion and you don't have the creep delaying capabilities of reactored hellion, but you do have a lot of options to go for. 5 marines? I am guessing you mean after the first wave of reinforcements (2 marines + hellion)?
There's a timing attack that moves out at 5 min with 1Hellion/5Marine that's generally used to kill creep, queen, overlord, zerglings. Like the build in this thread, it can be annoying to deal with on maps with a large expansion or if you neglect that first spine crawler. However, the first hellion is usually followed up with tanks or other tech switches, so it's significantly less pressure.
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On March 20 2012 10:53 TangSC wrote:Show nested quote +On March 19 2012 22:03 OpTiKDream wrote:On March 19 2012 09:36 Gamegene wrote:
Very old style of TvZ, 5 marine hellion. it delays your expansion and you don't have the creep delaying capabilities of reactored hellion, but you do have a lot of options to go for. 5 marines? I am guessing you mean after the first wave of reinforcements (2 marines + hellion)? There's a timing attack that moves out at 5 min with 1Hellion/5Marine that's generally used to kill creep, queen, overlord, zerglings. Like the build in this thread, it can be annoying to deal with on maps with a large expansion or if you neglect that first spine crawler. However, the first hellion is usually followed up with tanks or other tech switches, so it's significantly less pressure.
It's important to note, that specific build was popular before it became standard to put a spine at the expansion and build a third queen it was also designed to weaken/kill queens to allow a cloaked banshee to go to town. This 3 marine with rallied hellion variation the OP describes is meant to hit before the spine finishes to hopefully prevent zerg from defending it that easily. This is definitely a build for maps like crossfire/dual sight/metalopolis/taldarim/daybreak, but most of the map pool now tends to have narrow chokes at the natural and zergs rarely take damage from the banshee followup anymore either. As I said I like it as one of many ways to open cloaked banshees into mech, just don't lose the banshees.
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On March 20 2012 11:01 oOOoOphidian wrote:Show nested quote +On March 20 2012 10:53 TangSC wrote:On March 19 2012 22:03 OpTiKDream wrote:On March 19 2012 09:36 Gamegene wrote:
Very old style of TvZ, 5 marine hellion. it delays your expansion and you don't have the creep delaying capabilities of reactored hellion, but you do have a lot of options to go for. 5 marines? I am guessing you mean after the first wave of reinforcements (2 marines + hellion)? There's a timing attack that moves out at 5 min with 1Hellion/5Marine that's generally used to kill creep, queen, overlord, zerglings. Like the build in this thread, it can be annoying to deal with on maps with a large expansion or if you neglect that first spine crawler. However, the first hellion is usually followed up with tanks or other tech switches, so it's significantly less pressure. As I said I like it as one of many ways to open cloaked banshees into mech, just don't lose the banshees.
I agree, a lot of the mech players are too passive - just macroing and waiting for a deathball. A cloak banshee can delay the zerg's 3rd, kill drones at bases which don't have spors properly placed, and contribute DPS to the mid-game thor/tank/hellion push.
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i think a big positive aspect of this build is that you make the zerg making units nonstop. you dont have to do that much damage at all, you just force him to make lings or tech up to roaches while making lings. With reactored hellions everthing can defended with a good wall and 1 or 2 spines but with this build he has to make lings to defend it. And with a good follow up like banshees or marine drops you can do even more damage and having the same amount of worker and win the game with a bigger economy. I did this opening the first time against my mid/high master buddy (I am mid master too) and he did exactly that what i described in my post. First he made lings, after that a few spore crawlers against my banshees while teching up to roaches to defend his third against more hellions (like 7 or 8) and after loosing many drones against banshees and 1 drop without stim he had to drone up and not making units and died to my first push with 3 tanks and 2 medivacs. I played this opening the first time and I didnt execute it well (my starport timing was way too late) and because of that I only upload the replay if you want to, I just wanted to say that even if I didn't execute it well I still crushed him. I like this build very much but I think if he knows whats coming (in a best of 3 for example) he can be safe easily if he builds a very early blind spine crawler (which puts him behind if the terran doesn't play agressive). so nice build!
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On March 20 2012 22:21 Death944 wrote:
i think a big positive aspect of this build is that you make the zerg making units nonstop. you dont have to do that much damage at all, you just force him to make lings or tech up to roaches while making lings. With reactored hellions everthing can defended with a good wall and 1 or 2 spines but with this build he has to make lings to defend it.
That's true, reactor hellion has become the "expected" early pressure to the point where every Zerg knows how to defend it without losses. I think mixing in a build that looks like reactor hellion but arrives earlier can be a great way to add variety to your early game aggression - especially, as you mention, in a best of X where your opponent has already seen you go reactor hellions.
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Its a nice little change to reactor hellion, however i tried it many times without much success... when my marines are walking to zergs base there are mostly always zerglings out, even if its just 2-4 thes tried to pick up reinforcing single marines and when i arrive its exactly when the natural queen pops and the normal spine (zergs should always build the spine instantly when their natural completes imo) is nearly completed and i cant stop it. Even the queen alone can deal with the 3 Marines and the SCV with little support.
it throws me a bit off of my build and concept cause im used to reactor hellion expand and i loose focus on macro, so not the right build for me 
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I think this is great build to throw in in a Bo3 or Bo5 to keep your opponent honest (as aforementioned) and I think it will work on gold to low diamond zergs but not on bronze, silver and master and up for the following reasons:
1. Bronze and silver zergs (the real ones, not smurfs) loves to use roaches in all their MU's for some reason and thus will throw down a roach warren extremely early no matter what. Often they will even throw it down before getting their expansion. So by the time your hellion arrives he'll have a couple of roaches waiting and the momentum of your whole build is crushed, just like that.
2. High lvl zergs will get their speed ASAP. If they scouted gas from you they will assume reactor hellion so they will also throw down at least 1 spine crawler as soon as their natural finishes which will be done right as your 3 marines arrive. If they sense aggression following they will throw down another spine to cover the other side of their expansion if on maps with wide naturals and either get a roach warren or simply pump out speedlings and with spines, queens and speedlings/roaches the aggression this build intends to deliver will again, be thwarted. At best using this build you can deny watch towers and creep and a 3rd, which is what reactor hellion expand does anyway.
So in theory, this will work extremely well on greedy, mid-lvl zergs who neglect to put down spines until they have 2 saturated bases. But those zergs really do deserved to get killed by anything anyway
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On March 24 2012 02:02 ref4 wrote:I think this is great build to throw in in a Bo3 or Bo5 to keep your opponent honest (as aforementioned) and I think it will work on gold to low diamond zergs but not on bronze, silver and master and up for the following reasons: 1. Bronze and silver zergs (the real ones, not smurfs) loves to use roaches in all their MU's for some reason and thus will throw down a roach warren extremely early no matter what. Often they will even throw it down before getting their expansion. So by the time your hellion arrives he'll have a couple of roaches waiting and the momentum of your whole build is crushed, just like that. 2. High lvl zergs will get their speed ASAP. If they scouted gas from you they will assume reactor hellion so they will also throw down at least 1 spine crawler as soon as their natural finishes which will be done right as your 3 marines arrive. If they sense aggression following they will throw down another spine to cover the other side of their expansion if on maps with wide naturals and either get a roach warren or simply pump out speedlings and with spines, queens and speedlings/roaches the aggression this build intends to deliver will again, be thwarted. At best using this build you can deny watch towers and creep and a 3rd, which is what reactor hellion expand does anyway. So in theory, this will work extremely well on greedy, mid-lvl zergs who neglect to put down spines until they have 2 saturated bases. But those zergs really do deserved to get killed by anything anyway
well to your first point, u should have alrdy scouted if he even has a expansion. Otherwise why push they 1 basing? They obviously have alot of units and you should play defensive there.
The 2nd point you made isnt always true. They dont always get speed asap, they can go gasless and drone even harder (Basically abit more greedy). And yes they can get away with it too.
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On March 24 2012 14:36 OpTiKDream wrote:Show nested quote +On March 24 2012 02:02 ref4 wrote:I think this is great build to throw in in a Bo3 or Bo5 to keep your opponent honest (as aforementioned) and I think it will work on gold to low diamond zergs but not on bronze, silver and master and up for the following reasons: 1. Bronze and silver zergs (the real ones, not smurfs) loves to use roaches in all their MU's for some reason and thus will throw down a roach warren extremely early no matter what. Often they will even throw it down before getting their expansion. So by the time your hellion arrives he'll have a couple of roaches waiting and the momentum of your whole build is crushed, just like that. 2. High lvl zergs will get their speed ASAP. If they scouted gas from you they will assume reactor hellion so they will also throw down at least 1 spine crawler as soon as their natural finishes which will be done right as your 3 marines arrive. If they sense aggression following they will throw down another spine to cover the other side of their expansion if on maps with wide naturals and either get a roach warren or simply pump out speedlings and with spines, queens and speedlings/roaches the aggression this build intends to deliver will again, be thwarted. At best using this build you can deny watch towers and creep and a 3rd, which is what reactor hellion expand does anyway. So in theory, this will work extremely well on greedy, mid-lvl zergs who neglect to put down spines until they have 2 saturated bases. But those zergs really do deserved to get killed by anything anyway The 2nd point you made isnt always true. They dont always get speed asap, they can go gasless and drone even harder (Basically abit more greedy). And yes they can get away with it too.
Could you use your SCV scout to determine how much, if any, gas the zerg has mined and determine the correct time to pull-back based on that information?
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I get the idea behind this but honestly i don't feel it's a good build really.
After watching the tutorial video, it basically worked due to zerg miscontrol.
He let his first queen take too much damage before the second one arrived from the main, he missrallied overlords, didn't pull back the ones that were exposes properly, fought with a damaged queen and zerglings off creep etc etc.
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I like the 1-1-1 without addons better, I must admit.
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On March 26 2012 00:00 TimeRunnerS wrote:
I like the 1-1-1 without addons better, I must admit.
Thanks for the positive feedback
Reactor hellion is better in other things tho
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You floated alot of minerals in your marine tank followup-replay
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Hey I just tired this I am mid diamond with low apm and It worked vs a z who hatch first on shattered temple close air spawns. Ty for the in depth build. I found saving my marines was very key to this build. I didnt even get to medivacs and had 900 mins but the game was already won. His defense of queens and lings was not enough and i was able to snipe the spine. I will be using it as my go to build vs z. -Kw
http://imgur.com/Z2TsM
Edit: sp and pic
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On April 04 2012 11:27 knightwulf wrote:Hey I just tired this I am mid diamond with low apm and It worked vs a z who hatch first on shattered temple close air spawns. Ty for the in depth build. I found saving my marines was very key to this build. I didnt even get to medivacs and had 900 mins but the game was already won. His defense of queens and lings was not enough and i was able to snipe the spine. I will be using it as my go to build vs z. -Kw http://imgur.com/Z2TsMEdit: sp and pic
Ty for the picture, made me smile really hard :D
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ST rainbow plays every single TvZ like this for ages.
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On April 04 2012 13:22 sage_francis wrote:
ST rainbow plays every single TvZ like this for ages.
yup, with his standard mech follow up
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I think its not bad opening, but its rely a lot on micro abilities. Its more difficult than it seems. So i wouldnt recommand players below diamond to try this before knowing very well standards openings.
Also, i think u should emphasis more on Rainbows barracks and factory placement.
With this opening u are indeed weaker to early zerg aggresion. Rainbow always makes semi wall off with barracks and factory (allowing only small units to go), which is always completed lately with a CC. This way he can defend early zerg aggression a lot easier, and most of the time without any bunker.
Also, on maps like metalo, i think its way better to start to build a bunker on the top of the ramp in order to see and kill units going down.
Very few terrans open this way because its a lot micro intensive, and u got to keep marine helion scv production, with sometimes not really significant results.
Rainbow always do this because hes very micro focused player like a lot of old old school bw players and because he has this amazing micro ability, he can kill or hurt a lot good zerg players very quiclky without even cheesing.
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Until I took a break a few weeks ago, this was basically my standard play. I opened this way then into a single Medivac and then a cloakless banshee into mech.
The initial push and elevator can do significant damage, the banshee denies a quick third, and the followup push-out on 2 base can often end the game (while I take my third). It's a viable opener so long as your opponent doesn't know it's coming and make lings to handle the elevator itself while queens focus medivacs. Even if they do this, you can kill a LOT of lings and make it worthwhile. Just comes down to execution (like most things).
Rainbow really got me hooked onto this playstyle when I made my push towards learning to play Terran as well as Zerg. It just flows nicely to keep messing with your opponent (and their head, aggression is great to mentally handicap them).
EDIT: If you like elevator after initial pressure instead of faster CC, you can keep 2 SCVs in gas until Starport is started, so that you hit 100 gas as it completes and have the fastest possible minerals.
You can also expand after Rax and Gas/CC on 16 OR Gas before CC on 15 and get a fast expansion into very fast medivac harassment. With bunkers this makes your build very offensively oriented while being safe to play against 2 Base Zerg. You can always scout a roach rush.
2ND EDIT: In response to the post above me, hiding the factory so that the add-on (or lack thereof) cannot be seen is very strong if you deny the initial drone scout. You can even poke out with marines alone and strand the reactive lings with hellions, making your later elevator even stronger.
Rax
14 or so Gas
Fac
CC
Star
Medivac
Tech on Star
Banshee
Is the most streamlined build I've played, using rax for Addons and quickly going for either an armory (fast +1 and all-in with more rax and mass marine/thor/banshee) or more factories to sustain hellion drops and eventual victory.
Saving the medivac is basically what decides if I won the game handily or not.
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On April 04 2012 14:09 CapnAmerica wrote:Until I took a break a few weeks ago, this was basically my standard play. I opened this way then into a single Medivac and then a cloakless banshee into mech. The initial push and elevator can do significant damage, the banshee denies a quick third, and the followup push-out on 2 base can often end the game (while I take my third). It's a viable opener so long as your opponent doesn't know it's coming and make lings to handle the elevator itself while queens focus medivacs. Even if they do this, you can kill a LOT of lings and make it worthwhile. Just comes down to execution (like most things). Rainbow really got me hooked onto this playstyle when I made my push towards learning to play Terran as well as Zerg. It just flows nicely to keep messing with your opponent (and their head, aggression is great to mentally handicap them). EDIT: If you like elevator after initial pressure instead of faster CC, you can keep 2 SCVs in gas until Starport is started, so that you hit 100 gas as it completes and have the fastest possible minerals. You can also expand after Rax and Gas/CC on 16 OR Gas before CC on 15 and get a fast expansion into very fast medivac harassment. With bunkers this makes your build very offensively oriented while being safe to play against 2 Base Zerg. You can always scout a roach rush. 2ND EDIT: In response to the post above me, hiding the factory so that the add-on (or lack thereof) cannot be seen is very strong if you deny the initial drone scout. You can even poke out with marines alone and strand the reactive lings with hellions, making your later elevator even stronger. Rax 14 or so Gas Fac CC Star Medivac Tech on Star Banshee Is the most streamlined build I've played, using rax for Addons and quickly going for either an armory (fast +1 and all-in with more rax and mass marine/thor/banshee) or more factories to sustain hellion drops and eventual victory. Saving the medivac is basically what decides if I won the game handily or not.
Might i make a suggestion? The timing u attack u do is good. U can also do this with gas first (11 gas, 13 rax) and still support reactor hellions and no cloak banshee off 1 gas. Zergs might not realize it because of the really early timing and banshee hit. Have fun with it
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LlXbh.jpg)
