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[PiG Strategy Articles] Air Superiority Tank Push in TvT

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
14 CommentsPost a Reply

[PiG Strategy Articles] Air Superiority Tank Push in TvT

Text byTL Strategy
Graphics byNixer
February 23rd, 2017 01:50 GMT
The PiG DailyAir Superiority Tank Pressure in TvTStrategy TipsVODs



PiG Daily Articles




Welcome to the PiG Daily strategy article! The PiG Daily is a show by Jared "PiG" Krensel that focuses on StarCraft 2 strategy and becoming a better player. We've joined forces to create an article series that summarizes his dailies into short, digestible articles that provide insight on builds, tactics and game sense. By combining with Spawning Tool, this series will bring you the most comprehensive learning experience for build orders and strategies.

How to use Spawning Tool

We highly recommend using Spawning Tool in order to follow the basics of these builds. The PiG Daily and our strategy articles will serve as supplementary guides to understand the subtleties behind each decision.

PiG gives the Terran players some love with this handy dandy TvT guide. Air superiority is one of the key factors in tank wars, and this opening gives you early pushing power to take the initiative.

Link to the Spawning Tool Build

Air Superiority Tank Pressure in TvT






This is an aggressive opening that lets you control the tempo of early game TvT and navigate your way safely to the midgame. In the first phase of this build, you'll have reapers and cyclones for your initial defense, but they can potentially inflict massive damage once sent to the other side of the map. The second phase involves a raven and vikings to defend against banshees and drops before you go on the offensive with your first two tanks. It's a very powerful tank push that relies on air superiority—one of the key factors in TvT tank wars. This will rarely end the game, but it can cripple a greedy player and force him to show his hand. All the while, you will be setting up your strong 3-base marine-tank production and upgrades behind the pressure.

Air Superiority Tank Pressure
15Gas
16Barracks
172nd gas
19Orbital command + reaper
20Factory
20Supply depot
@100% 1st reaper -> 2nd reaper
SCV queues up another depot and goes off to build 2nd CC
@100% factory >- cyclone and starport (next to rax)
302nd CC (at the natural)
@100% 2nd reaper -> tech lab on barracks
33Hellion
Starport and barracks swap
Barracks adds reactor
Starport builds raven
Barracks swaps off and builds another reactor then constant marine production
Starport swaps onto reactor and builds 4 vikings
Factory swaps onto tech lab and constant tank production


Once your two tanks complete, it's time to put on the pressure.

After the tank pressure, there are three possible ways to transition. If you do good damage, specifically to their army, and want to play it Artosis-style ("when ahead, get more ahead"), then you can drop your 3rd CC for heavy macro. They will not have as many units as you, and you can expand knowing that you're safe. Make sure to scout just in case his plan is a desperate all in.

If you feel like you can easily close out the game with the amount of damage you've inflicted, then put down 4 raxes for an all-in on 2 bases. You'll be moving back into a standard marine-tank based army, so don't forget your marine upgrades.

My preference is a conservative middle ground, where I still take a 3rd base but bulk up my army. This gives me the safety to tech up and get ahead on upgrades and workers while leaving the opportunity open to exploit holes in my opponent's defense. If the tank pressure fails to do much damage, this is often the safest choice.

PiG's conservative transition
2x barracks + 3rd gas
3rd CC when you can afford it.
4th gas
2x engineering bays
2x barracks (now a total of 5)
Start 1/1 for your bio
@60% 1/1 upgrades -> start your armory



Strategic Tips



  • When in doubt (whether you'll win a reaper skirmish), run home! Keeping reapers alive is more important than killing opposing reapers.
  • Do not sacrifice all your reapers to try and get some SCV kills. Unless you are certain his units are out of position, the threat of reapers is more valuable than the 2-3 SCVs you might kill.
  • Poke in with care. If they aren't watching (you can tell based on how the units move or aggro) then you can land the first reaper grenade and obliterate their force. Cyclones and reapers do damage very quickly, and a big win in your favor will allow you to do even more damage.


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  • Your raven should only be sent to harass if: 1.) they are NOT going cloaked banshee; 2.) they are going for an early expansion. The raven can help defend almost any kind of harassment or pressure.
  • If your opponent has banshees, make sure to drop a fast single ebay around the time of your 2nd and 2rd rax. The raven is an integral part of your push, so it's important to have turrets ready before moving out.
  • Never feel the need to take big risks when pushing with your small tank force. This is not an all-in, only mid-game pressure, and all of your units will be useful in the future if you keep them alive.



Frequently Asked Questions



What if they’re also delaying their expansion? Can I still pressure?

Even if they are delaying their expansion, you should still look for opportunities to apply pressure with your reaper-cyclone. Search for a moment of inattention from your opponent, but be VERY careful not to lose units. You're mostly just making sure they aren't expanding freely or building workers without worry. Bonus points if you can get them to panic and change up their build. Jump on any free units that you can, but if there are no openings, don't risk it. If they have enough units to defend, just siege up for a while outside their natural, then pull back home once you think they might be counter-dropping.

Do I always push with the tanks? How hard do I commit here and when should I pull back?

The type of pressure that you can apply will often depend on the map architecture. There are a few spots per map where sieging up is ideal, and you'll want to get to areas that can deny the mining in their natural. This is usually the best outcome you can get unless they are particularly sloppy or rattled. Don't forget to scout ahead with your raven and vikings so that you can identify whether your opponent is vulnerable.

Here's a quick checklist that will help you determine if you should pull back.
  • Mass hellions — while hellions aren't great against tanks, mass hellion can quickly surround your tanks and take them out while your vikings try to land a little too late.
  • 3+ cyclones — cyclones are very good at countering viking builds, and losing air superiority will spell the death for your small force.
  • A bigger army that's on its way to intercept you — obviously no reason to fight here, just run!


Establishing a contain with such a small army might sound appealing, but you should never overstay your welcome. A big drop behind your back might be difficult to defend if you have your units rallied to the front, and your measly squad will get jumped on once their army gets bigger.

Sorry, you don't have HTML5 video and we didn't catch this properly in javascript. You can try to view the gif directly: http://giant.gfycat.com/SpanishSingleEuropeanpolecat.gif.



A good rule of thumb is to never stay more than 1 minute beyond the point when you last caused direct army or infrastructure damage. Other things held equal, they will have an army that can crush your contain (because your units will be trudging from across the map) . You need to retreat before he moves out, or you will be forced to take as good a trade as you can manage before your army is flattened.


Brought to you by the TL Strategy Team
Writer: PiG/TL Strategy
Graphics: shiroiusagi
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LoneYoShi
Profile Blog Joined June 2014
France1348 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-02-23 08:19:17
February 23 2017 08:18 GMT
#2
Hi PiG, thanks for everything you do ! (and thanks to the TL Strat team too ;-) )

I'll look into this build, as I fear I'm going to face it very often on ladder from now on, so I might as well understand how it works... :D

I'm just confused: you don't mention stim/combat shield anywhere, at what point do you start researching it ? If I followed your build correctly, you pretty much never have a barrack on a tech lab before the tank push, is that right ?
PiGStarcraft
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Australia987 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-02-23 10:40:30
February 23 2017 10:39 GMT
#3
On February 23 2017 17:18 LoneYoShi wrote:
Hi PiG, thanks for everything you do ! (and thanks to the TL Strat team too ;-) )

I'll look into this build, as I fear I'm going to face it very often on ladder from now on, so I might as well understand how it works... :D

I'm just confused: you don't mention stim/combat shield anywhere, at what point do you start researching it ? If I followed your build correctly, you pretty much never have a barrack on a tech lab before the tank push, is that right ?


That's right. If you watch all the top level TvTs, stim and shields don't get started until quite a bit later on. The tech units such as tanks, ravens, cyclones, vikings and banshees all give more immediate value and are important both for damaging your opponent and defending yourself. Unupgraded marines are quite trash until the upgrades kick in so you only want to start investing in those a bit later on. This is just an opening guide. Exactly how you follow after is up to you, however my preferred "standard" followup is outlined in Spawning Tool link: http://lotv.spawningtool.com/build/46145/

"From here you can go fast 3rd CC for heavy macro, +4-rax for all-in, or do my middle of the road approach, in order:

2nd-3rd barracks + 3rd gas
3rd CC
4th gas
2xebay
4th-5th barracks"
Progamerwww.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2
Kitai
Profile Joined June 2012
United States873 Posts
February 23 2017 20:39 GMT
#4
These articles are greatly helpful and appreciated. Thank you!
"You know, I don't care if soO got 100 second places in a row. Anyone who doesn't think that he's going to win blizzcon watching this series is a fool" - Artosis, Blizzcon 2014 soO vs TaeJa
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4915 Posts
February 24 2017 10:58 GMT
#5
Thanks for this stuff, learning how to play T right now and this is helpfull af.
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
ZertoN
Profile Joined February 2014
Germany214 Posts
February 24 2017 14:51 GMT
#6
i love how pig takes credit for this build
"I don't like games that i need to think a lot, i am not interested in those games." - TaeJa, 2016
ArtyK
Profile Joined June 2011
France3143 Posts
February 24 2017 14:55 GMT
#7
On February 24 2017 23:51 ZertoN wrote:
i love how pig takes credit for this build


He doesn't take credit for the build he takes credit for making a guide about it.
Sup dood ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ KiWiKaKi | SLush | uThermal | PtitDrogo | SortOf | Clem ~ "I told my mom she should vote for me in Nation Wars, she said 'I dunno, I kinda want Finland to win'" – Luolis ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NScWV9h8k#t=1h01m
TL+ Member
ZertoN
Profile Joined February 2014
Germany214 Posts
February 24 2017 15:26 GMT
#8
so why doesnt he even mention the person who invented/popularized this build with a single word? the only name you see in this article is PiG's.
"I don't like games that i need to think a lot, i am not interested in those games." - TaeJa, 2016
lichter
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
February 25 2017 00:49 GMT
#9
because i don't remember who popularized this build
AdministratorYOU MUST HEED MY INSTRUCTIONS TAKE OFF YOUR THIIIINGS
iSvPursuit
Profile Joined January 2017
4 Posts
February 25 2017 05:04 GMT
#10
Awesome guide and a really safe / solid way to play TvT.
ParksonVN
Profile Joined October 2015
Australia370 Posts
February 25 2017 11:31 GMT
#11
Air heavy Terran play is only viable in certain maps with a lot of chokes and high ground. On open maps, viking are mostly useless against concave of marines.
Phaenoman
Profile Joined February 2013
568 Posts
February 25 2017 12:29 GMT
#12
On February 25 2017 20:31 ParksonVN wrote:
Air heavy Terran play is only viable in certain maps with a lot of chokes and high ground. On open maps, viking are mostly useless against concave of marines.

What does that have to do with this article? It's not about long term game plan, just a push and the follow up.
Random is hard work dude...
PiGStarcraft
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Australia987 Posts
March 01 2017 11:47 GMT
#13
On February 25 2017 00:26 ZertoN wrote:
so why doesnt he even mention the person who invented/popularized this build with a single word? the only name you see in this article is PiG's.


My name is mentioned... :D

Demuslim did something similar to me on ladder and I've seen this sort of push happen on and off since Wings of Liberty. I came up with this exact build off the standard 2 reaper cyclone opening in the current patch. Haven't seen it used in pro tournaments for a while, though it's great through to mid GM.


Keep on edging mate
Progamerwww.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2
ZertoN
Profile Joined February 2014
Germany214 Posts
March 01 2017 17:37 GMT
#14
On March 01 2017 20:47 PiGStarcraft wrote:


My name is mentioned... :D


:DDDD

On March 01 2017 20:47 PiGStarcraft wrote:

Demuslim did something similar to me on ladder and I've seen this sort of push happen on and off since Wings of Liberty. I came up with this exact build off the standard 2 reaper cyclone opening in the current patch. Haven't seen it used in pro tournaments for a while, though it's great through to mid GM.


innovation and byun were the first ones to play this buildorder, which later devolved into "standard".
its a very easy thing to give credit where its due, especially when you're copying other peoples build orders.




On March 01 2017 20:47 PiGStarcraft wrote:
Keep on edging mate


now thats interesting. you could have ended your post there, explaining that you simply did not know who came up with this build, and that wouldve been fine to some extent, but no, you decided to add "keep on edging". lol.
"I don't like games that i need to think a lot, i am not interested in those games." - TaeJa, 2016
XiGua
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Sweden3085 Posts
March 13 2017 19:55 GMT
#15
Hey PiG, I really like this opening and have been trying it out on the ladder; it's basically the only build order I use in TvT.

Just came back to Starcraft 2 and wanted to drop by to tell you that your dailies are really good and that I've subscribed, keep up the good work!
ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) APM, Why u make me spam?
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