• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 17:55
CET 22:55
KST 06:55
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy5ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises0Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool42Weekly Cups (March 9-15): herO, Clem, ByuN win42026 KungFu Cup Announcement6BGE Stara Zagora 2026 cancelled12
StarCraft 2
General
What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2) Weekly Cups (May 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool Potential Updates Coming to the SC2 CN Server Weekly Cups (March 2-8): ByuN overcomes PvT block
Tourneys
World University TeamLeague (500$+) | Signups Open RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament WardiTV Team League Season 10 KSL Week 87
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone Mutation # 517 Distant Threat Mutation # 516 Specter of Death
Brood War
General
Soulkey's decision to leave C9 BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ JaeDong's form before ASL [ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos ASL21 General Discussion
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues ASL Season 21 LIVESTREAM with English Commentary [ASL21] Ro24 Group A [BSL22] Open Qualifiers & Ladder Tours
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2
Other Games
General Games
General RTS Discussion Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile Dawn of War IV
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine YouTube Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Cricket [SPORT] Formula 1 Discussion Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
U4GM Tips Counter Enemy Gadgets Fast in Black Ops rsvsr How to Keep Reward Chains Rolling in Monopol u4gm What to Do First in MLB The Show 26 Spring
Blogs
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Money Laundering In Video Ga…
TrAiDoS
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1638 users

Defining Cheese in SC2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
MrBitter
Profile Joined January 2008
United States2940 Posts
May 11 2010 01:06 GMT
#1
I finally got a Beta Key! Yay! Found out about the GameStop pre-order deal, and haven't left my computer chair since Saturday.

So far, in spite of tanking my ranking games and getting placed first in bronze =(, I absolutely love the game. But in all its newness, I'm finding that BW build orders don't hold up so well, and new ones, at least in my experience, seem awfully prone to nerd-rage.

Playing Zerg, and in an atmosphere rife with cheese, I've been 10 pooling virtually every game and matchup, simply because it feels so safe. Often times, my first 6 lings show up before the other guy even has units outs. (lol silver is hard)

In fact, it's happened so often that I'm starting to wonder if 10 pool is "cheesey". I played BW to C (nothing special) but I didn't cheese my way there, and I don't want to cheese my way to Platinum, either.

Of course, this whole thread is just a veiled attempt to brag about a game I just played where some angry nerd raged on me for twenty minutes for being "scrubby"... But my questions still stand.

Check out the replay for rage and lulz.

http://www.sc2rc.com/index.php/replay/show/4643
Kantutan
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Canada1319 Posts
May 11 2010 01:07 GMT
#2
One person's definition of cheese will differ from another's.
Zeke50100
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States2220 Posts
May 11 2010 01:10 GMT
#3
Cheese is generally defined as an all-in maneuver where your win chance in the game becomes a black and white "0% or 100%" situation.

Of course, it's deviated a ton XD
RonNation
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States385 Posts
May 11 2010 01:11 GMT
#4
cheese is an overused term that should be banned from this website
RoarMan
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Canada745 Posts
May 11 2010 01:13 GMT
#5
"One man's cheese is another's standard."
All the pros got dat Ichie.
Zergneedsfood
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States10671 Posts
May 11 2010 01:17 GMT
#6
I always just thought that cheese was an all-in attack that either

a) wins you the game

b) puts you at such a high advantage that you have a transition from your risky maneuver or

c) fails and you lose the game because the move was so risky and so costly that you're not at too much of a disadvantage to come back.
/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\ Make a contract with me and join TLADT | Onodera isn't actually a girl, she's just a doormat you walk over to get to the girl. - Numy 2015
qaswedfr25
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States212 Posts
May 11 2010 01:18 GMT
#7
I would say SC2 10 pool is closer to BW 9 pool in terms of speed. It's not really cheese, unless you pump nonstop lings and make it allin.
seRapH
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States9795 Posts
May 11 2010 01:21 GMT
#8
10pool is definitely not a cheese, its a very easy opening to transition out of. a 10pool into roach allin or baneling bust allin would be cheese, but even 10poolspeed can transition into an economic build.

6pool, on the other hand...
boomer hands
blyn
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada57 Posts
May 11 2010 01:25 GMT
#9
Cheese is anything that kills me before i'm ready to die.
neobowman
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Canada3324 Posts
May 11 2010 01:28 GMT
#10
Mr. Bitter got to C on iccup?
EZjijy
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States1039 Posts
May 11 2010 01:29 GMT
#11
Cheesing doesn't necessarily mean all-in.
{ToT}ColmA
Profile Joined November 2007
Japan3260 Posts
May 11 2010 01:29 GMT
#12
Should ask idra bout that topic
The only virgins in kpop left are the fans
Azarkon
Profile Joined January 2010
United States21060 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-11 01:35:43
May 11 2010 01:31 GMT
#13
The standard definition of cheese is any strategy that relies on not being discovered, and which fails dramatically if discovered. I don't think cheese requires that there to be no follow-up - it is entirely possible to go fast DT rush and then to follow it up with high templars. However, since the effectiveness of DT rush relies on the tech not being discovered, it is considered a form of cheese.

In addition to cheese, there is also the concept of an all-in. An all-in is a strategy that has no follow-up, or at least very limited follow-up. Bringing all your scvs in an early push is an all-in, whether the opponent discovers it or not.

All-in and cheese are not mutually exclusive. A cheesy all-in would be 6-pool: the opponent has to know it's not coming, and there is no real follow-up because you're so economically behind if you don't cripple or destroy your opponent. By contrast, proxy cannons in your opponent's base is clearly a cheese, but it is not necessarily an all-in if you also forge expand.
KwarK
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States43732 Posts
May 11 2010 01:37 GMT
#14
It's a new game, is there any chance we could just dodge all this cheese bullshit this time round. We could use different descriptions of builds, like good or bad for example.
ModeratorThe angels have the phone box
xmo
Profile Joined April 2010
United States60 Posts
May 11 2010 01:38 GMT
#15
On May 11 2010 10:31 Azarkon wrote:
The standard definition of cheese is any strategy that relies on not being discovered, and which fails dramatically if discovered. I don't think cheese requires that there to be no follow-up - it is entirely possible to go fast DT rush and then to follow it up with high templars. However, since the effectiveness of DT rush relies on the tech not being discovered, it is considered a form of cheese.

In addition to cheese, there is also the concept of an all-in. An all-in is a strategy that has no follow-up, or at least very limited follow-up. Bringing all your scvs in an early push is an all-in, whether the opponent discovers it or not.

All-in and cheese are not mutually exclusive. A cheesy all-in would be 6-pool: the opponent has to know it's not coming, and there is no real follow-up because you're so economically behind if you don't cripple or destroy your opponent. By contrast, proxy cannons in your opponent's base is clearly a cheese, but it is not necessarily an all-in if you also forge expand.


Well said!
Quotes are hard. Let's go shopping!
Atlare
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Australia893 Posts
May 11 2010 01:38 GMT
#16
On May 11 2010 10:29 {ToT}ColmA wrote:
Should ask idra bout that topic


LOL.

My definition of cheese:
A strat/build order that either

A) Attempts to win completely by surprise or timing (Early attack)... eg. the 6 pool.
B) That if failed, put you in a position where you cannot come back if the opponent knows about your situation.
C) A last ditch attempt counter something someone has done by using A).

Probably wrong, but thats off the top of my head

Considering learning BW
MrBitter
Profile Joined January 2008
United States2940 Posts
May 11 2010 01:40 GMT
#17
On May 11 2010 10:28 neobowman wrote:
Mr. Bitter got to C on iccup?


Damn straight. Granted it was as P, so maybe I should just say D-. =p
illu
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Canada2531 Posts
May 11 2010 01:42 GMT
#18
I believe a so-called "cheese" is basically playing strategically while downplay mechanics.
:]
Azarkon
Profile Joined January 2010
United States21060 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-11 01:53:04
May 11 2010 01:49 GMT
#19
On May 11 2010 10:37 KwarK wrote:
It's a new game, is there any chance we could just dodge all this cheese bullshit this time round. We could use different descriptions of builds, like good or bad for example.


It's just a way to characterize strategies. Cheesy builds are not necessarily bad. They just depend more on chance and mind gaming. I think the choice between whether to cheese or not is a personal one. JF was known in BW for his cheese (and reaver micro). Idra, by contrast, hated JF's play-style and cheesy builds in general. Yet they both succeeded in their own ways in tourneys.

Although, Idra has a different definition of cheese than the standard one. To him, almost anything that beats him - except standard play - is cheese.
SuperXlax
Profile Joined March 2010
United States197 Posts
May 11 2010 01:54 GMT
#20
Read this : http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=123613
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 12h 5m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SteadfastSC 137
Codebar 25
StarCraft: Brood War
LancerX 33
Dota 2
monkeys_forever196
LuMiX1
Counter-Strike
fl0m4029
pashabiceps2389
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu425
Other Games
Grubby4198
FrodaN2569
summit1g997
shahzam504
ZombieGrub210
KnowMe179
C9.Mang0141
UpATreeSC47
Trikslyr46
JuggernautJason15
deth6
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream34
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 98
• davetesta31
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• Eskiya23 32
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Other Games
• imaqtpie1211
• Shiphtur361
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
12h 5m
Afreeca Starleague
12h 5m
Soulkey vs Ample
JyJ vs sSak
Replay Cast
1d 11h
Afreeca Starleague
1d 12h
hero vs YSC
Larva vs Shine
Kung Fu Cup
1d 13h
Replay Cast
2 days
KCM Race Survival
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
WardiTV Team League
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Team League
3 days
RSL Revival
4 days
Cure vs Zoun
herO vs Rogue
WardiTV Team League
4 days
Platinum Heroes Events
4 days
BSL
4 days
RSL Revival
5 days
ByuN vs Maru
MaxPax vs TriGGeR
WardiTV Team League
5 days
BSL
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Afreeca Starleague
6 days
Light vs Calm
Royal vs Mind
Wardi Open
6 days
Monday Night Weeklies
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-22
WardiTV Winter 2026
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
BSL Season 22
CSL Elite League 2026
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 1
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
NationLESS Cup
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

2026 Changsha Offline CUP
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
TLPD

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

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

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