[G] MarineKush's TvP Alternate Deathball

This build revolves around strong scouting in the early game and a defensive position. As mid game approches harass capabilities are available as well as oppurtunities to alter your composition as you gain more intel on your opponent's tech path.

You will open with the OC standard followed by a factory and a CC. Using 1 tank and a bunker of marines you can hold all early pokes and upon scouting, 4-gates as well. By this time you will also be getting a Starport which will either produce a raven or a viking based in further intel.

As your SP is in production an armory is thrown down to get a thor and the second starport unit is often a banshee. This allows you to take your natural as the thor gives you great stability on defense and the banshee allows you to harass their base often pulling their army back.

Once the natural is secured 3 bunkers are used for the marines you have made but now marine production stops. This is an extremely defensive position and is difficult for toss to break and in fact they will often decide to take a 3rd. Which is fine because you will be pushing around 130 food and their 3rd won't kick in yet. If they go extremely fast 3rd you can just pull scvs to repair thors and stomp them.

After you open 1-1-1 and have 10-12 marines, 1 tank, 1 thor, 1 banshee, 1 raven you have to decide what tech they are going for.

If you see 6 gate add a 2nd factory and make BF hellions to deal with the zealots. stomp their timing attack and move out while taking a third and add rax with extra minerals if you have them.

If you see 4-5 gate with robo for immortals - make a 2nd starport with techlab and add ravens and banshees. push timing is around 3 ghosts and 3 pdd. take a third after you trade army.

If you see 3-4 gates and 2 robos pumping colossi add a 2nd starport and produce banshees and ravens. phoenix will not counter because of thors. ravens will stop stalkers from tearing up banshees.

If you see fast HT, likely after a DT expand. Add 2nd rax make ghosts with upgrades and "EMP cleanse" before you move out.

Either your dumping gas for ghosts to negate templar or banshees/ravens to crush colossi and immortals.

EMP Cleanse - use ghosts to emp thors and banshees to negate feedback.

Why this build works: its versatile, the unit comp is hard to scout with thors and ravens out. SP with tech lab can make either ravens banshees or vikings so all toss units can be countered. the emp cleanse negates HT feedback. ghost emp negates HT with energy for storms. raven pdd negates stalkers and phoenix. thors and strong and can tank a lot of damage.

Also consider this. 3-4 PDDs shuts down a significant portion of the Toss DPS for the first 1/4 of the battle. Once PDD energy is done the supply lead will have already shifted heavily in Terran's favour. The polt prime build which uses an early 1 base push of marine tanks raven and banshee was effective until toss realized feedback could wreck this with many zealots. We are utilizing the same composition but removing feedback from the equation.

15 orbital
16 depot
18 factory
20 TL on rax (after 3 marines)
21 depot, bunker and 2nd refinery
27 tank after swapping factory onto TL
29 depot
31 starport on to TL factory lifts off and makes hellion
37 CC
39 raven
40 depot
41 armory

Use your hellion to determine if its safe to move out to expand. Make a banshee for map control, scouting and lastly harass. Make a thor to strengthen your army.

Use scouting to determine whether toss is going for mass gateway with ups, templar, or robo tech.

mass gateways - add BF hellion to increase supply faster, put depots in front of bunkers to stop zealots be ready to pull scv to repair

robo tech - add a 2nd starport and make banshees and ravens maybe a viking or two if gas is tight. add 1-2 ghosts wihtout upgrades just for normal emp usage

templar tech - add a 2nd rax for ghosts - extra banshees and ravens are secondary. use ghosts to emp cleanse your thors and banshees.

This is a safe opening to all cheese and allows you to have the full tech tree as you take your natural. This allows extreme versatility in unit comp but gives up mobility for some time. However, because of the strong defensive position toss must allow you to get whatever unit comp you want because you are unlikely to be broken. You can move out around 130 food before they have a saturated 3rd base.

You must emp cleanse before moving out if any HT are out because feedback is only 50 energy and can destroy the thors who have build up energy while defending.

PDD is 1st priority as 2 ravens can get sniped easily by HT or stalkers. this will allow the banshees to live much longer.

EMP is 2nd priority as ghosts do not have the highest threat and can wait 1-2 seconds before emp the HT in the back.

This is the one to watch, Opponent goes 2 gate robo expand into 4 gate robo with templar tech. EMP cleansing negates his plans to stomp my army and instead leaves him with nothing as thors and banshees rip through the rest of his base.



Toss goes 2 gate robo and after scouting CBing immortals added another starport with TL to make more ravens and banshees. pushed with 130 supply and got further and further ahead taking a third and adding more ghosts to "EMP Cleanse" the thors and banshees before final push.


macro game against rank 5 masters toss