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Active: 2210 users

[G] TvZ Only marines

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
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vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-09-23 02:39:29
September 23 2011 01:34 GMT
#1
I don't know if there is a thread like this already and if there is, admins are welcome to close this thread.

I AM NOT TAKING CREDIT FOR ANY BUILD THAT MIGHT BE SIMILAR TOO. I JUST STARTED DOING THIS AND WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY.

Anyway I am a decent masters on the NA ladder. I have fallen to about 1.1k after a recent slump. I am a member of vVv gaming and hope you enjoy my guide. This build just works for me and I hope it works for you too.

I always see people use siege tanks in TvZ, but for the last 1 month I have just been doing mass marines in this matchup. Being that the siege tank's only role is killing banelings so that your marines live longer, I thought it was logical to just make more marines and get more bases than making expensive tanks.

I normally do pure bio builds in every match up so I have a lot of experience with drop play and mmm micro, but I feel that anyone can do this build effectively. My macro is very bad, my micro is decent at best, and my multitasking is sub par. Most games I am floating 2k minerals the whole game just to prove it.



The Build

Marines
[image loading]

Medivacs
[image loading]

I normally start off with a 2 rax expand

10 supply
12 rax
14 rax
15 orbital
CC when comfortable

If it is on a map where 3 rax can block ramp (Shakuras, New maps) I do a 16 marine drop after I expand
you can find build in Hansk's thread
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=267242

However if it is not a block able natural I just expand without 16 marine drop and add 2 more barracks and 2 more gasses and just rush to medivacs when getting upgrades.

Upgrades are so important in this strategy because it is basically a race to 3-3 where marines become little gods

Expanding should be constant after the you secure your natural, I know I don't follow this perfectly in my replays, but I try to constantly have at least 1 CC making the whole time.

Remember to keep adding barracks. 3 per expansion should be good to keep minerals low and have an unlimited supply of marines

Game play

Once you either do your 16 marine drop or the 4 barracks into medivacs, the dropping should be totally constant. Just have your medivacs on shift drop(SHIFT+MOVE+ D where you want them to drop) so they drop automatically. This will stress the zerg out, and you can see in the replays I kill some zergs with just pure drop play. It also makes macro 10x harder for zerg because of all the multitasking you are making them do making them float minerals.

Now I know that your all thinking about infestors and fungal growth. But the thing is when zergs go fast infestors, drops only do that much more damage. He will be forced to go muta or die because you have so many marines and medivacs coming out that infestors aren't mobile enough to cover all his bases eventually starving him out because he will have to stay 2 base most of the game when you are comfortably expanding.

After he gets a good size flock of mutas, you kind of have to shut down most of your drops and just go all out with attacks on foot. If you saw MKP vs Kyrix it is kinda like that except you are on more than 2 bases and making no tanks and a lot more marines. Just keep attacking everywhere and since he is going mutas good micro can beat sling bling with no infestors.

I can't really explain to you what you can see in the replays, but you just need to send good sized groups to expansions and just keep killing them. Since your army is cheaper you will be gaining the upper hand if you trade effectively.


REMEMBER to keep attacking and dropping and expanding and making more barracks and life will be good =D


Replays of my last 8 ladder games and I am currently on 8 streak in TvZ

* Don't pay attention to the maps I didn't feel like looking up all the map's names again so they are all wrong*
*Yes I have 2 accounts*
*Sorry if I uploaded the same replay twice*
*Tell me if they don't work in the comments please*

http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13417
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13418
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13419
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13420
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13421
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13422
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13424
http://www.sc2replayed.com/replay-videos/13426

I am sorry if this was poorly written or to descriptive this is my first thread and hope I did it okay. If there is anything I should change please tell me.
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
skatbone
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1005 Posts
September 23 2011 02:58 GMT
#2
Thanks for the contribution. I don't play T in 1v1 anymore, but I do recall a time, last fall, when Jungle Basin was a ladder map, when mass fine/medivac and fast ups was popular (MarineKing). I was going mass fine then and, soon after that, fine/raven.

Here are a couple of threads, one detailing a build not unlike yours.

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=215196

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=136921

The first thread does have a build order and delineates a general strategy. Considering how long ago that thread was made, I'm all for opening up a new discussion through your proposed build.
Mercurial#1193
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 03:03 GMT
#3
Well thanks for posting the other threads. I am pretty new to TL in general so I didn't know. I guess I will just keep the thread up and hope someone finds it helpful.
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
thobel
Profile Joined August 2010
United States37 Posts
September 23 2011 03:05 GMT
#4
What are your upgrade priorities? I like to do tiny pushes on combat shields and +1 armor, because with the combination of the two marines actually trade evenly with speed lings with no micro whatsoever, in small groups of about 10. No other combination of two upgrades has this happen (not even stim + shield).
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 03:17 GMT
#5
I normally get stim first, then combat then +1 attack then +2 attack and +1 armor together etc.
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
zhengsta
Profile Joined February 2011
United States126 Posts
September 23 2011 03:17 GMT
#6
dude thanks god. i'm really starting to get owned with mech builds.
Biggiex
Profile Joined September 2011
England2 Posts
September 23 2011 03:21 GMT
#7
Thanks man, will try it out - having trouble with zerg lately, much appreciated
If in doubt, flat out.
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
September 23 2011 03:24 GMT
#8
It's a fun style to play, personally I incorporate Marauders as I think you need some sort of "tanky" unit vs banelings. So you stim and run away with rines and the lings will be hitting your rauders which stand in a wall, making your rines far more effective to just 1v1 banelings.
Seeker *
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
Where dat snitch at?37058 Posts
September 23 2011 03:27 GMT
#9
I'm confused. You mention that, "tank's only role is killing banelings so that your marines live longer, I thought it was logical to just make more marines and get more bases than making expensive tanks."

Okay, so then how are we supposed to fight against MASS blings? Do u just want us to micro the crap out of our marines? Or do we have so many that it doesn't matter how many blings the zerg has?
ModeratorPeople ask me, "Seeker, what are you seeking?" My answer? "Sleep, damn it! Always sleep!"
TL+ Member
CatNzHat
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
United States1599 Posts
September 23 2011 03:28 GMT
#10
btw you can support more than 6 rax per base...

I've played around with rine medivac in TvZ, but i've found it's quite gimmicky, if your opponent goes ling bling infestor you tend to just die unless they have horrible multitasking and manage to lose to drops (which is nothing to do with the strat you're doing or they're doing, and isn't a good thing to rely on).


Once you no longer have the army advantage on the ground, a muta switch can pin you back and put some serious hurt on. You can't beat ling bling infestor with just marine medivac unless you've already won the game earlier.

This means that doing a marine medivac timing and then transitioning into something that's viable once zerg gets a decent infestor count would be a much more solid game plan.

Gimmicky at best, the fact that it's a weird build that zergs don't see often, they don't read it too well and even if they do figure out what's going on, they tend to react improperly.
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 03:30 GMT
#11
On September 23 2011 12:27 Seeker wrote:
I'm confused. You mention that, "tank's only role is killing banelings so that your marines live longer, I thought it was logical to just make more marines and get more bases than making expensive tanks."

Okay, so then how are we supposed to fight against MASS blings? Do u just want us to micro the crap out of our marines? Or do we have so many that it doesn't matter how many blings the zerg has?


If you see the replays the zerg throws away all his banelings on my marines and I have a whole new batch of marines by then. So yes micro as best as you can but you can you will be trading cost effectively
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 03:31 GMT
#12
On September 23 2011 12:28 CatNzHat wrote:
btw you can support more than 6 rax per base...

I've played around with rine medivac in TvZ, but i've found it's quite gimmicky, if your opponent goes ling bling infestor you tend to just die unless they have horrible multitasking and manage to lose to drops (which is nothing to do with the strat you're doing or they're doing, and isn't a good thing to rely on).


Once you no longer have the army advantage on the ground, a muta switch can pin you back and put some serious hurt on. You can't beat ling bling infestor with just marine medivac unless you've already won the game earlier.

This means that doing a marine medivac timing and then transitioning into something that's viable once zerg gets a decent infestor count would be a much more solid game plan.

Gimmicky at best, the fact that it's a weird build that zergs don't see often, they don't read it too well and even if they do figure out what's going on, they tend to react improperly.


If you see the replays one of they games I go against infestor ultra and manage to win as well as other zergs going pure infestor.
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
thobel
Profile Joined August 2010
United States37 Posts
September 23 2011 03:41 GMT
#13
Do you have a replay where zerg goes 2 base + macro hatch? It's the only problem I've had with a bio-heavy style, and you can usually fix it by adding in a VERY small # of hellions, which doesn't really mess up your mobility (also you'll have the factory sitting around anyway).
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 03:45 GMT
#14
On September 23 2011 12:41 thobel wrote:
Do you have a replay where zerg goes 2 base + macro hatch? It's the only problem I've had with a bio-heavy style, and you can usually fix it by adding in a VERY small # of hellions, which doesn't really mess up your mobility (also you'll have the factory sitting around anyway).

No sorry these are the most replays I have
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
Shiluk
Profile Joined April 2011
United States11 Posts
September 23 2011 03:56 GMT
#15
I think it would be hard to get drops in with good infestor bane positioning to 3 bases on most maps and if the zerg has very good unit control he only really needs 6 mutas to stop drops (again dependent on the map)
This seems a lot like mass roach drop play vs protoss which relies on just out multi tasking the other player. I can't view replays right now but it doesn't seem like mass marines could engage something like 12 infestors with bane/ling.
Still if you did something like drop play do delay expands mutas and infestors and after your drops started getting shut down start teching ghost with more bases that zerg or something like that this build would be like crazy scary. Maybe you already do as I said, I can't view replays ^^
Daniel C
Profile Joined October 2010
Hong Kong1606 Posts
September 23 2011 04:02 GMT
#16
I really like watching this style of play, and I wish I could emulate it...it's a wrist-breaker
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
vVvPastry
Profile Joined September 2011
United States244 Posts
September 23 2011 04:04 GMT
#17
On September 23 2011 13:02 Daniel C wrote:
I really like watching this style of play, and I wish I could emulate it...it's a wrist-breaker

So the replays worked for you?
vvv-gaming.com Favorite for Each Race Boxer/ Alicia/ Losira Supporting MMA/Teaja/sC/Marineking/Idra/White Ra/Ryung/BitByBit/MC/Team SlayerS
thobel
Profile Joined August 2010
United States37 Posts
September 23 2011 04:05 GMT
#18
On September 23 2011 13:02 Daniel C wrote:
I really like watching this style of play, and I wish I could emulate it...it's a wrist-breaker


I have found that mass marine makes your pinky really tired from hitting "a" a billion times.

I should just bind f to a or something ;D
Azzur
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Australia6260 Posts
September 23 2011 04:14 GMT
#19
Watch MarineKing (Boxer a.k.a Foxer at that time) vs Kyrix, GSL Open Season 2, ro8 set 1 on Shakuras Plateau.
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
September 23 2011 04:21 GMT
#20
Where he forgets combat shields and his marines die to banelings after one stim instead of 2^^
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