EPTUnfortunately I just wrote around half of it but by a mistake I pressed some shit which made me lose everything (fuck, should have wrote it in word), so I typed it really fast now (probably are some typos!)
TerranVsTerran: This is probably my worst matchup, even though Ive won most progamers and semipros in this matchup.
Keep in mind that as all other mirror matchups it depends A LOT on map and experience. So my gameplay in TvT might not work at all for you guys. I wont write everything to do in all situations coz we all know many games of terran vs terran are long games with drops which differs sooo much its not even worth mentioning. However, I remember when I was new to tvt and I always thought the beginning was the hard part, and not lategame when its all about droptiming.
In TvT (on maps such as Luna/Longinus/Tau Cross/Rush Hour etc) I mostly stick to 3 basic openings. Most tvt games are decided after the first 10 minutes, depending on adapting to your opponent and getting earlier expansions / containment
1. 1 Fact, 1 Port:
When I make 1 fact+port I always try to use the 11gas/11rax build. I make supply at 9, wait to around 230 or so then move out with 1 scv to build rax, the other one to build gas.
When your next scv drops out, I recommend to scout with it directly. Some of you may wonder why I wanna make a 11 gas / 11 rax build. Thats coz I want my factory to be finished as early as possible. There are 2 main reasons for this.
1. You wont have a hard time vs a 3-4 rines + 1 vulture rush
2. You will be able to do a 3-4 rines + 1 vulture rush (depending on your opponents bo of course)
If you scout and see your opponent doing a late first factory, and you're not too far from each other, you can try a rush. I often just make 2 rines unless I scout him early and take notice of the late factory, then I might land my rax somewhere and build another rine.
However if you dont wanna rush and see a 2 fact build, with or without armory. I would recommend setting up shop on your starport before making your first wraith. Some people wouldnt agree but trust me that its way better to surprise your opponent with a little later wraith and have cloak then it is to get 1 singularly wraith fast and get spanked on by a goliath or two. You should be able to hold off a rush with 1 or 2 tanks, or 1 tank 1 vulture. If not, you should have made some more rines or picked a stupid opening on a map with big choke.
If you hold off his attack he will probably back off and put down some mines outside of you, just so you cant build your cc there. At this point (when you feel secure), start making your expansion. If you by any chance saw him doing something else than a 2 fact opening (a 2 fact rush opening) you should make your expansion even earlier. Lets just say, build your cc as soon as possible, but dont build it unless you know you can handle an attack from him. Remember to make academy as fast as possible once you start your cc to scan either mines or what he is doing.
When your first wraith arrives, go with it to his base, preferably build another one. Your rax by this time is hopefully floating either above his base, or somewhere where you see him move out. By this time he has with 90% certainty started making his own expansion, hopefully yours will be ahead, at least if he made a 2 fact opening. He will always have made scanner or turrets. With your first wraith just scout a little, if he doesnt have anything against it, start hitting a scv. But he will. Either he has ebay so he will start making a few turrets (bad timing judgement from him) or goliath + scanner. If he has scanner and goliath, try cloaking and making him scan, then move back to base asap. When you get about 2-4 wraiths (depending on if you keep producing them or wanting to make earlier and more factories (I strongly prefer factories), I have this little trick which can be devastating for your opponent. Scan his main or maybe natural and see if he has turrets or scanner. If bad turret placement try sneak some of your wraiths behind mineral line and press hold, often people dont really care where their 2 turrets are (a lot of supply's in their way or too stressed to care).
If this is the case, let them be there for some time, until he scans. If he didnt build turrets and just scanner, try to make him scan your wraiths, then back them off and come back a few seconds later (he will probably not have built more than 2-3 goliaths so you will survive after their first hit, assuming he hasnt uploaded goliath range but he wont that early vs just 1 starport.
By this time your factories should be done, I prefer 3 or 4 of them with shop on all. mass tank (unless he is making 2-3 starports hidden wraith, then you make 5 factories with goliaths and shit)
You should also be able to move out with a few wraiths, or you just have 1 left but it doesnt really matter. Hopefully he wont have any rax / ebay near your base coz of your wraiths earlier, and his scouting scv will be searching for an additional expansion from your side.
At this point you can either try to contain him or get another expansion going. If you feel you can survive it, do both. He shouldnt be able to have a contain on you yet, but if he by any chance do, try to range-micro his turr + units with your tanks. (use wraith to see further than he does).
You must also remember that scanning is probably the most important thing in TvT. Just keep scanning his main and natural (sometimes some expansion if your scouting scv cant reach there coz he got units blocking).
But I would recommend scanning main + natural at constant bases. This way you will have a easy time to adapt to his strat.
If you see dropships, just set up turrets + a few sieged tanks at some places and you should be fine (while expanding more). Most terrans dont try to drop this early coz their second expansion will be late and its risky coz you cant possibly have so many dropships to make a huge difference, unless you have an advantage from the beginning.
I normally start making dropships after my second expansion. I try to hide them until I get at least 4 coz this late in the game 2 or 3 dropships wont do much dmg and if you lose 4-6 tanks it can hurt you alot after just doing a 1 fact build.
When you get your dropships ready, try to make as much dmg as possible with your first drop attack. I know you always want to make as much dmg as possible but really, try to scan as much as possible before showing them (if you by any chance have been able to hide your dropships, or he made bad scans, it should be relatively easy to make a good drop).
Most people, especielly inexperienced one's, will believe you are going to drop one of their expansions, assuming that they have more than 1.
Thats why I like to drop the main, in tvt all players build most buildings in their main, so its pretty certain to say, he wont have defense at all places in the main. If he has good placement on tanks it can be enough to just drop at the range of some supplys, just to keep him busy and afraid.
Be careful though so you dont make what I call a "desperation-drop" and loses everything, coz then it will be very hard to turn the game around. If you feel he is blocking all possible drop-opportunities (I doubt he will, not even progamers do that), but theoretically, if he does, just drop off some units at another expansion (if this is a 3 player map I strongly suggest you expand that other main).
The 3 player map Ive played most tvt on is rush hour and if the game is longer than 14 minutes, It always turn into a fight over the other main. If you secure that exp with defense and dont lose your main, it shouldnt be a problem for you. Your opponent will have to drop or attack somewhere and he will in 80% of the cases, try to attack the "new main" or your real main.
When it comes to upgrades I always just upgrade weapons at first, +1 pretty early after your factories are up, and then a science facitily when my other expansion is up. Remember that +2 tanks can be a huge advantage!
Now to my next opening
2. 2 fact rush:
When I wanna make a 2 fact rush opening I also do a 11rax/11 gas build. Mostly coz if I get my first factory up at least as fast as him, I will be able to make a shop instead of 1 fast vulture. (Should be able to do that if your factories finishes simultaneously, but if he by any chance is ahead of you, again he shouldnt!, then go for a vulture before shop)
When your shop is done, make 1 tank, upgrade mines and 1 vulture in your other factory. Your scouting scv (or floating rax) should by now have seen what he is doing. If he is fast expanding try to put a pressure on as soon as possible. If you see him doing a 2 fact build and DIDNT make shop before vulture on his first factory you should be in favour. I dunno if any you people saw my games vs mireille on dreamhack a few months back, but 2 of the games were decided exactly because of him doing a vulture before shop, which made my first tank to pop out earlier and my mine upgrade.
Once your first tank is out, head for his base with the rine/rines you have, 1 or 2 vulture + tank. If he is fast expanding I strongly recommend you get siegemode and ebay fast. siegemode so that you can attack his cc in exp from distance (first attack with vulture + tank, he wont have siege yet I promise!, put down as many mines as possible and let the tank hit his, remember to NOT die this tank, if he has 2 or 3 tanks and you cant get him to pull back completely, back off and put up a close containment.
You should be able to have put a few mines so he cant reach your tanks without going into them when his siege grade is complete, however he will probably have siegeupgrade before you do. so DONT have your units in range of his!
I also said build ebay fast as well, this is because you should put up 1 or 2 turrets very fast at your containment if he by any chance went 1 or 2 starports really fast.
If you succeed with this containment or rush, the game should be over, I make shop on my other factory as soon as I see I have an advantage after my rush. You should also start your expansions when you feel secured.
I hope I dont have to explain what to do when your containment is in order, just keep massing tanks from 2 factories, build turrets around his base at all possible ways and get scanner. Once you get scanner try to find out what he is doing, he has mainly 3 oppurtinities at this point.
1. Mass units and try to break the containment with scv + units. Against this you wont have any problem if you just keep up your tankmacro.
2. Making drops and either dropping off on another main and expandning there + dropping your expansion/expansions + main. Against this you should be fine if you just scout and defend properly (+ building turrets around his base)
3. Mass hidden wraiths. If you dont see so many units or factories but still cant find those starports, just make some defense against that coz it can be a bitch if they show up from nowhere.
Also keep in mind that this containment, whether it reaches his CC or not, should work the same. Of course it will be a lot easier if your containment is so close that you can kill his cc but its not always the case. Just set up the same containment a few paces back and it should work the same way!
3. 1 fact FE
This build order I use more and more rarely. Only on pretty big maps (for example Gaia).
Either you make a 12rax/12gas at the same time or you make a 11rax/11gas build. It doesnt really matter, your first factory should just be up so that you can either build 1 vulture and expand, or get shop and expand at the same time. If you are afraid by his rush / you scouted a rush. Be sure to make a vulture before shop and have some scv ready to repair.
Once you start your cc (as soon as you feel secured from rush, at most times when vulture / tank is building), its time to decide what to do next. If you see a 2 fact build and he didnt succeed or didnt even try to rush, you can expect an early containment on your ass. I often make 2 starports when my cc is building and stop building tanks for a while. Just make sure he doesnt see this or that he cant contain outside your base coz the twilight blocks turrets. (There is almost always some place where to build turrets though...)
Your biggest shot with this strat is to catch him off guard with his few tanks, maybe some vulture and some rine with your own 2 wraiths.
Now he will either start making turrets if he hasnt already, if he has just hit scvs with wraiths. Or he will unsiege and back off. Once he backs off, you continue making wraiths but also add some factories, I would say add 2 or 3 and start making tanks as well.
If the game turns out like Ive explained your opponent will be defensive for quite some time. Now you should start another expansions and continue making tank + wraith in order to either put up a containment outside him or just mass units and eventually start making dropships. (A containment would be great in this situation since your opponent will have to stay in base for a little while)
Remember at this point your wraiths will most likely stop his drops as well but build a couple of turrets around the map just to get some mapvision.
Its most likely that your opponent will mass goliath/tank and eventually move out to try and break the containment. He shouldnt be able to do that if your factories turned up in time... just remember to keep expanding when you feel you are secured and he cant catch off guard.
If now by any chance your opponent had goliath or turrets when he contained you after the fast expansion, you have to get more tanks and factories so that you can break the containment. Hopefully you can use your range-micro with siegetanks to break out pretty early, assuming your wraiths kill off his ebay or rax (if he even has one there).
These kind of strats with tankrange can be a little difficult in the beginning but the key is to just move as little as possible while you see his units. dont try to be boxer and get it right on your first try, just coz you want to break out as soon as possible. Remember your tanks should be placed parallell to eachother so they all (at least 4 out of 5 or so) can hit the same lengths. If you do this correctly and good and break out, just play the same way I wrote about above, you will have more units and just contain him.
But be careful of some random tanks in the middle of the map when you are heading for his base to contain, as well as tanks which are hurt. Repair this early is mandatory!
If you decide to not make 2 starports, go for another factory while your cc is being built, and an armory so he doesnt surprise you with wraiths. I would strongly recommend a academy as well, so he cant use his tanks + sight of floating rax to pick off your tanks one by one!
If he doesnt contain you, just add more factories and move out to make another expansion and starport. Mass units and scan alot. Defend your units wel!
Most players will however try to contain vs a fast exp, and if they get it up just make 5-6 factories with tank/vulture (goliath if he by any chance have wraiths as well). Then move out with 8 scvs (DONT STACK THEM THEN ALL DIE ON 1 SIEGESHOT!), and all your units. Hopefully you will break through his containment.
Some people tries to drop if they get contained, and on some maps like longinus (where you cant really cut off the map with turrets + tanks as containment early), it can be really good. If you decide to drop, I would strongly recommend to expand another gas with your first dropships (a few tanks and some scvs in the exp). So that your opponent wont think you are doing an all in drop in his main.
Conclusion of TvT:
I know I probably didnt cover a lot of scenarios, I just took the once I usually see on players, especielly non koreans. If you have any other situations you have questions about just write them in comments and I will try to answer them as good as possible
I must add that the fast exp strat can be really inconsistent and I rarely use it.
I also have to repeat that this mu is very experience-based and most people find it boring until they get pretty good / decent at it. I know that I kept writing about "when you feel secured", but I cant describe it any other way. Most of you people know the feeling Im talking about, and I dont mean it like "fully secured with 1000 turrets everywhere and 100 tanks"...
TerransVsProtoss:
I consider my TvP really good (lol no flame plz ;o). There arent many Protoss users outside of korea which I fear since Ive beaten all of them several times. My TvP is mostly based on macro, and I can honestly say there arent any good concrete ways to improve your macro. Its just to try to time your supply's and building units constantly. Practise gogo!
I mostly just use 2 main builds when it comes to TvP.
1. Fast exp:
I love to use the classic 12rax/12gas (at same time of couse, just like midas,boxer,oov does). Then when rax is done you put up factory and start making rines + another supply. I remove 2 scvs from gas a little while, when I have about 100 gas, and then put them on a few seconds later.
Most players build different amount of marines when they wanna move out with 1 tank + 1 vulture (mine grade) + rines. On a map with a ramp, I mostly just make 4, sometimes 5. But on a map like azalea or longinus, I do everything from 5-8 rines depending on my opponents build.
I dunno if Im supposed to say this (plz dont kill me tt), but I rely on my read of the opponent and what I see with my scouting scv very much.
1 or 2 gates without range running on his cyb, you can pretty much assume he is doing some kind of dt build, maybe hidden templar archives and shit. Or he is just very late with range but most players now adays upgrade that really fast if they are doing a 2 gate build.
If you see just 1 gate without range he is definitly up to something, it can also be a dt build where he adds his second gateway later, or he is going for a reaver build. In both these cases you can move pretty far with your units and fake some kind of rush while expanding (but dont move too far so you dont have your units at home when reaver arrives!).
However, if you see a 2 gate build with range goons you can assume he will be going for the offensive strat and expand himself. Just be careful and lay down a few mines and try to sneak 1 vulture around his units so you can put up mines on some expansions or just wait for his probe to expand again. Or you just move with that vulture to his natural to see if he is expanding, doesnt really matter.
Almost every game I fast exp I choose to make 2 vultures with mines, then I start making a tank again, so that if he has fast observers you will have something to defend yourself with. Siegemode can be good to upgrade as well, especielly if you dont see an expansion or you think he is making reaver.
Your ebay can be built at so many different times, but trust your instincts and if you feel something is wrong play safe and dont take anything for granted. At the same time dont kill off your economy just coz he might be a "known player" and you are scared, a 2 gate double expansion is very common.
I often make my second factory pretty fast, so that I will have enough units if he does a 3 gate +1 shuttle build or something weird. After that factory is being built, or at the same time, add more factories and additionally you should have 6 of them. I prefer 1 or 2 with shop.
If you wanna go for the strat with 1 shop, you must be really careful with your tanks and make constant tanks at that factory. When macroing this early, its really important you keep making supplys, if you by any chance get a supply drop, dont just make a supply with 1 or 2 scvs, make them with 3 or 4, just like oov does.
After that you should have 2 scvs making supplys constantly. I really doubt you will do this perfect all the time coz not even the best progamers are flawless, so when you get a supply drop again, bring 3 scvs again and gogo.
If you do a 1 shop build (and 5 facts without shop) you dont need gas on your natural at first. If you go for a 2 shop build (and 4 facts without), you should build your gas pretty early after your expansion is up.
Now, some people love to harass with vultures. Personally I just move out with a few, perhaps 5-7 to scout and get some mapvision (of course if I see an oppurtinity I will take it).
If his goons are blocking the possibilty to move out with vultures and you dont see a shuttle nor zealots, siege up and move out with the tanks just so that they can reach the first 3 goons in sight or so. Now he will definitly move back, unless he was hiding his shuttle or zelots, but even if thats the case you should have a really good chance of winning the fight since your units are sieged and he is attacking, if not, you had poor macro :o.
Your scanner should be built so its done when you start massing units in your facts. Thats coz you will then have enough time and scans to look where his units / expansions are and your vultures will know where to move when harassing.
Now, when you move out with your units, its really important that you know where he is with his and what he has. If not you will be suprised with his attack coz he has observers and will time his attack when you are unsieged, if this happens --> gg in most cases.
If you see his units are in the middle somewhere, for example on luna and you are about to move out. Go first with your vultures (not too far) but like half of the way where he is and put down a couple of mines. Now you should see if his units are heading towards the vultures, then you just siege. Go back to base and macro really quick then back to units. If he has observer he will mostly move back and just hit a couple of mines. Now trust your instincts again and if you feel that his units are pretty close, just unsiege a couple of them and move forward, also put down mines (not where your tanks are heading!!).
Also remember to bring reinforcements which is very easy in TvP, take advantage of it!
By now your second expansion should have been started (I usually start it at the same time I move out). I often add another 2 factories when my second expansion is done, and also 2 armorys.
Depending on my 1 shop or 2 shop build, I add some more shops. If you did a 2 fact build you can either add another shop or just keep 2 shops.
But if I do a 1 shop build on my factories, I always add gas (at my natural) at the same time I expand mineral only (or the other closest expansion), and add another 2 shops making it 3 factories which are producing tanks.
Remember to keep scanning his units and if you feel he has too few of them, start looking for carriers (I often look for arbiters at this point as well since it doesnt take that good eco to have 1 or 2 of those). You should have/had 1 vulture on each main, at least the closest to protoss so that you see approximately WHEN he expands again. Mines at all expansions are really good as well.
He will most likely have 1 more expansion than you do, assuming he is a good player. But dont get freaked out even if he has 2 more. All those of you who play PvT (as P) knows it doesnt really matter coz if terran have 2-3 incomes they can roll over a toss with 5-6 bases if terran kills the opponents army.
Back to your attack in the middle, while you build more units at home and expand, keep "pushing" in the middle. When armorys are done build 1-3 goliaths or so and scan the middle from time to time and kill off observers. Note that this can really help you alot. Protoss biggest advantage when terran is in the middle or trying to push are those damn observers, we all hate them since it makes protoss attacks SO easy to time well.
Even so, try to push a little with your units and keep laying down mines + sending reinforcements.
Remember you want the protoss to make the first move, especielly if your tanks are sieged! Once he make his move, move back the vultures to the middle of the tanks (I hope they are not TOO spread out).
If you hotkey your tanks in this situation, at least 12 of them and they are in somewhat of the same range as the others. Try to select and attack some goon in the middle and then press down shift while spam on all goons you can see. This has really helped me alot in tvp, especielly when its pretty small fights like 15 goons + a couple of zealots vs 6 tanks or so, and a lot of vultures.
Now your tanks wont kill each other and the vultures will most definitly kill off zelots since they are not even in the range of goons.
This shift + attack thing will probably take you some time to get used to but it can really help you, trust me ^^
As a terran you will almost ALWAYS win if your first attack / push succeeds pretty well. If the protoss dont attack you, dont be eager and make some desperate attack, just expand yourself and look out for recall + eventually carriers!
Lets move on to my other opening!
2. 2 Fact rush
I dont open with this build order as much as the previous one, but if there is a probe in my base, I start off the same way as 1 fact fast exp with 12 / 12.
Then I might add another factory to trick my opponent so his probe see's it, and when its killed, I cancel my other fact and go for regular fast expansion (he will most likely make 2 gate goons + obs here so be careful and dont move out too far with 1 tank + 1 vulture + rines, UNLESS you are sure what he is doing).
If his probe gets killed around the time my first factory is done (or just before hopefully), I pretty often add another one coz now he will think Im doing an early expansion and probably expand himself!
If I rush in TvP, I usually make 2 fact, both with shop. Either I go for 2 tanks then vultures (speed + mine upgrade) or if Im really sure he will go for an half fast expansion or fast expansion, I wait til 3 tanks, then vultures and same upgrades!
As soon as your mine + speed grades are done, move out with 3-4 rines, your tanks + vultures. DONT MAKE YOUR UNITS MOVE IN A LINE!
When you are out at your natural, try to hide the vulture so he still thinks you are just expanding (kill his probe if he has one outside). Then regroup and make your units stay close to eachother so they cant be picked off one by one by those ranged goons.
There are 2 main scenarios at this point.
1. He has his goons outside your base really close so he can pick off your units when you are expanding (when he thinks you are expanding that is)
2. He has his goons at home coz he might fear a rush and dont want you to run ahead with vults.
If his units are close to your main, attack with tanks + rines while spreading out vultures to lay mines, TRY LAYING THOSE MINES BEHIND HIS GOONS so he cant back, if he backs off at once coz he realizes he will get pwned.
Run ahead with vultures quite a bit and lay mines there, same here, dont let your vultures get too far from each other so he can pick them off one by one when they are trying to get pass his goons.
Set your rally point somewhere outside his main and then just keep making vultures. I recommend to bring 2 scvs in case they hit some tanks and you wanna repair them!
If his units wasnt outside your base, they are probably at his choke / natural. If he didnt see your vults when you killed his probe (if there is one, which it should, unless he has his units close). Then he might not even think you will rush. But most players will think of it so they might send a probe which you will meet up half the way.
Now when you get close to his natural, bring your units together, you should have gotten at least another 2 vultures from home since they build fast and move alot faster than tanks (remember to time your supplys!).
As Ive said so many times before, your units must be close to eachother before entering into battle at this point, dont feel to stressed and eager to kill off his expansion if he has one, a few seconds wont make a difference, your micro is much more important.
When its time to attack you want to get your vultures at good places so you can put down a few mines and then back them off. Be careful so he dont drag one of those mines close to your tanks. I strongly recommend you have your tanks + vultures hotkeyed on different hotkeys!
If you dont see an expansion or if he cancels it while moving up his ramp (if there is one), you dont necessarily have to move up the ramp. If he has 4 goons or more I would most likely just put down mines at his natural and start my expansion at home asap. Bring some vultures around and put mines on all expansions, maybe even leave 1 or 2 vultures there to pick off his probe which will turn up sooner or later.
Unless he hadnt started building his expansion when you rushed, he will with most certainty have either obs by now, or a reaver heading for your base. Go back and set up some turret in exp so he cant attack with goons + obs, and turret in main if you suspect he might be going reaver. You should also make more tanks when you've started your new cc and upgrade siege mode, especielly if you suspect reaver or goon/obs, then siege is really important!
Sometimes I upgrade siege before expanding If I realize my rush will be pretty successful but I might have to pull off and do an early containment.
If the rush just delays his expansion and you back off to secure your own while building more units, just get another 4 factories (always 6 factories with incomes!) and keep macroing while keeping mapvision.
If your vultures nor mines can see another expansion for him I should be really careful with my first attack and push. He might just go alot of gates and 2 incomes just so that he can kill your first attack. This is where your scanner comes into play again. Scan main and natural to see what he is doing, he might be going storm on 2 bases or shuttle or even both!
If he doesnt expand again, I would expand again and wait for his move. Since the next play is his, wheather he likes it or not.
Conclusion of TvP:
I think my 2 fact rush build will help you more than my fast exp. Mostly coz fast exp is so based upon macro. And Im sorry but I find it really hard to learn how to macro better in TvP. At least in writing :p
However my tip about shift-attacking with siege tanks will help you alot (assuming you dont use it already) if you do it correctly and your vultures are placed close to your tanks!
TerranVsZerg:
Most people would probably consider this my best matchup and recordwise vs the non korean scene, they are definitly correct. I can say if thats the case, its only coz Ive had the privileged to train with the best.
Ive played alot with players like Mondragon, SEn, Hullah, SquaLL, MidiaN, ogogo, Nal_keke, Testie.
When it comes to TvZ I will only talk about what everyone does and what you should be doing, fast exp. I use it 90% of the time and if I dont its just coz I do a 3 rax build or fast tank push. Those 2 Ive read at least 5 guides on and most people know how to do that properly (even though some players do it better than others! froz > all ;D)
There are 3 ways I fast expand. I'll go through each one in the same order I prefer and use them.
1. The regular 2 rax expansion:
You start off with 11 / 13 rax, adding another supply at 14. Your scv scout should come when supply is done or so. You have two choices this early, either you want to make a really fast expansion with just 3-4 rines then CC, or you want to do like the Chinese gamer Super, who makes another supply after your second one, and keep making rines, so that he can put a pressure on zerg early and maybe even kill them with rush before he put up a sunk. Or just kill off some lings so that he will make more of them or put up more sunks.
These 2 depends so much about what you see with your scouting scv. If he makes 3 hatch (most zergs do now adays), try to look for how many lings he is making, if 4 lings or less, you should be able to expand really fast with just a few rines (around 22/23 in supply), or try the more offensive strat like super. Remember you dont have to go to his base with the rines, just scare him a little!
If you see the zerg making 6 lings or more I wouldnt move out that early with just rines, in fact if my scouting scv isnt alive when my cc is done I wouldnt even move out with rines except to kill off that 1 ling (or maybe 2) at your natural, which he is using as scout. If he doesnt have hold on this ling, and you can spot if it has speed or not, you can move out with marines (if it doesnt have speed that is).
After that if you are afraid he might be doing like 14-18 lings speed (which many zergs do and wont get them that far behind), just stand in your ramp with rines. If he attacks your exp with alot of lings, just back off with scvs or if you think you can kill them with rines only + scvs. Do so. Also if he just attacks with 1 ling you will probably see if has speed or not, if it does, you are free to move out!
Now your academy is done and you should upgrade stim + get medic/bats and scanner. Once the scanners are done you scan once in main and once in exp, or his third hatch or whatever you like ;p
The main purpose is just too see what he has. If you still dont know or have a feeling he might have a lot of speedlings, be careful. Even if he only have 2-3 sunkens and nothing else but he did see you move out, he will most likely have those lings somewhere. Of course you can attack 2-3 sunks with the right amount of units but try to micro your bats as good as possible, put them close to your medic + rines so most lings will get killed by rines before they get close to the bats!
Now lets say you moved out and he built a few sunks (he has 4 or so) you also saw a spire when you scanned. Its time to move back home and your ebay should be ready. Once you moved out with units you should have added 1 or 2 more barracks. '
Put up 4 turrets around your main and 3 or so at your natural.
I almost always put 8 or 9 rines in my main with 2 medics, just to be close if the mutas start hitting on supplys / raxes. You should be careful though of a ling/muta attack in your expansion, if you scan and see a lot of lings this can be the case! then put up 1 bunker in expansion where you put at least 1 bat, preferably 2. They will rape, no doubt!
Your first factory should start building when you got cash and have units in your main preventing the mutas to harass very much. Most muta users wanna find that scvs who are building raxes/factories to try and kill them while building. This can be a real bitch but you should be able to defend it pretty well with units in main.
Just keep producing, perhaps send out of a scv to scout. He will most likely kill it off before it can search for many expansions. I mostly send out a scv at the same time I move out with my first army to make him build sunkens (just when my expansion has started running and medics + bats arrived!)
This scv should just be going from expansion to expansion (priority to the one's with gas, another mineral only is so risky for z and wont work in most cases.
While Im building up my army I scan both his main + his natural pretty often to see what he is doing. Many people like to scan all the expansions coz they are so afraid but we all know they are coming. Just dont let him make any sneak expansions. If you by any chance feel that you can move out with a pretty big army of m&ms before he's got lurks. Do so, but I must warn you it can really destroy you if you're not careful. I only do this when I see a pretty fast expansion (expoing before his lurks arrive). When you do this, stay alert for a stab if he doesnt try to kill off your army, or some heavy muta harass in main.
When you scan his main + natural while building factory or so, try to read your opponent if he will be going for a really fast hive or is he doing the regular ling / maaaaaany lurk / scourge strat and then getting hive around ~12-13 minutes.
If you see him as a lurkman, I recommend a second factory when your first is done, so that you can move out with 26-30 rines, 4-6 tanks and 1 vessel.
This attack is so timingbased its ridiculous. It will probably take a lot of practise before you get it right but you should be able to be out quite some time before he has hive (unless he made really fast hive then I would suggest only 1 fact into 1 starport, early attack and eventually a second starport with mass vessel + mass drops)
If you moved out with that army consisting of 26-30 rines, 4-6 tanks + vessel, and your scans shows that he soon has hive, you should start making vultures with mines + speed. Just to buy some time later on.
This attack of yours should make some dmg (the big army consisting of m&ms + tanks + vessel).
A good advice is too build a dropship as soon as your first vessel is out so that you can drop while attacking in middle.
This is something I see a lot terrans doing wrong. You should never start making a dropship before your vessel and hoping to be lucky and drop into zergs main or one of their expansions so that you kill their eco a little before going out.
A good zerg, or even a pretty bad one to be honest, will definitly be waiting for a move like this and he will have no problem with preventing it. But if you drop his expansions or his main while you move out with your big army, he will have to decide what to do, save exp, and maybe lose some units or try to rape your army, either way you can take advantage of his decision.
If he saves his exp, you should be able to pretty much steamroll over the rest of his units in the middle (and if he went with all units you can either trap him where he went or kill his main).
If he by any chance sacrifices his expansion and kills most of your army, or the entire army you still got something out of it if your drop worked. Just be careful and look out for scourge while dropping!!!
I also often see terran players moving out with this army but not paying enough attention to where zerg is. I always try to scout and scan where zerg has his or her units. When you know where they are, try to get a battle going which you started. Dont die your first vessel for fuck sake. That totally blows, but it happens to everyone from time to time! You should have at least 4 barracks by now. I usually get around 6-8 on 2 incomes... If you didnt make your fourth rax at the same time as your third, make it while you are building your first factory.
Upgrades in TvZ are crucual. I always do +1 as soon as my ebay is done (weapon ofc). When to add your second ebay is very personal and differs alot for me. I guess the most common is to have the other one ready as soon as your +1 is done, so that you will start +2 and +1 on armor at the same time...
When you engage in a battle vs zerg, you wanna be the one who starts it or provoces him into it. If you by any chance are macroing in base while your units are unsieged and placed all together (plz ffs dont put all units in 1 big mass), just press your hotkeys to stim and back off on the minimap asap. You wont have a chance if you just press "o" on tanks and stim late when you get back to the middle. If thats the case its way better to back off and maybe lose some units then zerg might lose control over a few lurks or lings and when you get back to your army you can micro, but back off at first!
How to kill expansions then?
Well I go by this rule, which I apply to in most cases, but not all. If your opponent has hive or close to hive, I always go for his expansions. If he has just started with hive or just lair with hyd/lurk or many ling/lurk, I move to his main.
Im of course talking about the times when Ive either won the battle in the middle, or he is dodging me really good to get more units. If he is dodging you, just put up sieged units outside his natural and spread out your m&ms.
If I attack his main I always send reinforcements to take out his expansions. Most zergs dont even have more than some sunk and maybe 1 lurk, so 10 rines + 2 medics will do, though Im sure I mostly bring more than that.
Back to when I fast expand.
If I see a hydra den I almost always put up at least 2 bunkers. If I scan and see him doing ALOT of lings and lurkers, and my factory isnt that fast. Build a third one, a bunker is very cheap and can help you alot. Especielly on maps with big choke!
Many terrans have a really hard time vs zerg drops in mid game. I used to be one of those who hated it and didnt really know when to defend against it or not.
I basicly play by 2 rules when it comes to dropping:
1. Did he start with mutas and then switched in to lurk/ling. Most likely he wont drop, if he does you will feel something is wrong when he doesnt expand as much or his timing of expansions is off. At those rare occasions you can put some units in main and be afraid of drops.
2. If he starts with hydra den (which most ppl who drop does), I keep scanning from time to time at his natural and main to see if he added a spire and evo/evo's. If he doesnt add his spire pretty quickly he will be going for a drop, you cant really afford making lurks + drop + spire + evo. At those situations I stay a little longer in base, have some units in main, preferably 1 tank as well (some turrets close to the edges) and try to see when he expands.
In some of these cases he dont make a spire that early but goes for a queen nest instead, but you should be able to see this with your scans looking for spire.
2. The second way I FE:
This strat I only use on players who do a 2 hatch fast lair build, or on a map like rush hour where I can put a good and early pressure on zerg (sometimes even kill off extractor... I'll get back to that!)
Many of you might even know what Im talking about, its the classic 2 rax into academy, then fast exp build order.
You start the same way you did with the previous strat, 11 / 13 rax, supply on 9 and 14. Then around 18 you get gas and later on academy + supply. I mostly start my CC when Im building medic / bats. And then move out with around 8-10 rines, 2 bats and 2 medics. Watch for a lingstab and put 1 bat 1 medic in ramp if you fear one! (trust your instincts ;D)
Now, if it was rush hour I would probably put an early pressure on Z so that he would at least 4 sunkens, and once my range is done (upgrade directly after stim, keep making rines and scvs at home), you should be able to make some dmg to his extractor. So many zergs build their 1 sunken which is supposed to cover that, wrong. Dont stick around too long with those units coz you dont wanna lose them to many ling/lurk or many ling/muta. Killing the extractor once is enough to delay the zerg. You got your advantage dont be greedy, go home! From here on I basicly play the fast exp scenario the same as I wrote of before.
If your opponent does a 2 hatch fast lair strat, I start the same and put some pressure on Z. This time its another map than rush hour so I just stand outside. Most players who make 2 hatch fast lair goes for ling / lurk.
Look out for maps where he can go around your little "containment" such as gaia, I often put a scv where his other way out is, making sure he doesnt sneak out. If he pushes your little containment, and you have to stim and back off all the time. Make 2 bunkers at your natural and just play safe. If its necessary build another one if he keeps massing out his units in the middle and dont expand.
The basic play vs a 2 hatch build is just to play safe. Even if he makes mutas just have an early ebay and defend well against it. You will be so ahead eco-wise it wont even be a game if he doesnt make a lot of dmg with his mutas or his lurks. Look out for the drop follow up if he makes lurks! keep scanning main + nat, dont really care about the expansions coz he is still so low on eco it wont make much difference (unless he starts making 16 drones all of a sudden but then he wont have units enough when you go out).
3. The third way I FE:
This strat is based on the so famous and hated 8 rax build. I rarely do this but its a good way to kill off some zergs from time to time. If you by any chance dont make your bunkerrush (bring 3 or 4 scvs, less than that and its not even a little hard to kill off a 8 rax, a zerg can do it with drones only). You should fast expand with 1 rax, then build gas and another 2 raxes and add your academy. Once again you should be careful of the lings. Dont move out rines unless you know he doesnt have speed!
After that. play on like you do when you fast exp. But remember the timing and balance of the game might be somewhat weird after that rush depending on how much dmg you did or he did.
Conclusions on TvZ:
My TvZ is a lot of timing, massgaming will help you. Though you might be able to improve some of my tips about your own drops while attacking, and to prevent drops and read your opponent based on buildings.
For those who want some reps I have this half-old replaypackage from last year where you can check out some of my replays if you wanna see how I apply them. My style might have changed a little in since those games were played
But I'm too lazy to make a newer replaypack just for this, sry! Download --> http://personal.gamingeye.com/daze/dazereplaypack/dazereplaypack.rarPS. I know its a lot of context and somewhat blurry, but if you have any questions what so ever just ask and I'll try and answer them better than I did in this post. -_-
