Very few people can claim to be equally as strong against all of the races in Starcraft, this goes for pro players just as much as the rest of us. Perhaps the strengths of a particular race are at odds with your own play style, or maybe a strategy that has worked well for you for so long suddenly seems to be redundant?

Whatever it may be, in this article I’ll be pointing out some interesting and current ideas used by some of the best players in the world, which may allow you to try something new in the future. Hopefully after reading this you can return to the ladders with new inspiration on how to tackle a specific match up!

Terran

Vs Terran

Suggestion: Reaper/Hellion opening

As used By: QuanticIllusion



TvT has always been perceived as quite an attritional matchup, due to the tendency for Maginot Lines of tanks to split the map in half. At the recent Red Bull Battlegrounds however we saw Illusion go for an extremely interesting opening, which relied on using fragile units such as reapers and hellions to force an early advantage against his opponent, Ganzi. If the status quo of TvT isn’t to your liking then this could be the opening for you, at the very least you’ll have fun with it!

Strengths: If effective, gives you a huge early advantage and complete map control.

Weaknesses: Micro intensive and very reliant on keeping your units alive.



Vs Zerg

Suggestion: 12 minute variations

As used By: QuanticIllusion

Of all the races currently, Terran is the one with the most need to be aggressive early. This is why I have been enjoying so many of Illusion’s strategies recently. In TvZ he puts the emphasis on having multiple builds that all amount in a 12 minute timing attack, but with different compositions each time. This makes devising any sort of counter more difficult. Whilst none of these specific builds are game changing, I think the mentality is perfect for a TvZ; be resolute in conducting an early attack and devise a strategy that will allow you to be most effective early on. I personally favour a Marauder/Hellion composition early on.

Strengths: Unpredictable and can win the game outright if the Zerg has been droning too much

Weaknesses: If attack is unsuccessful in at least setting the Zerg back, it puts you at a significant disadvantage.

Vs Protoss

Suggestion: 12-16 minute timing pressure

As used by: MarineKingPrime



Terran bio has always been the name of the game in this matchup; as such it would be a crime not to follow the example of the king of marines! Whilst this is a matchup that many Terrans have struggled with recently, a few Terrans have identified a good timing window when you can viably seize an advantage by building a strong upgraded bio army and forcing the Protoss player onto 2 bases for longer than they would like. It puts the flow of the game into quite a narrow window, but such is the emphasis on Terran play currently.

Strengths: Will exploit any Protoss that is playing relatively standard

Weaknesses: Requires the Terran to finish the engagement with an advantage to be successful.

Protoss

Vs Zerg

Suggestion: Phoenix and warp-gate harass

As Used By: Liquid HerO



This isn’t exactly a common build, but all of those that recently watched HerO help Team Liquid avoid another all-kill in the GSTL, will know how effective it can be. In his game against NSH_Freaky HerO made the Phoenix look simply overpowered, devastating the Zerg’s map vision and allowing for him to drop all over the map unencumbered. I imagine that many Zerg builds could brute-force their way past this sort of cute play, but any Zerg looking to play selfishly is going to struggle.

Strengths: Shuts down Zerg scouting almost entirely, allowing for easy harass and timing pushes.

Weaknesses: Could leave you vulnerable to Zerg timings and all ins.

Vs Terran

Suggestion: 3-Base High Templars

As Used By: ST_PartinG



There really isn’t any secret to PvT, whatever opening you opt to go for the end result has to be splash damage to counter the Terran bio. Most players seem to favour the robust (but expensive) Colossus for the bulk of their aoe damage, PartinG however is very much in the corner of High Templar. They are quicker to produce, cheaper, can be warped in and even morphed into Archons when they are out of energy. What’s not to like?

Strengths: Cheap splash damage that devastates Terran bio

Weaknesses: More fragile than Colossi

Vs Protoss

Suggestion: 2-gate expansion

As Used By: Quantic SaSe



For a long time PvP came down to both players 4-Gating each other, but fortunately the matchup has developed a little bit since those dark days. Whilst the matchup still has the ‘coin-flip’ stigma attached to it, many players are now playing longer macro games and the basis for many of these comes from the 2-gate expansion. Getting an additional gate before expanding works for the simple reason that it allows you to produce more units quicker, so next time your Protoss opponent doesn’t get your gentleman’s agreement about playing a macro game you should be able to survive his 4-Gate/DT Rush/3-Gate Robo all in nonsense.

Strengths: A solid macro opening that allows you to defend early pressure

Weaknesses: Requires you to be extremely active with your early units to prevent succumbing to an early attack

Zerg

Vs Protoss

Suggestion: 11 Minute Roaches

As Used By: Millenium Stephano



When the best Korean players begin to copy a foreigner’s play style, you know it is time to begin taking notes. Stephano’s ZvP has become something of a revelation, giving Zergs an incredible timing window in which to decimate their opponent, and giving Protoss players nightmares of a type they haven’t had since the 1-1-1 days. The strategy is simple; build 3 bases and max out on Roaches at 11 minutes. I’m sure you’re wondering what you do if the Protoss player goes air, but in the words of Stephano himself, “Just build more Roaches.”

Strengths: Extremely strong timing that hits before the Protoss can travel far up his tech tree

Weaknesses: Can be easily countered if your third base is denied or the Protoss goes for a 1-Base build

Vs Terran

Suggestion: 4 Queen opening

As Used by: Almost everyone



The recent changes to Queen range have made a huge difference to the way this matchup now plays out, preventing Hellion harass more effectively and allowing Zerg players to spread their creep much more aggressively. As such most players have now begun substituting much of their early defense in exchange for 2 additional Queens, allowing for constant creep spread and easier defense of your front. If you were having troubles with this matchup before and have not made the transition to this opening yet, I suggest you get on with it right away.

Strengths: Instantly feel how much more comfortable it is to spread creep and defend your front

Weaknesses: Gives you a smaller offensive force for a tiny window of time.

Vs Zerg

Suggestion: Relentless Scouting

As Used by: People that don’t want to die



I always knew this would be the hardest of the matchups to do, because of how organic it is. The truth is that you really can’t prepare with a build order for this matchup and plan to stick rigidly to it, it is something that needs to be played by ear and requires you to be extremely reactive when necessary.

If you are having problems with this matchup, then it is important to scrutinize your shortcomings in regards to mechanics, but one sure fire way to assure that you don’t go down easily is to be confident you always know what tech path your opponent is taking. To do this make sure that you are always trying to get vision of their base, assure nothing is hidden from your knowledge and you won’t get caught out by a drastic change in strategy.