Game types: All

League: All

Use: When you see your opponent building Void Rays, which can be a frustrating unit, then this strategy can be simple to counter for Terran players.

Strategy: The cheapest Terran fighting unit ‘the Marine’ happens to be the counter for Void Rays, making it very easy for a Terran to combat a Protoss player that wants to try and use these.

Build an extra Barracks and mash (press a lot) the ‘A’ button to develop many Marines.

Marines are so good against Void Rays because Void Rays rely on shooting a target for a long period of time (their attack gets stronger as they go) and since Marines have relatively low health they are not able to shoot for a long time. Although one Void Ray will kill one Marine, a large number of Marines will easily take out quite a few Void Rays.

So the key is to mass a large number of Marines as soon as you see your opponent develop a Stargate. Void Rays are expensive and slow to produce so if you take this advantage early you should easily defeat them.

Game types: 1v1

League: Bronze, Silver and Gold

This strategy is not really necessary after Gold League because higher ranked players will not generally make a rush with Roaches.

Use: Roach rushes can be annoying, but they are fairly simple to combat using this strategy.

Important tip: Develop SCVs wherever you can throughout the play of this strategy.

Strategy: Open as you would a normal match or other strategy as at this point you will not know that your opponent is rushing. Build a Supply Depot at 10 supply and a Barracks at 11 or 12 supply. With the Barracks complete, send a scout to determine what your opponent is doing. Should you see a Roach Warren this early in the game, you are safe to assume that your opponent will rush with Roaches.

Having two Barracks to produce Marauders will also allow more flexibility later in your game where you may wish to build Ghosts or transfer the Tech Labs to Factories

Instantly commence building a Refinery and get three SCVs on it. Build a Tech Lab on the Barracks and build another Barracks if you have the resources. When your Tech Lab is done start building Marauders. These are the Terran counter to Roaches and are extremely effective with the Concussive Shells upgrade (which you should research as soon as you are able), as their superior range to the Roaches will allow you to kite them. Kiting means that you run away, shoot, and repeat, not allowing your units to take any damage.

With four Marauders and a walled off base, you are not likely to face trouble.

However, should your enemy be a good player, they will be countering your Marauders with Mutalisks, so potentially build two more Barracks with Reactors and make Marines. In this way you can produce four Marines and two Marauders at the same time, and that will allow you to build up a pretty hefty force quickly.

If your enemy harasses with their Mutalisks within the next two to three minutes, then fend it off and lead a counter attack straight away. If they do not, attack them quickly as they may be teching to Brood Lords, which are extremely powerful against ground forces.

Ensure to focus on the enemy’s workers before attacking the buildings, so that they cannot start another base and force you to go hunting for them.

Game types: All

League: All

Use: If you scout and see that your Zerg opponent has a Spire, it most likely means that they are going to try and harass your mineral line using Mutalisks.

Strategy: Marines counter Mutalisks, along with Missile Turrets, so you will need to build two more Barracks and then some Missile Turrets on the mineral line. If you have not already got an Engineering Bay you will need to build this now.

Research Stim Packs at the Tech Lab, as they will allow your Marines to take advantage of a speed boost, which will enable them to chase down fleeing Mutalisks. Also it is worth considering building a Starport and making Vikings, in case your opponent transitions into Brood Lords.

When the Barracks are complete, place a Reactor on each one so that you can develop Marines quickly. Build as many as you can, and position them so that they cover your mineral line, preventing damage to your economy. When the enemy comes, if they are a good player, they will retreat on seeing your Marines.

Your opponent may then switch up their unit composition to include Roaches (as they are the counter to Marines), so building a few Marauders (which are the counter to Roaches) is worthwhile. With every step you take, remember to keep outthinking what your opponent is likely to do next.

Mount your counter attack as quickly as possible to avoid your opponent regaining lost forces and launching another attack. When you arrive at your opponent’s base, attack the Drones first (after you have taken out any resistance).

Watch out for any Banelings as they can eat through Marines in seconds. If you do encounter them, send one Marine out to force them to explode; therefore their Baneling will be wasted on a single Marine.

Game types: All

League: All

Use: This strategy focuses on massing Tier 1 units, with some upgrades to make them compete with the likely superior army of your opponent. This build is constructed to provide you with a Marine heavy attack, however if your opponent builds Stalkers or Roaches, then build two Tech Labs and one Reactor then research Stim Packs instead of Combat Shields.

Important tip: In order for this build to be successful you will need to wall off. Having enough resources to keep up production is very important, so ensure that you keep developing SCVs.

The Marines will have the Combat Shields as soon as the Combat Shield upgrade has completed

Strategy: Send the SCVs to mine and keep developing more until you reach 10 supply. Build a Supply Depot and after you have reached 11 or 12 supply build a Barracks, followed by a Refinery at 13 supply. Upgrade the Command Center to an Orbital Command at 15 supply (this is very important, as you want to be able to see the enemy’s forces and adjust your Marine and Marauder ratio accordingly). Build two Marines if you think that you opponent may try an early attack.

Build another Supply Depot at 16 or 17 supply as well as a second Refinery. At 18 supply create an Engineering Bay and place a Reactor on your Barracks at 19 supply. At 20 supply develop a further two Barracks, then research the Weapons Upgrade at the Engineering Bay as soon as it is finished, so you time the upgrade to finish at about the same time you are coming in to battle, therefore providing you the advantage.

Build another Supply Depot at 22 supply and add a Reactor to one of the Barracks and a Tech Lab to another. At this point you probably have enough SCVs and should concentrate on pumping Marines and Marauders. Research the Combat Shields at the Tech Lab. Do not head into battle until you have both the Combat Shield and the Weapons Upgrades.

If you establish your Barracks Rally Points in your opponent’s base, the Marines will automatically go there when they are complete

Attack your opponent and use the opportunity while they are defending their base to secure an expansion as your base may be starting to deplete its minerals. Keep reinforcing the attack as new units are built and victory should be achieved quickly.

If your attack fails (an example could be where your opponent had a large number of Banelings), then upgrade your expansion to a Planetary Fortress and switch your tech to counter the units that your opponent will no doubt counter attack with.

In most cases you will win using this strategy if you used the Orbital Command to see what tech your opponent was favoring.

Game types: All

League: All

Use: This strategy represents a good basic build or opener for a game that is flexible and expandable. From this build you can go to any Tier 2/3 units.

It is a particularly good strategy for use against an opponent who has a play style that is unfamiliar.

Important tip: In 3v3 or 4v4 you will sometimes be prevented from building a wall because there is no chokepoint near your base. If this is the case, keep everything close to your Command Center and keep building SCVs until you have approximately 20 (more or less depending on whether you wish to attack earlier or later).

Building the Supply Depot on one side of the ramp, to commence creation of a wall

Strategy: Send the SCVs to mine and build a Supply Depot at the entrance to your base at nine supply. This is the start of your wall.

Use the same SCV to build a Barracks next to the Supply Depot (continuing the wall).

At 14 supply of SCVs, build a Refinery and commence another Barracks. On completion of the first Barracks, instruct the SCV to build a Supply Depot next to it, completing your wall.

Build a Marine as soon as the Barracks are complete and follow it with a Tech Lab.

With the second Barracks and Tech Lab built, pump out Marines and Marauders and build a third Barracks if you have surplus minerals. Build a second Refinery when you have two Marauders.

Should you wish to build more Marines than Marauders, invest in the Combat Shields upgrade. However if you are creating a more even mix, or developing a higher number of Marauders, then instead get the Stim Pack upgrade.

From this point you have two options, either going for the defensive one-base or you could expand. Should you choose to opt for the first, develop Siege Tanks and set them up near the wall.

The best strategy however is to do a bit of both (if possible). Remember to scout and adjust your build according to what you find.

Set up Siege Tanks and then expand. As most maps in Starcraft 2 have a narrow chokepoint leading to the natural expansion and to the main base, you can often have your Siege Tanks cover both by positioning them so that they overlook the expansion.

Upgrade your expansion to a Planetary Fortress to add an extra defensive ability and commence teching up to some high level units. Ensure that the rim of your base is well protected, as you opponent will probably try and drop troops inside your base, seeing with their scouts that you have an incredibly strong Siege Tank wall off.

When your base is fully secure, you should have enough time to tech up to the incredibly powerful Battlecruiser. These awesome units can attack air and ground, as well as one-shot defensive structures with their Yamato Cannon ability. To get them, you will need to have a Starport with a Tech Lab and a Fusion Core. Generally we recommend having two Starports to produce the Battlecruisers as they can take a long time to build.

Build Battlecruisers until you have six, as an army of this size is almost impossible to stop. Then attack, so un-Siege Mode your Siege Tanks and bring all the forces you have got. This is an ‘all in attack’ because given the Battlecruisers took so long to build it will be impossible for you to replace them before your opponent launches a counter attack, however with six Battlecruisers it is very doubtful that you will not win the battle.

Attack first the workers, however use your Battlecruisers Yamato Cannon ability to take down key buildings quickly, for example any Protoss Pylons.

Game types: All

League: All

Use: Use this against a Zerg player who is using a Fast Expansion strategy.

Video link: The following Blip.tv video displays DayFly perfecting this effective push.
http://day9tv.blip.tv/file/3661138/

Important tip: Ensure that you keep developing SCVs at the Command Center / Orbital Command, and make Marines at your Barracks throughout the build. Walling off is required to prevent early game rushes.

Having two Factories this early in the game will allow you to get your Siege Tanks out faster

Strategy: Commence by sending your SCVs to mine and making more at the Command Center. Build a Supply Depot at 10 supply and your Barracks at 12 supply. Build your Refinery next and upgrade the Command Center to an Orbital Command at 15 supply. Build a second Refinery.

Remember to make Marines throughout this build.

As your supply limit will now be low, build another Supply Depot, and as soon as you reach 100 vespene gas, make a Factory, then at another 100 vespene gas build another one. Make Hellions at the first Factory until the second one is complete and then build a Tech Lab on both.

With both Tech Labs complete, build three Siege Tanks and research Siege Mode (this will allow them to outrange Spine Crawlers). With three tanks built, make another Hellion at the Factory that only produces the one Siege Tank.

Ensure your Hellions do not run ahead as they will die without the support of the Siege Tanks and Marines

You are now ready to attack. Send a few SCVs with the attack to either repair the Siege Tanks should they take damage, or to build Bunkers for the Marines, alternatively they could build a few Missile Turrets for detection against burrowed Roaches.

Siege Tanks are so effective against Zerg ground units that the only real danger you will face will be the threat of Mutalisks, which is why you have built Marines throughout the game. Together you should easily take out your opponent as long as you maintain your aggression, pushing forward with your Siege Tanks.

Researching Infernal Pre-Igniter, will allow the Hellions to kill the Drones and Zerglings very quickly.

Game types: 1v1 and 2v2

League: All

Use: This strategy is both extremely easy to achieve and very effective. It is best to use it when your opponent is going for an economic heavy build, such as fast expanding.

Important tip: It is recommended that you wall off for this build, also constantly produce your SCVs and Marines throughout the game.

Caution: Because this build is so powerful at quickly defeating your opponent, the strategy is being used by players to quickly climb to the top of the leagues, therefore there is a risk that Blizzard may scale down the power of the build to decrease the advantage.

Strategy: Open this build as you normally would, sending the SCVs to mine and building more at the Command Center. Build a Supply Depot at nine supply and a Barracks at 12 supply. Build an Orbital Command next as it will enable you to call down MULES to gather minerals, who are much faster than the SCVs.

Having a lot of Barracks enables you to make Marines quickly

Construct more Barracks until you are keeping your mineral count below 100 are still constantly pumping Marines without waiting for minerals to come in. This will maximize efficiency and allow you to spend every mineral that you can muster.

You should attack as early as possible, thereby denying any possibility of Colossi or Siege Tanks. So when you have one full ‘Tab’ (when you select all of your Marines, there is no empty space in the group selection panel) of Marines, move out to attack as quickly as possible.

Take out first any resistance and then go for the enemy’s workers. Your enemy at this point will likely ‘GG’ or swear and leave depending on their level of Battle Net etiquette.

Game types: All

League: All

Use: This strategy represents an extremely fast way to gain an economic advantage at the start of a game, but is very risky. There are two strategies listed below, one is more risky, but the reward is higher, and the second represents a safer approach but the advantage will be less.

Important tip: Wall in early so that your opponent does not try for an early rush, and build Bunkers near your expansion should your opponent appear aggressive. Keep making SCVs and at least two Marines for defense.

Strategy 1 – High risk, high reward: Send the SCVs to work and build more until you reach nine supply. Build a Supply Depot and at 11 supply, construct a Barracks. Keep building SCVs until you reach 15 supply then save for a Command Center.

Build the Command Center inside the base so that the SCV isn’t in danger of being killed during the building process. While this is building, create some Marines to defend the expansion and another Supply Depot. Should you have enough minerals, also upgrade the current Command Center to an Orbital Command.

Fly the completed Command Center to your natural expansion, and bring your Marines down to defend it.

Building the Command Center in the main base will protect it from harm during construction

From here you are in a strong position, but you will not be able to go for any build that is gas heavy, as you have not yet built a Refinery. A Marine, Marauder and Medivac build however would work as it does not require much gas and because you have resources generated from two bases, units can be developed very quickly.

Construct a Starport (or two, if you want to have greater healing from your Medivacs), and ensure that you have three Barracks. Build a Tech Lab on two of them and a Reactor on the other one, letting you have an even production of Marines and Marauders.

When you have four Medivacs, 10-15 Marines and 10 Marauders, load your forces into the Medivacs and send all the troops that can fit out to attack the enemy’s base. Make sure that you drop the troops at the back of your opponent’s base first and then launch your attack. As your opponent turns to defend against the attack, send the rest of your forces to the front of their base, sandwiching them. Attack the mineral line and the workers first.

Strategy 2 – Safer, less advantage(1): Try and ‘wall in’ with the Supply Depots and Barracks, as you will be quite vulnerable in the early stages of this build. Keep up production of SCVs and scouting throughout the game, as you may need to turn your expansion into a Planetary Fortress. Saturate your expansion with SCVs when you have completed building the Command Center.

Have all the SCVs mine minerals and build until you have 10 supply. Build a Supply Depot and continue building SCVs (12 supply), then construct a Barracks. At 13 supply, build a Refinery.

Siege Tanks covering both the Expansion and the main base

By 15 supply the Barracks should be finished, so develop a Marine. Get the Orbital Command upgrade for your Command Center so you can scan your enemy’s base and predict any aggressive pushes that they might be about to make.

Build another Supply Depot at 16 supply, and as soon as you hit 25 gas, get the Tech Lab add-on for your Barracks, so that you can adapt your build to counter your opponent. Now save for a Command Center, halting production of SCVs for a while.

When you hit 400 minerals, have an SCV start building a Command Center inside your base, so that it is not vulnerable and can’t be scouted easily. From here you will need to counter your enemy’s build.

(1) Sourced from http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/1_Rax_FE

Game types: All

League: Bronze, Silver and Gold

Use: Not so much a ‘rush’, as it takes longer to develop Banshees, it is still an extremely effective strategy for facing an unprepared opponent. The Banshee is best utilized early in the game when the opponent is unlikely to have detection or air units.

Important tip: Essential to this strategy is keeping the SCV production up, as the build requires a lot of resources.

Strategy: Send the SCVs to mine and build more at the Command Center until you reach nine supply. Build your Supply Depot and further SCV units. An integral part of this strategy is your gas supply, so at 11 supply build a Refinery before building your Barracks.

Two Starports and above them the newly created Banshees

Without interrupting the creation of SCVs at your Command Center build a Barracks (usually about 13 supply). When complete, use the SCV that built the Barracks to build a Factory and build a second Refinery. Build two Starports.

Your minerals will now be close to maximum supply, so construct another Supply Depot. Put Tech Labs on both your Factory and your Barracks, as this will allow you to swap with the Starports and commence producing Banshees as soon at the Starports are complete. Banshees require Tech Labs; in addition the research for Cloak is located in a Tech Lab attached to a Starport.

Lift the two completed Starports, the Factory and the Barracks off the ground and have them swap positions with the Starports. Land the buildings, making sure both Starports are attached to a Tech Lab and placing the Barracks and Factory where the Starports were.

Build a Banshee at each Starport and research Cloak at one of the Tech Labs.

From here the game play will depend on what your opponent is building.

The Banshees will almost definitely not win you the game, but they will place you at a serious advantage, if you kill all your opponent’s workers. Whatever you build now, ensure that you keep teching up to stronger units.

Game types: All

League: Bronze, Silver and Gold

Use: The Reaper is a new unit in Starcraft 2, but because it is highly effective, players are quickly adapting their strategies to include it. This particular rush is very effective against lower level players not yet familiar with handling it, and should you have good micro-management skills, then it proves a very handy strategy at higher levels as well.

Strategy: Send all the SCVs to gather minerals, and build another at your Command Center. Only build one, as the aim is to develop Reapers. Save for a Barracks and build it when you have enough minerals, then build a Refinery.

Three Reapers built and ready to attack

When these have been constructed, create SCVs until you reach nine supply. Build a Tech Lab on your Barracks. Create another SCV and a Reaper as soon as the lab is complete, and then construct a Supply Depot. From here continue to focus on building Reapers.

When you have three Reapers, approach your opponent’s base. Do not build more Reapers at this point concentrate instead on creating a second Refinery and building more SCVs. This will provide you with a stronger economy for when your Reapers have finally been destroyed.

The Reaper attack needs to be managed, do not try and push through the main entrance (as this is what your opponent will expect), instead try and jump them to the back of the base, or at the very least a distance away from the entrance. Go straight for their mineral line. Often players will over commit to their fighting units, not leaving enough minerals to make more workers. In this instance, taking out their mineral line will result in their inability to either gather more minerals or make more workers.

Should the enemy have ranged or fast units like Marines or Zerglings, then hit and run attacks are best. However if they have only Zealots stay and run rings around them.

Back at your base build units to counter what you have seen with your Reapers. In lower league games this strategy can win the game without having to mount a second attack. For higher levels, use the opportunity that the first attack provided to ‘macro up’ your economy, massing more minerals, so that you will be at an advantage in the next attack.