Starcraft 2: Terran Vs Protoss

I know lots of players think that Terran has many advantages over Protoss but you still need to watch your back when playing against them as they can pull off some sneaky plays if you are not careful. I am going to explain how to counter cheesy plays as well as how to play against their standard builds such as the 4 Warpgate and 2 Gateway Robo Tech.

Protoss players will very often get 4 Warpgates which is ideal to have a constant stream of Gateway units such as Stalkers, Sentries, and Zealots. This is a routine that Protoss players will get down just like Terran players get down the 3 Rax build.

But before you assume they are going the standard way you need to scout to spot any cheesy plays. Once you send out your SCV at around 12 supply you should see a Gateway and then a Cybernetics Core in the making.

Reaper Rushing

If they get a second Gateway instead of the Cybernetics Core then rushing them with Reapers will easily win you the game. Reapers can kite Zealots all day without getting hit by them because of how fast Reapers are. So if you find yourself in this situation be sure to attach the Tech Lab, build a second Baracks with a Tech Lab and get Reapers over there immediately to start harassing their Probes. Practice kiting them which means to shoot and pull back repetitively so they never catch you.

All good Protoss players know to get an early Stalker out when facing a Terran player because Stalkers can easily out range the Reapers and will guard their mineral line making the Reapers useless.

Like I said this is rare to find in the Platinum or Diamond leagues but you would probably see a Zealot rush in the lower leagues.

3 Rax Build

Massing Marines and Marauders is great against Gateway units. Marauders are especially good against Zealots, Stalkers, and Sentries. But you want to have the Marines in there just in case they go for Immortals or even Void Rays. Immortals do a lot of damage to armored units like Thors, Siege Tanks, and Marauders which explains why Marines do so well against them.

When building 3 Barracks be sure to build just one Refinery since that is all you need. As long as they go 4 Warpgates then you should be getting lots of Marauders. Build Tech Labs on 2 of the Barracks and only train Marauders while you get your Marines from the third Barracks with a Reactor for double the Marine production.

A great upgrade to get is Concussive Shells because that enables you to kite the Zealots early in the game before they have Charge. It also slows down their units if they try to retreat making it easy to catch them.

One of the problems when facing Protoss with Marines and Marauders is having to put up with Sentry Force Fields. They can be very good because they will divide your army into two making it so that only about half of your army attacks while their whole army attacks putting the battle in their favor.

I would not worry too much about it though because even when they use Force Fields to block off your army Marines and Marauders are still effective against these units. Just be sure to micro them closer to reach them. Stim Pack works well to charge them.

The Mid Game Transition

It is so common in this match up for Terran to go 3 Barracks and Protoss to go 4 Warpgates. But there will come the time when each race will have to expand and get more advanced units.

If you were not able to break through their army of Gateway Units then they will most likely get Colossi since these units do very good against Marines and Marauders. Sometimes they will get High Templars with Psionic Storm to soften up your army.

The answer to Colossi are Vikings. By the way when you first send out your army of Marines and Marauders it is best to start building your expansion inside your main and then land it in your natural once you are sure they will not attack and you can defend it.

While the expansion is building put down the second Refinery and saturate. Save up your gas to put down the Factory. Then get a Starport and an extra production building depending on what they are going for. If it is Colossi then attach a Reactor to the Factory while building a Starport so you can immediately switch and start making double the Vikings to counter the Colossi.

You will have to see what their army is like so be sure to keep scouting. Send a Viking over or use a scan to see what is going on. If they have two Robotics Facilities working on Colossi then get two Starports working on Vikings.

At the expansion be sure to immediately put down two Refineries and saturate because this tech is gas heavy. Protoss players love to mass Stalkers with Colossi. I find that the best way to go in this situation is getting two Factories with Tech Labs and mass up Siege Tanks with Vikings and Marauders.

However if they High Templars then get a Ghost Silo and train a few Ghosts. Research Cloak and EMP shot the High Templars before a battle making them useless. Other than draining the energy of the High Templars and Sentries the EMP shot also does 100 damage to all surrounding Protoss shields.

For more Starcraft 2 tips check out this Starcraft 2 forum loaded with free content. Also be sure to check out The Grandmaster Manual, a Starcraft 2 guide created by real grandmaster players.

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