Semi Pro and NA GM Xenocider does a Q/A session

In no particular order, taken from

http://www.reddit.com/r/AllThingsTerran/comments/1s833i/yoyo_eg_xeno_here_answering_all_questions_related/








Is mech viable? When can I use it? 

• Mech is viable, it is good in TvZ if you can turtle to mass ravens it is good in TvT on maps with easy to secure bases think akilon of last patch. I do not recommend mech in TvP 

How good do you think proxy 2 racks is? Or are other strats superior?

• 2rax is good for metagaming protoss in tournaments, I have a 100% winrate with 2rax on Polar Night because of 3 bunker wall, TvT also can be used for metagaming 

Mech or Bio right now, or even Bio Mech. Thoughts on the styles and any advice for lower league people as to which one they should be playing? 

Is there a reason you prefer one style over the other, if you do prefer a certain style.
Also, late game in each match up, what are the ultimate ideal end game compositions?

• Bio mine in TvZ Bio in TvP Bio tank/Mech in TvT, i think bio/tank is better in this one. 
• If you're getting to the late game in any match up you're doing it wrong, as a Terran player up until the highest levels 90% of games will end by the mid-game. Just focus on how you can end the game faster, Terran is a timing based race so hit those timings and hit them as hard as you can. 

With 15 gas expand into reactor hellions, how do you hold gas first banshee into 1 base marine tank banshee all-in?

• Take a 2nd gas after your CC finishes, only make 4 hellions and send them to watch towers to see where banshee is coming, after you start your viking start a techlab on rax and swap the starport & barracks after viking finishes to make a raven. After your barracks is finishing making that techlab, make another techlab. During this process do not make an e-bay or turret, just handle the banshee with marine viking + saved scans. Once your barracks has finished making the 2nd techlab swap it with the reactored factory and start making marines + a tank, you'll also want a bunker at your natural and when they come pull SCVs to repair. When your hellions @ watch tower spot them moving out gather all 4 and run around into their main, they wont have anything to defend and it puts their push on a clock. 
• Overall it's much easier to do the gas first banshee so I recommend you do that instead, the method I recommended above is the best way to hold it but also requires hours and hours of practice. 

a) what do you think about maru? who is your favorite terran to watch and why? (whats so great about inno!)

• a) maru has good mechanics but has a very weird playstyle, is extremely hard to predict and is an extremely aggressive timing based player. My favorite T is innovation because he plays the game like FlaSh would in BW, always standard but wins based on good decision making and build orders. 

b)do you ever find yourself grinding ladder without improving and how do you adjust your practice? 

• B) I don't have much time to grind perse so usually this isn't an issue for me, whenever I get skill blocked I take a step back, re-evaluate my play and watch more vods! 

c)ok this isn't a question but stephano was basically you in the wc3 scene (young dude who practiced really hard and stayed on his grind) and then grew up to be the first foreign bonjwa in sc2. basically he wasn't naturally talented as everyone said, he earned that intuition. thoughts on this comparison?

• C)I think in general for a foreigner to be good at the game something has to favor them in terms of the game itself. In terms of Stephano he received a tremendous aid from mass roach being good and infestor bl being good as well. I think both him and I are similar in that we work hard and we also have some sort of talent for the game.

Continued at:


http://www.reddit.com/r/AllThingsTerran/comments/1s833i/yoyo_eg_xeno_here_answering_all_questions_related/

The who's Who in Mech, learn from the best!

MVP:

Click Me

Called the Game Genie terran for his polished and innovative build orders. He uses his mastery of game knowledge to meta-game and outwit his opponent. Recently he used Mech timing attack builds to great effect at IEM vs Zerg. His build has a heavy emphasis on factory units, fast third, double upgrades and a medium-high banshee count, which now greatly benefits from shared upgrades. 

His builds may look rigid, but he makes subtle adjustments to his composition while constantly scouting his opponents. This ability obviously came from his immense game knowledge. Even the slightest change i.e. (+2 tank, -1 Thor -1 hellbat) can be the difference between a flawless victory, and "just another game where Mech got out maneuvered", like our woeful Flash experienced first hand.

Goody:

Known for his positive and friendly attitude and his patient yet judicious playstyle, he definitely personifies much about the Mech playstyle itself. I get reminded of the "Wise old Kungfu Master" who never does anything amazing, but ends up constricting his opponents in the final 5 minutes in a swift Coup de' Grace much to everyone's surprise. His playstyle emphasizes a large Orbital count, and a large final end army supply. He is also known to be able to punish greedy play: He shows many builds that denies the zerg's 3rd base with just barely enough Tanks, Marines, Hellions and Banshees to do it. He has been known to take down top Korean players on occasion, and is in High GM on the EU server. His APM averages around 140. 

Avilo:
This guy is a popular streamer on NA ladder. His style is
semi unique. He gets the same composition as Goody, but his relatively high APM (around 220) allows him to do a lot more neat things in each matchups to cut corners and sneak an extra Macro Orbital each game. His game plan is to get as many bases and OC farms with the least amount of units while identifying which Unit composition his opponent is going for, and then with the help of his Raven flock, he gets the ideal composition to counter his opponents. Although he is trademarked as a passive Turtle, his use of Banshees, Hellions, and Bio (when he's not Meching) is mechanically sound when he chooses to use them.

Others:
Strelock: Known in the early days to abuse Hellbat drops, this guy has been top 10 EU GM despite the Hellbat nerfs.

Lagforce: French High Masters player with great content on his youtube Channel.
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/DrLagforce

HTOMario: GM NA player with many years of Mech experience. Has been featured on Day 9's channel. Has unique builds for each matchups that change depending on what the current meta game is. Has innovative ideas I.E. using Thor Mine in the TvZ matchup, however, has been using other compositions as well. Can play late-late game very well and has particularly good decision making vs Swarmhost/BL/Infestor, which is an ideal composition vs Terran late-late game.
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sc2Yosho

TesseracT: GM NA player. Uses Mech in TvP with a Thor Banshee style. Has solid mechanics and excellent decision making. It makes his "bland" unit composition always seem to have just enough to do damage each push. His trademark play is to do Midgame harass with Hellion banshee to delay the protoss economy from booming.

Dzerzhinsky: High Masters EU Terran player. His style is very similar to Goody, Thorzain. Slow methodical, and never over

Lynna: High Masters EU Terran player, also uses Thor based compositions vs Protoss. Has a great youtube channel as well.

____


For more comprehensive information (as well as more profiles, check out these resources)
TL Mech resources thread
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=396525&currentpage=27

Reddit All Things Terran Mech resources thread
http://www.reddit.com/r/AllThingsTerran/comments/1s97yn/mech_in_review/

MVP vs Curious Game 3 Frost IEM: Mech 2/2 timing push. (MVP wins)

Build Order:
This build shows how to play vs Zerg no gas fast 3rd going mutas and switching to roach hydra.

Opening:
12 Rax 12 gas reaper expand
MVP gets no reaper upon seeing no gas build from Z, get fast factory -> Reactor hellions
Wall off natural + bunker
Get fast 3rd CC in base
then Starport -> Viking 1st -> Cloak banshees
Add factory 2 and 3 (1 tech, 1 reactor)
Double armory

Game plan:
Constant hellion production, hellbat when armory is up.
Viking denies overlords
Float CC to 3rd at 8:00
Turrets in Mineral line and Turrets Between Natural and third.
Constant banshee production
Push out at 15:00
If Zerg counters lift 3rd and retreat SCV's into natural

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMqzW9EUbsw
Starts around 48:00

MVP vs Curious Game 1 Whirlwind IEM: Mech 2/2 timing push. (MVP wins)

Build Order:
Shows how to react to fast Mutas and how to transition vs Roach Hydra.

Opening:
12 Rax 12 gas Reaper Expand
2 Reapers + 6 Hellions for Map Control
With banshee, go to Natural and do as much damage as possible.
Fast 3rd CC after Starport
Single Armory
Use Vikings and Turrets (No Thors) to stop 2 base Fast Mutas.

Midgame:
React to tech accordingly, Roaches -> Tank based, Mutas-> Thor Based. Use hellbats as mineral dump
Supply depot wall in area outside of Natural and 3rd
Build second armory so that you can start 2/2 at the same time.
Once mutas are cleared, use Vikings to scout around for fast 4ths, 5ths, 6ths from the Zerg.
Blueflame should finish along with 2/2
Push out with ~15 SCV's as 2/2 is finished


Game plan:
Once 2/2, Blueflame is finished move out and go for the natural.
Switch to High Impact Mode vs Vipers

Game starts at around 2:00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMqzW9EUbsw

MVP vs Curious Game 2 Derelict Watcher IEM: Mech 2/2 timing push. (MVP wins)

Awesome Timing Attack Build Order MVP used vs Curious.
This series show how powerful and casually MVP used his tank based composition to fight Roach Hydra Viper way before Curious was ready to engage it.

MVP Build Order:

Opening:
14CC -> 2 Fact(r, t) then Starport(t) -> Delayed Banshee with cloak.
Bunker + Depot Wall in Nat. Finish Depot Wall with fast 3rd CC.
Note: 3rd CC starts between factory #1 and #2
Double Armories after Starport
Start tank production with banshees if scout roaches.

Lift CC to 3rd at 8:00.
Get double refinery at 3rd.
Scout lair timing
Blind Thor and Turrets(5) until proven otherwise (see Hydra den etc)
Build factories 3, 4, 5
Should be maxed at 15:00 with 2/2.


General game plan:
Used delayed Banshees to get drone kills.
Unless opponent goes Mutas, use Banshees to harass all game.
Bring ~20 SCV's with push at 15:00

http://www.twitch.tv/esltv_sc2/c/3315851
Game 2 starts around  26:00

Update with heart of the swarm!

Hey, sorry I have been away for so long! No worries, Terran Mech will be back and ready for action following the Tank and Armory buff in HOTS. Stay tuned for updates :)

Added some new replays!!

Replays with MECH TRANSITIONS (double expand)
Game 1: http://drop.sc/296679

Vs 1g FE on Cloud kingdom. He does the fast 2 base blink build that's supposedly stomps mech players. I hold it off with a combination of frantic micro and him getting apprehensive because he can't lose the observer, so he thinks I have more defenses in my natural than whats actually there.

This replay really shows the power of doing a double expand from a gas first opening. Even though I lose so many SCVS, I actually float over 1000 minerals during the bulk of the harass! And again, to any people who say mech is too harassable, just watch as I stabilize. He keeps trying to harass me, and I send my hellions right into his bases. I repeat this cycle and eventually weasel my way back into the game. He does a miscalculation (very common for people who don't face mech very often) and loses his entire army with me having 4 tanks left and some hellions. I deny his fourth, kill some more probes, then I'm able to finish the game. Insane game where both of us are at 200 APM for the whole game.


Game 2: http://drop.sc/296678

Vs 1g FE on Daybreak. He does the standard 3g into robo followup from an expand. I harass him with hellions and banshees. Also note that he kept a lot of his probes inside his main until he had enough stalkers. But I still do quite a bit of economic damage with this build, and I am able to get away with a double expand BECAUSE I saw how defensive he was getting. He was even keeping multiple obs with his units even though I didn't have cloak. I still trust my gut and don't reveal my expansion until I have a large enough army size + siege mode. He tries to feign an attack, but I simply run my hellions in from the third when my watchtower hellion sees his army moving out. That move solidified my win, I hold off various attacks and end the game with tank mode a-move lol.

Feeling lost and confused in your league? How to redirect rational and simplify decisions

In lower level leagues, its easy to get lost in the game. What do I mean by that? Ever felt like during a game, you could only react to what your opponents were doing, and were constantly unsure of how to respond to certain situations? Perhaps it was because you were losing pretty badly, and basically anything you did, your opponents had a counter for it. 

It all comes down to map control and reference experiences. Having map control allows you to be able to find out what your opponent is doing, and at the same time deny his ability to find out what you're doing. That is why hellion banshee is a great opening in TvZ despite doing very little physical damage to the zerg. The zerg cannot scout, and really have no way of knowing how many bases you are on, and what tech you're going, unless he wants to sac overlords. If you have a cheese build prepared, you can aim to place marines in the right spot or get an early viking to further that confusion. 

Usually, you get these feelings of confusion when you are playing people better than you. They seem to have a response to any little attack you do, and eventually, you feel like you are out of options. This is what happens when you lack references, and basically you have to "wing it". More often than not this doesn't end up well and you lose, and you blame it on imba, or OP. 

And here's the important part of the message. If you are in any league besides grandmaster, there is a very EASY solution to your problem. When I say easy, I'm not trying to say, micro your MMM like MKP and of course your 15CC build will work vs toss. I'm saying that you are 

1. You made a false assumption. 
2. You didn't scout. 

Most of the time its number 1 that happens. For me, it was realizing that when I see Zerg open gas-pool from a 14 hatch, I should ALWAYS just stay in my base. I can't micro my 3 marines and 4 hellions against 7 roaches and 15 lings, but I can use the ramp and defend, and maybe lose 40-50 minerals but have a much BETTER chance of stopping the rush. 

In fact, to go further on my point in number 1. I saw the lecture series in reddit.com/r/allthingsterran where OptikDream showed that a 15CC gave me hellions and banshees 5 seconds later than a 1 rax expand, with the benefit of a MUCH stronger economy. 
My false assumption was that I HAD to go 1 rax expand to defend roach/ling timings, but the truth was that I could be even MORE GREEDY, but took the necessary precautions (staying in main until banshee) to cover all my corners. 

Another thing I learned, is to trust your own statistics, and not necessarily popular opinion. People in diamond league rush more, because its that rushing that got them to diamond league in the first place. 14hatch->gas->pool is much more likely to lead a roach-ling timing in diamond than in grandmaster. Save all your replays, and take a tally of how many games involve cheese. You may find that its pretty high, (for me its around 40%) and adapt your game plan accordingly.

So my message sounds like I'm just trying to say "play safe" in a fancy way. Its not. I'm saying its OK to generalize your league into stereotypes. It helped me move from diamond to masters in the early days. I learned how to play standard bio/marine tank in all 3 matchups. I learned all the anti cheese responses, and my stronger mid/late game is what set me apart from the people who cheese 24/7. I leveraged my skill (late game reference experiences) and was mentally prepared for the "stereotypical strategies" that came my way in the league. 

Now, I play mech in all my matches. Did okay, got demoted to diamond, and now I'm reinventing the wheel. I'm relearning all the anti cheese responses that was so familiar with standard bio (because pros did it all the time). Now I'm rank 1 diamond and consistently beating master league opponents by going strictly mech in all 3 matchups. The reward is, that I understand the game so much better in terms of the game tempo, map control, and why pros cut so many corners. Instead of only taking "common advice" that anyone knows, even your opponents can predict what you are about to do next because they are so used to the common builds. 

In a sense, I've become more like the player Mana, who meta-games every game. He's not the best mechanically, but his insane game sense allows him to beat top level Koreans without necessarily having the same mechanical ability.

So improvement can be made in two areas. 

1. "Star sense". The ability to always have map control, always dicated the other player, and always have a response before they can think. Players like Mana, Flash, MKP and Stephano are quite good at this. (note MKP has strong mechanical ability as well, but he uses it in a different way...will explain this on my next point)
2. Pure mechanical skill. Hone in your fingers, play like Bomber, DRG, MMA, be so good by doing the standard, that the opponents know what they should do, but they can't! For MKP's case, he takes a risky build, and he basically knows that the opponent will usually do the "greed stopper build". He then manages to stomp the greed stopper build with less units than ever thought possible, basically having their opponent play right into his hands.

To do all that, you need to know how to scout (there are plenty of guides on this), and understand how denial of scouting (map control) puts you in the winner mindspace, and puts your opponent in the reactive clueless mindspace. 

1.3.13 NEW REPLAYS UP

Added 5-6 new replays, all are mech macro games. Enjoy! Comments/questions below or e-mail works fine too :)

http://terranmech.blogspot.com/p/t-v-p-replays.html

1.3.13 How to scout Protoss All ins

Here's my method:

Step 1:

Categorize scouting benchmarks with list of possible all ins. Ex: 1 Gas at 3:45 possible all ins = 4G, 1 Base 6G, Korean 4G. Obviously all of these are out dated but this is an example.

Here's my list:

2 gas at 3:45: 

3rd Pylon Missing  and 2 late-ish Gateways

• Proxy Voids
• Proxy Robo Immortal bust
• Proxy Darkshrine

2 gas at 3:45 pylons spaced apart, scan at 5:10, no nexus building, low gateway count, pylons all over the place

• Blink Stalker from 3 or 4 gates

1 gas at 3:45

3rd Pylon missing and 3-4 Gateways

• Warp Prism 3G/4G

5:10 Nexus building, proxy pylon found

• 4G aggression
• 3G aggression

7-8 minute Scan no robo, Hellions spot many sentries at front

• 6/7 Gate

7-8 minute Scan no robo, low sentry count, cannons possible, 1G expansion from 2 gas.

• Fast DT after 1 gate Expand

Step 2: Have your build safe against every single one of these all ins. This is the part where you get to be creative. Don't be afraid to turtle up a little, build more bunkers than neccesary, or maybe even get a second Rax before you transition into full blown mech. Remember, you want to survive to late game, because then you will have much better chances to win.

As you can see, each benchmark means I can cross off certain all ins off the list, I have to use this list, and alter my build. Ex: If I suspect 1 base play from 2 gas, I don't really build hellions that much, and more often than not I'll have to lift off back into my base and play bio from there. Only play mech after a 1 rax FE if you are sure he is playing standard. (or non-aggressive after a 1 gate expand: like double forge, 3 gates then robo, 1 gate then robo then 2 gates, 2 base blink, 2 base charge, 2 base high templar etc.)

1.2.13 Sensor Tower quick tips

1.3.12 Sensor Tower quick tips

Hey guys I've decided to do a main page Q&A and strategy quick tips. Here I'll share some of my knowledge that brought me from Silver to Masters (had Warcraft 3 Experience so I managed to escape Bronze when I first bought the game). 

Feel free to ask any questions, but heres Quick Tip #1

In TvT, sensor Towers can be used both offensively, or defensively while playing Mech. Defensively is this, you want an extra expand, but then you won't have enough Vikings for air superiority, this means that you will die to a tank push right? 

WRONG

Build a sensor tower somewhere between your third and natural, and obviously well out of range of tanks. The goal here is tosave scans and track the (!) in the Fog of War. Get good at identifying how much space marines will pack (!)(!) and tanks will be (!)  (!)  (!), essentially, marines and tanks move at the same speed, Vikings will have acceleration, so you can identify which units are tanks about 80% of the time, And if you keep all your tanks highlighted, you can see the range indicator. That means the moment a ground unit walks into Tank range

SCAN

BOOM you hit him right when he's sieging up. So even if you are right only 80% of the time, you will kill tanks 80% of the time, and he will lose tanks 80% of the time, plus defenders advantage.  

DO REMEMBER

to build Thors eventually, your opponent will get smart and use banshees to pick off tanks with air support, but Thors ignore Vikings, and having 2 or 3 should be more than enough to pick off those pesky banshees. 

Test

tttt

Switching up servers

Moved blog from wordpress to blogger

Wordpress Blog News 12.27.12 to 1.1.13

• 12.27.12: Hello All. I’m sure many of you guys want relevant, straight to the point, and comprehensive guides to playing Terran Mech style in Wings, and in Hots. Look to further, this is the only place you need for resources: Replays, Build-order walkthroughs, and common sticking points that any player may face in Bronze to High Masters.  Written by a High Master Terran player I hope you  find my guides useful on your quest to grand master or playing a challenging new style for fun, and enjoying the advantage of your opponents inexperience with this style of play. I welcome you to my website and please feel free to email me with any suggestions, questions, or insights. Thank you! :)
• 12.30.12: Updated the blog, for the upcoming ladder season in Wings. Got the Hellion Banshee opening published, as well as the gasless expand opening published. Thanks for reading 
• 1.1.13: Added a flowchart to the TvP section, Mech transitions that you make depending on what unit composition and structures you scout on the protoss side.