Terran 2 Rax Build HotS

I’ve been rejoicing here in StarCraft land. Because I’ve found a build that finally fits like a missing puzzle piece.

The terran build I’ve been looking for. An equivalent of a toss 5 gate or my much typed about Zerg 2 base ling bling attack.

It’s so simple, it’s a two rax attack.

Normally, when I play terran it goes pretty standard. 14 Rax and Gas. After rax, another Depot. After depot, CC. Building a reaper immediately once the barracks finishes.

This build, you go 14 rax and gas, but you follow it up with another rax once you have the minerals. The first rax gets a reactor. The second gets a tech lab, which immediately researches Concussive Shells.

From there on out, you pump a stream of marines and marauders. I typically move out when the second marauder finishes.

Remember that timing is key to this build. It works, because it hits before your opponent is expecting combat. I’ve found it to be effect in TvZ and TvP. Zergs will often being droning up when you first attack. Protoss, as well, is often caught with only that first handful of gateway units.

Once, when a zerg got a full scout of the attack, I still managed to hit his base before he could finish a single spine crawler.

Sure, the counter to this build is to properly scout and react to it. But from my experience in StarCraft, most players below Diamond level simply pick a build and cross their fingers. This build will destroy them.

On two player maps, this is now my standard. But the real key to making it work is to macro up behind it. Is to gain an economic lead on your opponent while getting some of his probes in the process.

I’ve found it to be the least effective in TvT, because a bunker tends to shut it down pretty hard.