VS

The TvT mirror match is a fast paced, dynamic, and challenging matchup where skill is always the deciding factor, and thus, scouting is a huge part of this matchup. Depending on the map, there are a few viable openings in TvT. As far as I can tell however, it is NOT SAFE to go a no gas opening into a FE in the mirror, ever, on any map. A good T player that spots this will rip you to shreds with reapers early, as marines cant keep up with them or fight them 1v1.

9 Rax Proxy Reapers

SCVS 1-5 Minerals
SCV 6 Scout -> Proxy
7 SCV
8 SCV
9 SCV
9 Rax
9 Gas
9 Orbital Command
9 Tech Lab
10 Reaper
11 Reaper
11 Supply
12 SCV

Pump SCVs + Reapers until you feel they have lost effectiveness, get 2nd gas around 17-18 supply count, and then move your rax back to home base.

Vs Zerg: Put up 2-3 more raxes at your home base + pump MnMs

Vs Terran: Tech to banshees or tanks + vikings, depending on how badly you screwed them with the reapers. OR if you see them sticking with marines and teching, put up 2 more rax in your base and mass reapers and get nitro boost upgrade. Simply make sure to stay on top of them and the game is yours.

Vs Toss: Tech to banshees if you did significant econ damage- toss up some bunkers and 2nd rax before you tech if you didn’t get the job done.

You should proxy close to their base, and directly OFF the path to your own base from their base (to limit the chances of them spotting the proxy). Note that if they spot the proxy as terran or zerg there really is not much they can do to go kill it, so all it means is that you have to micro a bit better with your reapers because they will know they are coming. If you REALLY want to win off this rush, send the SCV that build the barracks into their base and start up a bunker as soon as the first reaper arrives. Follow up with “LOL” when they start cursing you out.

Sometimes people over-react to something like this and totally screw up their builds/ teching. For example:

It was TvP on Desert Oasis (my favorite proxy reaper map for obvious reasons). I spawned at 12 and he spawned at 6, and I built my 8rax by his natural 3rd expansion. He spots it with his early scout, and instead of building a gateway he builds a forge. He then proceeds to cannon rush my main, while letting me kill every single probe he had (except the one building cannons) and then his nexus with the 2 reapers I got out before he had me supply blocked. It was obvious to me that he had not planned on doing that strategy, he just had no idea what to do to stop me from killing all his probes because his build wasn’t prepared to stop the proxy reaper rush. His first pylon was by his choke, far from his mineral line, and he spotted the proxy after he started his forge, and was already on his way to my base. He then makes the wrong play; he goes offense instead of defense, when he should know that if we “trade” bases I will win, because my orbital command can fly, and his nexus cant. This is exactly what goes down, and I win easily.

It’s strong against any marine openings, and if your opponent opens 10rax marauders you can simply stop building reapers after the first and go marauder. On the other side, if you are not doing the proxy-ing, you should be scouting around your 7th or 8th scv, and doing a 10 (or 11) rax opening. 10 supply 12 rax leaves you really open to the early reaper harass, which can cost you the game.

VS Proxy Reapers

If you scout them going proxy reapers, and you 10rax, your build order should begin:

10 rax (build near CC)
10 gas
11 SCV
11 depot (build near mineral line)
11 Tech lab
11 Orbital Command
13 Marauder (rallied by workers)
13 Concussion Shells

From here, if your opponent makes more than 1 reaper, you have the game won simply by rallying in their base and keeping them stuck on 1 rax while you continue to tech and macro. –TvT reaper<marauder (timing) 

 Ok, so you’ve scouted and see a 10 supply build going into what you assume is a 12 rax. Next step; Build a factory and an engineering bay, while pumping marines / marauders from your 1 rax (I go for marines because of no gas cost). You won’t know their plan until they start their 2nd production building, if it’s a rax they will be going bio, if it’s a factory… well We’ll get there. Either way, you want a factory. When your engineering bay finishes, get a missile turret up at your entrance and at your mineral line, just incase. When your factory is done get a starport and a tech lab on your factory (you can use the tech lab from your first barracks if you built one). During this period scouting is usually impossible, so I will always use a scan instead of a mule drop when my starport is building or right before. Key is getting your scan off before your tech lab finishes on your Factory. Note: If you are swapping your barracks tech lab to your factory, you want to build another addon with your barracks (usually to put on your starport when it’s finished), based on what you scan:

• If you spot 3+ Barracks, you know they are going bio. Toss up a bunker or 2 and get siege tanks + siege mode starting immediately. One or 2 siege tanks in siege mode behind filled bunkers should stop the bio push no problem. At that stage you can expo easily, or attempt to walk your siege tanks into their base. If you feel you are against a better player, I recommend attacking over expanding. However, if you feel your macro is better, you should expand and fortify your defenses.

• If you spot a factory and a starport building, get a reactor for your starport and start double building Vikings, while making siege tanks and get siege mode. You will need a 2nd factory soon for more siege tanks. Your opponent is most likely doing the same thing, however if he is teching to Banshees (you wont know unless you see a tech lab on his starport when you scan), you will have the advantage. Defiantly drop a few extra turrets by your mineral line if you spot a tech lab on a starport.

Vikings and Siege tanks seem to be the best combination for TvT for both offense and defense in the mid-lategame. Eventually you will want to add ravens into your mix, and you should also build marines because you will not have enough gas to spend all your minerals on Tanks and Vikings. Make sure to be throwing down turrets by any locations where you siege up your tanks. Your goal once you have started the siege tanks and Vikings should be, “get to 200 supply.” You will need a minimum of 2 bases, but should be attempting to push out and secure a third (and possibly a fourth depending on the map… kulas ravine and metalopolis I’m looking at you).  Note that while my play isn’t amazing in these 2 games, they defiantly show how you want a TvT to play out over a long game.

TvT Timing windows at a glance:

If your Opponent goes – Then you have a window to
Reapers – Marauder counter + push
Bio Ball – Siege tanks on defense with banshee counter push
Siege Tanks – Marauder counter push (if you didn’t tech) or Siege tank counter push with Vikings (if you did)
Medivac Drop – Vikings to kill the dropship on the way in, OR Marines at drop location.
Banshees – Siege tank push with Vikings/ Scan/ Ravens(later)

Scout well and this mini-guide will win you A LOT of TvT games.

Replays

Zoltan Vs Swe http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9RYA0MRR
TvT on Desert Oasis http://www.starcraft2strategymasters.com/terran-versus-terran-pro-sc2-video-painuser-vs-gretorp/ oasis.