StarCraft II – Terran Strategy: TvP Command Center First [Guide]

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• Overview
• Build Order
• Strategy

The Terran versus Protoss matchup is something that tends to have a certain familiarity to it, especially since Terran uses mostly bio here. Factories become like oversized overlords in here, and all Protoss has to do is to make either Colossi or Templars to take out the bio balls en masse. However, Terran has been fighting back with some pretty good strategies, rooted in macro builds like this one.

Overview

Building up a sizable economy is the key to long-term effectiveness against Protoss. Along with good micro, you can make bio armies as cost-effective as possible and be able to re-mass them when a big portion of your forces get killed. The Protoss may want to go for a fast expand build as well, so you wouldn’t want to be left behind economically, especially with the prevalence of the safe 1-gate fast expand style. The refinement of the Terran’s standard fast expand provides a solution to this.

Build Order

10 Supply Depot
14 Command Center
15 1st Barracks
17 2nd Barracks

@100% 1st Barracks, turn your two CC’s into Orbital Commands and build a Bunker at the front

26 Supply Depot
27 3rd Barracks

@100% Supply Depot, start 2 Refineries
@25 Gas, start Tech lab (still only Marine production)
@100% Tech lab, start Stimpack, Engineering Bay, and 3rd Refinery
@100% Engineering Bay, start +1 Infantry Attack
@100 Gas, start Factory
@75 Gas, start Reactor and Tech lab on other Barracks, and start 3rd Command Center

Benchmark: When you start the 3rd Command Center (@7:40ish), you should have 38 SCVs and around 14 Marines

@100% Factory, start Reactor on Factory, Starport, and 4th Refinery (begin Marauder production)
@100% Reactor, swap off Starport onto Reactor and start Combat Shields (begin double Medivac production)
@100% +1 Infantry Attack, start +1 Infantry Armor and 2 more Barracks

Strategy

The first step is to get to 700 minerals quickly in order to put down a Command Center and 2 Barracks immediately. This does mean that you wouldn’t want to send a scout SCV before 17 supply. Once you do scout though, look for for an expansion before the 5-minute mark. If the Protoss has no expansion, yet had put down two Assimilators, then look out for either a Twilight Council or a proxy Stargate. If so, you should delay your third and prepare for possibilities like Dark Templars, Blink all-in, proxy Oracles or Void Rays, and so on.

As you approach the 10-minute mark, your benchmarks are 52 SCVs, 2 Medivacs, 20 Marines, 6 Marauders, and both Stim and +1 Attack upgrades. You then push with that army and do damage. The main weakness of this build is certain on how greedy it is, so the main threat is early pressure and cheeses. Beware of 2-base timing attacks from Protoss, which is why your first push is absolutely crucial.
This variation of the standard command center first includes a quick Engineering Bay and just enough Barracks to defend against early pressure. As you push, you put down a third base to gain economic advantage while you’re putting the Protoss at the defensive and keep him from doing the same. While this is a simple concept, it does require quite a bit of practice to get it down, as it usually is with most macro-oriented builds.

Of course, this build works best against big maps like Whirlwind. In smaller maps, there is a big chance of encountering timing attacks and cheeses that will undermine your efforts to macro hard. Make sure that your opponent really is going for a safe build before you do so as well.