Starcraft II – Zerg Strategy: Double Spire [Guide]

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• Overview
• Build Order
• Strategy

The mutalisk is perhaps one of the most versatile flyers in the game, doing equally well in harassment and in frontal assault. They’re a bit fragile though, which is why they need upgrades. But once they’re fully upgraded, they are scary even with sufficient anti-air due to their glaive wurms. This build and strategy can help Zerg players go absolutely nuts with Mutalisks.

Overview

The aim of this build is to produce as many mutalisks with the highest upgrades possible in the shortest time to attack the opponent from the air with devastating effect. Building two spires means that you get both the air attack and armor upgrades at the same time. Once you’ve taken your first two upgrades in a relatively early time, you’ll be able to kill a lot of your opponent’s units and buildings once you’ve massed enough Mutalisks, so gas is important during this time. This strategy and build order is mostly against Terran, but can also be used against Protoss.

Build Order

Opening

15 Hatchery
17 Extractor
16 Spawning Pool
Queens (2)
Zerglings (2)
Metabolic Boost research
Pull 2 Drones off gas
Queen (3rd)
Spine Crawler
Evolution Chamber

Expand

Hatchery (3)
Put drones back on gas
Ground Carapace Level 1 research
Extractors (3)

Lair Tech

Lair
Baneling Nest
Spine Crawler
Spire
Centrifugal Hooks research
Burrow research
Flyer Carapace Level 1 research
Flyer Attacks Level 1 research
Spire

This particular build order is to balance the double spire with making zerglings and banelings for both offense and defense in the early game. Going straight to lair tech to mass mutalisks is basically cutting corners, which is very risky and can cost games. The only good way that can ever work is if your opponent is playing blind and is not making anything that will kill mutalisks easily like thors or high templars with psi storm.

Strategy

This is not entirely dependent on mutalisks, even though they’re the central unit here. This is also about how you use zerglings and banelings to best effect. This this is mostly a ZvT strategy, being able to kill of marines quickly is crucial to success, since marines on stim can turn mutalisks into goo.

Building placement has importance in this strategy. You can use your hatchery and evolution chamber to narrow the choke point to your natural. Since you’ll be using mostly your mutalisks, then you can afford making it harder for your opponent to get into your base. If the map does have a back expansion, that should be your third base, then take the fourth base once you have your third queen out.

Since ground units are mostly for defense, carapace upgrades are always taken first. Once level 1 has been researched, then the melee attack upgrade can be taken while you go up to lair tech. By the time you have 1/1, you will also have banelings to take out bio armies at will. The order of research should be ground carapace level 1, then melee attack level 1, melee 2, carapace 2, melee 3, and carapace 3.

This strategy is very dependent on scouting information, knowing the opposing army’s current position so you know if they’re about to attack. With zerglings and banelings, micro is important to maximize them while defending against incoming Terran forces during the early game. Baneling mines are a very good way to alert you of an incoming attack, as well as taking them out once they pass by that particular spot.

If you do take out marines with baneling mines, zerglings and mutalisks can then come in to finish off the rest, with mutalisks taking out tanks and marauders while zerglings hold them in place for both aerial attack and more banelings. You can then employ other variations to transition to the late game, most likely corruptors and brood lords since you already have spires and flyer attack and carapace upgrades.

By the late game, if you do get that far without sustaining heavy damage, you can have 3/3 air units, as well as zerglings with adrenal glands, and maybe more banelings. It is suggested that you hold hive tech until you first reach 200/200 supply, then go hive and build stronger units to replace ones that you lose in offense, which can have you max out your army quite quickly if you have enough resources, which is the Zerg’s greatest strength.