Zerg vs Terran: Two Base Mutalisks

The Zerg vs Terran match up is undergoing drastic changes in the wake of the recent queen buff. The increased queen range essentially means that nothing a Terran player does short of committing completely to an all-in will actually kill a Zerg player. Having played from both sides of the match up at a relatively high level, (high masters Zerg and low-mid masters Terran), I feel quite confident in saying that Terran is more difficult to play at the current state of the game.

Passive play from Zerg has become the norm, leading even to the coining of the term "Patch Zerg", which refers to Zerg players who have enjoyed short and sudden flashes of success after the patch. Typically these Zerg players play with a rock solid defense in the early game, gaining a strong enough economic advantage early to sustain very powerful mid-late game aggression later on.

Because it has become so difficult to punish greedy Zerg play (I recently found myself holding a 12 marine push with only 3 queens and a single spine crawler, without losing anything), some Terran players have adapted by playing ridiculously greedy themselves.

Evil Genius' Idra has been quite vocal about this on shows such as State of the Game and Inside the Game, where he often responds to Terran players bringing up the issue of how robust queen-based defense is early on by claiming that a Zerg that plays passively with 4-6 queens has very little ability to put on pressure, leaving the Terran free to do as he or she pleases until the mid game. Many Terrans have begun to do just this, going for fast triple-orbital command builds and quick upgrade timings, aiming on establishing a solid foundation upon which to mount powerful and often relentless mid-game aggression.

As a counter to this metagame of Terrans going for fast triple orbital commands, certain Zerg players have brought back the old style of getting mutalisks off 2-bases to punish their opponents (who, seeking to establish fast upgrades and a strong economy, often skip on marines). Leenock and Roro are the two players that come to mind. Leenock, who recently won MLG Raleigh, debuted this style in his matches against Alive. Roro, a KESPA player who put in astonishing results in the WCS Korea, has also used the 2-base mutalisk style to great effect.

There are a variety of builds one can use for the fast 2-base mutalisk, Leenock's version seems to allow the Zerg player to get mutalisks out in the fastest possible time (approximately 9:30 in-game time). Roro's build seems to be roughly as fast. I prefer a different variation from the one used by these two players. The mutalisks come out slightly later, but this version allows you to get 4 queens out (Leenock's only gives you 2), which allows for a powerful early game defense as well as impressive creep spread. I feel that this version is the most robust 2-base mutalisk build that I know of at the moment.

To begin with, you should do your standard ZvT opening of 15 hatch 16 pool (this is the optimal timing because your hatchery and spawning pool will finish at the same time, allowing you to immediately make queens from both bases). There really is no reason not to open this way versus Terran nowadays. Make an overlord when your pool is 75% complete (you should be at 18 supply), and make two queens at once. Once the two queens are completed, immediately begin production of two other queens, and take two gases. Gasless Zerg builds are very popular nowadays, so it may be a good idea to take both gases in your main base so as to disguise the fact that you're aiming for a heavy tech build.

Taking two gas when queen pops

Once your first two queens are out (roughly 4:50 in-game time), inject larva at the appropriate hatcheries and send them down to the entrance to your natural base to discourage your opponent from doing hellion prods. These two queens will be your creep-spreaders for the remainder of the opening.

From now on, your first two queens will spread creep

Regular readers will probably have noticed at this point that all of this sounds quite familiar. This opening is identical to the one I covered in the Hyun roach/ling/baneling bust for ZvT, which is another one of this build's strengths. Because the opening sequence is identical, along with the gas timings, the Zerg player has up till the first 100 gas (roughly 6:00 in-game time) to decide whether or not he really wants to commit to the 2-base mutalisk play.

In my opinion, you should either do one or the other. I don't particularly like 2-hatchery before pool builds, as good hellion-banshee players will tear you apart, so I opt for a 2-base opening until I feel able to establish my third without taking drone losses from harassment. This means one needs either roaches or mutalisks to deal with hellions, which is why I advocate using either the Hyun bust opening or the 2-base mutalisk play. If you opt to use the Hyun bust, please refer to my other guide. If, however, you choose to get fast mutalisks, read on.

At around 5:50 in-game time, you'll have your first 100 gas. Because you don't plan on being at all aggressive until mutalisks come out (with only lings, and with hellions being so standard, this early aggression can be problematic to say the least), you should use your first 100 gas on lair tech. After beginning lair tech, remain on two extractors until you start ling speed research, then take two more gas. Remember to be droning like a maniac through this phase, you must be at optimal (or near-optimal) saturation on 2-bases by the time your spire is complete.

Lair started very fast, before ling speed (5:50)

With your next 100 gas, begin the metabolic boost upgrade for ling speed. If your opponent shows more than 4 hellions, it is worth getting two evolution chambers and a spine crawler at the entrance to your natural expansion to prevent hellions from dashing into your mineral line and killing drones. If you feel as though there is a possibility that your opponent will be overly risky with his hellions, then it may be a good idea to be more conservative with your creep-spreading queens and to adopt a more defensive posture with your queens back at the choke point between your evolution chambers and spine crawler.

The evolution chambers at this time are also a good idea because banshees are such a common follow-up to the hellion play, and spores are a good idea to deal with them. The importance of not losing drones for this build cannot be overstated. Spread creep as much as possible with your 2 queens, but also take care to guard against hellions running into your mineral line. This is a good opportunity to utilize your star-sense.

Now you should be approaching optimal saturation (16 drones per mineral line, 3 per gas, 44 drones total) on two bases, harvesting from 4 gas geysers, spreading creep with two queens as your lair reaches completion. As soon as your lair completes, make a spire (this should be at about 7:30 in-game time), and also make a macro hatchery. Zerg economy works out so that a 2-base saturated player cannot spend all of his minerals with the larva at his disposal if he uses a ling-based composition, so it is typically a good idea to get a macro hatchery between 6-7 minutes if you find yourself stuck on 2 bases and utilizing a ling-based army composition. Because we prioritize gas so early with this build, the slightly later macro hatchery (clocking in at around 7:00-7:30) is acceptable.

It should also be mentioned that a player that commits to really heavy hellion-banshee attacks (3-4 banshees to snipe queens and up to 12 hellions to roast any lings that may be running about) can score a build-order win against you. If you sense anything of the sort coming, it would be wise to invest in a roach warren and a couple of roaches to stymie the flow of hellions until more reinforcements come, should your opponent opt to do such a push.

Once you've established optimal saturation on your 2 bases, make lings with your extra larva, as there is no sense in making any more drones and you may be thankful for the extra units should your opponent decide to hit you with an irregularly timed push. If your spire is begun at 7:30, it should be complete by 9:10. It is critically important to remember not to be supply capped when your spire completes, so take care to make a couple of overlords when your spire is about to finish, and also take care to save larva. You should be able to make 8-9 mutalisks with the first wave, and they should be out by 9:45, 15 seconds later than Leenock's version, though I would submit that the increased creep spread and defensive capabilities more than make up for the disparity in time. When your mutalisks are being built, try to take a third base, though if you can't because of a hellion contain don't worry, just wait the extra 30 seconds for mutalisks to pop. Also make a baneling nest as soon as you've made your first batch of mutalisks.

Mutalisk hitting and upgrade timing

This is a very hard strategy to execute well, because you'll need to conserve as many mutalisks as possible. Dart in and out, do as much damage as possible but do not lose any mutalisks. If your opponent has opted for a triple orbital opening, the 9 mutalisks at 10:00 will often be able to take out isolated pockets of marines and do considerable damage to SCVs at mineral lines. As a more general rule with mutalisk play, make sure you do not lose any.

Even if you don't manage to do any damage, simply pulling your opponent out of position and forcing him to constantly be re-positioning his marines can mean that he neglects to make supply depots or SCVs, or even forgets some of his upgrades for a brief period of time. Use the mutalisks you have for map control while you take your third. Saturate your third as soon as humanly possible unless your opponent is pushing across the map.

If you're worried about your opponent pushing, then make lings and banelings as you see fit, but otherwise get optimal saturation on your third base. This should take either one or two waves of drone production.

Mutalisks do whatever damage they can

Making lings behind mutalisks

From here, while doing as much damage as possible with the mutalisks and establishing map control, you should decide how you want to play out the rest of the game. If you only want a small number of mutalisks flying about to deny drops and have map control, then make an infestation pit and begin teching towards infestors and the eventual hive. If, however, you decide to commit more heavily to mutalisks, then continue mutalisk production and get +1 air attack upgrade.

I've already written a comprehensive discussion of the merits of each tech route in my guide on the ZvT mid-game. I personally make between 10-16 mutalisks and then tech into infestors. I'm split on the +1 air attacks or the +1 air armour upgrades because the armour helps broodlords more if that is your end-game plan. I generally prefer ultralisks nowadays though, and opt for the air attacks upgrade.

Make sure you are fully saturated on three-base before flooding lings

Once you've gotten all the appropriate upgrades and have decided you have enough mutas, make an infestation pit

Catching an unprepared terran army with ling-baneling-muta is always a good thing

I hope this build helps any Zerg players out there who are eager to break the monotony of passive queen-based defensive economic play that is quickly becoming the norm in Zerg versus Terran. If you consider yourself a relatively high level player capable of playing at a high enough APM to keep on top of mechanics and to micro mutalisks around without losing them, then I encourage you to try this strategy. As always, good luck and have fun!

 

Special thanks to Saikou for teaching me this build, sending me replays of it and helping me smoothen out some of the rougher edges, and to OckE for reading through this guide and offering criticism!