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PvT HotS Walkthrough by Cure

A warm welcome our new The Grandmaster Manual (TGM) coach, Cure! The current aLt manager and previous FaDe head coach, he had groomed a number of players most notably Manly into stars. Remember the Alienware tournament which Manly a then unknown came out of NOWHERE and got second? That was all thanks to Cure's coaching. We are happy to have our first TGM coach who plays random at a high level. To find out more about Cure's coaching check out the long list of testimonials and what his coaching plan is like on our Starcraft 2 coaching page.

Along with this announcement is a sneak peak into guide - a walkthrough PvT build order from cure! Our Starcraft 2 guide has these walkthrough build orders for every matchup, along with a healthy amount of theory and strategy. Our Terran and Zerg sections have already been updated to the latest HoTS strategies by iaguz and PiG respectively. TGM members can access them by clicking on those links. And if you haven't heard if TGM yet you should check it out our Starcraft 2 Guide here!

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The 1 Gate Expand into Robo

Idea behind the build: This is probably the most solid and standard build there is for PvT at the current moment. The idea is to get out fast observers to scout, and hold off widowmine drops in the main base, followed by colossus tech to deal with the Terran 10 minute timing. Secure your 3rd base after with 1-1 and twilight tech then move over to templar tech.

The flow of the build:

1. Expand at 21 supply and secure a good economy
2. Defend against early game pressure from reapers
3. Once in a secure position, scout with good positioning from observers and get colossus tech
4. Defend the 10 minute pressure push from Terran
5. Secure a 3rd base while getting your forge and twilight upgrades
6. When the 3rd is done, get templar tech
7. Attack with collosus + templars and finish the game off

Walkthrough Build Order:

Food	Walkthrough Build Order
9	Pylon
13	Gateway and Probe scout
14	Gas
15	Pylon
17	Cybernetics Core
21	Nexus
21	Mothership Core
23	Pylon

Notes:

• Start observers immediately out of the robotics facility
• After making 3 sentries and 2 zealots, start a robotics bay
• Meet your opponent outside your base if you see him sitting outside, his army will be small and he wouldn't be able to combat yours if you have good forcefields and he has no vikings. Doing so would make him unable to drop you.
• Remember to keep chronoboosting upgrades constantly

Build FAQ:

Q: What if the Terran pushes out at 6 minutes with a bunch of marines ?
A: You should have your first stalker out on the map sitting infront of his bunker. As you see him move out, warp in more stalkers at home and bring them up to kite the marines. By the time he reaches your base, you should have your photon cannon ready. Do NOT activate it immediately, wait till he comes as close to your nexus as possible before activating it to maximise the amount of marines killed.

Q: Is there a way to kill the Terran earlier if he opens 14CC?
A: Yes it is possible, instead of making 3 sentries early, you could opt to drop a robotics bay and rush to colossus tech. Make 2 colossus ASAP and throw up 3 more gateways, going up to 6 gateways and go for a push. If unscouted, it'll be very difficult for the Terran player to stop the push as he delayed his viking production by opening 14cc.

Q: I have trouble dealing with a drop-heavy Terran what do i do?
A: Generally what I like to do is to leave 4 stalkers in my main, with an observer guarding the drop route. In the lategame, you can opt to make a few cannons to buy time for your warp-ins. Alternatively, you could opt to stretch his multitasking by leaving proxy pylons lying around. When you spot an incoming drop, warp in a few units at the proxy pylon and send them to one of his bases while defending the drop. The Terran will have to multitask more than you as you can just 1a. If he chooses to micro the drop, he will lose a few SCVs, or skip a production cycle. Also, you could add in DTs to further stretch his multitasking.

Q: I'm having troubles against hellbat drops what do i do?
A: Make a cannon in your mineral line, and leave observers around. The first priority would be running your drones away, followed by targetting the medivac first with your units / cannon / nexus cannon.

Q: What do i do against the 15 minute SCV all-in with vikings?
A: Try to hold off with good forcefields, feedbacks on medivacs, and archons. If needed, retreat to your nexus and photon overcharge it for maximum DPS. The 15 minute SCV-All in is an extremely strong pre-templar timing. Most protosses lose their 3rd base to this, but it's possible to defend with good forcefields.

The game flow in pictures

+ [Pictures] +

Repelling the first reaper with your mothership core.


Spot any unusual moveout timings


Meeting the Terran outside your base and crushing the marine army with good forcefields.


Repelling drops with 4 Stalkers.


Use DT drops to stretch his multitasking while he's attacking you to force micro mistakes.


Warp in units to other bases at the same time via proxy pylons!


Holding the 15 minute timing push with good forcefields.


Crushing him with storm tech

Download Replays:

Game 1 - The Walkthrough Build Order
Game 2 - Dealing with Hellbat Drops
Game 3 - 2 base collosus all-in

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