Terran Strategies

When it comes to the easiest race in Starcraft 2, it is well accepted that Starcraft 2 Terran Strategy is much easier than the other races. Here are the basics.

There are three main builds that are typically used by Terran players. While no one Starcraft 2 Terran Strategy is mutually exclusive (strategies can be combined), there are certain builds which are very synergistic.

The three most common builds are Infantry, Mech, and Air.

Infantry Build

There are four main infantry builds you should be familiar with. The most common early game builds are mass Marines or Marines and Marauders. A mix of Marines and Marauders is generally the most effective. There are some exceptions.

If you know the enemy is rushing air (rare in Terran vs Terran, common in Terran vs Zerg or Protoss), a very easy counter is to build 2 Barracks with 2 Reactors attached and pump out a Marine ball and send it in for an easy win (2 dozen Marines only takes moments to build).

If you know the enemy is massing Stalkers or Roaches, you can mass Marauders, as Marauders counter those units in an early game.

MMM is probably the most popular Starcraft 2 Terran Strategy. MMM consists of Marines, Marauders, and Medivacs. It is a very synergistic combo which is easy to use, which makes it common in the Silver, Gold, Platinum and even Diamond leagues.

The final build is mixing Infantry in with other units. The way you mix in Infantry depends on the race you are playing and I will discuss this in more detail in the Terran vs (fill in race here) sections.

Mech Build

Mech is a very popular Starcraft 2 Terran Strategy which generally consists of Siege Tanks and Thors produced in mass numbers. Siege Tanks punish ground units and Thors punish air units (and protect tanks).

Players can then add either Vikings (if the enemy is mostly Air) or Hellions (if the enemy has mostly light units like Zerglings and Zealots).

A few Ghosts is also standard Starcraft 2 Terran Strategy. Ghosts should be added to support your army by taking out high value targets like Infestors or to knock off the shields of Immortals with the EMP ability.

Air

Getting mostly air is also a common Terran strategy. It is very unusual for good players to mass air units though. Rushing to Banshees is effective versus Zerg and Protoss players, while using Vikings to keep Terran players contained is also very effective.

Air is most effective when performed as a "switch". For example, if you are playing Protoss and as a Terran player and are going an MMM build, it is not unusual for the Protoss player to build Colossi, Zealots, Immortals, and Sentries.

Once the Protoss player amasses this army, if a Terran player can pull off a good switch and produce 6 or so Banshees, oftentimes they will be able to inflict serious damage on a Protoss player that has no anti-air units. Banshees make quick work out of Sentries.