captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts Last Edited: 2012-12-23 06:05:53 #1



A little tiny intro about me: I am CaptainWaffles, Terran Player since Broodwar, C- on ICCUP and High Masters in WoL, GM for a while in HotS I have had a few decent runs in some weekly cups, 3rd in a CraftCup for example. By no means a pro, or semi pro, just a starcraft enthusiast who plays at a fairly high level.



Alright, so down to business. Since the Reaper started drinking red bull in patch 8 I have started doing this build that I have a pretty high winrate, you may have seen me do it in this game vs Hyun that Husky casted: Uhh... so this is my first guide I've wrote about anything ever, so I would appreciate any and all criticism.A little tiny intro about me: I am CaptainWaffles, Terran Player since Broodwar, C- on ICCUP and High Masters in WoL, GM for a while in HotS I have had a few decent runs in some weekly cups, 3rd in a CraftCup for example. By no means a pro, or semi pro, just a starcraft enthusiast who plays at a fairly high level.Alright, so down to business. Since the Reaper started drinking red bull in patch 8 I have started doing this build that I have a pretty high winrate, you may have seen me do it in this game vs Hyun that Husky casted:



I see a lot of other guides here on TL that have a lot of pictures, well thats not me, this will be mostly text, if there is enough demand I'll make a vod or something detailing how to execute the build and all that good stuff.



This build is actually pretty simple, its the execution that is hard, as you'll be spending a lot of apm and attention microing your Reapers and Widow Mines.



I don't follow my food for building queue's I do it as I get the money and I use the game timer for reference, but the opening build is very simple:



-12 Rax

-13 Gas

-15 OC

-15 TechLab

-15 Gas

-Start Reapers

-Factory when you get the Gas

-Nitro Packs when you get the gas, don't stop Reaper production.

-get a CC when you have the minerals

-2 more facts when you get 300 mins and 200 gas

-take your natural gases

-Get 2 more facts when you get the money



In the early game your Reapers and Mines are so very very critical, don't lose them, ever. I'm serious don't do it. Don't get greedy and try to kill a drone if there is a queen present, keeping your units alive is the most important thing, in the few losses I've had with this build it all comes down to losing a reaper or mine in the early game. However, you keep them alive and you can basically play the zerg like a puppet master and deny the third for a long time.



After that you just gotta feel the game out, but there is the frame work for the build.



This is a pretty APM intensive build, you'll see in several of these replays I totally don't macro behind the harass, bottom line, if you're the kind of player who likes to play turtly and or greedy this build probably isn't for you. It is very aggressive from the get go.



What you want to do is use your reapers in tandem with your widow mines to kill drones and creep tumors and even queens, its very in your face to a macro Zerg who is gearing up for the late game. It really taxes the multi tasking of both players.



What I've found to be most effective is trying to get the widow mine near the ramp of the Zerg so you can effectively control their movement in between there 2 bases. And you just keep looking for holes with your reapers and keep re positioning the widow mines, you are always guaranteed drone kills unless the zerg is doing some kind of allin (in which case widow mines is like the best defense ever).



If you don't outright kill the zerg with this opening (which you'll see in several of the reps thats what happens) No biggie! You have 2 base to their 2 base and you make widow mines! I generally follow 1 techlab and 1 (or 2) reactor per base with 1 armory getting upgrades.



In the midgame your setup should look like 2 OC's all 4 gases, 1 armory and 4 or 5 facts with an emphasis on reactors, you want to be making a lot of widow mines and hell bats. And you should be able to take your third as the Zerg is either getting his started or nearly finished, in other words the economy should be in your favor because if Zerg makes too many drones you can usually just kill them in the early stages of the game or at the very least come out with an advantage going into the midgame.



Regardless of the Zergs composition in the mid game you should really have no problems, Widow mines as a core part of your army just kind of laugh at anything thats not Broodlords and Swarm Hosts (and even then.. Swarm Hosts are still very meh, fingers crossed for them being buffed!)



Going into the game once your on 3 bases you should have around 8 or 9 factories. Remember the Techlab to Reactor Ratio, 1 to 2 reactors per Techlab. And 2 or so starports if you can scout out Greater Spire tech. At this point in the game its all positioning, I suspect BroodWar Terrans will get a kick out of this



I will continuously update this guide with replays and maybe even VoDs as get them.



Hmm I don't know what else to say. If there are any questions comments or criticisms please reply, if you can think of way so that I can improve this guide please let me know.



Replays



+ Show Spoiler +

http://www.mediafire.com/?bzl1yve2mktlad1

http://drop.sc/286941

http://drop.sc/286945 All them, so far. As I stated above I will update with replays as I get them.





These few Replays I hand picked because they show how to transition into the late game:



http://drop.sc/286851

http://drop.sc/286858

http://drop.sc/286854

http://drop.sc/286856





Special thanks to Blade55555 for proofreading this!



If you like this guide I stream over at



I upload all my vods to my youtube over at:



And of course to find out when I'm streaming you can follow me on twitter @ I see a lot of other guides here on TL that have a lot of pictures, well thats not me, this will be mostly text, if there is enough demand I'll make a vod or something detailing how to execute the build and all that good stuff.This build is actually pretty simple, its the execution that is hard, as you'll be spending a lot of apm and attention microing your Reapers and Widow Mines.I don't follow my food for building queue's I do it as I get the money and I use the game timer for reference, but the opening build is very simple:-12 Rax-13 Gas-15 OC-15 TechLab-15 Gas-Start Reapers-Factory when you get the Gas-Nitro Packs when you get the gas, don't stop Reaper production.-get a CC when you have the minerals-2 more facts when you get 300 mins and 200 gas-take your natural gases-Get 2 more facts when you get the moneyIn the early game your Reapers and Mines are so very very critical, don't lose them, ever. I'm serious don't do it. Don't get greedy and try to kill a drone if there is a queen present, keeping your units alive is the most important thing, in the few losses I've had with this build it all comes down to losing a reaper or mine in the early game. However, you keep them alive and you can basically play the zerg like a puppet master and deny the third for a long time.After that you just gotta feel the game out, but there is the frame work for the build.This is a pretty APM intensive build, you'll see in several of these replays I totally don't macro behind the harass, bottom line, if you're the kind of player who likes to play turtly and or greedy this build probably isn't for you. It is very aggressive from the get go.What you want to do is use your reapers in tandem with your widow mines to kill drones and creep tumors and even queens, its very in your face to a macro Zerg who is gearing up for the late game. It really taxes the multi tasking of both players.What I've found to be most effective is trying to get the widow mine near the ramp of the Zerg so you can effectively control their movement in between there 2 bases. And you just keep looking for holes with your reapers and keep re positioning the widow mines, you are always guaranteed drone kills unless the zerg is doing some kind of allin (in which case widow mines is like the best defense ever).If you don't outright kill the zerg with this opening (which you'll see in several of the reps thats what happens) No biggie! You have 2 base to their 2 base and you make widow mines! I generally follow 1 techlab and 1 (or 2) reactor per base with 1 armory getting upgrades.In the midgame your setup should look like 2 OC's all 4 gases, 1 armory and 4 or 5 facts with an emphasis on reactors, you want to be making a lot of widow mines and hell bats. And you should be able to take your third as the Zerg is either getting his started or nearly finished, in other words the economy should be in your favor because if Zerg makes too many drones you can usually just kill them in the early stages of the game or at the very least come out with an advantage going into the midgame.Regardless of the Zergs composition in the mid game you should really have no problems, Widow mines as a core part of your army just kind of laugh at anything thats not Broodlords and Swarm Hosts (and even then.. Swarm Hosts are still very meh, fingers crossed for them being buffed!)Going into the game once your on 3 bases you should have around 8 or 9 factories. Remember the Techlab to Reactor Ratio, 1 to 2 reactors per Techlab. And 2 or so starports if you can scout out Greater Spire tech. At this point in the game its all positioning, I suspect BroodWar Terrans will get a kick out of thisI will continuously update this guide with replays and maybe even VoDs as get them.Hmm I don't know what else to say. If there are any questions comments or criticisms please reply, if you can think of way so that I can improve this guide please let me know.ReplaysThese few Replays I hand picked because they show how to transition into the late game:Special thanks to Blade55555 for proofreading this!If you like this guide I stream over at http://www.twitch.tv/captainwaffles0 I upload all my vods to my youtube over at: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainWaffles/videos?view=0&flow=grid And of course to find out when I'm streaming you can follow me on twitter @ https://twitter.com/CapitanoWaffles Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

raf3776 Profile Blog Joined August 2010 United States 1892 Posts #2 watching a replay. I quite like the build. A good aggressive opening. Im going to keep looking for any criticism or comments I notice. WWJD (What Would Jaedong Do)

blade55555 Profile Blog Joined March 2009 United States 17375 Posts #3 I think this is a good opener in other ways. You will at minimum be able to deny creep for a bit because they have to get a spore (or wait for lair tech) and have to move it slowly and you have to make sure no widow mines are going to kill your queens.



It's a good build, very annoying from the 1 or 2 times I have played it. When I think of something else, something will go here

Jtom Profile Joined January 2011 Ireland 1044 Posts Last Edited: 2012-12-23 01:05:44 #4 Hmm, feels a lot like reactor-hellion opening before the queen patch, except obviously you are more committed to mech.



How does it work against a small number of roaches to help Zerg secure an early third? I can see that roach all-ins shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know how far behind a Zerg would be if they just made a few defensive roaches early and grabbed a third base.



Do you like to do a push with marauders/widow mines or do you wait for tanks and then push or play passive? "Daddy, how did the Protossaurs go extinct?" "A giant EMP hit the earth" - Fionn

captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts #5 On December 23 2012 10:05 Jtom wrote:

Hmm, feels a lot like reactor-hellion opening before the queen patch, except obviously you are more committed to mech.



How does it work against a small number of roaches to help Zerg secure an early third? I can see that roach all-ins shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know how far behind a Zerg would be if they just made a few defensive roaches early and grabbed a third base.



Do you like to do a push with marauders/widow mines or do you wait for tanks and then push or play passive?





The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.



The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.



It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.



If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.



So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good. The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good. Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

spbelky Profile Blog Joined October 2010 United States 623 Posts #6 On December 23 2012 12:15 captainwaffles wrote:

Show nested quote +

On December 23 2012 10:05 Jtom wrote:

Hmm, feels a lot like reactor-hellion opening before the queen patch, except obviously you are more committed to mech.



How does it work against a small number of roaches to help Zerg secure an early third? I can see that roach all-ins shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know how far behind a Zerg would be if they just made a few defensive roaches early and grabbed a third base.



Do you like to do a push with marauders/widow mines or do you wait for tanks and then push or play passive?





The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.



The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.



It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.



If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.



So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good. The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good.



Ya the CC isn't that late, even with 2 early gas, simply because reapers build so slow and only cost 50 minerals, and the widow mines aren't that mineral heavy either.



I have tried a similar build with great success in masters beta (I cut production for a cycle to get a 3rd CC quicker). If they go swarmhost/hydra or roach/hydra into vipers, i typically transition into a mech / air composition, I just feel like Vipers are too good against a pure ground mech... so by the time they have hive you need to start transitioning into a more diverse composition.

Ya the CC isn't that late, even with 2 early gas, simply because reapers build so slow and only cost 50 minerals, and the widow mines aren't that mineral heavy either.I have tried a similar build with great success in masters beta (I cut production for a cycle to get a 3rd CC quicker). If they go swarmhost/hydra or roach/hydra into vipers, i typically transition into a mech / air composition, I just feel like Vipers are too good against a pure ground mech... so by the time they have hive you need to start transitioning into a more diverse composition.

captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts Last Edited: 2012-12-23 06:00:06 #7 On December 23 2012 14:19 spbelky wrote:

Show nested quote +

On December 23 2012 12:15 captainwaffles wrote:

On December 23 2012 10:05 Jtom wrote:

Hmm, feels a lot like reactor-hellion opening before the queen patch, except obviously you are more committed to mech.



How does it work against a small number of roaches to help Zerg secure an early third? I can see that roach all-ins shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know how far behind a Zerg would be if they just made a few defensive roaches early and grabbed a third base.



Do you like to do a push with marauders/widow mines or do you wait for tanks and then push or play passive?





The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.



The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.



It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.



If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.



So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good. The first reaper can deny any drones going for a really quick third, they would need queens and creep with speed lings or super fast roaches that hurt economy that won't deal with the widow mines cost efficiently alone.The CC isn't that late, it goes up around 5:30 and if you juke and jive with the reapers against a zerg on 40ish drones you're going to get kills and kill creep tumors.It depends on how the early game goes, if you get a lot or even moderate amount of damage and creep control and take your thirds around the same time then I might just go hell bat thor widow mine and keep attacking until they're dead.If they go 2 base hydra (which is actually pretty good against widow mines, I'll upload that replay later) you need many hellions and hellbats and widow mines and get in tanks if you scout no third... Bascially if Zerg is on two bases you can defend for a while then do a strong 3 base attack. If they're greedy and expanding a bunch then you make a lot of hellbats, widow mines and tanks and bring scvs for turrets and execute a slow methodical push, nothing on zerg ground can break a tank line with turrets and mines and hellbats. At least I think so.So no I haven't gone marauders, don't think switching to bio after getting 3 facts is good.



Ya the CC isn't that late, even with 2 early gas, simply because reapers build so slow and only cost 50 minerals, and the widow mines aren't that mineral heavy either.



I have tried a similar build with great success in masters beta (I cut production for a cycle to get a 3rd CC quicker). If they go swarmhost/hydra or roach/hydra into vipers, i typically transition into a mech / air composition, I just feel like Vipers are too good against a pure ground mech... so by the time they have hive you need to start transitioning into a more diverse composition.

Ya the CC isn't that late, even with 2 early gas, simply because reapers build so slow and only cost 50 minerals, and the widow mines aren't that mineral heavy either.I have tried a similar build with great success in masters beta (I cut production for a cycle to get a 3rd CC quicker). If they go swarmhost/hydra or roach/hydra into vipers, i typically transition into a mech / air composition, I just feel like Vipers are too good against a pure ground mech... so by the time they have hive you need to start transitioning into a more diverse composition.



I mostly agree about the Viper being really good vs pure ground mech, you need to engage in a good position with your tanks split and mines spaced out in front and of course the old staple of BW mech pushes: missile turrets. This game is a good example of what I mean. I never went past 1-1 upgrades and he maxed out over and over on roach hydra viper and went ultras, all with maxed upgrades to my 1-1. Tank hell bat widow mine with turrets is so cost efficient vs roach hydra viper, its defiantly more methodical than SC2 WoL mech, spreading mines, burrow and re burrowing mines spreading and leap frogging with tanks, your whole army is a slow very powerful leap frog.



EDIT- This is the kind of setup that seems unbreakable by zerg ground:

http://i.imgur.com/s9vaH.jpg I mostly agree about the Viper being really good vs pure ground mech, you need to engage in a good position with your tanks split and mines spaced out in front and of course the old staple of BW mech pushes: missile turrets. This game is a good example of what I mean. I never went past 1-1 upgrades and he maxed out over and over on roach hydra viper and went ultras, all with maxed upgrades to my 1-1. Tank hell bat widow mine with turrets is so cost efficient vs roach hydra viper, its defiantly more methodical than SC2 WoL mech, spreading mines, burrow and re burrowing mines spreading and leap frogging with tanks, your whole army is a slow very powerful leap frog.EDIT- This is the kind of setup that seems unbreakable by zerg ground: Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

Crawdad Profile Joined September 2012 612 Posts #8 I've seen similar builds in action before,



but is this still viable after the WM nerf?

Danger Boy Profile Joined June 2011 United States 47 Posts #9 Good Work ) Fun only makes dieing worse...

captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts #10 On December 23 2012 18:18 Crawdad wrote:

I've seen similar builds in action before,



but is this still viable after the WM nerf?





It is certainly weaker since the nerf but still strong, the main difference being a mine use to leave a queen with like 15 HP and now its like 50 HP. It is certainly weaker since the nerf but still strong, the main difference being a mine use to leave a queen with like 15 HP and now its like 50 HP. Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

TibblesEvilCat Profile Joined March 2010 United Kingdom 766 Posts #11 Good to see your keeping it up waffs :D, hugs x Live Fast Die Young :D

captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts #12 On December 24 2012 06:17 TibblesEvilCat wrote:

Good to see your keeping it up waffs :D, hugs x





Thanks man, you too <3 Thanks man, you too <3 Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

CrazyF1r3f0x Profile Blog Joined August 2010 United States 2106 Posts #13 What do you do versus a zerg who gets fast roaches, and how do you time your third cc? "Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery."

captainwaffles Profile Blog Joined February 2009 United States 995 Posts #14 On December 24 2012 11:38 CrazyF1r3f0x wrote:

What do you do versus a zerg who gets fast roaches, and how do you time your third cc?





I'm going to update the OP with a lot of stuff... after christmas, I'm thinking a section with maps and what maps favor this strat and vice versa. Also a more detailed guide on reacting to what Zerg does, for example like you said what to do if they get early roaches to take a fast third, or mutas etc. Good things are coming! I'm going to update the OP with a lot of stuff... after christmas, I'm thinking a section with maps and what maps favor this strat and vice versa. Also a more detailed guide on reacting to what Zerg does, for example like you said what to do if they get early roaches to take a fast third, or mutas etc. Good things are coming! Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!