Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts Last Edited: 2017-06-04 12:42:42 #1 Video Guide







Replays

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http://sc2replaystats.com/replay/4942410

http://sc2replaystats.com/replay/4947572

http://sc2replaystats.com/replay/4942674



Who am I / Credentials

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I am a Swiss Grandmaster Zerg residing around 6.1k MMR on EU and in the top 50 on NA and I am here to show you how I deal with Factory Openers in ZvT





Description

+ Show Spoiler + Ling Bane Muta is a very hard composition to play. The recent Thor buffs definitly don't make it any easier. By removing the Mutalisks and adding Hydralisks to the composition we are able to play a much more controlled game.



The Build follows a standard approach to a 3 hatch Opener. You can play PiG's 1 Gas 3 Hatch or whatever you want. The important part is, that you reach 3 Hatch Saturation (66 Drones) with a 4th on the way, 2 evolution chambers, a baneling nest and a hydralisk den.



The Core Composition is Ling Bane Hydralisk. You want a few Hydras (think like you would build a few Mutas) and a lot of Ling Baneling. Use the Hydralisks as the support unit that can eventually turn into Lurkers while using the Lings and Banes to clean the majority of the Terran Army.





General Timings

+ Show Spoiler + The following are general Timings to look out for



@Ling Speed stop ming gas until 3:30 (2 hatch Saturation)

@2:45 Take 3rd (with pool first)

@3:30 2nd Gas vs Hellion Styles

@4:10 Bane Nest vs Hellion Openers

@4:50 2 Evo Chambers

@Evo's +1/+1

@100 Gas (5:30ish) Lair

@3 Base Sat (51 Drones) take 5 more gas.

@Lair Bane Speed + Hydralisk Den

@Hydra Den Muscular Augments







Example Build Order

http://lotv.spawningtool.com/build/52587

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13 0:12 Overlord

17 0:46 Spawning Pool

18 1:13 Hatchery

18 1:14 Extractor

18 1:32 Queen

18 1:34 Zergling x2

22 1:50 Overlord

22 2:08 Queen

26 2:17 Metabolic Boost Stop Mining Gas until 3:30

26 2:25 Queen

34 2:54 Hatchery

33 3:00 Overlord

33 3:06 Zergling x4

36 3:17 Overlord

42 3:41 Queen x2

51 3:50 Extractor

51 3:53 Zergling x2

52 3:57 Overlord

50 4:03 Zergling x2

51 4:10 Baneling Nest Early Bane Nest to deal with hellbats (factory Opener)

51 4:11 Zergling x4

51 4:15 Spore Crawler x2

51 4:17 Queen

50 4:22 Zergling x2

49 4:29 Spore Crawler

56 5:00 Queen

59 5:19 Lair Lair is usually made after the +1/+1 Upgrade is started.

61 5:23 Evolution Chamber x2 I built my Evolution Chambers a bit late this game. You can just go for the Standard ~4:20 evo's

61 5:25 Zergling x4

67 5:56 Zerg Ground Armor Level 1

67 5:57 Zerg Melee Weapons Level 1 Melee!! not Ranged

78 6:18 Extractor x3

79 6:22 Hydralisk Den @Lair

81 6:33 Baneling x3

81 6:38 Baneling

85 6:41 Hatchery

85 6:45 Extractor

87 6:48 Hatchery

89 7:13 Hydralisk x5

99 7:16 Centrifical Hooks @Lair / Hydra Den

99 7:26 Muscular Augments

104 7:39 Hydralisk x4

112 7:45 Hydralisk

112 7:51 Zerg Ground Armor Level 2 When +1/+1 is done start +2/+2

116 7:56 Baneling x4

124 8:24 Hatchery

129 8:30 Zerg Melee Weapons Level 2

138 8:45 Lurker Den

144 8:50 Infestation Pit

152 9:04 Extractor x2

152 9:07 Baneling x2

153 9:13 Overseer x2

156 9:36 Pneumatized Carapace, Hive Needed vs Widowmines, Whenever you feel comfortable





Late Game Transition

+ Show Spoiler + For the Late game Transition:



@Muscular Augments Lurkerden + Infestation Pit

@Infestation Pit Hive + Spire

@Hive Greater Spire



The Build works well with Infestors, Brood Lords, Vipers or Ultralisks. It is up to you what you think is best. Generally you will face tanks if you need to transition. In those games aim for Brood Lords / Vipers. Ultralisks / Infestors versus more bio heavy armies.



FAQ

+ Show Spoiler + Why Melee Upgrades and not Ranged?

Hydras are just your Support. The majority of the Damage comes from your Ling Bane Force.



When to Transition?

Lurkers can be done almost always. Go for Hive / Greater Spire versus heavy Turtle.



Why Hydras?

Hydralisks have more DPS and have fewer Issues with Widowmines. They also transition well into Lurkers and dont need to be babysat as much.



Should I fight with Queens?

Queens are important in the early game vs Marine / Hellion Aggression. They are also important in the later Stages versus Tanks. Pull Queens if you get tank pushed and need to break it! Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

bulya Profile Joined February 2016 Israel 384 Posts #2 Queens are helpful vs early tank pushes, a flank with lings while the queens soak the first tank shots is enough to stop early marine tank pushes.

Saechiis Profile Blog Joined May 2010 Netherlands 4080 Posts #3 Thanks for this! I've been meaning to incorporate hydra's into my TvZ as mutalisk play is so volatile.



How high do you value Lurkers as opposed to just sprinkling in some hdyras for DPS and drop defense and going fast hive? I think esports is pretty nice.

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #4 On June 05 2017 01:10 Saechiis wrote:

Thanks for this! I've been meaning to incorporate hydra's into my TvZ as mutalisk play is so volatile.



How high do you value Lurkers as opposed to just sprinkling in some hdyras for DPS and drop defense and going fast hive?

Especially against low Tank numbers Lurkers work wonders. It gets a bit problematic vs higher tank counts because you need to get to brood lords / vipers really fast. Otherwise they will eventually overwhelm you.



You can also stop the tank pushes with Ling Queen Bane Hydra (Lurker) though. I prefer the hive route. Especially against low Tank numbers Lurkers work wonders. It gets a bit problematic vs higher tank counts because you need to get to brood lords / vipers really fast. Otherwise they will eventually overwhelm you.You can also stop the tank pushes with Ling Queen Bane Hydra (Lurker) though. I prefer the hive route. Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

BigRedDog Profile Joined May 2012 461 Posts #5 How do you deal with drops? Do you put a small squad of ling, bling hydras in your main and/or the flanks? Big Red Dog!

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #6 On June 05 2017 09:17 BigRedDog wrote:

How do you deal with drops? Do you put a small squad of ling, bling hydras in your main and/or the flanks?

Spread out the units until I get attacked. When I get attacked --> Hotkey all offensive units by boxing them then ctrl + 1



Then f2 amove to where I get dropped and 1 amove to where I want to attack.



Spread out the units until I get attacked. When I get attacked --> Hotkey all offensive units by boxing them then ctrl + 1Then f2 amove to where I get dropped and 1 amove to where I want to attack. Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

IcemanAsi Profile Joined March 2011 Israel 672 Posts #7 How do you adapt this to handle mech builds?

bulya Profile Joined February 2016 Israel 384 Posts #8 If its mech then you transition into hydra ling bane swarm hosts (and a Hive later) rather then lurkers.

I play this way for more then a season, and like it quite much.



I don't sure if its the exact way Railgan do it, but I aim for a hydra ling bane composition with lurker transition and a later hive.

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts Last Edited: 2017-06-05 14:12:36 #9 On June 05 2017 21:01 IcemanAsi wrote:

How do you adapt this to handle mech builds?



On June 05 2017 21:23 bulya wrote:

If its mech then you transition into hydra ling bane swarm hosts (and a Hive later) rather then lurkers.

I play this way for more then a season, and like it quite much.



I don't sure if its the exact way Railgan do it, but I aim for a hydra ling bane composition with lurker transition and a later hive.



Yep pretty much exactly. This game is a bit different in terms of setup as I open Spire into Ling Bane Hydra and make a Swarmhost transition once I spot the Mech:



Yep pretty much exactly. This game is a bit different in terms of setup as I open Spire into Ling Bane Hydra and make a Swarmhost transition once I spot the Mech:





In this game I just go pure Ling Bane Hydra Queen vs the Mech:



In this game I just go pure Ling Bane Hydra Queen vs the Mech:



Both styles work well. Both styles work well. Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

bobo38 Profile Joined February 2016 France 218 Posts #10 On June 05 2017 11:10 Railgan wrote:

Spread out the units until I get attacked. When I get attacked --> Hotkey all offensive units by boxing them then ctrl + 1



Then f2 amove to where I get dropped and 1 amove to where I want to attack.





really cool method ! I will put that on my improvement list

really cool method ! I will put that on my improvement list Check out TheCore Lite last release:

https://github.com/bobo38/TheCoreLite/releases

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #11 On June 06 2017 18:18 bobo38 wrote:

Show nested quote +

On June 05 2017 11:10 Railgan wrote:

Spread out the units until I get attacked. When I get attacked --> Hotkey all offensive units by boxing them then ctrl + 1



Then f2 amove to where I get dropped and 1 amove to where I want to attack.





really cool method ! I will put that on my improvement list

really cool method ! I will put that on my improvement list

there are more efficient ways but it works for me there are more efficient ways but it works for me Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

IcemanAsi Profile Joined March 2011 Israel 672 Posts #12 Solar demolished Innovation with this style in one of the matches at SSL finals.

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #13 On June 11 2017 02:08 IcemanAsi wrote:

Solar demolished Innovation with this style in one of the matches at SSL finals.

I originally played the style without banes before solar started going ling bane hydra. Wrote a guide on that as well http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/sc2-strategy/520129-zvt-hydra-lurker I originally played the style without banes before solar started going ling bane hydra. Wrote a guide on that as well Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

stevemachine17 Profile Joined April 2017 45 Posts #14 Thanks for making the video! I'm only gold but I was using ling bane muta but turtling player with turrets were beating me and this is definitely something I'm going to try out

jackacea Profile Joined April 2014 66 Posts #15 Thank you for the guide, I've been trying out LingBaneHydra vs T for a while now but I didn't have the timings or transitions down, so your video is greatly appreciated. praise kek

IcemanAsi Profile Joined March 2011 Israel 672 Posts #16 Saw your latest video about hydra upgrades, are you now recommending going for range upgrades or was that game specific?

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #17 On June 15 2017 22:38 IcemanAsi wrote:

Saw your latest video about hydra upgrades, are you now recommending going for range upgrades or was that game specific?

That build was completely different. Here is the Build Order:



That build was completely different. Here is the Build Order: http://lotv.spawningtool.com/build/49712/



I only recommend Range Upgrades if you are going for a Pure Hydra style like the 2 Base Hydra allin or 2 Base Hydra into 3 Base Hydra Lurker is. If you get any Banelings or Lings get melee Upgrades. I only recommend Range Upgrades if you are going for a Pure Hydra style like the 2 Base Hydra allin or 2 Base Hydra into 3 Base Hydra Lurker is. If you get any Banelings or Lings get melee Upgrades. Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

SilverHawk1 Profile Joined February 2016 12 Posts #18 Question, what do you do if the opponent postures right outside your base, sieging his tanks and libs and pre splitting his bio? I assume just yoloing with your army is a bad idea since the banes can't connect effectively and the hydras are too slow to get in position in time before your ling bane army is gone? Just encountered this situation and I remember him positioning his tanks and libs in the front, bio in the back, then he just microes the marines while my banes get pummeled by his tank/lib/marauders.



I imagine you're supposed to stay patient and wait for vipers to pull his shit in. But I'm just really ansty to kill his army because I don't want him cutting off my bases from each other.

IcemanAsi Profile Joined March 2011 Israel 672 Posts #19 On July 04 2017 11:50 SilverHawk1 wrote:

Question, what do you do if the opponent postures right outside your base, sieging his tanks and libs and pre splitting his bio? I assume just yoloing with your army is a bad idea since the banes can't connect effectively and the hydras are too slow to get in position in time before your ling bane army is gone? Just encountered this situation and I remember him positioning his tanks and libs in the front, bio in the back, then he just microes the marines while my banes get pummeled by his tank/lib/marauders.



I imagine you're supposed to stay patient and wait for vipers to pull his shit in. But I'm just really ansty to kill his army because I don't want him cutting off my bases from each other.



Obviously dependent on timing and position, if he goes for an early siege you can use your queens to break it, if its late game you should be going for hive tech for vipers and broodlords/ultra depending on how tank heavy he is.



But, yeah, a perfectly timed mid-late game move out with high number of tanks before you get hive is probably the 'best' answer by terran to this style of play, you need to make sure that you took a good enough economy advantage beforehand and harass his bases and his reinforcement lines with ling run arounds while his army is moving forward. A few Lurkers ( 4 - 6, no more ) are a good way to slow down his advance while you wait for hive tech or set up a favorable surround position ( if possible, based on map and how good he is with positioning his tanks ). The lurkers shouldn't be hitting his tanks, just making sure he can't send groups of bio forward, that will force him to stutter step his tanks very slowly toward you. If you get hive units or good surround and clear his tanks you should win the game. He should also be distracting you with drops in the mean time, have a secondary control group of ling bane with as few as 3-4 hydras to clear the drops and take out the medivac, making extra queens is fine, as they will transition very well into your late game and help with double drops.



Hold position control on your army is vital to make sure you don't get banes and lings just yoloing into his lines.



Obviously dependent on timing and position, if he goes for an early siege you can use your queens to break it, if its late game you should be going for hive tech for vipers and broodlords/ultra depending on how tank heavy he is.But, yeah, a perfectly timed mid-late game move out with high number of tanks before you get hive is probably the 'best' answer by terran to this style of play, you need to make sure that you took a good enough economy advantage beforehand and harass his bases and his reinforcement lines with ling run arounds while his army is moving forward. A few Lurkers ( 4 - 6, no more ) are a good way to slow down his advance while you wait for hive tech or set up a favorable surround position ( if possible, based on map and how good he is with positioning his tanks ). The lurkers shouldn't be hitting his tanks, just making sure he can't send groups of bio forward, that will force him to stutter step his tanks very slowly toward you. If you get hive units or good surround and clear his tanks you should win the game. He should also be distracting you with drops in the mean time, have a secondary control group of ling bane with as few as 3-4 hydras to clear the drops and take out the medivac, making extra queens is fine, as they will transition very well into your late game and help with double drops.Hold position control on your army is vital to make sure you don't get banes and lings just yoloing into his lines.

Railgan Profile Joined August 2010 Switzerland 1483 Posts #20 On July 04 2017 11:50 SilverHawk1 wrote:

Question, what do you do if the opponent postures right outside your base, sieging his tanks and libs and pre splitting his bio? I assume just yoloing with your army is a bad idea since the banes can't connect effectively and the hydras are too slow to get in position in time before your ling bane army is gone? Just encountered this situation and I remember him positioning his tanks and libs in the front, bio in the back, then he just microes the marines while my banes get pummeled by his tank/lib/marauders.



I imagine you're supposed to stay patient and wait for vipers to pull his shit in. But I'm just really ansty to kill his army because I don't want him cutting off my bases from each other.



The easiest way to bust it is just by using Queens because they do decently well versus tanks and liberators. You just need the tanks to shoot at them without the bio blowing all of it up.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lslOnzHfvWI



but of course you can also just turtle and try to get broodlords or vipers out. The easiest way to bust it is just by using Queens because they do decently well versus tanks and liberators. You just need the tanks to shoot at them without the bio blowing all of it up.but of course you can also just turtle and try to get broodlords or vipers out. Grandmaster Zerg from Switzerland!!! www.twitch.tv/railgan // www.twitter.com/railgansc // www.youtube.com/c/railgansc

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