Starcraft 2 - Terran vs Zerg - Counters

Hi everyone,

In this guide, I'm going to be talking about individual unit counters towards the Zerg from the point of the Terran. The Zerg recently have been beating me regularly , and I've decided to do a bit of research into it, and I've decided to write my own individual unit counter article about it from the stuff that I have learnt.

A few words before I begin: Remember that you have to scout ,scout ,scout! The reason why I normally lose is because I don't check up on the enemy, because I underestimate the power of it. When I  should've scanned, I used a MULE instead, or early game I decided to keep that SCV at home for the extra income . Send whatever you want at them, a SCV, but preferably use a scanner sweep to check up. You need to do this, and this will give you enough time to build sufficient amounts of whatever you need to counter them. Building a couple of counters towards a unit just before they come won't help, and you will probably have to go with your 2nd choice.

Another word is. I really, really hate spam Corruptor/ Brood lord combos. It's only happened to me once so I really don't know everything about it, but I reckon that mass Vikings will destroy it, as long as you have more Vikings than they have corruptors. As you know, Zerg build with larvae, which can build simultaneously, so if you haven't had anything come to attack you and your enemy is very passive, scan, and if there's a mass spam of larvae, you may want to start stocking Vikings or something to get you prepared for a swarm attack. Alternatively you could attack them, and hopefully they won't see you coming. If I'm wrong, leave comments and I may edit it later when I have learnt other stuff.

Last word. Siege tanks work a treat against any land units the Zerg throw at you (except brood lords broodlings )

So now lets get started:

Zerglings:

Of course these things are one of the most famous things of the Zerg, with their almighty rush.
A 6 pool rush is pretty painful if not countered properly.

Siege tanks: Of course these things were outfitted to destroy large amounts of units within a couple of seconds, so this is one of the best counters for them, but of course early game this unit won't be out, so these are for later game swarms.

Wall: Walling of course is the earlier option against Zerglings. If they try to rush and your wall is up, then they can't get to you because they are melee creatures. 6 pool usually consists of 6 zerglings, and with the help of a wall, 2 marines are the most you need to finish them off before they can do any serious damage.

Reapers: Fast, can jump cliffs. If you can macro them properly then a cuple of reapers with their bonus against light units can take them down. Be careful because zerglings run faster than Reapers on creep. Reapers with nitro can run faster than zerglings without speed.

Hellions: Also one of the earlier game counters. They have an awesome light damage bonus and also have an area attack, making them a really good counter for them and can take a huge group down.

Hydralisks:

They have a base attack of 12 damage, which is pretty nasty, but they do not get a damage bonus against anything.

Siege tanks: They outrange, and do massive amounts to packs of them,, and with a nice height advantage, these things can take many of them out before they can do anything. A small squad to protect them will be ideal though.

Marines: A lot of marines with a combat shield are capable of taking down Hydralisks. They aren't the best, but they are still decent and are cheaper, and probably used as a last resort.

Raven: Hunter seeker missile is an awesome thing to use against Hydralisks. It does enough damage to kill a group of them in one go.

Banelings:

Pretty annoying, especially when you have a nice group coming towards your army.

Reapers: I find these pretty effective because you can hit and run. Reapers have a bonus against light units, making banelings pretty easy to kill with a group of them.

Siege tanks: Once again, they can kill them before they can get close. One shot can take 1 down, but only do area damage to the others. If there is loads of banelings, get a couple of siege tanks to take them out.

Hellions: Also damage against light units, and also extremely fast, so hitting and running with these guys are also an option. It takes 3 banelings to take one hellion down, so you can take a few hits.

Marauders: Have concussive shot with them, making the banelings slow down a bit, and also only take 15 damage from the explosion. You can also hit and run with these guys, but maybe not as effective against big groups.

Banshees: In the air, so they can't do anything to them

Roaches:

Marauders : The best early game counter against roaches. They have a bonus against armored units, bringing the attack to 20 against them. Earlier on, if they haven't researched burrow, concussive shot will stop them from running away. Later on, you may want to get a raven to accompany you to find burrowed ones.

Siege Tanks: The roaches have an awful attack range, so siege tanks can take them out pretty easily, the more the better. Using a height advantage will give you even better results.

Banshees: Are in the are, so they can't do anything to them.

Raven: A useful detector, and when the roaches burrow, you can find the easily and kill. Also can use seeker missile to kill them.

Thor: Do massive damage against ground units.

Infestors:

Raven: Accompany with a group of marauders or something to kill these things.  If the infestor decides to burrow, your raven can detect it.

Marauders: Can slow them down, and also have a damage bonus against them. If they burrow you will need to use a scan or something against them.

Orbital command: Scan

Ghosts: Taking away their energy pretty much makes them pretty useless, as they can't do any attacks. The best they can do is burrow and leg it.

Mutalisks:

Vikings: Have more range, and also do more damage to them, while costing around the same resources. Mutalisks do take shorter to build though. They can chase well and are very mobile.

Thors: Have a splash air damage, and can hit multiple Mutalisks. If you have enough thors, then you can take down all of the mutalisks in one go. They can also take heavy punishment from the mutalisks, making then a very good counter.

Marines: Combat shielded and stimpacked marines do very well against mutalisks.

Corruptors:

Vikings: Cost a little less resources, but do more damage to them, thanks to the damage bonus against armored. They have better mobility and to top it all off, if a Vikings about to die to a corruptor, then you can switch it over to ground mode.

Thors: Are immune to corruptors because they can't hit ground.

Marines: Corruptors can't hit ground.

Brood lords:

Vikings: Can't hit air, so these guys again, can make quick work of brood lords. Brood lords also move painfully slow, making them easy targets if there's nothing protecting them.

Battlecruisers: If you researched yamato cannon, then you can take the out easily with one shot.

Thor: Probably not the best choice, but they can shoot pretty far and they also are pretty tank, until they get swarmed by 1000000 broodlings. This isn't going to be your first choice.

Ultralisks:

Banshees: Ultralisks can't hit air, so banshees are a great counter to them.

Battlecruisers: Can’t hit air, and if you have yamato cannon, then they can finish them off really easily.

Thors: Ultralisks are only good against loads of small units. A thor will take 20 damage while dishing out 90 damage to the Ultralisk. If you researched 250 mm cannon, then you can do even more to it, but sadly the stun won't work.

Marauders: If stimpacked, then you can hit and run, unless in a team battle. Marauders have a bonus damage to armored, making them a really good counter ( with stimpacks ).

Strategies will come later on, keep checking back!

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/353471_starcraft-2-terran-vs-terran-counters for Terran vs Terran counters

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/337121_starcraft-2-terran for general terran guide

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/337147_starcraft-2-terran-vs-protoss-counters for Terran vs Protoss

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/354960_starcraft-2-protoss-vs-terran-counters - Protoss vs Terran

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/358677_starcraft-2-protoss-vs-zerg-counters - Protoss vs Zerg