By Jesse Newkirk
Tired of feeling like a victim, constantly stuck on the defensive while struggling to get an economy running? Afraid of going to sleep, for fear of another nightmare full of Cannon rushes and Marine-filled Bunkers decimating your fast-expand?
Well, worry not, my little zerglings. With this guide to aggressive Zerg play, you will have your opponents on the run in no time. Fast-paced, aggressive Zerg openings are difficult, yet rewarding. Once you know them, and know when and where each is appropriate, you will be well on your way to becoming a formidable foe.
5 Roach Rush
Good Against: Terran, Protoss
This build is designed for quick aggression and for keeping your opponent busy at their base, while you expand safely. This build works best on maps with short distances between you and your opponent, e.g. Steppes of War, Lost Temple (close positions), etc. It is important to note that this build relies heavily on surprise. You will want to use your first pair of zerglings to either chase off or kill enemy scouts before putting down your Roach Warren.
Important note: You must always think ahead in StarCraft 2, and never more so than in this situation. Be aware that, while the Roach rush is a very strong early-game opening, your opponent will likely begin to make units that counter your Roaches (such as Marauders, Siege Tanks, Stalkers, and Immortals). As a followup to your initial five Roaches, it is usually beneficial to transition to Speedlings. Speedlings counter armor-damaging units (such as those listed previously) and are easy on your wallet, allowing you to build up your economy and tech.
Basic Build Order:
9 Overlord
13 Spawning Pool
13 Gas
15 Overlord
15 Single pair of zerglings
16 Queen
18 Drone
@Queen 75% Completion – Roach Warren
19 Metabolic Boost
@Queen 100% Completion – Overlord, inject larva
@125 Gas – Pull all Drones off gas
19 – 5 Roaches
29 – Overlord
29 – 3 Drones or zerglings
32 – Hatchery
Double Gas-Steal Roach
Good Against: Protoss
The most effective Protoss units all rely very heavily on Vespene gas. How do we deal with this? By taking all their gas away, of course! This build is designed to limit and/or slow down your Protoss opponent’s teching, maximizing the effectiveness of your early-game Roaches. By taking both of your opponent’s geysers, you narrow the spectrum of their defenses down to Zealots and Photon Cannons. This also allows you to maintain vision of their base for a longer period of time than usual, as they will not be able to produce anti-air units to chase off your Overlords. Make sure your Overlords stay in your opponent’s base and watch what they are doing closely. If they move out, you want to be able to prepare accordingly with either more zerglings or a Spine Crawler or two.
Important note: This build also works best on smaller maps with quick access to your opponent’s base, e.g. Steppes of War, Lost Temple (close positions), etc. Make sure you send your two Drones before your Protoss opponent will be taking either of his geysers—at about 8 or 9 supply for you. To maximize the effectiveness of your gas-steal, it is recommended that you continually cancel and rebuild your Extractors just before they complete. While this may be a micro-intensive act, it will greatly prolong the amount of time your opponent is left without gas. It is also extremely important to keep an eye on your opponent’s scouting Probe. Keep a Drone following it at all times to prevent it from either walling you in or building cannons at your base.
Basic Build Order:
8/9 Two Drones to opponent’s geysers, build Extractors
9 Overlord
14 Gas
14 Spawning Pool
16 Overlord
16 Queen
18 Roach Warren
18 Overlord
20 Overlord
20+ Roaches
Expand when comfortable
Baneling Bust
Good Against: Terran
Annoyed by all the little Terrans turtling behind their walls? Well, let’s get rid of them and show them what’s up. A Baneling bust build is most ideal in a situation where you scout your Terran opponent using Supply Depots to complete their wall. Supply Depots are weak and very susceptible to Banelings.
As a rule of thumb, you generally want five or six Banelings to break through a single layer of Supply Depots. Depending on how the bust goes, you may even have one or two left over to chase Marines with. To add an extra flair of devastation to your attack, you can morph two to three additional Banelings in your opponent’s base amidst all the chaos and send them into the mineral line. When all is said and done, you should have an expansion up at home while your enemy is crying over either a lost game or a heavily damaged economy.
Important note: As with all early Zerg pressure builds, surprise is key. Make sure you morph your Banelings in a place near your opponent’s ramp, but still far enough back that they are not likely to be scouted. If your opponent is able to scout your Baneling Nest or Banelings, they may wall off with additional high-HP buildings, such as Bunkers or Barracks—something we definitely do not want to have to break through.
Basic Build Order:
9 Overlord
14 Gas
14 Spawning Pool
16 Overlord
16 Queen
@100 Gas – Metabolic Boost
18 Pair of zerglings
20 Overlord
20 Baneling Nest
20-26 zerglings
26 Hatchery
Achieving an Economic 6-Pool
Good Against: Any
6-Pooling is extremely potent in the very early game, as you are able to surprise your opponent before they get the chance to react accordingly. Contrary to popular belief, this build works best on multi-spawn maps, e.g. Lost Temple, Metalopolis, Delta Quadrant, etc., as opposed to smaller, two-player maps like Steppes of War or Xel’Naga Caverns. The reasoning for this is these maps make it much more likely that you will not be scouted before your Spawning Pool completes and you get your zerglings out onto the field. However, given that it should be done on a multi-spawn map, it is very important that you find your opponent quickly; scout as soon as possible with both your first Overlord and seventh Drone.
Important note: While 6-Pooling may end the game quickly in some instances, it might not in others. It is crucial to get an advantage out of the 6-Pool build, preferably economically, or you can very easily be left playing from behind. This is why it should be followed up quickly by drone production. While you are attacking with your first six zerglings, you need to be constantly producing Drones back at home. Let your opponent worry about your zerglings running amok in his base while you rack up the money.
Basic Build Order:
6 Spawning Pool
5 Drone
6 Drone
@7th Drone 100% Completion – let 7th Drone mine one set of minerals, and then send it to scout
@Spawning Pool 100% Completion – 3 pairs of zerglings
10 Extractor trick + Drone
11 Double Extractor trick + Drone
12 Overlord
12+ Drones
With practice, these four aggressive openers will have your opponents feeling bullied and on the defensive, rather than the other way around. Don’t forget that you can practice your new builds not only on the SC2 ladder, but also by downloading the Yet Another Build Order Tester (YABOT) custom map to iron out your timing. You can learn more about YABOT and how to use it effectively here.
