Zerg: The Roach Opener

So as a Zerg player I've noticed that many people complain about the few openings we have compared to the Terrans and the Protoss who can open with more than 2 units.

Well in truth we have a bunch. It all comes down to timing and how fast you can mass your units. As a Zerg player you'll always have to be able to keep your Larvae count up in order to stay in the game.

But if you're not into the insane macro ability of Zergs and wish to have a nice opener which might be able to keep you alive in Bronze league and also help in 2v2 here's the Roach Opener.

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THEORY

Now lets start the lesson with some theory.

What's the reasoning behind using a roach opener and why should you do it?

Well lets take a look at a lot of the basic rushes which all 3 races will have ease in producing

ZERG

In Zerg Mirror many people will tell you that Zerglings and Banelings are basically what controls early game while Muta's and Hydras are what help conclude your late game.

However as the Zerg is a reactive race the Roach opener will help you deal with Zerglings and Banelings.

Dealing with Zerglings and Banelings with Roaches are much better than having a game of cat and mouse with the same units.

Banelings and Zerglings do little damaged to Armoured units and thus roaches can soak up the damage of the Lings and dish out their acid to melt away any resistance.

Don't believe me?

Here's a replay

Link

Terran
With the Terrans you might see mass Marines early game. Of course if he's going for a 3 Barracks Push and have 30 marines in like 20 minutes then you're screwed.

But after all this is an Opener. The moment you have 10 Roaches go and push you'll probably be able to deal with his 15 marines or so.

As you can see the Roaches have the highest damage in their tier and due to their armored status can deal with light units rather easily.

Of course if you see marauders please start building Speedlings.

Protoss

Now what can the enigmatic Protoss do to be able to rush and clear your zerglings?

Well they have the 2 Gate Zealot Rush.

Inside the 2 Gate Zealot rush all they need to do is build 2 gateways (which is rather easy since all they do is warp) and a bunch of pylons to power them.

But wait don't Zealots have shields?

Don't worry! With 3 Roaches you probably could out micro 4 zealots.

After all you can build units faster than them and also remember.

Roaches > Zealots.

But be warned of Stalkers. They have Additional Damage Against Roaches.

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EXAMPLES

Well besides the replay I've posted above for ZvZ here's an Example of a Roach Opener from Husky.


Here's another variation of the Opener from HowtoStarcraft

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BUILD ORDER

As seen above there are 2 rather similar variations.

This is the one that I usually use for Roach Openers

9 Lord
9 Drone
10 Drone
11 Drone
12 Drone
13 Extractor
12 Pool
11 Drone (send 3 drones to extractor)
12 Drone
13 Drone
14 Lord
14 Queen
16 Roaches

This is Huskies

10 Overlord
10 3 drones (after Overlord finishes)
13 Spawning Pool
12 2 drones
14 Extractor
13 2 drones
15 Overlord
15 Queen
17 Zergling
18 Roach Warren
17 Drone
19 Inject Larva (always do this ASAP)
19 2x Roaches
21 1x Roach
22 4x Roach
26 Overlord
PUSH OUT AROUND NOW. You can get your overlord at 25 if you prefer a more fluid production of roaches.
Continue producing roaches and inject larva.


And here's HowtoStarcrafts

Build Order:

10 Overlord
13 Spawning Pool
15 Extractor
16 Overlord
16 Queen
18 Roach Warren
Lair
Burrow

Notice the timing differences?

They all suit different situations and can be altered for faster roaches or fast lair.

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THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR

Watch out constantly Stalkers and Marauders who can easily end your nice little roach opener.

Don't be afraid of Hellions or Marines since they do really little to you unless they are stimmed up and have medivacs around.

Also if you're in a Zerg Mirror, try to tech up to Hydra's as fast as possible after your first push. Your opponent are probably going for mutas since you're on roaches and Hydras can eat mutas easily and cost less.

And As usual keep in mind that you have to SCOUT!

Now here's a Mental Checklist you can ask yourself while you do this Opener.

1. Am I supply Capped?
2. Is my queen Spawning Larvae?
3. Is my Opponent teching up against me?
4. Do I have enough gas for Lair?
5. Do I have double gas by the first push?

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Well that's it for the Roach Opener.

I hope it'll help all you budding Zerg Players out there who want to win against early rushes of Zerglings and Marines.

This is Fireport here with another article for thebronzeleagueplayer.blogspot.com signing off!