To counter is divine.
The transformers sound doesn’t translate well into text
Welcome to the Terran mid-game. You’ve fought hard to get here – perhaps repelled an assault or two, managed your resources well, and finally teched-up to the point that you can get some Siege Tanks and upgraded Marines rolling, and suddenly you’re accosted by new and shiny Void Rays or vile and filthy Mutalisks.
Your well-crafted choke point defence of your base using a Barracks and two Supply Depots sits, unattacked, because your dastardly opponent has chosen to go with an air attack pattern. Unfortunately, you’ve neglected to build any Missile Turrets in your haste to get all techy, your Marines are being wiped out one by one, and your Siege Tanks are just sitting there, blowing up.
We’d forgive you if you tipped over your chair or maybe even uttered a shockingly loud profanity – we can’t say we haven’t done the same ourselves. It can be frustrating in the extreme to watch what you’ve created – especially if you’ve played well and fought hard – go up in virtual smoke right before your eyes.
We’ve felt this pain many times, and tried any number of strategies to counter it. After some web searching, we’ve come up with what is considered to be the best Terran counter to Protoss and Zerg air units.
Before we trot it out, however, let’s have a little talk about Missile Turrets. Their usefulness is currently a source of debate, despite a recent buff to their health and damage. They are still easily destroyed, and are 100 minerals a piece. This isn’t much, but think of it in terms of “usable” units. That’s two Marines that aren’t getting built, and Missile Turrets can’t get up and walk away, cool as that might be.
Missile Turrets are by nature a defensive structure, and can be incredibly useful in the right circumstance, and abysmally awful in another. The trouble is that you won’t know what situation you’re looking at until it’s too late.
For that reason, many Terran players choose to build a few Turrets simply to detect burrowed or cloak units, and then leave it at that.
But a little bit of detection doesn’t solve your problem if a horde of ravening Mutalisks comes swarming down the map at you. You need aggression. You need power. You need…
Vikings.
We’re not going to lie – we don’t like these all that much. The transforming ability is cool, but these things are pretty well useless when they’re on the ground. In the air, however, they have a bigger range than Mutalisks and can keep up with Void Rays easily. They get a damage bonus against armored targets, and with a weapons upgrade groups of these can easily kill even a Protoss Carrier or a Terran Battlecruiser, if you’re into that kind of Terran-on-Terran action.
There are other AA options, such as the Thor – the trouble is that he is not only expensive but not nearly as cool as he thinks.
The Viking is not only cheaper to produce, but has a far shorter build time. Plus, he transforms. Granted, his second form is more like an old Go-Bot than a true Transformer of the Optimus Prime level of coolness, but he’s not bad.
Terrans are unlucky in the air department – until they get to the Battlecruiser stage, they have no reliable air/ground options – the Viking transformation notwithstanding. This can make any game in which an opponent masses air/ground strikers very difficult for any Terran army, but with the help of the oft-underestimated Viking backed up with a strategically placed Missile Turret, all hope is not lost.
The key for any Terran player is simply to make sure they get to their Starport as soon as possible, and start cranking out Vikings to deal with any potential threats.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you differently – they are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing – and if you buy what they’re peddling, you’ll be the proud owner of a fail, sold by an idiot.
Yup. That was a looong way to go for a second Shakespeare reference, but you’re worth it.
