[G] TvZ Griffith's 4OC Pressure Push

OPENING

10 Supply Depot
12 Rax (make marines)
14 Rax (make marines, once you make 5 marines send them to the enemy ASAP, you want to deal damage, exchange supply with zerg if they 14/15 hatch. **CAVEAT, if on your scouting SCV, you see that your opponent is 1basing, ie. 5RR or 1base dimaga baneling bust, do NOT send your 5 marines, wall off appropriately with your 22 CC and add in a bunker or two. 27 SD then 27 CC. )
15 OC
16 Supply Depot
23 CC
27 CC
27 Supply Depot (SD is built AFTER CC because we should have been able to free 5 supply from the 5 marine rush)
31 CC (***Situational and map dependent due to several factors***)
33 Gas
33 Gas

Once CCs are finished, convert into orbital commands. Take only your natural, dont bother taking your 3rd until you have an army in the 120+ food count that can help you safely secure your third. It is way too dangerous to try and take a 3rd. Yes I know it looks absolutely retarded but it is quite strong in defending against early pressure like 5RR/7RR, baneling busts. The 2 rax opening can pump out a lot more marines than you can think to give you more than an adequate defense. Because of the hugely macro-oriented opening, this opens up an entirely new mid-game for Terran with some devastating builds. I've tested with 3 transitions fairly successfully.

Marine Marauder (+Medivac) is a fairly strong transition as it has a relatively low gas dependence, and is thus, mineral-bound. You only need get 2, maybe 3 out of the 4 available geysers. Marauders can tank Banelings like a boss. Your goal is to immediately make the equivalent of a 20 rax. eg. while adding in two engineering bays. You can feel free to send in waves at 60 food, 100 food, and 150 food, it will keep the zerg on his feet.

Building Composition (make 10 raxes total, so 8 more after you get your CCs up)

4 Raxes w/ tech lab making marauders (8 marauders every minute, 16 supply)
6 Raxes w/ reactor making marines (28 marines every minute, 28 supply)

Replenish rate: 44 supply every minute.

If you want to incorporate Medivacs, esp if you see a ton of infestors, put up fact after you have 4 raxes, and go for the following building composition:

1 Port with Reactor making medivacs (2.84 or ~3 Medivacs every minute, ~6 supply)
3 Rax w/ Tech Lab making marauders (6 Marauders every minute, ~12 supply)
5 Rax w/ Reactor making marines (23.33 Marines every minute, ~23 supply)

Replenish rate: 41 supply every minute.

The following 6 things are important:
1. Take Expo and put up Bunkers at expo, transfer workers, constant MULEs.
2. Set up turrets at base and expo to prevent muta harass.
3. Research Stim, Marine Shield, +1 weapons upgrade, +1 armor upgrade. EDIT: and concussive shells (thanks for the replies). Keep up those upgrades!!
4. If he has a heavy heavy roach or baneling army, increase marauders ratio to 1:1.
5. Once you have a dominant army, move another OC and secure your third with your humongous army.
6. Your 200/200 army is PERSISTENT, meaning it can replenish it self extremely fast (within minutes). It's almost an aggressive "300-food army" , as coined by day9.

What this gives you:

13-14 Minute Push (12:30 provided you have perfect macro):

You should have a 200/200 Marine Marauder food army, with stim, with combat shields, and with 1/1 upgrades just about to finish.

This transition is disgustingly strong against nearly all zerg combinations, the timing push comes 2-3 minutes before Zerg safely can earliest tech to Broodlord/Ultralisk. Esp if he has invested significantly in banelings/roaches/slings/infestors. Read the Advanced Biomech Transition Timing guide for additional information.

You will need all 4 gas geysers to maintain this. Right after you 33 double gas,starting with your 2 raxes, add buildings in the following order:

You can simultaneously support:

2 Fact w/ tech lab pumping out two siege tanks (2 per minute, 6 supply/min)
1 Fact w/ reactor pumping out dual hellions (4 per minute, 8 supply/min)
2 Rax w/ tech lab pumping out marauders (4 per minute, 8 supply/min)
6 Rax w/o addons pumping out marines (12 per minute, 12 supply/min) Note it's probably cheaper to just make 6 raxes as opposed to 3rax w/reactors, you really need as much gas as you can get - 150 gas on reactors is a lot.

Replenish rate: 34 Supply every minute (ie. the mech transition takes 30% longer to replenish in case of wipe-out)

Ratio of Tanks:Hellions:Marauders:Marines in the final composition is:
1:2:2:6

14-15:30 Minute Push:

8 tanks, 16 hellions, 16 marauders, 48 marines. Timed properly, you will have the following upgrades just finishing:
Stim/CombatShield/ConcShell
Siege Tank Tech
Pre-igniters
Infantry 1/1 upgrades
(Preferably by the second push, +1 vehicle weapons upgrade)

Marine Marauder Thor is another disgustingly strong combination, mainly for two reasons:

1) it is extremely difficult to aggress MM thor mid-game

and 2) What it leads to.

After your opening, take all 4 gases, make a total of 4 raxes (as usual), then

Go for a total of:

2 fact w/ tech labs to pump out thors.
2 rax w/ tech labs to pump out marauders.
12 rax (no addons) to pump out marines.

After your mid-game push and you've taken your third. Make a reactored starport, in fact, you can even cut thor production early (ie push with 3 thors as opposed to 6 thors) if you want to time it for the mid-game push.

Ultimately, you want to go for the combo:

3Medivacs, 3Thor, and 250mm strike cannon.

This allows Terran to go around and quickly snipe off hatcheries (1500 HP), 3x500damage from 250mm cannon = dead hatchery. The biggest advantage however, when compared to standard MMM drops, is that the 3 thor drop is safe from being chased by mutas, as 3 dropped thors will quickly obliterate muta clumps, even without magic box.

The biggest issue in the past that has prevented this from being played competitively is that there wasn't really a way to transition into it (relatively quickly) without overexposing yourself to early game pressure. However, with the 4OC build

Deferred to:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=163605

Antisocialmunky has an amazing thread about its cost effectiveness. The 4OC variant of SK Terran is basically the standard Marine / Raven but with about 3 times more pressure / # of marines.

If your opponent is going for sling/bling/infestors (no mutas), go for transition #2
If your opponent is going bling/sling/muta, go for either transition #1 (if you have amazing control) or #3 (if you want to play it safe)
If your opponent is going for roaches/baneling, modify #2 by cutting hellion and pump instead into marines, be sure to keep up tank production)

Warning: This essentially outlines transition #2, but with the caveat of being EXTREMELY apm intensive and detailed as you will need to micro/macro at a FRANTIC pace. It will take probably about 1-2 months of practice. Thus, it is recommended most for 2k+ Terran players. You need superb micro and macro skill. The transition uses absolute in-game timing as opposed to supply-timing because of the large macro dependency.

The Strategy
------------------

Any strategy should have a key element of synergy, ie. a combination of strategical decisions that collaboration, produces an effect whos benefit is greater than the sum of its whole (ie. 2+2=5 mentality). The strategy is to simultaneously delay zerg's macro ability (using a never ending supply of blue flame hellion raids) while teching up and building a fearsome biomech army.

Synergy elements for this strat:

-4OC provides you with an overabundance of minerals
-Hellions are an extremely cost-effective way of harassing the mineral line. Hellions also happen to be mineral bound
-The only zerg unit that can catch up to Hellion is the speedling on creep, which coincidentally, gets destroyed by blue flame hellions (With proper kiting/stutter step techniques). The Hellion is faster than the Muta and Roach.


Building Production Schedule (This is an extremely tight timing, if you do it well you will be about 30 seconds to 1:30 minute late behind schedule.)

6:30 should be when the opening ends and you should just finish your expo's OC.
6:30 +2 Raxes (4 total), build them in such a way that it walls off your natural expo
6:30 Tech lab on both raxes (Research concussive shells)
7:00 Take both gases at expo
7:00 Build bunkers at expo
7:30 Reactor off two raxes (4 raxes total, 2 tech lab, 2 reactored)
8:05 Double Ebay (You can use them as part of your wall, research +1/+1 ASAP)
8:10 Double Fact
8:40 Research Infantry +1/+1 upgrades.
9:25 Swap 1 Fact onto Tech-lab from Rax, Swap other fact onto reactor
9:25 Start hellion production
9:25 Armory
9:35 Research Blue-Flame
9:40 +2 Raxes (6 total now, 2 with tech labs, 4 with reactor)
9:40 +1 Fact (3 total now, 2 with tech labs making tanks, 1 with reactor making hellions)
10:00 Begin Onslaught of hellion harass (you'll have 2 blue-flamed hellions every 30 seconds to endlessly harass mineral lines)
10:15 Sensor Tower in main + 2 Turrets (optional, but I like to do it)
10:45 +1 Vehicle weapons upgrade
10:45 Switch to Thor Production for one cycle (Make 2 Thors total)
11:20 Research Infantry +2/+2 upgrades.
12:10 Stimpack research
12:40 Combat Shields
13:00 Secure your 3rd
13:10 Siege tech

EDITING STILL

You absolutely have to scout throughout the game. One of the key strengths of the MMM variant is mobility. Most zergs take a third between 9 minutes to 11 minutes, so absolutely make sure you know its progress. Zerg macro is still unbelievably frightening if left unchecked. If the zerg however, decides to all-in with a 2base build like econ roach or econ baneling bust, then turtle up until you can 200/200 - let the zerg waste his precious larvae on combat units.

EXPAND USING PLANETARY FORTRESSES. Yes - spend that 550/150 at around 12 minutes to make another CC->PF for expansion, 550/150 is CHUMP CHANGE. It takes you 15 seconds to make that much minerals and 20 seconds to make that much gas.

Good 4OC Maps:
Lost Temple (Non-close position)
Jungle Basin
Delta Quadrant
Shakuras Plateau
Scrap Station


Bad 4OC Maps:
Xel'naga cavern (3 entrances to your nat makes it very hard to defend)
Metalopolis (Close position makes it very hard to take a 3rd)

Q: Why doesn't this work against Toss?
A: 5 marine timing push does very little against toss, also 3gate robo, blink stalker timing push, 4gate, and 3gate all-in are far too common place and completely undefendable. Marauders w/ concshells is needed and it necessitates gas, which delays the OCs considerably. Special thanks to farseerdk for pointing these and several other TvP issues out.

Q: How do you deal with 5RR?
A: You will need two bunkers at ramp as soon as you spot the early Roach Warren. Two loaded bunkers with 4 SCVs remaining is usually enough. Although 2 bunkers will delay your CCs by about 1.5 minutes, 5RR delays zerg significantly macro. This build IS 5RR proof, it has been tested on steppes of war (shortest rush distance of any map) numerous times.

Q: How do you deal with all-in baneling bust?
A: The solution is well placed wall-ins. If you want to play safe, do not use a supply depot to wall-off. Furthermore, if you spot early double gas (tell tale sign of baneling bust), you can position your ramp such that it is walled off by two barracks and a command center. Which requires 15 banelings and an all-in strat. Like the 5RR, baneling busts puts the zerg so far behind on econ that if you survive, you will be able to roll them over easily.

Q: How do you deal with muta harass?
A: Spam turrets. Like a boss. (Watch some VODs of Flash from BW, he literally spams turrets like no tomorrow, and for good reason.)

Q: When/what do you take your 3rd with?
Preferably at around 13-14 minutes, using a PLANETARY FORTRESS. It only costs 550 minerals + 150 gas, or about 15-20 seconds worth of mining time. (income of 2200/450 gas). PFs are so hard to take down, especially when you get the +2 building armor upgrade.

Q: Why doesn't the zerg double/triple/quadruple expand?
A: Let's look at the timing. Remember zerg will have been hit by a 5 marine push at around 5:00, these 5 marines will also be able to deny any early overlord scouting to prevent seeing the 4OC. It also makes it seem like you are doing a standard 2rax-expo or 5-rax all-in. The zerg can only comfortably double+ expand if he has scouted your build. You can hide your CCs away from the ramp. Your fourth 4th CC is placed at around 5:30 and finishes at around 7:00. Meaning realistically, the Zerg would have to sac Overlords to see the 4OCs at around 5:30 and double expand at between 6 to 8 minutes. You will have enough marines patrolling your base to make this very difficult. If he starts the expos at 6:00, he won't finish the hatcheries until 7:40.

You have at least around 15-25 marines _already_ at 8:00 (from the production off of the 2rax). At 8:30 minutes the Terran already has 6 raxes churning out marines non-stop. I think the timing is too dangerous for the zerg to double expand. Terran doesn't _have_ to sit until 200/200. Triple expanding means zerg will have no way of defending a 75 food push. Taking a 2nd expo seems feasible, but 3rd seems impossible. But again, even taking a 2nd expo doesn't even come close to 2200 minerals/min.

1. 4 OCs abuses the fact that you can OVERSATURATE a mineral patch, so being on 2 bases with 4 OCs is really as if you are being on 4 bases (only difference is that you can't produce as much gas intensive units). Though you WILL deplete your main extremely quickly.
2. Oversaturation means that you can have mineral income equivalent of 3 and a half bases
3. The biggest problem with a 200/200 army for terran is that it takes so damn long to replenish, however, if you have 16 rax constantly pumping out, you'll be at 200/200 the whole game.
4. Once you have a dominate position, it allows you to easily take a 3rd expo.
5. You will OUTWORKER the zerg, meaning your SCV count will be on par with the zerg's drone count, if not superior.
6. Perhaps the most important of all, it is disguised as a very aggressive 2rax+expo or 5rax-all-in, it forces things like spinecrawlers, early banelings, etc. to slow down the zerg economy.
7. It lets you STABILIZE a 200/200 army, meaning they can be very quickly replenished after tradeoffs, many terran builds and mid-game suffers in that it is very tedious and arduous to replenish that 200/200 army.