Having lot of trouble with TvT!

Just recently I have been losing lots of TvTs. As I get higher in the ladder because of my TvZ and TvP win rates, I seem to be losing more and more TvTs. So now i realise that my current build order and style just doesn't cut it. I just need a goal for the mid/late game because right now I just don't know wtf im doing. I've been trying to do some infantry based stuff because tank/viking seems a little boring, but it just doesnt seem to be viable, so im starting to go back to the tank/viking mumbo jumbo. So I'm just wondering if you guys have worked out any way to go infantry based builds or if you think its silly to do. Also I would like to know what to do when you get behind in the viking count and if there are any styles which don't require you to go mass viking. Thanks guys! :D

The thing with going infantry is: you can't attack his tanks straight up once he gets them set up. I mean, not without a ridiculous advantage, but if you have that it doesn't really matter what you're going. For infantry to work, you're going to have to go with harassment. I'd advise a banshee into expand opening (though any harassment opening should work, a cloaked banshee is a very powerful tool) and expanding very aggressively from there. Don't bother with planetary fortresses, go with OC's so you have scan aplenty. Now, he may try to push you when he sees you expanding, and for this reason it's very important that you don't bother with making tanks up til this point (at least with the banshee build) so you can afford the infantry production. I'm pretty sure you were a P player in BW, so I'll put what you need to do in terms you probably know: goon dance vs his tank, but with your infantry. Delay him, force him to siege, make him move away from your base; whatever you can do to delay his forces while you mass up more and more so you can crush him.

Now, you have to keep tabs on his viking fleet and strike him wherever you can with drops. The goal here is to keep him back while you get your superior number of expansions going. Your infantry's mobility and your scouting should enable you to stop sneaky expo attempts, meaning he has to push to any expansion locations, giving you more opportunity to pick away at his bases with harassment.

The obvious issue with this idea is the same issue that other harassment heavy builds have: how do I defend when he attacks. In this case, you have to make tanks yourself, and figuring out exactly when is going to be the tricky part. What this playstyle will likely evolve into is you harassing him until he has the forces to defend it, at which point you have an economic advantage which you spend on massing tanks to defend yourself while taking your side of the map (you're highly unlikely to be able to match his tank count for awhile, even with the superior econ and beefy as marauders are they don't stand much chance against massed siege tanks). When you start this turtling action yourself is where things get very interesting because you have to find a way to defend yourself while keeping him from getting up his own side of the map.

In the end, an infantry build is going to end up playing out like a regular TvT. That's not to say you should just play tank/viking, because there's a lot of interesting possibilities with infantry and lots of chances for exciting multiple front manuevers, but a TvT that doesn't end in a quick rush is almost certainly going to end up in a positional war where good unit placement, solid scouting and efficient economy management will decide the winner.

Personally, if I'm going tank/viking and fall behind in viking count I do my best to get ahead an expo while focusing on tanks. If he stops viking production and I can surge ahead later, then that's great, but if not I expect to have a superior tank force and be able to outexpand him. The issue with surrendering air control to your opponent lies in drops, but that's what scan is for; always keep an eye on his troops and if he suddenly seems lean in his army get very scared. Also, you should have an excess of minerals, which you should use to fund missle turrets to stave off drops and viking scouting/harassment.

Of course, all this is based on you facing a tank/viking player. And it expects a long, macro-focused game with an opponent playing safely. An infantry player can punish a greedy tank/viking player very easily early on because of the toughness of marauders. Going for a big infantry push against a tank/viking player who goes slowly and sets himself up properly before taking his expansion is going to make life very hard on you, though, so an infantry oriented TvT build should focus on gaining and maintaining an economic advantage and not on trying for a risky quick kill.

Good luck, and remember that anything is possible if you're smart and stubborn (especially the latter) enough. ;)

Thanks man! Was a good read, very helpfull. :D