Stormgate – Vanguard Bio Build Order

Quick Guide to Vanguard Bio Build Order

By Orangutan.

I am at 1500 MMR and this build order seems to work for me most of the time. I think it is stronger vs Infernal than Vanguard. If you are already knowledgeable about the meta, I do not expect this guide to be useful, but please leave a comment anyways to let me know what this could be weak to.

Build

At the start of the game you have to do 3 things in quick succession:

1. Queue up a worker
2. BOB overcharge
3. Send a worker to the natural ramp to build a Barracks
4. Build the Barracks

Note: Do not queue up a second worker unless if you send the worker down late. I prefer the faster Barracks than the 0.5 seconds earlier worker.

After the barracks start building, start continuous work production.

When barracks finishes, make a lancer then make a habitat (yes this will cause you to be supply blocked for a bit. If you don’t like that, then make the habitat first).

Note: Make sure these buildings are part of the wall on your natural. Sometimes vs Vanguard the dog is annoying and doesn’t let you build the habitat downstairs. That’s fine. At the very least, the biokinetics lab and barracks need to be part of the wall.

• Make a second lancer. Once the second lancer is out, try to go out and contest the creep camps.
• Once you have the money, make a biokinetics lab then rally your next 2 workers to gas.
• Make an exo once you have the money.
• Once you have the money for a command post, use BOB overcharge and send down 3 workers from the mineral line to make your natural command post.
• With your next 300 minerals, make 2 Barracks. Eventually you wanna build habitats next to this and turn them into solar habitats.

The rest of the build is flexible. You can choose how much you want to rally into gas from this point on. However, I recommend at least 2 workers on the main gas and 3 workers on the natural gas. This allows you to either produce a round of exo, or a round of lancers followed by medtechs. Eventually you will have a decision between the Exo upgrade and the command post upgrade. Most of the time I get the exo upgrade first. However, if I know my opponent is going to be passive there is no issue upgrading the command post first.

What Is the Gameplan?

The idea is to use the initial dog to keep tabs on what the opponent is doing. If everything is normal, we play normal and take creep camps. If the opponent does something different, you spot that with the dog and adapt. With the first 2 lancers, try to take the creep camps in the middle. If the opponent has more units, fall back. If the opponent has slightly less units, I prefer to not start the camp because that damages my units. I like to make exos after the first 2 lancers (because they are a good unit in general and allow you to kite).

If my opponent is doing an early committed attack I think of four ideas:

1. A wall completion + sentry post will help against fast units or melee units. The wall here is similar to a PvZ wall. I leave a gap wide enough only for 1 unit. I put a lancer on hold position there.
2. Slow units can be kited by the exo (For example brutes or lancers)
3. BOB overcharge can be used not only to fight with the BOBs, but also to make them tankier as they repair buildings (such as the sentry post).
4. I start thinking about whether getting exos earlier than usual will help against what I am facing. If so, I move 2-3 workers to gas and build exos earlier.

Anyways I just adapt based on what I see. My ideal lategame is a lot of exos, lancers and a few medtechs (maybe 3-5). I try to deny the 3rd base or build up towards an attack on the third base. Of course, this is not a 2 base allin. I will expand once I get an excess 400 Luminite and eventually add Barracks 4 and 5 with their solar habitats. I put on pressure while playing macro.