Ayumi Build

The Ayumi Build, also commonly known as the 4 Barracks Sunken Break Build, is a Terran versus Zerg build designed specifically to counter the standard 3 Hatch Muta Build. Its name is derived from an Iccup player named Ayumi, who displayed the build successfully winning in a series of replays. Under the facade of an economical 1 Barracks FE opening, Terran leads the Zerg to believe that there will be little aggression until Terran gets Science Vessels and is ready to push. However, the build, as the names suggest, skips the tech completely in favor of a quick 4 Barracks in order to break or severely damage the Zerg before the standard 3 Hatch Mutalisk or Lurker tech arrives, securing a concrete advantage if not an outright win. Note, however, that this build cuts many SCVs and delays Tech in order to get this attack out quickly, so if the attack on the Zerg's natural fails without securing a large advantage, Terran will be at a great disadvantage.

[e][h]Ayumi Build

A typical army from the Ayumi Build attacks an unsuspecting Zerg

Strategy Information

Creator(s):

Unknown

Matchups:

TvZ

Type:

Opening

Popularized by:

Ayumi

Mentality

As mentioned above, the purpose of the build is to break the Zerg's natural before his tech can come into play. The build is difficult to detect from the Zerg's standpoint due to its 1 Barracks FE opening. Terran delays his own tech in order to amass enough units to cripple or defeat Zerg before the Zerg's superior tech ever gets a chance to assert its advantage. A failed attack leaves Terran significantly behind in tech. However, because of the quick expansion opening, Terran maintains a decent economy even if the attack fails. This, coupled with the fact that Zerg also gives up a small amount of economy in order to defend the attack, leaves Terran only behind in tech, giving Terran a relatively good chance of rebounding back into the game. The following build allows for 2 groups of Marines and 4 Medics to arrive at the Zerg base at the correct time.

Build Order

• 9th SCV - Supply Depot
• 10/18 - Barracks
• 14/18 - Supply Depot
• 20/26 - Command Center @ Expansion
• 23/26 - Supply Depot
• 29/34 - 3 Barracks built simultaneously
• 35/44 - Refinery
• @100% Refinery, maynard some SCVs to Expansion
• 37/44 - Supply Depot (see note)
• 38/52 - Academy
• 44/52 - Supply Depot (see note)
• 52/60 - Stim Upgrade + 4 Medics (see note)

Build Order Clarification

Hiding Your Build Order

Since you are constantly producing Marines out of your first Barracks, you should use them to clear out Zerglings that are camping outside of your Natural in order to keep Zerg in the dark. In addition, do not allow Zerg to sneak a scouting Zergling into your base, as the quick 4 Barracks is an obvious indication of an aggressive build, making it much less likely that you will succeed. Other than those things, hiding your build order should be relatively easy. Try not to keep a huge amount of Marines in sight, as a large amount of Marines with no Medics so early can also lead a Zerg to deduce your build.

(*37 - Supply Depot)

At this point, temporarily stop producing constant SCVs in favor of more Marines.

(*44 - Supply Depot)

At this point, every time a Supply Depot completes, use that same SCV to constantly make another one.

Moving Out

At this point you should have 2 groups of Marines and 4 Medics, with Stim Researching. On most positions and maps, Stim will finish as you approach the Zerg base. Have a group of Marines and a couple medics spearhead the march to the Zerg base in order to clear Zerglings and scouts followed closely by the rest of your army. Be sure to add an Engineering Bay as well as Comsats as you move out. When you arrive near the Zerg's Natural, gather your units and scan his Natural. If there are fewer than 5 or so Sunken Colonies completed, then immediately Stim your units and attack. Remember to reinforce units from your 4 Barracks as you attack.

Build Order Changes and Adaptations

4,5,6 Pool

These builds tend to get an extremely early Pool with the intention of killing you at the start. See Terran Counter to 4 Pool in order to get an idea of how to counter such play. If you are able to block these builds, you almost certainly will win as long as you are cautious, and there is no longer a need to follow the Ayumi Build Order, or even take an Expansion. The most common follow ups to a 4,5, or 6 Pool build is 1 Hatch Tech (most commonly lurker), so be sure to get an early Academy/Engineering Bay.

9 Pool

If the Zerg opts for a relatively early pool, often, the Zerglings will arrive at your base when you have 2 or less Marines. See Terran Counter to 9 Pool for information on blocking it. However, if successfully blocked, you are significantly ahead of Zerg heading into the mid-game. At this point you may opt to discontinue following the Ayumi Build because at this point, the build has not significantly diverged from the standard Barracks FE build into a midgame push, and therefore it is relatively easy to change builds early on. Reasons for changing are that 9 Pool is a common opening for 2 Hatch Muta, which does not match up well with the Ayumi Build and the fact that you have a good advantage for any long, economical game, something the Ayumi Build does not transition well into.

3 Hatch Speedling

If an experienced Zerg decides to go 3 Hatch Zergling against you, you will often not know until it is too late. Therefore, it's important to keep an SCV outside of his base and be on constant alert for Zerglings streaming into your expansion. If you see an abnormally large amount of Zerglings kill your attempts at scouting, be even more on the alert, and consider building a bunker. In the event that you can't scout the build, as is oftentimes the case, pull your Marines back up the ramp or back into a smaller choke, pull all of your SCVs back into your main, and lift your Command Center immediately. If you do not do these things in that order quickly, there is a high probability that you will lose the game. When the SCVs that were pulled from your Expansion reach the ramp or choke point, stop them and use them to block the Zerglings from attacking your Marines. An advanced strategy is to repeatedly move your SCVs to a mineral patch and then immediately stopping; this often messes up the Zergling AI and will cause them to move around aimlessly. However, if you can use the SCVs to block your ramp and protect your Marines, that will almost always be enough to fend off the attack.

At the end of this encounter, Zerg will have essentially have lost the game, as they do not have the tech to fight Marines with Stim and Medics. Once you have a good amount of Marines, move out towards his Natural Expansion. If he has put enough Sunken Colonies up to block your attack, then you will be significantly ahead in the mid game, and if he decides to be risky and put a minimal amount of defense in order to catch up on tech, he will lose then and there.

2 Hatch

If you see a Zerg take an early gas before his third Hatchery, then it is almost a sure sign that he will go 2 Hatch Tech. Upon seeing this early gas, it is advisable to stop following the Ayumi Build Order and transition into the 1 Barracks FE Build Order into a midgame push. Because a 2 Hatch Zerg will need to take his gas so early, it is early enough for you to change your Build Order, as it has not yet diverged from a standard 1 Barracks FE opening. In the event that you can not scout what he has done due to a 9 Pool or bad luck in positions, it is up to the you to determine whether you should continue following the Ayumi Build.

If you have somehow not managed to scout the Zerg before you have placed your 3 Barracks, then you are essentially committed to the Ayumi build, and must commit to the rush, as your Marines won't be able to properly defend against the Mutalisks. You can attempt to defend against the Mutalisks, but given how behind you are economically and the fact that your Marines will be un-upgraded, you will be at a severe disadvantage. One response is to cut SCVs to try to get an Academy up faster so you can at least have Stim Pack researching when he gets his Lair tech units. However, you will have to play extremely defensively in either scenario.

Do note that you will not have Comsats up in time to scout the Zerg build, so you will not know if he is going 2 Hatch Mutas or 2 Hatch Lurkers until he reveals his tech, unless you were somehow able to sneak a scout into his base. You will essentially have to play to cover both scenarios.

2 Hatch Mutas

Assuming you got an earlier Academy and are researching Stim, you will have to skip one round of Marines and get 4 Medics earlier. Once the Medics are created, you will then have to push out and place an Engineering Bay down as soon possible. The goal is to distract the Zerg's Mutalisks with your push long enough to get a sufficient number of Turrets down to hold off the Mutalisks. Your attack might die, but you will then have to play defensively until you can get Tanks and Science Vessels to push out.

2 Hatch Lurkers

You will again have to get an early Academy and push out earlier. Since your Comsat is delayed, you will not have enough scans to effectively engage the opponent, so you can only delay the Zerg. Get +1 Armor instead of +1 Weapons so your Marines can survive easier. If you are forced to play defensively in your base, be sure to place a Turret or two and Bunkers at your natural to guard against a Lurker bust.

3 Hatch Tech

This is the common Zerg opening on most maps, and is also what the Ayumi Build aims to counter specifically. The Ayumi Build ideally should always be used against a Zerg that is going 3 Hatch Tech.

If the Zerg went for 3 Hatch Muta, then his Mutalisks will spawn either as you're attacking the Sunkens or right after you have finished them off. In either case, Mutalisks are not very adept at facing ground units head on, and because you are controlling where to attack as opposed protecting your base, the Mutalisks will be forced to deal with your army head on, which is very inefficient for the Zerg. Assuming that the Zerg does not suspect anything, he should not have more than 4 Sunkens by the time you arrive. 2 Groups of Marines and 4 Medics along with later reinforcements from 4 working Barracks should be plenty to break the sunkens and also clean up any Mutalisks that remain. If you are successful in breaking the Sunkens, it almost always means an automatic win.

If the Zerg went for 3 Hatch Lurker, then the timing for his tech should be similar to the Mutalisks. As such, your attack should arrive before his Lurkers are situated. With the Lurkers usually out of position, your 2 Scans should be more than enough to clean up any Lurkers that will finish after you have broken the Sunkens. The Ayumi Build also almost always results in a win versus the 3 Hatch Lurker Build.

Transition

If you succeed in breaking his Natural Expansion, but are not able to completely end the game, you are in a great position. Make sure your base is prepared for Lair Tech units that survive (add Turrets, Bunkers or whatever is necessary), and quickly add a Factory and begin teching while containing the Zerg. Use your map control to prevent any new Zerg Expansions as a secret Expansion or two that slips by can lead to a comeback.

If you completely fail in breaking his Expansion, or deemed it unprofitable to continue with your attack, immediately add a Factory to begin teching back up and prepare your base for his tech as you normally would. Use your large army (if you decided not to attack) to threaten attacking in order to bide time for your Turrets to finish. From there, transition into a standard game after you have access to Science Vessels by adding more Barracks / Starports and/or Factories. If you lost your army without doing significant damage, it will be difficult to recover. Use your 4 Barracks to rebuild your army slowly as you defend against his Mutalisks or Lurkers, and try to move out again out of his contain before he has access to Hive Tech.

Countered By

Hard Counters

• 6,5,4 Pool
• 3 Hatch Zergling
• 2 Hatch Muta
• 2 Hatch Lurker

Soft Counters

• 9 Pool

Counter To

Hard Counters

• 3 Hatch Muta
• 3 Hatch Lurker

Soft Counters

• None

Notable Maps

Strong

• Smaller maps with closer positions.(ex-Neo Requiem)
• Maps with a wide choke (ex-Peaks of Baekdu)

Weak

• Bigger Maps
• Maps with ramps or a narrow choke (ex-Destination)

External links

Written Build Order as well as videos with more specific descriptions of build:

• https://tl.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=86770

General Terran FAQ that encompasses some questions about the Ayumi Build:

• https://tl.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=90288

Thread containing the original Ayumi Build replays:

• https://tl.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=66056