Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy

As a Protoss player, one of your easiest match-ups is against Zerg players. You definitely have the advantage in this match-up unless the opponent is very good (but then again, great players are never easy to beat!).

What it comes down to in Starcraft 2 Protoss vs Zerg Strategy is that Immortals and Colossi simply dominate on the ground, whereas Phoenix dominate the air. Either way, it's good to be Protoss!

Build a Lot of Probes

As soon as the match starts, start building a lot of workers. Keep making them. You will want to make these in excess.

Build a pylon at 8/10 and a Gateway at 12 or 13 out of 19 supplies.

If you get rushed here, use your probes. Probes are very effective versus Zerglings!

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Block Your Entrance

Zerg players are slow to get air or drop ship technology (need a Lair and research before Overlords can do this). The only threat you face is Speedlings (Zerglings with the speed upgrade) speeding past your units and wrecking your minerals.

You can prevent this from happening by placing your initial Gateway and Pylon by the ramp to your base. Then, plug this hole up with your ground units.

Once the Zerg player has realized this has happened, they will often pull their Zerglings out. Use your Sentries to trap them in!

Scout

You need to figure out what your enemy is up to. If he has expanded early, you either need to kill him fast or expand yourself.

A good Zerg player will sneak Zerglings in to finish off your expansion constantly, so if you want to expand, attack the Zerg player's expansion with SOME of your units and then expand yourself.

Even if you don't win, distract him long enough to secure your expansion and you have "won" that interchange.

Mass Tier 1 and Tier 2 Units

As soon as your Gateway is done being built, start making Zealots. Build a second Gateway and start teching towards a Twilight Council. Research Warp Gate technology.

Research Charge, build a 3rd Gateway, and keep making Zealots. Make about 10 Zealots, 6 Stalkers, and 6 Sentries and then go in (no Stalkers if there are only Zerglings).

Zerg is so slow to start it is practically guaranteed they cannot stop an early mass attack. They will overspend in pursuit of an early expansion or technology.

The only way for this to be countered by the Zerg player is to mass Zerglings or opt for an early Roach Push.

If you see a Zergling mass, re-mass your army, build a few Colossi and go back in. If you see Roaches, grab a Robotics Bay, throw a few Immortals into the mix, and go in.

If you are looking for a fool-proof combo, opt for Sentries, Immortals, and Colossi. Then, add in Zealots (if there are a lot of ground units) or Stalkers (if there are a lot of air units).

Many Zerg players like to mass Mutalisks. Add a few Phoenix to your army or mass Stalkers. Both will work.

If you expanded and the map has a lot of distance between your main base and your expansion, I prefer the Phoenix. You can use small groups to kill workers and Queens very quickly, while protecting your own minerals from Mutalisks.

The downside to the Phoenix is that building a Stargate is expensive, so only do it if you expanded. If you did not, build Stalkers.

The Fast Expand / Roach Push

Some Zerg players will opt not to rush with Zerglings and instead try to either 1) snag a fast expansion or 2) push with Roaches. Some will do both! In this situation, the counter is fairly easy.

Stalkers do well versus Roaches, and you can expand yourself. If your enemy simply tries to Roach push with a dozen Roaches off of 1 base, mass Stalkers and a few Sentries and you will be perfectly fine. Use your ramp and Force Fields to stymie the Roach push in the early game.

If your enemy keeps turning out Roaches, grab a Robotics Bay and Chrono Boost out 2 Immortals. Immortals absolutely decimate rush

You only need to expand if your opponent takes an expansion. A good time to expand is when you are pushing the opponent yourself. That way, your Nexus will be done before your enemy can retaliate.

Conclusion

With that said, I cannot restate the importance of how slow the Zerg are after an initial Zergling rush. Do not allow Zerg players to expand early against you without making them pay for it.

Also, note that Void Rays are weak versus Zerg unless they are massing Zerglings and/or Roaches. Hydralisks are low HP, high damage targets that are VERY effective versus Void Rays and much, much lower cost.

With that said, an air rush is a viable option versus Zerg players as it takes Zerg players quite a long time to get a Lair finished.

You will need a better economy than the Zerg players (very tough) if you want to have a chance to successfully mass Void Rays. I would not recommend this and there is simply better ways to go about beating Zerg players (hint: don't let the game last that long, and if it does, get Immortals and Colossi!).

With these basic strategies in mind, beating Zerg players is very easy. Hit them early and often, starve them of minerals, and don't let the game run on too long and you will do just fine. 

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