PvT build order and strategy: Протос vs Теран

Checklist: do this

One gateway, cybernetics core, dragoon range, then a nexus at the natural by 4:00.
Robotics facility by 5:30 for an observer; mines and cloaked wraiths are its whole reason.
Three, then five gateways on two bases; a citadel for zealot speed around 7:00.
Third nexus around 8:30 when the observer confirms Terran is on two bases.
Forge for ground weapons +1 by 7:00, then armor; two forges on three bases.
Templar archives or arbiter tribunal by 11:00 depending on the map: storms hold, arbiters attack.
Never attack a sieged tank line from the front; hit it from two sides, or where it is moving.
Scout Terran at 4:00 and 7:00: a fast expand, a two-factory push or a starport each change your next two buildings.

Why it works

Terran mech is slow and positional; Protoss beats it by having more bases and more gateways than Terran can siege at once, and by fighting where the tank line is thinnest. Dragoons with range hold the early game, observers see the mines, and once three bases are saturated the gateways outnumber the factories. Arbiters then remove the tanks from the fight, or carriers fly over them.

If you remember one sentenceExpand faster than Terran, keep dragoons and zealots streaming from many gateways, see the mines with an observer, and win late with arbiters or carriers.

The build

Supply8 Time0:55 Pylon Never blocked at 8.
Supply10 Time1:25 Gateway One gateway; the first zealot only if scouting demands it.
Supply12 Time1:50 Assimilator The core needs gas by 2:30.
Supply14 Time2:25 Cybernetics Core Dragoons and their range.
Supply16 Time3:00 Pylon, Dragoon The first dragoon holds against vultures.
Supply19 Time3:30 Singularity Charge Dragoon range before the first tank arrives.
Supply22 Time4:00 Nexus at the natural Two bases by 5:00; Terran is expanding too.
Supply26 Time4:40 Second Gateway, Pylon Production starts to grow.
Supply30 Time5:20 Robotics Facility An observer for mines and cloak by 7:00.
Supply36 Time6:00 Third Gateway, Observatory Three gateways on two bases; the observer follows the army.
Supply44 Time7:00 Forge and Citadel of Adun Ground weapons +1 and zealot speed.
Supply54 Time8:30 Third Nexus, Gateways 4 and 5 Three bases pay for eight gateways later.
Supply70 Time10:30 Templar Archives or Stargate and Arbiter Tribunal Storm to hold; arbiters to attack.
Supply90 Time12:00 Gateways 6 to 8, second Forge Three bases of gateways; +2/+2.

Research, in this order

Singularity Charge at the Cybernetics Core
Dragoon range; without it dragoons lose to marines and vultures.
Ground Weapons +1 at the Forge
Zealots and dragoons versus vultures and tanks; upgrades win the mid game.
Leg Enhancements at the Citadel of Adun
Speed zealots reach tanks and catch vultures.
Gravitic Boosters at the Observatory
Observer speed; it must keep up with the army.
Ground Armor +1 at the Forge
Then armor; alternate them.
Psionic Storm at the Templar Archives
Storms kill marines and SCVs and force a tank line to move.
Stasis Field at the Arbiter Tribunal
Half the tank line frozen is a fight won.
Recall at the Arbiter Tribunal
The army in the Terran main while the tanks are away.

The army, stage by stage

Opening
Dragoon
Two to four dragoons with range hold vultures and the first tank.
Two bases
DragoonZealotObserver
Three dragoons per zealot until speed; the observer sees mines.
Three bases
ZealotDragoonHigh TemplarObserver
Speed zealots in front, storms on the bio and SCVs, dragoons behind.
Late game
ZealotDragoonArbiterCarrier
Arbiters stasis the line; carriers if Terran is short of goliaths.

If you scout…

A command center before a factory

When 3:00 by the probe scout

Do Nexus at 3:30, third gateway sooner, a dragoon pressure with the first four.

Why Greedy Terran has one tank; punish with dragoons or match the greed.

Two factories and no expansion

When 4:30 to 5:30

Do Dragoons with range at your natural ramp, a shield battery, cannons if needed; delay the third gateway for units.

Why A two-factory tank-vulture push kills an open natural; range dragoons on high ground hold it.

A starport early

When 5:00 to 6:00

Do Observer first from the robotics facility, a cannon at each mineral line, dragoons at home.

Why Cloaked wraiths kill probes; an observer makes them dragoon food.

Barracks and academy (bio)

When 4:00 to 6:00

Do Zealot speed and storms sooner, fewer dragoons, reavers from the robotics facility.

Why Bio beats dragoons and loses to storms, speed zealots and reavers.

A fleet of goliaths and turrets

When 9:00 onward

Do No carriers; arbiters with stasis and recall, zealot-dragoon-templar on three bases.

Why Goliaths are the carrier answer; arbiters make them irrelevant.

Counters

They have	You answer with
Vultures	Dragoons with range, observers for mines, speed zealots Vultures kite zealots; dragoons outrange them and observers reveal the mines.
Siege Tanks	Speed zealots in front, storms, stasis, recall Tanks splash their own line when zealots close; stasis removes half of them.
Goliaths	Zealots and dragoons with upgrades, storms Goliaths are weak on the ground against upgraded gateway units.
Science Vessels	Dragoons, corsairs on some maps Vessels die fast to focused dragoons; EMP must be avoided by spreading templar and arbiters.
Wraiths	Observers, dragoons, cannons at mineral lines Revealed wraiths die to dragoons.
Battlecruisers	Dragoons in numbers, stasis, scouts on some maps Massed dragoons melt battlecruisers; stasis holds them still.

The mistakes that lose this matchup

Attacking a sieged line
The sign A gateway army gone in seconds.
The fix Hit from two sides, hit it while it moves, or recall behind it.
No observer
The sign Dragoons dead to mines.
The fix Robotics facility by 5:30, an observer with every army.
Too few gateways
The sign A bank of 1,500 on three bases.
The fix Five gateways on two bases, eight on three.
Late range
The sign Dragoons losing to vultures.
The fix Singularity charge the moment the core finishes.
Carriers into goliaths
The sign Carriers dead to a goliath ball.
The fix Scout the armory and goliath count; arbiters instead.

By level

Newcomer

One gateway, core, dragoon range, expand at 4:00. Then the cycle: probes, a dragoon or zealot from every gateway, pylons ahead, a gateway when the bank passes 400. Robotics for an observer. Do not attack sieged tanks; expand again instead.

Learner

The build within thirty seconds; scout at 4:00 and 7:00 and use the forks; +1 weapons by 7:00; three bases by 8:30; storms or arbiters by 11:00; a fight taken from two sides while the tanks move.

Competitor

Dragoon micro against vultures and mines, zealot-storm engagements that break a moving tank line, arbiter stasis and recall timing, and the decision between arbiters and carriers from the Terran composition at 9:00.