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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Fatboy buy

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond pays Tech heavily from before 5 minutes to get a Fatboy handed over around 5:12 and flown to front by heavy transport, fighting in the middle while Pond's own eco continues behind it.

#push #team support · 147 distinct matches · 42 players · 20% of Cortex Pond games · team won 53% of 147 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • FatboyFatboy from Tech arrives 5:10 · 17% of role by thenTech makes it and hands it over.
  • HephaestusHeavy transport from an ally in 77%14% of all Pond games by then

Paid for by sending allies about 1,100 metal and 13,000 energy by 5:00; standard pond sends 110 metal and 9,450 energy.

Where those units first fight, in 141 games with kill data: in the middle 89%, on their own side 11%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,570 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into grunt (28% of army), tick (9% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Fatboy handed over by 5:10

  1. Drop tidals, mex and a bot lab while boosting wind for front.
  2. Send Tech heavy metal and energy to fund the Fatboy buy.
  3. Take the Heavy Plasma Bot 'Fatboy' handed over by Tech.
  4. Fly the Fatboy to the middle to push alongside front.
  5. Keep bot lab output of Grunt and Tick going as the real transition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 147 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  1. 1
  2. 2
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:10 step by step: what to build now, what comes next, and where it goes. At 1× it keeps pace with your own game.

  1. 1

    Up to the Bot Lab

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Wind Turbine8Wind
    • Tidal Generator1Tidal
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 9 wind, 4 converterdone ~5:58, middle half 3:38–6:56

    Some games also: converter (45%)

    By 5:36 in all: 4 mex · 8 wind · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Tidal ×4
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Energy storage
    5. Wind ×15
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to 10:00

    Some games also: wind (46%) · con turret (39%) · grunt (37%) · con bot (37%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 14 wind · 2 converter

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 15 wind (standard 24) · 1 tidal · 3 converter (standard 6) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 35 steps
    1. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 6:22
    2. RascalRascal
    3. WolverineWolverine
    4. RascalRascal
    5. WolverineWolverine
    6. RascalRascal
    7. WolverineWolverine
    8. RascalRascal
    9. WolverineWolverine
    10. RascalRascal
    11. WolverineWolverine
    12. RascalRascal
    13. WolverineWolverine
    14. RascalRascal
    15. WolverineWolverine
    16. RascalRascal
    17. WolverineWolverine
    18. RascalRascal ×4
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:57 · typical 10:05
    20. RascalRascal ×12
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. RascalRascal ×2
    23. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    24. RascalRascal
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. RascalRascal ×23
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. RascalRascal ×19
    29. ThistleThistle
    30. RascalRascal
    31. ThistleThistle
    32. Mex
    33. Metal storage
    34. CitadelAnti-nukenot finished by 15:00
    35. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is FrontLiner69er's (32 OS, 06/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:11 · in 99% of games

You get

  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:50 · in 77% of games
  • Fatboy1 Fatboy from Techfirst at 5:10 · in 100% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:13 · in 94% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build against the role’s standard build, running totals by minute

  • This build
  • Standard pond

Metal produced

010k20k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k6k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Metal sent to allies

01k2k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Energy sent to allies

020k40k60k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

147 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard pondEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard pondOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard pondMetal sent to allies: This buildMetal sent to allies: Standard pondEnergy sent to allies: This buildEnergy sent to allies: Standard pond
1:001151150000001089988
2:0027326000000027692438
3:0081575200000047664666
4:00149514140000440073616481
5:002243214200001099111134579436
6:0030132951000014143891857611987
7:003856383921000015294362199614105
8:00465249131065511297316224482332816905
9:0054696340201418549217216804522561719465
10:0064217751286132194151316984612780622262
11:00755898993115740145379617094682877324464
12:00900412351358411421896105417364822959526862
13:001051814910452915752405163717594823026930092
14:001247017209490818373032207318395073240635003
15:001464519934539626233375296619055313431540760
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build and destroyed more enemy metal by 15:00 despite producing less metal itself.

  • + Destroyed 5282 enemy metal by 15:00 vs 3127 for the standard build.
  • + Fatboy and heavy transports line up: 79% of games get a Hephaestus by 4:39.
  • − Own metal lost by 15:00 rose to 3713 vs 3070 standard.
  • − Metal produced lagged badly at 10:00 and 15:00 (6422/14880 vs 8366/19066).
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

FrontLiner69er

32.5 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
287 metal received · 31777 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Bot Lab5:58Middle 50%: 3:38–6:56 · n=80
Advanced Metal Extractor10:05Middle 50%: 9:18–10:49 · n=138

Played most by

[Grump]Matsuri24games of this buildFrontLiner69er13games of this buildzeus_on_god11games of this buildDouglasBacon10games of this buildMischievousDragonGF8games of this build