Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Fatboy buy

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond pays Tech heavily from before 5 minutes to rush a Fatboy to front by around 5:12, well ahead of the role norm, fighting in the middle while keeping the usual eco and boosting job behind it.

#push #team support · 150 distinct matches · 43 players · 19% of Cortex Pond games · team won 53% of 150 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT

Fatboy from Tech arrives 5:12 · 17% of role by thenTech makes it and hands it over.
Heavy 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 9,900 energy.

Where those units first fight, in 144 games with kill data: in the middle 90%, on their own side 10%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,683 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

0:03Drop tidals, mex and a bot lab while boosting wind for front.
by 5:00Send Tech heavy metal and energy to fund the Fatboy buy.
5:10Take the Heavy Plasma Bot 'Fatboy' handed over by Tech.
5:10+Fly the Fatboy to the middle to push alongside front.
6:02+Keep bot lab output of Grunt and Tick going as the real transition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 150 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND

10:00
25:34

PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:13 step by step: what to build now, what comes next, and where it goes. At 1× it keeps pace with your own game.

1
Up to the Bot Lab
0:00 – 5:34
Economy
- 4Mex
- 8Tidalfor allies
- 8Wind
- 1Tidal
- 1Energy storage
Order
1. Bot Lab ~5:34after 4 mex, 9 wind, 3 converterdone ~5:55, middle half 3:39–6:52
Some games also: converter (44%)
By 5:34 in all: 4 mex · 8 wind · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage
The example game in this phase · 4 steps
1. 0:03Tidal ×7for Suicide front
2. 0:59Tidal
3. 1:21Mex ×3
4. 1:52Bot Labdone 2:08 · typical 5:55
2
Bot Lab to 10:00
5:34 – 10:00
Some games also: wind (46%) · con turret (39%) · con bot (37%) · grunt (36%) · converter (30%)
The standard build makes here, this one skips: 16 wind · 2 converter
By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 15 wind (standard 26) · 1 tidal · 3 converter (standard 6) · 1 energy storage
The example game in this phase · 123 steps
1. 2:11Con bot
2. 2:20Graverobber
3. 2:21Con bot
4. 2:30Wind ×3
5. 2:54Graverobber ×2
6. 3:11Mex
7. 3:15Wind
8. 3:22Graverobber
9. 3:35Grunt
10. 3:35Wind
11. 3:41Grunt ×3
12. 3:56Wind
13. 3:59Con bot
14. 4:04Energy storagefor Suicide front
15. 4:18Wind
16. 4:19Grunt
17. 4:40Wind
18. 4:57Guard
19. 5:01Wind
20. 5:06Guard
21. 5:12Grunt
22. 5:15Guard
23. 5:16Grunt ×2
24. 5:23Wind
25. 5:26Graverobber
26. 5:30Thistle ×2
27. 5:45Con bot
28. 5:49Wind
29. 6:05Grunt ×2
30. 6:12Guard
31. 6:12Wind
32. 6:16Grunt ×2
33. 6:31Guard
34. 6:32Grunt
35. 6:38Wind
36. 6:42Grunt ×4
37. 7:01Wind
38. 7:02Grunt ×5
39. 7:21Wind
40. 7:21T2 mexdone 9:11 · typical 10:04
41. 7:22Grunt ×4
42. 7:49Wind
43. 7:51Grunt ×4
44. 8:09Wind
45. 8:12Grunt ×4
46. 8:32Wind
47. 8:32Graverobber
48. 8:38Wind
49. 8:46Graverobber
50. 8:49Wind ×2
51. 8:59Grunt
52. 8:59Wind
53. 9:05Grunt
54. 9:10Wind
55. 9:14Grunt
56. 9:16T2 mex
57. 9:20Grunt
58. 9:21Wind ×2
59. 9:26Grunt
60. 9:32Con bot
61. 9:33Wind ×4
62. 10:08Con bot
63. 10:08T2 mex
64. 10:17Wind ×2
65. 10:26Grunt ×3
66. 10:39Wind ×2
67. 10:44Grunt ×3
68. 11:00Wind
69. 11:03Grunt
70. 11:06Wind
71. 11:08Grunt ×2
72. 11:16T2 mex
73. 11:18Grunt
74. 11:22Wind
75. 11:23Grunt
76. 11:27Wind
77. 11:28Grunt ×4
78. 11:43Wind ×2
79. 11:48Grunt
80. 11:53Graverobber
81. 11:57Con turret
82. 12:04Wind ×2
83. 12:11Graverobber
84. 12:18Fusiondone 14:05
85. 12:23Con turret
86. 12:26Wind ×2
87. 12:30Grunt ×4
88. 12:46Wind
89. 12:48Grunt
90. 12:49Wind
91. 12:52Grunt
92. 12:55Con turret
93. 12:57Grunt ×2
94. 13:05Wind
95. 13:06Grunt
96. 13:09Wind
97. 13:09Con turret
98. 13:10Grunt
99. 13:17Wind
100. 13:18Grunt
101. 13:24Wind
102. 13:25Grunt
103. 13:25Wind
104. 13:29Grunt ×4
105. 13:57Graverobber
106. 13:58Wind
107. 14:06Grunt ×3
108. 14:19Graverobber
109. 14:19Wind
110. 14:28T2 converter
111. 14:28Graverobber
112. 14:37Grunt
113. 14:37Con turret
114. 14:41Wind
115. 14:41Grunt
116. 14:43Con turret
117. 14:46Grunt
118. 14:48Con turret
119. 14:50Grunt
120. 14:53Con turret
121. 14:55Grunt
122. 14:57Con turret
123. 14:59Grunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [DmE]Mr_Inconclusive's (33 OS, 20/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

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

You get

1 Heavy transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:51 · in 77% of games
1 Fatboy from Techfirst at 5:13 · in 100% of games
1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:12 · 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

150 games.

Show as table

By	Metal produced: This build	Metal produced: Standard pond	Enemy metal destroyed: This build	Enemy metal destroyed: Standard pond	Own metal lost: This build	Own metal lost: Standard pond	Metal sent to allies: This build	Metal sent to allies: Standard pond	Energy sent to allies: This build	Energy sent to allies: Standard pond
1:00	115	115	0	0	0	0	0	0	1080	1012
2:00	272	258	0	0	0	0	0	0	2765	2438
3:00	814	737	0	0	0	0	0	0	4803	4695
4:00	1495	1410	0	0	0	0	418	0	7378	6694
5:00	2244	2125	0	0	0	0	1096	111	13427	9877
6:00	3018	2931	0	0	0	0	1411	400	18569	11926
7:00	3852	3801	200	0	0	0	1523	442	21889	14105
8:00	4644	4890	1063	54	129	86	1620	452	23235	17257
9:00	5480	6223	1997	225	488	181	1676	461	25628	19465
10:00	6426	7751	2864	480	934	517	1697	468	27843	22262
11:00	7591	9869	3213	856	1491	796	1708	475	28792	25008
12:00	9019	12148	3587	1170	1937	1054	1724	483	29765	26862
13:00	10524	14682	4562	1575	2406	1612	1765	492	30321	30092
14:00	12473	17122	4940	1837	3017	2073	1844	531	32480	35003
15:00	14681	19818	5404	2600	3378	2966	1906	549	34374	40760

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

[DmE]Mr_Inconclusive

33.1 OS · 20/08/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
1688 metal received · 12511 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab5:55Middle 50%: 3:39–6:52 · n=82

Advanced Metal Extractor10:04Middle 50%: 9:17–10:50 · n=141

Played most by

[Grump]Matsuri24games of this build FrontLiner69er13games of this build zeus_on_god11games of this build DouglasBacon10games of this build SHOGVN9games of this build

Supporting games

Pick a game to read and play it above.

SHOGVN15/10/2026 · 34 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri13/10/2026 · 40 OS↗Vaticineur13/10/2026 · 33 OS↗Vaticineur13/10/2026 · 32 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri13/10/2026 · 39 OS↗SauceDispenser13/10/2026 · 35 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri13/10/2026 · 39 OS↗SHOGVN12/10/2026 · 35 OS↗[DmE]Mr_Inconclusive20/08/2026 · 33 OS↗

32 more of 142, the most recent

Supreme Isthmus v2.1
Beyond All Reason test-31001-7b9fbd4
Naval balance tweaks off

Fatboy buy

Phase by phase

Up to the Bot Lab

Bot Lab to 10:00

Team trades

You hand over

You get

How it plays out

Metal produced

Enemy metal destroyed

Own metal lost

Metal sent to allies

Energy sent to allies

[DmE]Mr_Inconclusive

Typical milestones

Played most by

Supporting games