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Beach sea / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Goon raid

Cortex Beach sea build order · Supreme Isthmus

A land-side hovercraft raid: instead of the usual shipyard-first opening, the player builds a Hovercraft Platform by around 1:20 and pushes Goons out from 2:00, fighting mostly in the middle and enemy base rather than defensively, before…

Usually hovers first (95%)

#raid #amphibious · 42 distinct matches · 21 players · 2% of Cortex Beach sea games · team won 62% of 42 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • GoonHover raid from 1:58 · 5% of role by thenFrom the Hovercraft Platform. Only 5% of Beach sea games have it by then; others who build it get it around 2:51
  • Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform in 93%6% of all Beach sea games by then

Where those units first fight, in 42 games with kill data: in the middle 71%, in the enemy base 24%.

Those units destroy a typical 561 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into frigate (32% of army), destroyer (26% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Hovercraft Platform by 1:21

  1. Open 3 mex into wind, skip shipyard-first and get eco rolling.
  2. Drop Hovercraft Platform instead of shipyard as your first factory.
  3. Push Goons out from the platform into middle and enemy base.
  4. Add shipyard once raid is rolling for Riptide and Oppressor.
  5. Reclaim the Hovercraft Platform once it has done its job.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 42 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD BEACH SEA
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:00 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 Hovercraft Platform

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine5Wind+3 vs standard
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform after 3 mex, 4 winddone ~1:40, middle half 1:24–1:59

    By 1:07 in all: 3 mex · 5 wind (standard 2) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×5
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind ×3
    5. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 2:07 · typical 1:40
  2. 2

    Hovercraft Platform to Hover raid

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine1Wind
    Order
    1. GoonHover raid after 3 mex, 6 wind, 1 energy storage
    Builders
    • Construction Hovercraft1 Con hovercraft

    By 1:58 in all: 3 mex · 6 wind (standard 2) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    2. GoonGoondone 2:24
  3. 3

    Hover raid to Shipyard

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine3Wind+3 vs standard
    Order
    1. ShipyardShipyard after 6 mex, 10 wind, 1 energy storagedone ~4:25, middle half 4:11–4:50
    Builders
    • Construction Hovercraft1 Con hovercraft
    Army
    • Goon6 Goon +6 vs standard

    By 4:09 in all: 6 mex · 10 wind (standard 3) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 12 steps
    1. GoonGoon ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. GoonGoon
    4. Mex
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    7. GoonGoon ×4
    8. Con turret
    9. GoonGoon
    10. Mex
    11. GoonGoon ×3
    12. ShipyardShipyarddone 4:27 · typical 4:25
  4. 4

    Shipyard to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex+2 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine8Wind+8 vs standard
    Order
    1. Hovercraft PlatformEat Hovercraft Platform
    Builders
    • Construction Ship1 Con ship
    • Death Cavalry1 Death Cavalry
    Army
    • Urchin1 Urchin
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Riptide5 Frigate
    • Oppressor2 Destroyer
    • Herring2 Missile corvette

    Some games also: converter (48%) · Naval Construction Turret (45%) · con turret (40%) · tidal (38%) · Thistle (33%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 10 wind

    By 10:00 in all: 10 mex · 17 wind (standard 4) · 1 energy storage · 1 con turret · 1 Naval Construction Turret

    The example game in this phase · 86 steps
    1. Mex
    2. GoonGoon
    3. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    4. GoonGoon
    5. Mex
    6. SupporterGunboat ×4
    7. Hovercraft PlatformEat Hovercraft Platformreclaimed for its metal
    8. SupporterGunboat
    9. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    10. SupporterGunboat ×2
    11. OrcaSubmarinedone 5:50
    12. UrchinUrchin
    13. OrcaSubmarine
    14. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    15. Naval Construction Turret
    16. Mex
    17. OrcaSubmarine
    18. Construction ShipCon ship
    19. Tidal ×3
    20. OppressorDestroyerdone 9:21 · typical 6:46
    21. Tidal
    22. Mex
    23. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    24. Mex
    25. Tidal
    26. Converter ×2
    27. UrchinUrchin
    28. Tidal
    29. Converter
    30. Tidal
    31. Mex
    32. Tidal
    33. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    34. Converter
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:19 · typical 9:56
    36. Naval Energy Converter ×2
    37. OppressorDestroyer
    38. Naval Energy Converter ×2
    39. RiptideFrigatedone 9:58 · typical 5:49
    40. Naval Energy Converter
    41. RiptideFrigate
    42. Naval Energy Converter
    43. RiptideFrigate
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    45. RiptideFrigate ×3
    46. Construction ShipCon ship
    47. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    48. Naval Construction Turret
    49. Mex
    50. HerringMissile corvette
    51. Mex
    52. HerringMissile corvette
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    54. HerringMissile corvette
    55. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    56. Naval Construction Turret
    57. Tidal ×2
    58. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    59. Tidal
    60. Naval Construction Turret
    61. Tidal
    62. Naval Construction Turret
    63. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    64. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    65. Tidal ×2
    66. Construction ShipCon ship
    67. Tidal
    68. RiptideFrigate ×2
    69. Tidal
    70. RiptideFrigate
    71. Tidal
    72. RiptideFrigate
    73. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    74. Tidal
    75. RiptideFrigate
    76. Tidal
    77. HerringMissile corvette
    78. Tidal
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. HerringMissile corvette
    81. Tidal
    82. HerringMissile corvette
    83. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    84. Tidal
    85. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    86. Tidal ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is EpicTyrannus's (42 OS, 04/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Finch1 Finch from Airfirst at 1:54 · in 62% of games
  • Lazarus1 Lazarus from Geofirst at 2:16 · in 57% of games
  • Hercules1 Light transport from Airfirst at 2:17 · in 33% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geo or Suicide frontfirst at 2:18 · in 38% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:11 · in 90% of games

How it plays out

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

  • This build
  • Standard beach sea

Metal produced

010k20k30k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02.5k5k7.5k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

42 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard beach seaEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard beach seaOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard beach sea
1:004024030000
2:009359370000
3:00149815530000
4:00237025404302651
5:0035763717294176225101
6:0048385049560486419280
7:0062106492797974605592
8:00760480721421166110841001
9:00922896782040261214331536
10:0011120115362840371817332324
11:0013216136854061474320693108
12:0015778162465269582627983866
13:0018880189406540687734434637
14:0022387216727453792043425673
15:0025060245608617885248036521
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build, with less metal lost and more enemy metal destroyed by 5:00.

  • + Own losses at 5:00 are under half the standard build's.
  • + Destroys more enemy metal early (362 vs 200 at 5:00).
  • − Metal production lags standard build across the whole window.
  • − Eats the Hovercraft Platform in 89% of games, costing a factory slot.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

EpicTyrannus

41.9 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
1898 metal received · 34903 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Hovercraft Platform1:40Middle 50%: 1:24–1:59 · n=39
Shipyard4:25Middle 50%: 4:11–4:50 · n=41
Riptide5:49Middle 50%: 5:09–6:39 · n=38
Oppressor6:46Middle 50%: 6:06–7:44 · n=38
Advanced Metal Extractor9:56Middle 50%: 9:25–10:44 · n=36

Played most by

Kbot_my_Ahole7games of this buildEXZoPrimer36games of this buildEpicTyrannus4games of this buildAdeus3games of this buildyedddoo3games of this build