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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 ×6
    3. Energy storage
    4. Bot LabBot Labnot finished by 15:00
    5. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 1:57 · 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 · 1 step
    1. GoonGoondone 2:02
  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 · 5 steps
    1. GoonGoon ×4
    2. Tidal
    3. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    4. Tidal ×3
    5. ShipyardShipyarddone 3:33 · 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 · 99 steps
    1. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft ×2
    2. Construction ShipCon ship
    3. Con turret
    4. Construction ShipCon ship
    5. Mex
    6. GuardGuard
    7. Mex ×2
    8. RiptideFrigatedone 5:41 · typical 5:49
    9. Wind
    10. Naval Energy Converter
    11. Wind
    12. Mex
    13. RiptideFrigate
    14. GoonGoon
    15. Wind
    16. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    17. Wind
    18. Hovercraft PlatformEat Hovercraft Platformreclaimed for its metal
    19. Wind ×2
    20. RiptideFrigate
    21. Mex
    22. Wind
    23. Naval Construction Turret
    24. Wind
    25. UrchinUrchin
    26. Con turret
    27. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    28. HerringMissile corvette
    29. Converter ×3
    30. OppressorDestroyerdone 7:57 · typical 6:46
    31. Converter
    32. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    33. UrchinUrchin
    34. RiptideFrigate ×2
    35. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    36. HerringMissile corvette
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:34 · typical 9:56
    38. OppressorDestroyer
    39. Mex
    40. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. RiptideFrigate ×2
    43. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    44. HerringMissile corvette
    45. OppressorDestroyer
    46. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    47. Mex
    48. JellyfishJellyfish
    49. Mex
    50. RiptideFrigate ×2
    51. HerringMissile corvette
    52. Bot LabBot Labdone 12:11
    53. OppressorDestroyer
    54. RiptideFrigate
    55. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    56. RiptideFrigate
    57. HerringMissile corvette
    58. OppressorDestroyer
    59. PawnPawn ×2
    60. Tidal
    61. PawnPawn
    62. RiptideFrigate
    63. PawnPawn
    64. Tidal
    65. PawnPawn ×2
    66. Tidal
    67. RiptideFrigate
    68. PawnPawn
    69. Tidal
    70. PawnPawn ×2
    71. Tidal
    72. HerringMissile corvette
    73. PawnPawn ×2
    74. OppressorDestroyer
    75. Tidal
    76. PawnPawn ×3
    77. Tidal
    78. PawnPawn ×2
    79. Tidal
    80. PawnPawn
    81. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyardnot finished by 15:00
    82. PawnPawn
    83. Naval Construction Turret
    84. PawnPawn
    85. Tidal
    86. PawnPawn
    87. Mex
    88. PawnPawn
    89. Tidal
    90. PawnPawn ×2
    91. Tidal
    92. PawnPawn ×2
    93. Naval Construction Turret
    94. Mex
    95. PawnPawn
    96. Tidal
    97. PawnPawn ×3
    98. Tidal
    99. PawnPawn

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Kbot_my_Ahole's (37 OS, 02/10/2026); 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

Kbot_my_Ahole

36.9 OS · 02/10/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
116 metal received · 47265 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