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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 1:13 · 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 · 4 steps
    1. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraftfor Geo sea
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Mex
    4. GoonGoondone 1:57
  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 · 13 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GoonGoon ×3
    3. Mex ×2
    4. GoonGoon
    5. Wind
    6. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Mex
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Mex
    13. ShipyardShipyarddone 4:12 · 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 · 105 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. Converter
    3. Con turret
    4. GuardGuard
    5. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    6. Wind ×2
    7. HerringMissile corvette
    8. Wind
    9. HerringMissile corvette
    10. Wind
    11. Hovercraft PlatformEat Hovercraft Platformreclaimed for its metal
    12. Wind
    13. HerringMissile corvette
    14. Converter
    15. Wind
    16. Con turret
    17. HerringMissile corvette
    18. Wind
    19. Con turret
    20. HerringMissile corvette
    21. Wind ×2
    22. OppressorDestroyerdone 5:57 · typical 6:46
    23. Wind
    24. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    25. Converter
    26. Wind ×2
    27. RiptideFrigatedone 6:33 · typical 5:49
    28. Wind
    29. Energy storage
    30. Wind ×2
    31. RiptideFrigate
    32. Wind ×5
    33. RiptideFrigate
    34. Converter
    35. Construction ShipCon ship
    36. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    37. Converter ×2
    38. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    39. Converter
    40. Mex
    41. RiptideFrigate
    42. Wind ×3
    43. RiptideFrigate ×2
    44. Wind
    45. Mex
    46. Wind ×2
    47. RiptideFrigate
    48. Wind
    49. Converter
    50. RiptideFrigate
    51. Mex
    52. Converter
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:02 · typical 9:56
    54. HerringMissile corvette
    55. Converter
    56. HerringMissile corvette ×3
    57. Converter
    58. HerringMissile corvette
    59. OppressorDestroyer
    60. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    61. Converter
    62. Wind ×3
    63. OppressorDestroyer
    64. Wind
    65. Naval Construction Turret
    66. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    67. Wind ×3
    68. Naval Construction Turret
    69. Wind ×6
    70. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    71. RiptideFrigate
    72. Wind ×4
    73. RiptideFrigate
    74. Wind ×5
    75. RiptideFrigate
    76. Wind
    77. Naval Construction Turret
    78. Wind ×3
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. RiptideFrigate
    81. Wind ×2
    82. Naval Construction Turret
    83. Wind ×2
    84. RiptideFrigate
    85. Naval Construction Turret
    86. Wind ×2
    87. Naval Construction Turret
    88. Wind
    89. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    90. Wind
    91. Naval Construction Turret
    92. Wind
    93. Naval Construction Turret ×2
    94. Wind
    95. Naval Construction Turret
    96. Wind
    97. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyarddone 14:06
    98. Wind ×5
    99. Advanced Construction SubAdvanced Construction Sub
    100. Wind ×2
    101. PathfinderPathfinder
    102. Wind
    103. PathfinderPathfinder ×2
    104. Wind
    105. PathfinderPathfinder

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is tech_boy888's (30 OS, 03/09/2026); 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
6:0048385049560487419280
7:0062106492797975605592
8:00760480701421166510841001
9:00922896792040261414331532
10:0011120115362840372417332325
11:0013216136854061474420693105
12:0015778162505269585527983871
13:0018880189516540687834434629
14:0022387216737453792443425680
15:0025060245658617885648036501
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

tech_boy888

30.4 OS · 03/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
84 metal received · 68129 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