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Beach sea / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Goon raid

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 (94%)

#raid #amphibious · 18 distinct matches · 9 players · 2% of Cortex Beach sea games · team won 67% of 18 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • GoonHover raid from 2:00 · 4% of role by thenFrom the Hovercraft Platform. Only 4% of Beach sea games have it by then; others who build it get it around 7:34
  • Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform in 89%6% of all Beach sea games by then

Where those units first fight, in 18 games with kill data: in the middle 72%, in the enemy base 28%.

Those units destroy a typical 835 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into frigate (31% of army), destroyer (27% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Hovercraft Platform by 1:16, Goon raid from 2:00

  1. Take mex and wind as usual, skip the early bot lab.
  2. Drop hovercraft platform almost immediately.
  3. Push Goons out to raid before enemy sea sets up.
  4. Bring up shipyard, frigate and destroyer behind the raid.
  5. Transition into advanced mex and standard sea composition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 18 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD BEACH SEA
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
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 Hover raid

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine6Wind+4 vs standard
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform after 3 mex, 5 wind, 1 energy storage
    2. GoonHover raid after 3 mex, 6 wind, 1 energy storage

    Some games also: con hovercraft (44%)

    By 2:00 in all: 3 mex · 6 wind (standard 2) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 9 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Windfor Air
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind ×3
    7. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 2:00 · typical 1:52
    8. Wind
    9. GoonGoondone 2:10
  2. 2

    Hover raid to Shipyard

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor2Mex−2 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine1Wind
    Order
    1. ShipyardShipyard after 5 mex, 8 wind, 1 energy storagedone ~4:26, middle half 4:10–4:53
    Builders
    • Construction Hovercraft2 Con hovercraft +2 vs standard
    Army
    • Goon9 Goon +9 vs standard

    By 4:10 in all: 5 mex (standard 7) · 8 wind (standard 3) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 9 steps
    1. GoonGoon ×8
    2. Mex
    3. GoonGoon
    4. Solar
    5. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    6. Solar ×2
    7. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    8. Mex ×2
    9. ShipyardShipyarddone 4:25 · typical 4:26
  3. 3

    Shipyard to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor5Mex+3 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine3Wind+3 vs standard
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal+2 vs standard
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret
    • Construction Ship1 Con ship
    Army
    • Urchin1 Urchin
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Riptide5 Frigate
    • Oppressor2 Destroyer

    Some games also: Naval Construction Turret (44%) · goon (33%) · Death Cavalry (33%) · wind (33%) · con turret (33%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 12 wind

    By 10:00 in all: 10 mex · 12 wind (standard 4) · 3 tidal · 1 energy storage · 1 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 109 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. HerringMissile corvette
    3. OppressorDestroyerdone 5:16 · typical 6:40
    4. ThistleThistle
    5. Mex
    6. Con turret
    7. OppressorDestroyer
    8. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    9. Wind ×3
    10. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    11. Wind
    12. HerringMissile corvette
    13. Wind
    14. GuardGuard
    15. SupporterGunboat
    16. Wind
    17. SupporterGunboat ×2
    18. Converter
    19. RiptideFrigatenot finished by 15:00 · typical 5:48
    20. Converter
    21. Construction ShipCon ship
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Construction ShipCon ship
    25. Mex
    26. Naval Construction Turret
    27. Converter
    28. Construction ShipCon ship
    29. Wind
    30. Energy storage
    31. Tidal
    32. Converter
    33. Tidal ×2
    34. Converter
    35. Wind
    36. Tidal ×2
    37. Naval Construction Turret
    38. Wind
    39. Tidal ×2
    40. Naval Construction Turret
    41. Tidal
    42. Amphibious ComplexAmphibious Complexdone 8:43
    43. Wind
    44. Naval Construction Turret ×2
    45. Tidal
    46. Wind
    47. Mex
    48. Tidal
    49. Wind
    50. SalamanderSalamander
    51. Tidal
    52. Mex
    53. SalamanderSalamander
    54. Tidal
    55. Wind
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:55 · typical 9:58
    57. SalamanderSalamander ×2
    58. Wind
    59. SalamanderSalamander
    60. Wind
    61. SalamanderSalamander
    62. Tidal
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Tidal
    65. Wind
    66. Tidal ×7
    67. Wind
    68. Tidal ×2
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    70. Tidal
    71. Wind
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. Naval Construction Turret ×4
    74. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyarddone 11:50
    75. Wind
    76. Naval Construction Turret
    77. Wind ×2
    78. Advanced Construction SubAdvanced Construction Sub
    79. Wind
    80. Advanced Construction SubAdvanced Construction Sub
    81. Con turret
    82. Wind
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    84. Con turret ×3
    85. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractordone 13:17
    86. Con turret
    87. Naval Fusion ReactorNaval Fusion Reactordone 14:39
    88. Con turret ×3
    89. Advanced Vehicle PlantAdvanced Vehicle Plantdone 13:58
    90. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    91. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    92. Advanced Construction VehicleT2 con vehicle
    93. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    94. Con turret ×2
    95. Converter ×2
    96. Con turret
    97. Converter
    98. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    99. Con turret
    100. Tidal
    101. Converter
    102. Tidal ×2
    103. Con turret
    104. Converter ×2
    105. Con turret
    106. Converter ×2
    107. Tidal ×2
    108. Converter
    109. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is EXZoPrimer3's (38 OS, 13/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Finch1 Finch from Airfirst at 1:57 · in 56% of games
  • Lazarus1 Lazarus from Geofirst at 2:17 · in 61% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geofirst at 2:26 · in 44% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:10 · 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 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

18 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
1:004034030000
2:009379370000
3:00149115630000
4:0023262522002650
5:0036403699454194251100
6:0047875026723532434250
7:006099647310781100535588
8:00752480801758185711141041
9:00906396832643288514561621
10:0010987116023364402318582345
11:0013216138224214522720693090
12:0015628163524852620027983851
13:0018705191116564725734434621
14:0021557218657616830443425721
15:0024071248768589926544106531
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build while losing less metal despite an aggressive early raid.

  • + Own metal lost is noticeably lower at 10:00 and 15:00.
  • + Destroys more enemy metal early at 5:00 than standard.
  • − Metal produced trails standard slightly at every checkpoint.
  • − Enemy metal destroyed falls behind standard by 15:00.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

EXZoPrimer3

38.1 OS · 13/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
476 metal received · 56698 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Hovercraft Platform1:52Middle 50%: 1:40–2:00 · n=16
Shipyard4:26Middle 50%: 4:10–4:53 · n=18
Riptide5:48Middle 50%: 5:23–6:08 · n=16
Oppressor6:40Middle 50%: 6:01–7:39 · n=17
Advanced Metal Extractor9:58Middle 50%: 9:03–10:49 · n=17

Played most by

EXZoPrimer36games of this buildAdeus3games of this buildKbot_my_Ahole3games of this buildEpicTyrannus1game of this buildHarryplotter1game of this build