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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 2:50
  • 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 ×3
    2. Wind ×6
    3. Energy storage
  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 · 3 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. Naval Hovercraft PlatformNaval Hovercraft Platformdone 2:22
    3. GoonGoondone 2:32
  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. Tidal
    2. GoonGoon
    3. Tidal
    4. GoonGoon
    5. Tidal
    6. GoonGoon ×3
    7. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft ×2
    8. Naval Construction Turret
    9. Mex ×2
    10. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    11. Mex
    12. ShipyardShipyarddone 4:53 · 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 · 76 steps
    1. RiptideFrigate ×2done 5:06 · typical 5:49
    2. Mex
    3. Naval Hovercraft PlatformEat Naval Hovercraft Platformreclaimed for its metal
    4. Con turret
    5. RiptideFrigate
    6. HerringMissile corvette
    7. OppressorDestroyerdone 6:42 · typical 6:46
    8. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    9. Wind ×3
    10. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    11. Mex
    12. Wind ×2
    13. UrchinUrchin
    14. Converter
    15. Mex
    16. Converter
    17. RiptideFrigate
    18. Wind
    19. Mex
    20. Wind ×2
    21. RiptideFrigate
    22. Wind
    23. GuardGuard
    24. Wind ×2
    25. RiptideFrigate
    26. Wind
    27. GuardGuard
    28. Converter
    29. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    30. HerringMissile corvette
    31. Converter
    32. OppressorDestroyer
    33. ThistleThistle
    34. Converter ×2
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:34 · typical 9:56
    36. Con turret
    37. ThistleThistle
    38. GuardGuard
    39. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    40. Converter
    41. GuardGuard
    42. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    43. Converter
    44. RiptideFrigate
    45. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    46. RiptideFrigate
    47. SlingshotSlingshot
    48. RiptideFrigate
    49. HerringMissile corvette
    50. OppressorDestroyer
    51. Naval Construction Turret
    52. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    53. RiptideFrigate
    54. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:14
    55. RiptideFrigate ×2
    56. ShipyardShipyarddone 12:36
    57. HerringMissile corvette
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. Naval Construction Turret
    60. OppressorDestroyer
    61. Naval Construction Turret ×2
    62. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyardnot finished by 15:00
    63. Tidal
    64. Advanced ShipyardEat Advanced Shipyardreclaimed for its metal
    65. Tidal ×2
    66. Mex
    67. Tidal ×6
    68. CoralCoral
    69. Construction ShipCon ship
    70. CoralCoral
    71. Mex
    72. UrchinUrchin
    73. Construction ShipCon ship
    74. Tidal ×3
    75. Construction ShipCon ship
    76. Tidal

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Kbot_my_Ahole's (36 OS, 03/10/2026); 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
4:00237025394302651
5:0035763717294175225101
6:0048385049560484419279
7:0062106492797975605591
8:00760480731421166510841000
9:00922896792040261414331532
10:0011120115362840372417332320
11:0013216136844061474220693102
12:0015778162505269583227983861
13:0018880189516540687934434645
14:0022387216807453793343425680
15:0025060245868617888648036524
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

36.4 OS · 03/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
221 metal received · 48179 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