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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 · 7 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind
    3. GuardGuard
    4. Wind ×4
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind ×4
    7. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 2:31 · 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 · 5 steps
    1. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    2. Con turret
    3. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    4. Mex
    5. GoonGoondone 3:18
  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 · 10 steps
    1. GoonGoon ×3
    2. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    3. GoonGoon
    4. Mex
    5. GoonGoon ×2
    6. Mex
    7. GoonGoon ×2
    8. Converter
    9. GoonGoon ×2
    10. Converter
  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 · 77 steps
    1. GoonGoon
    2. Naval Construction Turret
    3. GoonGoon
    4. Wind
    5. GoonGoon ×2
    6. Wind
    7. Mex
    8. GoonGoon ×3
    9. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    10. GoonGoon ×3
    11. UrchinUrchin
    12. GoonGoon ×2
    13. Mex
    14. Tidal
    15. GoonGoon
    16. Tidal
    17. GoonGoon
    18. Tidal
    19. GoonGoon ×2
    20. Tidal
    21. GoonGoon ×2
    22. Tidal
    23. GoonGoon ×2
    24. Tidal
    25. Wind ×2
    26. Tidal
    27. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    28. Wind
    29. Tidal
    30. Wind ×2
    31. Naval Construction Turret
    32. Wind
    33. Converter
    34. Wind
    35. Converter
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Converter
    38. Wind
    39. Converter
    40. Wind ×2
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. Converter
    44. Wind
    45. GoonGoon
    46. Converter
    47. Wind
    48. GoonGoon
    49. Wind
    50. Seaplane PlatformSeaplane Platformdone 8:55
    51. Converter
    52. GoonGoon
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. Wind
    56. Converter
    57. Hovercraft PlatformEat Hovercraft Platformreclaimed for its metal
    58. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber
    59. Naval Construction Turret
    60. Converter
    61. Naval Construction Turret
    62. Converter
    63. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:06 · typical 9:56
    65. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber ×2
    66. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    67. Mex
    68. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber ×3
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    70. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber ×4
    71. BatSeaplane fighter
    72. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    73. BatSeaplane fighter ×16
    74. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber ×8
    75. GuardGuard
    76. Cloakable Fusion ReactorCloakable Fusion Reactornot finished by 15:00
    77. Dam BusterSeaplane bomber ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is EpicTyrannus's (44 OS, 06/10/2026); 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
6:0048385049560487419280
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

EpicTyrannus

44.0 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

55 received units · includes a constructor
80 metal received · 106608 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