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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Gunslinger buy

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond pays Tech from early to buy Gunslingers delivered from 4:35, pushing skirmish bots to the middle well before the role's normal T2 constructor timing.

#push #team support · 33 distinct matches · 9 players · 10% of Cortex Pond games · team won 52% of 33 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • GunslingerGunslinger from Tech arrives 4:35 · 9% of role by thenTech makes it and hands it over.

Paid for by sending allies about 870 metal and 20,000 energy by 5:00; standard pond sends 450 metal and 13,000 energy.

Where those units first fight, in 33 games with kill data: in the middle 94%, on their own side 6%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,162 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into tick (17% of army), grunt (14% of army), blitz (9% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Gunslinger by 4:35

  1. Open tidals, mex and wind to run your normal Pond eco.
  2. Receive the Gunslinger from Tech and push it straight to middle.
  3. Send Tech early metal and heavy energy to fund the skirmish bot buy.
  4. Get your own lab up once the buy is paid for.
  5. Move into advanced mex and the role's usual T2 transition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 33 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  1. 1
  2. 2
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 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Wind Turbine10Wind+3 vs standard
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal
    • Energy Converter1Converter
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage

    Some games also: con turret (33%)

    By 5:00 in all: 4 mex · 10 wind (standard 7) · 2 tidal · 1 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 8 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Front
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×8
    5. Energy storage
    6. Converter
    7. Wind ×10
    8. Bot LabBot Labdone 5:16
  2. 2

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine8Wind

    Some games also: Thistle (45%) · con turret (39%) · con turret (39%) · wind (33%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 3 converter

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 19 wind · 2 tidal · 2 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 60 steps
    1. Construction BotCon bot ×4
    2. GruntGrunt ×12
    3. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:38 · typical 9:16
    4. Con turret
    5. GruntGrunt ×7
    6. Con turret
    7. GruntGrunt ×2
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. GruntGrunt ×4
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    11. GruntGrunt ×10
    12. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    13. GruntGrunt ×16
    14. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:19
    15. GruntGrunt ×2
    16. Wind ×2
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Wind ×2
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Wind ×2
    21. GruntGrunt
    22. Wind
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Wind
    25. TrasherTrasher
    26. Wind ×2
    27. TrasherTrasher
    28. Wind ×2
    29. TrasherTrasher
    30. Wind ×2
    31. T2 converter
    32. Con turret
    33. GruntGrunt
    34. Wind ×3
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Con turret
    38. GruntGrunt
    39. Wind ×2
    40. GruntGrunt
    41. Con turret
    42. Wind ×2
    43. Con turret
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. Wind
    46. Con turret
    47. Wind
    48. GruntGrunt
    49. Wind
    50. T2 converter
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind
    53. Con turret
    54. GruntGrunt
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Con turret
    57. Wind
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. Con turret
    60. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Deathkebab's (36 OS, 23/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:17 · in 97% of games

You get

  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 33% of games
  • Hercules1 Light transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:22 · in 33% of games
  • Gunslinger1 Gunslinger from Techfirst at 4:35 · in 100% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 7:59 · in 100% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build against the role’s standard build, running totals by minute

  • This build
  • Standard pond

Metal produced

010k20k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k6k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Metal sent to allies

01k2k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Energy sent to allies

050k100k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

33 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard pondEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard pondOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard pondMetal sent to allies: This buildMetal sent to allies: Standard pondEnergy sent to allies: This buildEnergy sent to allies: Standard pond
1:0011511500000015341052
2:0028628500000035982848
3:0084082200002060924945
4:0015251494000058643111388188
5:002211225700008654482043613143
6:002907313721600010447302946117257
7:003663401611380937011399763558520608
8:00437448501660249595161126310274781928447
9:00533863232078555650511130010275800429716
10:006426818325541240822859130010276464930120
11:00771597922849154611151231130010277216431305
12:009451120743421169714001405165110277336834728
13:0011267140323549188621391586171310277693842543
14:0013690163914177246331892530171310278277045040
15:0015923186524203301035883482171310279826349057
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Highest win rate of the three buys, with solid kills by 15:00 despite the smallest sample.

  • + Best win rate of the three Pond buys, above the standard build's 47%.
  • + Own losses by 10:00 are lower than standard (822 vs 859).
  • − Metal production by 15:00 trails standard build (15923 vs 18652).
  • − Catch unit destroys the least metal of the three buys by 15:00 (2162).
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Deathkebab

35.7 OS · 23/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
747 metal received · 478308 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Advanced Metal Extractor9:16Middle 50%: 8:33–10:20 · n=32

Played most by

Boozha13games of this buildDeathkebab13games of this buildDontStreamSnipeMeBro1game of this buildCommandoMan1game of this buildenderOS11game of this build