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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 · 9 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×8
    5. Converter ×4
    6. Energy storage
    7. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:36
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
  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 · 124 steps
    1. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    2. GraverobberGraverobber ×2for Suicide front
    3. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    4. TrasherTrasher
    5. ThistleThistle
    6. TrasherTrasher ×2
    7. Wind ×6for Suicide front
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:41 · typical 9:16
    9. Windfor Suicide front
    10. Con turret
    11. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    12. ThistleThistle
    13. Windfor Suicide front
    14. Con turret
    15. GuardGuard
    16. Windfor Suicide front
    17. GuardGuard
    18. Windfor Suicide front
    19. GuardGuard
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    21. Windfor Suicide front
    22. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    23. Windfor Suicide front
    24. Wind
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Wind ×4
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    32. Wind
    33. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×6
    36. GruntGrunt
    37. Wind
    38. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt ×2
    42. GuardGuard
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt ×2
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt ×2
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt ×3
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt ×2
    52. Wind
    53. GruntGrunt
    54. Mex
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Pit BullPit Bull
    57. GruntGrunt
    58. Wind
    59. GruntGrunt ×2
    60. Wind
    61. GruntGrunt ×3
    62. GuardGuard
    63. Wind
    64. GruntGrunt ×2
    65. Wind
    66. Pit BullPit Bull
    67. GruntGrunt
    68. Wind
    69. GruntGrunt ×2
    70. Wind
    71. GruntGrunt ×2
    72. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    75. GruntGrunt
    76. Wind
    77. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    78. GruntGrunt
    79. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    80. GruntGrunt
    81. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    82. Wind
    83. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    84. GruntGrunt ×2
    85. Pit BullPit Bull
    86. Wind
    87. GruntGrunt ×2
    88. Con turret
    89. GruntGrunt
    90. Wind
    91. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    92. GraverobberGraverobber
    93. Wind
    94. GraverobberGraverobber
    95. Wind
    96. GraverobberGraverobber
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind
    99. GraverobberGraverobber
    100. Wind
    101. GruntGrunt ×3
    102. Con turret
    103. GruntGrunt
    104. Wind
    105. GruntGrunt ×3
    106. Con turret
    107. GruntGrunt
    108. Wind
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Con turret
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Wind
    115. Construction BotCon bot
    116. GruntGrunt
    117. Wind
    118. GruntGrunt
    119. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    120. GruntGrunt
    121. CastroCastro
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Deathkebab's (35 OS, 26/08/2026); 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

35.0 OS · 26/08/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
116 metal received · 239640 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