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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 Suicide front
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×8
    5. Energy storagefor Front
    6. Converter ×2
    7. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:18
    8. Construction BotCon bot ×3
  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 · 161 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Con turret
    5. Wind ×14
    6. Converter
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Converter
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Converter
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Wind ×2
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind ×2
    26. Converter
    27. Wind ×2
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. Wind
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:03 · typical 9:16
    33. Wind
    34. Converter
    35. Wind ×2
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Converter
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Converter
    41. Wind ×3
    42. Converter
    43. Wind ×3
    44. Converter
    45. Wind
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. Wind
    48. Converter
    49. Wind ×3
    50. Converter
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Con turret
    53. Wind ×5
    54. Con turret
    55. Wind
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    57. Wind ×7
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. Wind
    60. Bot LabBot Labdone 10:40
    61. Wind ×4
    62. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:02
    63. Wind ×3
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind ×2
    66. GruntGrunt ×3
    67. Wind
    68. GruntGrunt ×3
    69. Wind
    70. GruntGrunt
    71. Wind
    72. GruntGrunt ×4
    73. Wind
    74. GruntGrunt ×4
    75. Wind ×2
    76. GruntGrunt ×6
    77. Wind
    78. GruntGrunt
    79. Wind
    80. GruntGrunt ×4
    81. Wind
    82. GruntGrunt
    83. Hardened Energy Storage
    84. GruntGrunt
    85. Wind
    86. GruntGrunt
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt ×3
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt ×2
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt ×4
    95. Wind
    96. GruntGrunt ×6
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt ×5
    99. Wind
    100. GruntGrunt ×6
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt ×5
    103. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    104. Wind
    105. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    106. Con turret
    107. Wind
    108. Con turret
    109. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    110. Con turret
    111. Wind
    112. GruntGrunt ×6
    113. Con turret
    114. Wind
    115. GruntGrunt ×2
    116. Con turret
    117. GruntGrunt ×5
    118. Wind
    119. T2 converter
    120. GruntGrunt ×10
    121. Wind
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt ×2
    125. HoundHound
    126. GruntGrunt ×6
    127. Wind
    128. GruntGrunt ×5
    129. Wind
    130. GruntGrunt ×7
    131. Wind
    132. GruntGrunt ×4
    133. Wind
    134. GruntGrunt ×5
    135. Wind
    136. GruntGrunt ×8
    137. Wind
    138. GruntGrunt ×2
    139. Wind
    140. GruntGrunt ×3
    141. Wind
    142. GruntGrunt ×3
    143. Wind
    144. GruntGrunt
    145. Wind
    146. GruntGrunt ×3
    147. Wind
    148. GruntGrunt ×2
    149. Wind
    150. GruntGrunt ×2
    151. Wind
    152. GruntGrunt ×4
    153. Wind
    154. GruntGrunt
    155. Wind
    156. GruntGrunt ×2
    157. Wind
    158. GruntGrunt ×2
    159. Wind
    160. GruntGrunt
    161. Wind

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 ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
2576 metal received · 204023 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