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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is CommandoMan's (38 OS, 10/08/2026); 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

CommandoMan

37.5 OS · 10/08/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
115 metal received · 133508 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