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Beach sea / Armada / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Hovercraft raid

Player rushes a Hovercraft Platform by 1:10 and pushes out Seeker hovercraft as an early raid by 2:13, well before the shipyard which is delayed to around 4:16, using the raid to harass while sea presence catches up later.

Hovers first

#raid #amphibious #rush · 70 distinct matches · 27 players · 11% of Armada Beach sea games · team won 53% of 70 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform in 100%14% of all Beach sea games by then
  • SeekerSeeker in 99%14% of all Beach sea games by then

Then transitions into destroyer (30% of army), seeker (21% of army), dolphin (10% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Hovercraft Platform by 1:10

  1. Open with mex and wind instead of straight shipyard.
  2. Build a Hovercraft Platform right after your initial eco.
  3. Push out a Seeker raid to harass enemy sea entry early.
  4. Put down the shipyard once the raid is out.
  5. Add Corsair and settle into standard sea play from here.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 70 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD BEACH SEA
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
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 Turbine4Wind+3 vs standard
    Order
    1. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platform after 3 mex, 4 winddone ~1:41, middle half 1:37–1:52

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · wind for allies (39%)

    By 1:10 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind (standard 1)

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind ×4
    5. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 2:06 · typical 1:41
  2. 2

    Hovercraft Platform to Shipyard

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine5Wind+4 vs standard
    Order
    1. ShipyardShipyard after 6 mex, 10 winddone ~4:16, middle half 4:00–4:43
    Builders
    • Construction Hovercraft3 Con hovercraft +3 vs standard
    Army
    • Seeker7 Seeker +7 vs standard

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 2 tidal · 2 con ship · 2 skater · 2 dolphin

    By 3:56 in all: 6 mex · 10 wind (standard 2) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 19 steps
    1. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    2. Wind
    3. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    4. Con turret
    5. SeekerSeeker
    6. Mex
    7. SeekerSeeker ×2
    8. Wind
    9. SeekerSeeker ×2
    10. Wind
    11. SeekerSeeker
    12. Mex
    13. Wind
    14. SeekerSeeker ×2
    15. Wind
    16. Mex
    17. SeekerSeeker ×2
    18. Converter
    19. SeekerSeeker
  3. 3

    Shipyard to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Wind Turbine13Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret
    • Grim Reaper1 Grim Reaper
    • Construction Ship1 Con ship
    Army
    • Sentry2 Sentry
    • Dolphin3 Dolphin −2 vs standard
    • Corsair3 Destroyer
    • Skater2 Skater
    Other
    • Naval Radar / Sonar Tower1 Naval Radar / Sonar Tower

    Some games also: Harpoon (47%) · tidal (41%) · Naval Construction Turret (37%) · converter (36%) · frigate (36%)

    By 10:00 in all: 10 mex · 23 wind (standard 15) · 1 energy storage · 1 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 152 steps
    1. SeekerSeeker ×4
    2. Mex
    3. SeekerSeeker ×5
    4. SentrySentry
    5. SeekerSeeker ×15
    6. SentrySentry
    7. SeekerSeeker ×6
    8. Converter
    9. SeekerSeeker
    10. Wind
    11. Mex
    12. Converter
    13. Wind
    14. SeekerSeeker
    15. Wind
    16. SeekerSeeker
    17. Wind
    18. SeekerSeeker
    19. Wind
    20. SentrySentry
    21. SeekerSeeker
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. SeekerSeeker
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. Wind
    28. SeekerSeeker
    29. Converter
    30. Wind
    31. SeekerSeeker
    32. Wind
    33. Converter
    34. SeekerSeekerfor Pond
    35. Wind
    36. SeekerSeekerfor Pond
    37. Wind ×2
    38. SeekerSeekerfor Pond
    39. Wind ×3
    40. SentrySentry
    41. SeekerSeeker
    42. Wind ×2
    43. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:10 · typical 9:28
    44. Wind
    45. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    46. Wind
    47. SentrySentry
    48. Wind
    49. SentrySentry
    50. Wind ×2
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. SentrySentry
    53. Wind ×3
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. Wind
    56. SentrySentry
    57. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 10:56
    58. SentrySentry
    59. BlitzBlitzfor Pond
    60. Con turret
    61. BlitzBlitz ×3for Pond
    62. Con turretfor Pond
    63. BlitzBlitzfor Pond
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    65. NettleNettle
    66. BlitzBlitz ×4for Pond
    67. Construction VehicleCon vehiclefor Pond
    68. SeekerSeeker
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Pond
    70. SeekerSeeker
    71. Con turret
    72. BlitzBlitz ×2for Pond
    73. SeekerSeeker
    74. Con turretfor Pond
    75. SeekerSeeker
    76. Con turret ×2
    77. BlitzBlitzfor Pond
    78. SeekerSeeker ×3
    79. Con turret
    80. SeekerSeeker
    81. NettleNettle
    82. SeekerSeeker ×6
    83. CrocodileCrocodile ×3
    84. BeamerBeamer
    85. CrocodileCrocodile
    86. BeamerBeamer
    87. CrocodileCrocodile ×3
    88. Converter
    89. Wind
    90. CrocodileCrocodile
    91. Converter
    92. Wind
    93. CrocodileCrocodile
    94. Converter
    95. Wind
    96. CrocodileCrocodile
    97. Converter
    98. Wind
    99. SeekerSeeker
    100. Converter
    101. Wind
    102. SeekerSeeker
    103. Converter
    104. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    105. SeekerSeeker
    106. Converter
    107. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    108. Wind
    109. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    110. SeekerSeeker
    111. Converter
    112. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    113. SeekerSeeker
    114. Wind
    115. Converter
    116. SeekerSeeker
    117. Wind
    118. SeekerSeeker ×3
    119. Wind
    120. SeekerSeeker ×2
    121. Wind
    122. SeekerSeeker
    123. Wind
    124. SeekerSeeker
    125. Wind
    126. SeekerSeeker
    127. Wind
    128. SeekerSeeker
    129. Wind
    130. SeekerSeeker
    131. Wind
    132. SeekerSeeker
    133. Wind
    134. SeekerSeeker
    135. CrocodileCrocodile
    136. Wind
    137. CrocodileCrocodile ×2
    138. Wind
    139. CrocodileCrocodile
    140. Wind
    141. CrocodileCrocodile ×2
    142. Wind
    143. CrocodileCrocodile
    144. Wind
    145. CrocodileCrocodile
    146. Wind
    147. CrocodileCrocodile
    148. Wind
    149. CrocodileCrocodile
    150. Wind
    151. CrocodileCrocodile
    152. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is TrollHardGoPro's (38 OS, 24/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind to Airfirst at 1:44 · in 46% of games

You get

  • Finch1 Finch from Airfirst at 1:46 · in 57% of games
  • Valiant1 Valiant from Airfirst at 1:50 · in 30% of games
  • Lazarus1 Lazarus from Geofirst at 2:02 · in 51% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:03 · in 80% 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

70 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
1:004044040000
2:009389380000
3:00152815810000
4:002347254051515150
5:0036813724444251255125
6:0050625148885564566300
7:006484671912411146851596
8:00799983061869167512541089
9:00947699702428249417151726
10:0011217118023433362021882438
11:0013274141054083457127193269
12:0015620168284667538432783986
13:0018348195795014631238804936
14:0021091222186387706849945841
15:0023236252206667821454246711
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build with a similar economy but far more early kills by 5:00.

  • + Enemy metal destroyed hit 444 by 5:00 vs 180 standard.
  • + Own metal lost stayed lower at 15:00 despite the raid.
  • − Metal produced trails standard by 10:00 and 15:00.
  • − Enemy metal destroyed by 15:00 falls behind standard (6667 vs 8279).
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

TrollHardGoPro

38.2 OS · 24/09/2026

Open source match ↗

58 received units · includes a constructor
354 metal received · 28418 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Hovercraft Platform1:41Middle 50%: 1:37–1:52 · n=70
Shipyard4:16Middle 50%: 4:00–4:43 · n=58
Corsair5:58Middle 50%: 5:28–7:17 · n=54
Advanced Metal Extractor9:28Middle 50%: 9:01–10:50 · n=58

Played most by

KingBenjai17games of this buildRysica10games of this build[ADS]Kackbarren5games of this buildAdeus4games of this buildCentientWaffle4games of this build