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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Hovercraft PlatformHovercraft Platformdone 1:31 · 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 · 13 steps
    1. Windfor Air
    2. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft
    3. Windfor Air
    4. Wind ×3
    5. SeekerSeeker
    6. Wind
    7. SeekerSeeker
    8. Wind ×2
    9. SeekerSeeker
    10. Wind
    11. SeekerSeeker ×3
    12. Construction HovercraftCon hovercraft ×3
    13. ShipyardShipyarddone 4:01 · typical 4:16
  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 · 168 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Mex
    4. SkaterSkater
    5. Con turret
    6. Tidal
    7. Mex
    8. SkaterSkater
    9. Mex
    10. DolphinDolphin
    11. Mex
    12. DolphinDolphin ×3
    13. Wind
    14. NettleNettle
    15. DolphinDolphin
    16. Wind
    17. Mex
    18. Wind
    19. CorsairDestroyerdone 6:23 · typical 5:58
    20. Wind ×3
    21. Converter
    22. NettleNettle
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. SentrySentry
    28. Wind
    29. Mex
    30. Wind ×2
    31. Grim ReaperGrim Reaper
    32. Wind ×2
    33. CorsairDestroyer
    34. Converter
    35. Wind
    36. SentrySentry
    37. Converter
    38. Wind
    39. Mex
    40. Converter
    41. Wind
    42. Converter
    43. Wind
    44. Mex
    45. Wind
    46. BeamerBeamer
    47. Wind
    48. AnemoneAnemone
    49. Wind ×2
    50. SkaterSkater
    51. Wind
    52. CorsairDestroyer
    53. Wind
    54. NettleNettle
    55. Wind
    56. SentrySentry
    57. NettleNettle
    58. Wind
    59. Naval Construction Turret
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:04 · typical 9:28
    62. Wind
    63. SentrySentry
    64. Construction ShipCon ship
    65. Wind ×2
    66. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Construction ShipCon ship
    69. Wind
    70. Naval Construction Turret
    71. Wind
    72. Construction ShipCon ship
    73. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    74. Wind
    75. Naval Construction Turret
    76. CorsairDestroyer
    77. Wind
    78. Naval Construction Turret
    79. Wind ×2
    80. Naval Construction Turret
    81. Wind
    82. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyarddone 10:52
    83. Wind
    84. CorsairDestroyer
    85. Wind
    86. Con turret
    87. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    88. CorsairDestroyer
    89. Advanced Construction SubAdvanced Construction Sub
    90. Wind
    91. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    92. BeamerBeamer
    93. CorsairDestroyer
    94. Wind ×2
    95. Advanced Construction SubAdvanced Construction Sub
    96. Wind ×4
    97. BermudaRadar jammer ship
    98. Wind
    99. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractordone 12:20
    100. Wind ×6
    101. MaelstromMaelstromdone 12:27
    102. Wind ×3
    103. DolphinDolphin
    104. MaelstromMaelstrom
    105. DolphinDolphin
    106. Wind
    107. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    108. Wind
    109. MaelstromMaelstrom
    110. DolphinDolphin
    111. Wind
    112. Converter
    113. Wind ×2
    114. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    115. Wind
    116. DolphinDolphin
    117. Wind
    118. DreadnoughtBattleshipdone 13:45
    119. Wind
    120. DolphinDolphin
    121. Wind
    122. Tidal
    123. Converter
    124. Wind ×2
    125. DolphinDolphin
    126. Converter
    127. Wind ×2
    128. Tidal
    129. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    130. Converter
    131. Wind
    132. Converter
    133. Wind ×2
    134. Tidal
    135. DolphinDolphin
    136. Converter
    137. Tidal ×2
    138. Wind
    139. LongbowMissile cruiserdone 14:26
    140. Wind
    141. Converter
    142. Tidal ×2
    143. Wind
    144. DolphinDolphin
    145. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    146. Tidal
    147. Converter
    148. Wind ×2
    149. Converter
    150. Wind ×2
    151. Tidal
    152. DolphinDolphin
    153. Converter
    154. Tidal
    155. Wind
    156. DreadnoughtBattleship
    157. Naval Advanced Metal ExtractorNaval Advanced Metal Extractor
    158. Wind
    159. DolphinDolphin
    160. Converter
    161. Wind
    162. Tidal
    163. Converter
    164. Wind ×2
    165. Converter
    166. Wind
    167. Tidal ×2
    168. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is KingBenjai's (45 OS, 29/08/2026); 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

KingBenjai

44.6 OS · 29/08/2026

Open source match ↗

13 received units · includes a constructor
68 metal received · 98481 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