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Sharpshooter buy

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond buys Sharpshooters from Tech from around 5:09, paying heavily in metal and energy, sending them to fight in the middle as an early skirmish push while keeping its own economy going.

#push #team support · 106 distinct matches · 39 players · 15% of Cortex Pond games · team won 46% of 107 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • SharpshooterSniper bot from Tech arrives 5:09 · 12% of role by thenTech makes it and hands it over.

Paid for by sending allies about 710 metal and 17,000 energy by 5:00; standard pond sends 110 metal and 10,000 energy.

Where those units first fight, in 107 games with kill data: in the middle 87%, on their own side 13%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,511 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into grunt (17% of army), tick (11% of army), rascal (10% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Sharpshooter handed over by 5:07

  1. Open tidals, mex and heavy wind/converter eco instead of a lab.
  2. Send Tech metal and energy to pay for the sniper buy.
  3. Take Sharpshooter 'sniper bot' units handed over by Tech.
  4. Fly snipers to the middle to support and snipe for front.
  5. Add an Advanced Metal Extractor as the eco transition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 106 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  1. 1
  2. 2
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:09 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
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Wind Turbine8Wind
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage

    Some games also: converter (37%)

    By 5:00 in all: 4 mex · 8 wind · 2 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 12 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Naval Energy Storage
    4. Mex ×4
    5. Bot LabBot Labdone 3:29
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Wind
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. Wind
    10. Construction BotCon botfor Geo sea
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Construction BotCon bot
  2. 2

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine6Wind−11 vs standard

    Some games also: wind (40%) · converter (39%) · Guard (36%) · con turret (36%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 3 converter

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 20 wind · 2 tidal · 2 converter (standard 6) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 97 steps
    1. UrchinUrchin
    2. Wind ×5
    3. UrchinUrchin
    4. Wind ×5
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. Wind
    7. GruntGrunt ×2
    8. Wind
    9. GruntGrunt ×2
    10. Wind
    11. GruntGrunt ×2
    12. Mexfor Geo sea
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Wind
    15. GruntGrunt ×2
    16. Con turret
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Wind
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Wind
    21. GruntGrunt
    22. Wind
    23. GruntGrunt ×3
    24. Wind
    25. GruntGrunt ×2
    26. Wind
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. Wind
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:36 · typical 10:06
    32. GruntGrunt
    33. Con turret
    34. GruntGrunt ×2
    35. Wind
    36. GruntGrunt
    37. Construction BotCon bot
    38. Wind
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Converter
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Converter
    47. Wind
    48. Construction BotCon bot
    49. Converter
    50. Wind ×3
    51. Converter
    52. Mexfor Geo sea
    53. Converter
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. Converter
    56. Wind
    57. Converter
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. Converter
    60. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 11:37
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. Wind
    63. Converter
    64. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    65. IncisorIncisor
    66. Converter
    67. IncisorIncisor
    68. Wind
    69. Converter
    70. IncisorIncisor
    71. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. PounderPounder
    74. Wind
    75. Converter
    76. GraverobberGraverobber
    77. Converter
    78. Wind
    79. PounderPounder
    80. GraverobberGraverobber
    81. Converter
    82. PounderPounder
    83. GraverobberGraverobber
    84. Wind
    85. PounderPounder
    86. Converter
    87. BruteBrute
    88. Mexfor Geo sea
    89. Converter ×2
    90. BruteBrute
    91. Con turret
    92. Converter
    93. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    94. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labnot finished by 15:00
    95. Converter ×4
    96. GraverobberGraverobber
    97. Converter ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is arcsiz's (34 OS, 29/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:16 · in 97% of games

You get

  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geofirst at 2:26 · in 39% of games
  • Hercules1 Light transport from Air or Techfirst at 5:08 · in 36% of games
  • Sharpshooter2 Sniper bot from Techfirst at 5:09 · in 100% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:30 · in 97% 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

025k50k75k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

107 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
1:001151150000001464995
2:0026725900000032012365
3:0079973700000059504436
4:00147214090000243089886554
5:002194213000007121131677710268
6:0029002949000010354032771311852
7:003702382937000012294453518314303
8:00449348741160541408612794534032817340
9:0053766257185522047018913284684533021198
10:00641476612560350102164013884684718022906
11:00782998593233766138683614224685486425778
12:00986312092361211961892107514944826055827224
13:001195914534399815782088166115304826775032595
14:001409816881457518142628199515545326907437744
15:001612019361510426323074296416775486926941136
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build, trading lower metal production for notably higher enemy metal destroyed.

  • + Destroyed 3035 enemy metal by 10:00, well above standard's 1229.
  • + Hercules transports arrive by 4:55 in 46% of games vs 15% role norm.
  • − Metal produced fell behind at every checkpoint, 16992 vs 19066 by 15:00.
  • − Own metal lost climbed to 1354 by 10:00 vs 755 standard.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

arcsiz

34.4 OS · 29/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
130 metal received · 32717 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Advanced Metal Extractor10:06Middle 50%: 9:14–10:56 · n=100

Played most by

Boozha18games of this build[Grump]Matsuri13games of this buildDouglasBacon7games of this buildpyrothraxus5games of this build[Crd]Mind_The_Gap4games of this build