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Beach sea / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard beach sea

Cortex Beach sea build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's usual play: com goes to sea to build a shipyard around 2 minutes, pumping frigates and destroyers to contest enemy sea entry or hold vision, with an advanced metal extractor around 10 minutes as the transition into the team's…

Usually shipyard first (93%)

#naval #eco · 1589 distinct matches · 207 players · 84% of Cortex Beach sea games · team won 55% of 1793 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Shipyard by 1:56

  1. Open 3 mex, then send com to sea to build Shipyard by 1:56.
  2. Add tidal generators, wind and more mex to fund the shipyard.
  3. Pump Riptide first, then Oppressor to contest enemy sea entry.
  4. Get T2 constructor out to start scaling the naval economy.
  5. Transition into Advanced Metal Extractor as the economy phase begins.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 1589 GAMES
  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 Shipyard

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine3Windfor allies
    • Wind Turbine2Wind
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. ShipyardShipyard after 3 mex, 2 wind, 1 energy storagedone ~1:56, middle half 1:43–2:07

    Some games also: Guard (30%)

    By 1:39 in all: 3 mex · 2 wind · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 16 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2for Air
    3. Mex
    4. Wind
    5. Energy storage
    6. Bot LabBot Labdone 1:22
    7. Wind
    8. GraverobberGraverobber
    9. Wind
    10. GraverobberGraverobber
    11. GruntGrunt
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. ShipyardShipyarddone 2:40 · typical 1:56
  2. 2

    Shipyard to 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor5Mex
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal
    Builders
    • Construction Ship2 Con ship
    Army
    • Riptide2 Frigate
    • Herring1 Missile corvette
    • Oppressor1 Destroyer
    Other
    • Naval Radar / Sonar Tower1 Naval Radar / Sonar Tower

    Some games also: Urchin (46%) · mex (38%) · wind (37%) · submarine (36%) · wind (36%)

    By 5:00 in all: 8 mex · 3 wind · 2 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 12 steps
    1. Construction ShipCon ship ×2
    2. Mex
    3. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    4. Con turret
    5. HerringMissile corvette ×2
    6. Mex
    7. RiptideFrigate ×2done 3:48 · typical 3:50
    8. Mex
    9. Wind ×4
    10. Mex
    11. OppressorDestroyerdone 5:41 · typical 5:15
    12. Wind ×3
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine8Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Ship1 Con ship
    • Death Cavalry1 Death Cavalry
    Army
    • Urchin1 Urchin
    • Riptide5 Frigate
    • Oppressor2 Destroyer
    • Herring2 Missile corvette
    Other
    • Naval Radar / Sonar Tower1 Naval Radar / Sonar Tower

    Some games also: Naval Construction Turret (49%) · Guard (47%) · tidal (39%) · Radar Tower (39%) · wind (34%)

    By 10:00 in all: 9 mex · 10 wind · 4 wind · 4 tidal · 1 energy storage · 1 Naval Construction Turret

    The example game in this phase · 125 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Mex
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Mex
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    11. Converter
    12. Mex
    13. Wind
    14. Overcharged Metal Extractor
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. RiptideFrigate
    18. Converter
    19. Overcharged Metal Extractor
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. BeholderBeholder
    23. HerringMissile corvette
    24. Wind
    25. PharosPharos
    26. ThistleThistle
    27. Converter
    28. BeholderBeholder
    29. RiptideFrigate
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. BeholderBeholder
    33. Wind
    34. RiptideFrigate
    35. PharosPharos
    36. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    37. Wind ×4
    38. OppressorDestroyer
    39. Wind
    40. PharosPharos
    41. Wind ×3
    42. Naval Construction Turret
    43. Wind ×2
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:55
    45. Wind
    46. PharosPharos
    47. GuardGuard
    48. Wind ×2
    49. BeholderBeholder
    50. Naval Construction Turret
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    53. PharosPharos
    54. Wind ×2
    55. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    56. RiptideFrigate
    57. Wind
    58. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    59. PharosPharos
    60. Wind ×2
    61. HerringMissile corvette
    62. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    63. Wind ×2
    64. OrcaSubmarinedone 10:23
    65. PharosPharos
    66. Wind ×2
    67. RiptideFrigate
    68. Wind
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    70. Wind
    71. BrambleBramble
    72. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    73. Wind
    74. OppressorDestroyer
    75. Wind ×2
    76. BrambleBramble
    77. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    78. Wind ×2
    79. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Construction ShipCon ship
    82. Wind ×2
    83. RiptideFrigate
    84. Wind
    85. PharosPharos
    86. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    87. RiptideFrigate
    88. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    89. Wind
    90. RiptideFrigate
    91. Wind
    92. Converter
    93. Wind
    94. OppressorDestroyer
    95. Converter
    96. Wind
    97. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    98. HerringMissile corvette
    99. Converter
    100. Wind
    101. RiptideFrigate
    102. Converter
    103. RiptideFrigate
    104. Wind
    105. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    106. RiptideFrigate
    107. Wind
    108. Converter
    109. Wind
    110. OppressorDestroyer
    111. Advanced ShipyardAdvanced Shipyarddone 14:23
    112. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    113. Wind ×2
    114. Converter
    115. HerringMissile corvette
    116. Wind
    117. RiptideFrigate
    118. Wind ×4
    119. RiptideFrigate
    120. UrchinUrchin
    121. RiptideFrigate
    122. BrimstoneAnti-swarm shipdone 14:50
    123. OppressorDestroyer
    124. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    125. BrimstoneAnti-swarm ship

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Cookie]CottonBuds's (31 OS, 10/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind to Airfirst at 1:46 · in 77% of games

You get

  • Finch1 Finch from Airfirst at 2:00 · in 80% of games
  • Lazarus1 Lazarus from Geofirst at 2:13 · in 63% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport from Airfirst at 2:16 · in 64% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geofirst at 2:26 · in 70% of games
  • Hercules1 Light transport from Airfirst at 2:34 · in 32% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 8:08 · in 89% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build, running totals by minute

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

1793 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0040300
2:0093700
3:00155300
4:002540051
5:003716176101
6:005045487280
7:006492972592
8:00807016651001
9:00967926141532
10:001153637242325
11:001368547443105
12:001625058553875
13:001895168784645
14:002167379245691
15:002456588566520
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard Beach sea play has the lowest team win rate of these builds and destroys far less enemy metal early than it loses eco time.

  • + Metal produced climbs to 24945 by 15:00, the highest of all six roles.
  • + Riptide and Oppressor together make 63% of army, a focused naval composition.
  • − Enemy metal destroyed is only 200 by 5:00, barely contesting early sea.
  • − T2 factory only reached in 35% of games, behind other roles' T2 timing.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

[Cookie]CottonBuds

30.9 OS · 10/08/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
314 metal received · 24464 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Shipyard1:56Middle 50%: 1:43–2:07 · n=1790
Riptide3:50Middle 50%: 3:12–4:34 · n=1747
Oppressor5:15Middle 50%: 4:29–6:06 · n=1726
Advanced Metal Extractor9:58Middle 50%: 9:17–10:54 · n=1517

Played most by

EpicTyrannus120games of this buildDamsko69games of this buildKbot_my_Ahole67games of this buildWaboum64games of this buildPRO_HYDRA63games of this build