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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard front

Cortex Front build order · Supreme Isthmus

Standard economy-first Front play: Bot Lab immediately, Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:23, then a mixed Thug/Grunt/Aggravator army sent up to defend the wider gap and move to middle as a line.

#eco #team support · 503 distinct matches · 153 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 520 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 0:40

  1. Open 2 mex into early Bot Lab.
  2. Finish Bot Lab and start Thug, Grunt, Aggravator mix.
  3. Send first units to coast to stop leaks, not straight to mid.
  4. Transition into Advanced Metal Extractor as eco scales.
  5. Move units up as a line toward middle to hold the wider gap.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 503 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 Bot Lab

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor2Mex
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 2 mexdone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    Some games also: wind (39%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:52 · typical 0:40
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Bot3 Con bot
    • Graverobber2 Graverobber
    Army
    • Guard2 Guard
    • Thug9 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (46%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 39 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. GruntGrunt ×3
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. GruntGrunt ×3
    7. Mex
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. GruntGrunt
    10. Con turret
    11. GruntGrunt ×2
    12. ThugThug ×3
    13. Mex
    14. ThugThug ×2
    15. Mex
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Mex
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug
    27. Wind
    28. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    29. Wind
    30. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. WardenWarden
    34. ThugThug
    35. Con turret
    36. ThugThug
    37. Construction BotCon bot
    38. Mex
    39. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine17Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Graverobber2 Graverobber
    • Construction Bot1 Con bot
    Army
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug5 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (44%) · converter (36%) · energy storage (36%) · Twin Guard (33%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

    By 10:00 in all: 7 mex · 24 wind · 3 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 77 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Wind
    3. ThugThug
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug
    8. Wind
    9. ThugThug
    10. Wind
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug ×15
    18. Converter
    19. ThugThug
    20. Converter
    21. Con turret
    22. ThugThug
    23. Converter
    24. Construction BotCon bot
    25. ThugThug
    26. GraverobberGraverobber
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:23 · typical 9:27
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug ×2
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    32. Wind
    33. CastroCastro
    34. ThugThug
    35. Wind
    36. GraverobberGraverobber
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Wind
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    45. GruntGrunt ×2
    46. Advanced solar
    47. GruntGrunt ×3
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. GruntGrunt ×3
    50. Advanced solar
    51. GraverobberGraverobber ×3
    52. Wind
    53. GraverobberGraverobber
    54. Wind
    55. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    56. Wind
    57. GraverobberGraverobber
    58. Wind
    59. GraverobberGraverobber
    60. Wind
    61. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    62. Wind
    63. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    64. Wind
    65. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    66. StarlightStarlightfor Geodone 13:40
    67. GraverobberGraverobber
    68. Wind
    69. GraverobberGraverobber ×3
    70. Wind
    71. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. GruntGrunt ×2
    74. Wind
    75. GruntGrunt ×8
    76. Wind
    77. GruntGrunt ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is galactikraken's (31 OS, 11/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:16 · in 64% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:52 · in 62% 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

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

520 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085700
3:00163710886
4:002721389337
5:003870942840
6:00512616061537
7:00643124362428
8:00779332003343
9:00926239104314
10:001093447155089
11:001274553326006
12:001467758696890
13:001695963867624
14:001917070268587
15:002086576749398
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard front play wins less than half its games, with losses slightly outpacing kills through the first 15 minutes.

  • + Kills reach 7200 by 15:00 despite the safer starting position.
  • + T2 constructor reached in 85% of games, solid tech follow-through.
  • − Team wins under half of games (45%), the weakest shown here.
  • − Own metal lost (9484) exceeds enemy metal destroyed (7200) by 15:00.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

galactikraken

31.2 OS · 11/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
30 metal received · 9860 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab0:40Middle 50%: 0:34–0:46 · n=507
Advanced Metal Extractor9:27Middle 50%: 8:20–10:46 · n=378

Played most by

iLike2Eco33games of this buildSauceDispenser28games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildUncle_Cane15games of this build