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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 · 443 distinct matches · 137 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 460 · 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 443 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 (41%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:46 · 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 (45%) · Radar Tower (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 56 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. GruntGrunt ×2
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug
    8. Mex
    9. Con turret
    10. ThugThug
    11. Mex
    12. ThugThug ×2
    13. Mex
    14. ThugThug
    15. Construction BotCon bot
    16. Mex
    17. Construction BotCon bot
    18. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    19. Wind
    20. Mex
    21. ThugThug
    22. Energy storage
    23. Wind
    24. Con turret
    25. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    26. ThugThug
    27. Energy storage
    28. ThugThug
    29. Mex
    30. Wind ×2
    31. Converter
    32. ThugThug
    33. GuardGuard
    34. Wind ×2
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. GuardGuard
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. AggravatorAggravator
    43. Wind
    44. AggravatorAggravator
    45. Wind
    46. AggravatorAggravator
    47. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    48. Converter
    49. AggravatorAggravator
    50. GuardGuard
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. AggravatorAggravator
    54. GruntGrunt
    55. Converter
    56. ThugThug
  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
    • Grunt8 Grunt
    • Thug4 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (43%) · 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 · 149 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. ThugThug
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ThugThug
    10. Wind
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind ×3
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind
    15. RocketeerRocketeer
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug
    20. Con turret
    21. ThugThug
    22. GuardGuard
    23. Wind ×3
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug
    27. Wind
    28. Mex
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    33. MaceMace
    34. ThugThug
    35. Wind
    36. GuardGuard
    37. ThugThug
    38. MaceMace
    39. ThugThug
    40. MaceMace
    41. Con turret
    42. GuardGuard
    43. Wind
    44. MaceMace
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind ×2
    47. ThugThug
    48. Wind ×3
    49. Mex
    50. ThugThug
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. ThugThug
    53. Wind
    54. GruntGrunt
    55. Wind
    56. AggravatorAggravator
    57. Wind ×2
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. Wind
    60. AggravatorAggravator
    61. GruntGrunt
    62. Wind ×2
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Wind
    65. ThugThug
    66. Wind
    67. Converter
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. Wind
    70. Converter
    71. ThugThug
    72. Wind
    73. Converter
    74. ThugThug
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. ThugThug
    78. Wind
    79. Con turret
    80. ThugThug
    81. Wind
    82. Converter
    83. ThugThug
    84. Converter
    85. ThugThug
    86. Energy storage
    87. ThugThug
    88. Wind
    89. Energy storage
    90. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    91. ThugThug
    92. Wind
    93. ThugThug
    94. Wind ×2
    95. ThugThug
    96. Wind ×3
    97. ThugThug
    98. Metal storage
    99. Wind ×2
    100. ThugThug
    101. Wind ×2
    102. ThugThug ×2
    103. Wind
    104. ThugThug
    105. Wind
    106. ThugThug
    107. AggravatorAggravator
    108. ThugThug
    109. Wind
    110. ThugThug ×2
    111. Wind
    112. GraverobberGraverobber
    113. ThugThug
    114. Wind
    115. Con turret
    116. GraverobberGraverobber
    117. ThugThug
    118. Wind
    119. Con turret
    120. GraverobberGraverobber
    121. Mex
    122. Wind
    123. MaceMace
    124. Con turret
    125. GraverobberGraverobber
    126. Con turret
    127. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:13 · typical 9:24
    128. Wind
    129. Mex
    130. GraverobberGraverobber
    131. ThugThug ×2
    132. Mex
    133. ThugThug ×2
    134. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    135. ThugThug
    136. Wind
    137. ThugThug
    138. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    139. ThugThug ×2
    140. Wind ×2
    141. ThugThug
    142. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    143. ThugThug ×2
    144. Wind
    145. ThugThug ×3
    146. Wind
    147. ThugThug ×3
    148. Wind
    149. ThugThug

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is spieriz's (31 OS, 16/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:17 · in 65% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:46 · 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

02.5k5k7.5k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

460 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710086
4:002704386337
5:003850916838
6:00510515861559
7:00638923642474
8:00772630943385
9:00914637694271
10:001077344855070
11:001264252035984
12:001455357176925
13:001682962137650
14:001901866638579
15:002063272469349
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

spieriz

31.3 OS · 16/09/2026

Open source match ↗

12 received units · includes a constructor
154 metal received · 34386 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=447
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=338

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildHummell15games of this build