BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 · 450 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 467 · 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 450 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 · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:45 · 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 · 21 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×2
    2. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    3. ThugThug ×4
    4. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    5. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    6. Mex
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. AggravatorAggravator
    9. Mex
    10. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    11. Mex
    12. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    13. GuardGuard ×2
    14. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    15. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. GuardGuard
    18. AggravatorAggravator
    19. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    20. AggravatorAggravator
    21. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
  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%) · energy storage (36%) · converter (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 · 76 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator
    2. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    3. AggravatorAggravator ×6
    4. GruntGrunt ×4
    5. GuardGuard
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. Wind
    8. GruntGrunt ×2
    9. GuardGuard
    10. GruntGrunt ×2
    11. GuardGuard
    12. Wind
    13. GruntGrunt ×3
    14. Wind
    15. GruntGrunt ×3
    16. Wind
    17. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    18. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    19. Wind
    20. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    21. Wind
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. GuardGuard
    24. Wind
    25. GuardGuard
    26. Wind
    27. GuardGuard
    28. Wind
    29. Mex
    30. Bot LabBot Labdone 10:05
    31. Wind
    32. Con turret
    33. Construction BotCon bot
    34. Wind
    35. Mex
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Wind
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Con turret
    41. Wind
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Mex
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Converter
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 12:26 · typical 9:23
    52. Wind ×4
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    54. Wind ×2
    55. GuardGuard ×2
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    57. Wind ×2
    58. GuardGuard ×2
    59. Wind ×3
    60. GuardGuard
    61. Wind ×4
    62. GuardGuard
    63. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 14:11
    64. Wind
    65. PounderPounder
    66. Wind ×2
    67. PounderPounder
    68. Wind
    69. PounderPounder
    70. Wind
    71. PounderPounder
    72. Wind ×2
    73. PounderPounder
    74. Wind
    75. BruteBrute
    76. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SauceDispenser's (35 OS, 13/10/2026); 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

467 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085600
3:00162810286
4:002710390344
5:003850920840
6:00510815871557
7:00638923652476
8:00773231243394
9:00915338324309
10:001080045375079
11:001265852035989
12:001454156816934
13:001681562017643
14:001900866498561
15:002063772469322
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

SauceDispenser

35.0 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
17 metal received · 14217 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=454
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=343

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildEl_Turco15games of this build