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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 · 504 distinct matches · 154 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 521 · 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 504 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 (40%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 1 step
    1. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:02 · 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 (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 51 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Energy storage
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt ×3
    5. GraverobberGraverobber
    6. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    7. GruntGrunt ×3
    8. Mex
    9. GruntGrunt ×3
    10. GraverobberGraverobber
    11. Construction BotCon bot
    12. Mex
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. Mex
    16. ThugThug
    17. BlitzBlitz
    18. ThugThug ×3
    19. Construction BotCon bot
    20. GuardGuard
    21. BlitzBlitz
    22. Wind
    23. Construction BotCon bot
    24. GuardGuard
    25. ThugThug
    26. GruntGrunt
    27. Wind
    28. ThugThug
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug
    33. BlitzBlitz
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
    36. Construction BotCon bot
    37. Wind
    38. BlitzBlitz
    39. Construction BotCon bot
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Con turret
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. ThugThug ×3
    49. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    50. ThugThug
    51. 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
    • Grunt6 Grunt
    • Thug5 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

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

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

    The example game in this phase · 149 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. ThugThug ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug ×5
    6. Wind
    7. GraverobberGraverobber
    8. Converter
    9. ThugThug
    10. Converter
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. ThugThug
    15. Converter
    16. ThugThug
    17. Converter
    18. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    19. Wind
    20. ThugThug
    21. Converter
    22. GraverobberGraverobber
    23. Converter
    24. GraverobberGraverobber
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug ×2
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. ThugThug ×2
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug ×5
    31. Wind
    32. GraverobberGraverobber
    33. ThugThug ×2
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug ×3
    36. GuardGuard
    37. Wind
    38. ThugThug
    39. Wind
    40. ThugThug
    41. GraverobberGraverobber
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug ×4
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug ×2
    46. Wind
    47. ThugThug
    48. TrasherTrasher
    49. Wind
    50. TrasherTrasher
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:15 · typical 9:27
    52. TrasherTrasher
    53. Wind
    54. GraverobberGraverobber
    55. ThugThug
    56. Mex
    57. Wind
    58. ThugThug ×3
    59. Wind
    60. ThugThug ×2
    61. Wind
    62. ThugThug
    63. GraverobberGraverobber
    64. Wind
    65. ThugThug
    66. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    67. Wind
    68. ThugThug
    69. GraverobberGraverobber
    70. GruntGrunt
    71. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    72. GruntGrunt
    73. Wind
    74. Mex
    75. GruntGrunt ×3
    76. Wind
    77. GruntGrunt ×2
    78. Con turret
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. GruntGrunt
    81. Wind
    82. GruntGrunt
    83. Mex
    84. GruntGrunt
    85. Con turret
    86. GruntGrunt
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt ×3
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt ×4
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt ×2
    93. Mex
    94. GruntGrunt ×2
    95. Bot LabBot Labdone 12:16
    96. GruntGrunt
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt ×2
    99. Con turret
    100. GruntGrunt
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. Con turret
    104. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    105. GruntGrunt ×2
    106. Wind
    107. GruntGrunt ×4
    108. Con turret
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Wind
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Con turret
    113. GruntGrunt ×3
    114. Wind
    115. GruntGrunt ×8
    116. Wind
    117. GruntGrunt ×2
    118. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    119. GruntGrunt ×11
    120. Wind
    121. GruntGrunt ×10
    122. Wind
    123. GruntGrunt ×7
    124. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:09
    125. GruntGrunt
    126. Wind
    127. CastroCastro
    128. Energy storage ×2
    129. TickTick ×3
    130. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    131. Metal storage
    132. TickTick
    133. Advanced Fusion ReactorAdvanced Fusion Reactornot finished by 15:00
    134. TickTick ×2
    135. Con turret
    136. TickTick
    137. Con turret
    138. TickTick
    139. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    140. Con turret
    141. TickTick
    142. Con turret
    143. TickTick
    144. Con turret
    145. TickTick
    146. Con turret
    147. TickTick ×2
    148. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    149. TickTick

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Mikasiki's (32 OS, 26/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:16 · 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

521 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:00163510886
4:002720394336
5:003868939840
6:00512516061538
7:00643724302426
8:00779232103342
9:00924339124311
10:001093247155086
11:001268253366003
12:001462158726889
13:001695163767632
14:001913870188587
15:002074476779398
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

Mikasiki

31.8 OS · 26/09/2026

Open source match ↗

14 received units · includes a constructor
406 metal received · 89883 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=508
Advanced Metal Extractor9:27Middle 50%: 8:20–10:46 · n=378

Played most by

iLike2Eco32games of this buildSauceDispenser28games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildUncle_Cane15games of this build