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
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:27 · 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 · 24 steps
    1. GruntGrunt
    2. Mex
    3. GruntGrunt
    4. Mex
    5. Wind
    6. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    7. ThugThug
    8. Mex
    9. ThugThug ×3
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug ×6
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug ×3
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug ×2
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug ×3
    22. Wind
    23. ThugThug
    24. Wind ×2
  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 · 104 steps
    1. ThugThug ×15
    2. Con turret ×2
    3. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 8:20
    4. Converter
    5. Con turret
    6. BlitzBlitz
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:29 · typical 9:23
    8. BlitzBlitz
    9. Wind
    10. BlitzBlitz ×2
    11. Wind ×2
    12. BlitzBlitz
    13. Wind
    14. BlitzBlitz
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. Wind ×2
    17. BlitzBlitz
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexnot finished by 15:00
    19. BlitzBlitz ×3
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    21. Mex
    22. GruntGrunt
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    25. Wind
    26. Con turret
    27. Wind ×5
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    29. Wind ×2
    30. BlitzBlitz
    31. Wind ×4
    32. Con turret
    33. BlitzBlitz
    34. Wind ×4
    35. BlitzBlitz
    36. Wind
    37. Con turret
    38. BlitzBlitz
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Advanced solar
    41. BlitzBlitz
    42. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    43. Wind ×3
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    46. Wind
    47. BlitzBlitz
    48. Advanced solar
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Wind ×2
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Wind
    53. GruntGrunt
    54. BlitzBlitz
    55. Wind
    56. GruntGrunt
    57. Wind ×2
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. BlitzBlitz
    60. GruntGrunt ×2
    61. Wind ×3
    62. BlitzBlitz
    63. GruntGrunt ×2
    64. BlitzBlitz ×2
    65. Sneaky PeteSneaky Pete
    66. Wind
    67. BlitzBlitz
    68. Wind ×2
    69. GruntGrunt ×2
    70. BlitzBlitz
    71. GruntGrunt ×2
    72. Wind ×3
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. BlitzBlitz
    75. GruntGrunt ×2
    76. BlitzBlitz
    77. GruntGrunt
    78. BlitzBlitz
    79. GruntGrunt
    80. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    81. BlitzBlitz
    82. GruntGrunt ×2
    83. BlitzBlitz
    84. Wind
    85. GruntGrunt
    86. Wind
    87. BlitzBlitz
    88. GruntGrunt
    89. BlitzBlitz
    90. GruntGrunt ×2
    91. Con turret
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. BlitzBlitz
    94. Con turret
    95. GruntGrunt ×2
    96. BlitzBlitz
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. Energy storage
    99. Wind ×2
    100. GruntGrunt
    101. BlitzBlitz
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. BlitzBlitz
    104. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Etherift's (34 OS, 12/10/2026); 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

Etherift

34.4 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

33 received units · includes a constructor
278 metal received · 24251 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