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 · 447 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 464 · 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 447 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. Solar
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:44 · 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 · 27 steps
    1. GruntGrunt
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. GruntGrunt
    4. Mex
    5. GruntGrunt ×4
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. ThugThug
    8. Con turret
    9. ThugThug ×3
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind ×3
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind
    15. Mex
    16. Wind
    17. Con turret
    18. ThugThug ×3
    19. Energy storage
    20. ThugThug
    21. Mex
    22. Wind ×5
    23. Mex
    24. Wind
    25. Con turret
    26. Mex
    27. Con turret
  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 (42%) · 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 · 65 steps
    1. Mex
    2. GuardGuard
    3. Con turret
    4. ThugThug ×6
    5. Mex
    6. ThugThug ×2
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. ThistleThistle
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Mex
    11. Energy storage
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Energy storage
    14. Wind
    15. Mex
    16. Wind
    17. Con turret
    18. Wind
    19. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    20. Wind ×30
    21. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 8:10
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    24. DeceiverJammer bot
    25. AugurRadar bot
    26. SheldonSheldon ×2done 8:30
    27. Converter ×3
    28. SheldonSheldon
    29. Converter ×3
    30. FiendFiend
    31. Converter ×2
    32. FiendFiend
    33. Converter
    34. FiendFiend ×2
    35. Converter ×2
    36. FiendFiend
    37. Converter
    38. FiendFiend
    39. FiendFiendfor Suicide front
    40. FiendFiend
    41. Converter
    42. FiendFiend ×3for Suicide front
    43. Converter
    44. FiendFiend ×3for Suicide front
    45. Advanced Construction BotT2 con bot
    46. FiendFiend ×2for Suicide front
    47. Mex
    48. FiendFiendfor Suicide front
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 12:45
    50. Mex ×2
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. Mex ×2
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    54. FiendFiend ×4for Suicide front
    55. Mex
    56. FiendFiend ×3for Suicide front
    57. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    58. FiendFiend ×2for Suicide front
    59. ManticoreManticorefor Suicide frontdone 14:35
    60. ThistleThistle
    61. FiendFiend ×2for Suicide front
    62. FiendFiend
    63. Mex
    64. GuardGuard ×2
    65. FiendFiend

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Pengawin's (33 OS, 14/10/2026); 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 64% 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

464 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710286
4:002707387345
5:003850917839
6:00510515861559
7:00638923652478
8:00772631103385
9:00914638064291
10:001077345215079
11:001264252035987
12:001455356906925
13:001682962067650
14:001901866638566
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

Pengawin

32.6 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units
198 metal received · 113849 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=451
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=341

Played most by

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