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 · 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 · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:34 · 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 · 35 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. GruntGrunt ×2
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. GruntGrunt ×2
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. ThugThug
    11. Mex
    12. ThugThug ×2
    13. GuardGuard
    14. AggravatorAggravator
    15. GuardGuard
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. Mex
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. Mex
    20. GuardGuard
    21. ThugThug
    22. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    23. ThugThug ×2
    24. Mex
    25. ThugThug
    26. Mex
    27. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    28. ThugThug
    29. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    30. ThugThug ×2
    31. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    32. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    33. ThugThug
    34. AggravatorAggravator
    35. GraverobberGraverobber ×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
    • 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 · 103 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator ×12
    2. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    3. AggravatorAggravator
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:26 · typical 9:27
    9. AggravatorAggravator ×5
    10. Construction BotCon bot
    11. AggravatorAggravator
    12. Wind
    13. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    14. AggravatorAggravator
    15. Wind
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. Wind
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    19. AggravatorAggravator
    20. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    21. AggravatorAggravator
    22. Wind
    23. AggravatorAggravator
    24. Wind
    25. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    26. Wind
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind ×2
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. Wind
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    33. Wind ×2
    34. GruntGrunt ×4
    35. Con turret
    36. GruntGrunt
    37. Dragon's MawDragon's Maw
    38. GruntGrunt ×2
    39. Wind
    40. GruntGrunt ×2
    41. Wind
    42. GruntGrunt ×2
    43. Wind
    44. GruntGrunt ×2
    45. Wind
    46. GraverobberGraverobber
    47. Wind
    48. GraverobberGraverobber
    49. Wind
    50. GraverobberGraverobber
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt ×2
    53. Wind
    54. GraverobberGraverobber
    55. Advanced Construction BotT2 con bot
    56. GraverobberGraverobber
    57. Con turret
    58. Wind ×2
    59. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    60. GraverobberGraverobber
    61. Wind
    62. ThugThug
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. ThugThug
    65. GruntGrunt
    66. BlitzBlitz
    67. Wind
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. ThugThug
    70. Energy storage
    71. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    72. BlitzBlitz
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. Wind
    75. BlitzBlitz
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. ThugThug
    78. Energy storage
    79. GruntGrunt
    80. Wind
    81. GruntGrunt
    82. BlitzBlitz
    83. Con turret
    84. Wind
    85. GruntGrunt ×2
    86. AggravatorAggravator
    87. Wind
    88. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    89. GruntGrunt
    90. Wind
    91. GruntGrunt ×2
    92. BeamerBeamer
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Wind
    96. MauserMauser
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. Wind
    99. Construction BotCon bot
    100. Wind ×2
    101. Construction BotCon bot
    102. Wind
    103. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Flerpz's (34 OS, 16/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:16 · 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

Flerpz

34.0 OS · 16/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units
413 metal received · 14601 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
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas