BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard front

The role's baseline: fast Bot Lab, economy first, then a Thug/Grunt/Aggravator mix moves up to hold the wider gap and contest middle with the ally.

#defence · 166 distinct matches · 58 players · 66% of Cortex Front games · team won 42% of 168 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 0:40

  1. Take 3 mex, then wind before opening Bot Lab.
  2. Finish Bot Lab, start producing Thug, Grunt and Aggravator.
  3. Send early units to coast first to stop leaks, not straight to mid.
  4. Add Twin Guard and Radar Tower to hold the wider gap.
  5. Bring Advanced Metal Extractor online as army transitions to T2.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 166 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 mex, 1 winddone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    Some games also: wind (49%)

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Solar
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:58 · 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
    • Thug6 Thug
    • Grunt4 Grunt
    • Aggravator3 Aggravator

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 30 steps
    1. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    2. GruntGrunt ×3
    3. Construction BotCon bot
    4. GruntGrunt ×2
    5. GuardGuard
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. AggravatorAggravator
    9. Mex
    10. AggravatorAggravator
    11. GuardGuard
    12. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    13. Construction BotCon bot
    14. Mex
    15. GuardGuard
    16. GraverobberGraverobber
    17. ThugThug ×2
    18. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    19. ThugThug
    20. GuardGuard
    21. ThugThug ×2
    22. Construction BotCon bot
    23. ThugThug ×2
    24. Mex
    25. ThugThug
    26. GuardGuard
    27. ThugThug ×2
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. Construction BotCon bot
    30. ThugThug
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine17Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Graverobber1 Graverobber
    • Construction Bot1 Con bot
    Army
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug1 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (45%) · energy storage (42%) · Twin Guard (36%) · converter (34%) · Radar Tower (34%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 132 steps
    1. ThugThug ×4
    2. Wind
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug ×2
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug
    8. Wind
    9. ThugThug ×2
    10. Wind
    11. GraverobberGraverobber
    12. Wind
    13. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    14. GuardGuard
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug
    20. GuardGuard
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. Wind
    24. GraverobberGraverobber
    25. GuardGuard
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:50 · typical 9:06
    29. GuardGuard
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Mex
    35. ThugThug
    36. GraverobberGraverobber
    37. Wind
    38. GraverobberGraverobber
    39. Wind
    40. GuardGuard
    41. GraverobberGraverobber
    42. Wind
    43. Energy storage
    44. ThugThug ×3
    45. AggravatorAggravator
    46. ThugThug ×3
    47. GruntGrunt ×2
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Construction BotCon bot
    53. GuardGuard
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt ×2
    56. GunslingerGunslingerdone 10:20
    57. Wind
    58. GuardGuard
    59. GruntGrunt ×3
    60. Wind
    61. GuardGuard
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. WhistlerMissile truck
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. GuardGuard
    68. ThugThug
    69. GruntGrunt ×2
    70. Wind
    71. GruntGrunt ×2
    72. Con turret
    73. Wind
    74. GruntGrunt ×3
    75. Wind
    76. GuardGuard
    77. GruntGrunt ×2
    78. Wind
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. GruntGrunt ×10
    81. Mex
    82. GruntGrunt ×4
    83. GuardGuard
    84. Wind
    85. GruntGrunt ×3
    86. Wind
    87. GruntGrunt ×2
    88. ThugThug
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt ×3
    91. ShellshockerArty
    92. Wind
    93. GruntGrunt ×3
    94. Wind
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. ShellshockerArty
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. JellyfishJellyfish
    99. Wind
    100. GruntGrunt ×3
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. StoutStout
    104. GruntGrunt ×2
    105. Wind
    106. JellyfishJellyfish
    107. GruntGrunt ×2
    108. ThugThug
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Wind
    111. GruntGrunt ×2
    112. ThugThug
    113. Wind
    114. GruntGrunt ×3
    115. Construction BotCon bot
    116. Wind
    117. ThugThug
    118. GruntGrunt
    119. Construction BotCon bot
    120. Wind
    121. Construction BotCon bot
    122. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    123. Wind
    124. Mex
    125. Construction BotCon bot
    126. Wind
    127. Construction BotCon bot
    128. GruntGrunt
    129. Wind
    130. GruntGrunt ×3
    131. Mex
    132. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Rexalidus's (36 OS, 14/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:18 · in 67% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:26 · in 68% 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

168 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0086400
3:0016328586
4:002697352348
5:003807950947
6:00506917041785
7:00640325812693
8:00769333273737
9:00908139204434
10:001080544245184
11:001273550825966
12:001494552977104
13:001732459477675
14:001972863318778
15:002252869019802
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This build has the worst win rate of the roles shown and trails Suicide front on kills while losing nearly as much metal.

  • + Produces more metal than Suicide front by 15:00 (22286 vs 18297).
  • + T2 constructor lands slightly faster (7:41) than Suicide front's 8:07.
  • − Loses 9797 own metal by 15:00, close to what it destroys (6775).
  • − Wins only 40% of games, well below every other role shown.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Rexalidus

35.8 OS · 14/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
288 metal received · 19679 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=150
Advanced Metal Extractor9:06Middle 50%: 8:08–10:30 · n=130

Played most by

watermeloans19games of this buildHummell18games of this buildJelousOfMyEco12games of this buildCentientWaffle9games of this buildGeeGee7games of this build