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Standard front

Cortex Front build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's default economy-first play: Bot Lab right away, Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:12, transitioning into the usual Thug/Grunt/Aggravator mix to hold the wider gap and feed the middle.

#eco #defence · 209 distinct matches · 68 players · 63% of Cortex Front games · team won 44% of 212 · 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 209 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 (50%)

    By 0:24 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
    • Thug7 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · 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. GruntGrunt
    5. Mex
    6. GruntGrunt ×7
    7. Construction BotCon bot ×3
    8. ThugThug ×5
    9. Mex
    10. ThugThug
    11. Con turret
    12. ThugThug ×2
    13. Mex
    14. ThugThug ×2
    15. Mex
    16. ThugThug ×2
    17. Wind
    18. Mex
    19. ThugThug
    20. Converter
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Converter
    24. ThugThug
    25. Converter
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. Mex
    29. Converter
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. Converter
    33. ThugThug
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
  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
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug2 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (47%) · energy storage (40%) · Radar Tower (39%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (36%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 86 steps
    1. Converter
    2. ThugThug
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Converter
    8. GraverobberGraverobber
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. ThugThug
    12. Converter
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Con turret
    24. ThugThug
    25. Con turret
    26. Wind
    27. Con turret
    28. ThugThug
    29. Con turret ×2
    30. ThugThug ×3
    31. Wind ×12
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:41 · typical 9:13
    33. Wind ×4
    34. Mex
    35. ThugThug ×4
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    37. ThugThug ×3
    38. Mex
    39. ThugThug ×6
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind
    47. ThugThug
    48. Wind
    49. ThugThug
    50. Wind
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. ThugThug
    53. Wind
    54. ThugThug
    55. Wind
    56. ThugThug
    57. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    58. Wind ×3
    59. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    60. Wind ×3
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. Wind
    63. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:53
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    65. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 12:08
    66. Con turret ×3
    67. DuckDuck ×3
    68. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    69. DuckDuck ×2
    70. Advanced Construction BotT2 con bot
    71. DuckDuck
    72. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:32
    73. DuckDuck
    74. CitadelAnti-nukedone 14:59
    75. Con turret
    76. DuckDuck
    77. Con turret ×2
    78. Converter
    79. Con turret ×3
    80. Converter
    81. Con turret
    82. DuckDuck
    83. Converter
    84. DuckDuck ×2
    85. Converter
    86. DuckDuck ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is El_Turco's (36 OS, 04/10/2026); 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 66% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:34 · in 66% 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

212 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016238686
4:002685356326
5:003812920862
6:00505516461608
7:00632923862536
8:00769131743348
9:00914638224242
10:001088743925077
11:001282749235936
12:001501152976967
13:001732959477650
14:001970263318543
15:002237471809445
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

El_Turco

35.5 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

12 received units · includes a constructor
540 metal received · 14690 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=196
Advanced Metal Extractor9:13Middle 50%: 8:15–10:29 · n=166

Played most by

Hummell23games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildiLike2Eco13games of this buildErilium11games of this buildGeeGee11games of this build