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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 · 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 · 31 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. Mex
    3. GruntGrunt
    4. Wind
    5. GruntGrunt ×3
    6. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    7. AggravatorAggravator
    8. Energy storage
    9. Mex
    10. AggravatorAggravator
    11. GuardGuard
    12. AggravatorAggravator
    13. ThugThug ×5
    14. Mex
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. Wind
    17. Construction BotCon bot
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug
    20. Mex
    21. Con turret
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. GuardGuard
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug ×2
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug ×2
    30. Wind
    31. 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
    • 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 · 78 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Wind
    3. ThugThug
    4. Wind
    5. GraverobberGraverobber
    6. Wind
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Wind
    9. ThugThug
    10. Wind
    11. GraverobberGraverobber
    12. ThugThug
    13. Wind
    14. ThugThug
    15. Wind ×3
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. ThugThug
    19. Construction BotCon bot
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. Radar TowerRadar Tower ×2
    24. Con turret
    25. GuardGuard
    26. Mex ×3
    27. Con turret
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. Bot LabBot Labdone 12:00
    30. Metal storage
    31. Energy storage
    32. Construction BotCon bot
    33. Wind
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. Wind ×2
    36. GraverobberGraverobber
    37. Wind ×3
    38. GraverobberGraverobber
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Con turret
    41. Mex
    42. Wind ×2
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind
    45. Construction BotCon bot
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Wind
    53. GruntGrunt
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Con turret
    57. Wind
    58. GruntGrunt ×3
    59. Wind
    60. GruntGrunt ×2
    61. GuardGuard
    62. Wind
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Wind
    65. GruntGrunt
    66. Wind
    67. GruntGrunt
    68. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    69. ThistleThistle
    70. Wind ×2
    71. GruntGrunt
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 14:53 · typical 9:23
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. Wind
    75. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    76. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    77. Wind
    78. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Vaik's (31 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 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

Vaik

31.3 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

18 received units · includes a constructor
977 metal received · 44644 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
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas