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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 · 443 distinct matches · 137 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 460 · 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 443 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. Wind ×3
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:52 · 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 (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 41 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. GruntGrunt ×2
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. ThugThug
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug ×2
    9. Mex
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Mex
    12. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    13. Mex
    14. Con turret
    15. GuardGuard
    16. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    17. Mex
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. AggravatorAggravator
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. GuardGuard
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. Wind ×2
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug
    33. Converter
    34. ThugThug
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug
    40. Wind
    41. 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 (43%) · 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 · 149 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug
    3. Wind ×2
    4. ThugThug
    5. GuardGuard
    6. Wind
    7. GuardGuard
    8. ThugThug ×2
    9. Wind ×2
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Wind ×3
    12. ThugThug
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    16. Wind
    17. GuardGuard
    18. GraverobberGraverobber
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ThugThug
    24. Wind
    25. RocketeerRocketeer
    26. WardenWarden
    27. Wind
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind ×2
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug
    33. Con turret
    34. Wind ×2
    35. ThugThug
    36. GruntGrunt ×2
    37. Wind
    38. Con turret
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:19 · typical 9:24
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Wind
    43. CastroCastro
    44. GruntGrunt ×2
    45. Wind
    46. GruntGrunt
    47. AgitatorAgitatornot finished by 15:00
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Wind
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. Wind
    54. WardenWarden
    55. GraverobberGraverobber
    56. Wind ×3
    57. Con turret
    58. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    59. Wind
    60. ThugThug
    61. Wind
    62. ThugThug
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Wind
    65. ThugThug
    66. Con turret
    67. Wind
    68. ThugThug
    69. Con turret
    70. Wind
    71. ThugThug
    72. Con turret ×2
    73. Wind
    74. ThugThug
    75. Advanced solar
    76. Wind
    77. Construction BotCon bot
    78. Wind
    79. Construction BotCon bot
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Construction BotCon bot
    82. Wind
    83. Advanced solar
    84. Construction BotCon bot
    85. Wind
    86. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    87. Wind ×4
    88. Converter
    89. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    90. Energy storage
    91. Converter
    92. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 12:03
    93. Converter ×2
    94. Wind
    95. Converter
    96. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    97. Wind
    98. TwitcherTwitcher
    99. Converter
    100. Wind
    101. Converter
    102. TwitcherTwitcher
    103. Converter
    104. Wind
    105. FiendFiend ×3
    106. Con turret
    107. FiendFiend
    108. Con turret ×2
    109. FiendFiend
    110. Advanced Radar TowerAdvanced Radar Tower
    111. FiendFiend ×3
    112. Wind
    113. RattlesnakeRattlesnakedone 14:17
    114. FiendFiend
    115. Wind
    116. FiendFiend
    117. Wind
    118. FiendFiend
    119. Advanced Construction BotT2 con bot
    120. Wind
    121. Metal storage
    122. Wind
    123. FiendFiend
    124. Con turret
    125. Wind
    126. Con turret
    127. Wind
    128. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    129. Con turret
    130. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:25
    131. Con turret
    132. Wind
    133. FiendFiend
    134. Pit BullPit Bull
    135. Wind
    136. FiendFiend
    137. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    138. FiendFiend
    139. GraverobberGraverobber
    140. FiendFiend
    141. Wind
    142. FiendFiend ×3
    143. GraverobberGraverobber
    144. FiendFiend
    145. GraverobberGraverobber
    146. FiendFiend
    147. Wind
    148. GraverobberGraverobber
    149. FiendFiend

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is spieriz's (31 OS, 16/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:17 · in 65% 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

460 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710086
4:002704386337
5:003850916838
6:00510515861559
7:00638923642474
8:00772630943385
9:00914637694271
10:001077344855070
11:001264252035984
12:001455357176925
13:001682962137650
14:001901866638579
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

spieriz

31.3 OS · 16/09/2026

Open source match ↗

16 received units · includes a constructor
246 metal received · 39991 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=447
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=338

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildHummell15games of this build