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 · 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:55 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. GruntGrunt ×5
    4. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    5. Wind
    6. ThugThug ×3
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug
    11. GraverobberGraverobber
    12. Mex
    13. ThugThug ×2
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug ×2
    16. Mex
    17. ThugThug
    18. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    19. GraverobberGraverobber
    20. GuardGuard
    21. Construction BotCon bot
    22. ThugThug
    23. Energy storage
    24. ThugThug ×4
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. 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 · 108 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Wind
    3. ThugThug ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Wind
    9. ThugThug ×2
    10. Wind
    11. ThugThug ×3
    12. Wind
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. ThugThug ×5
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. ThugThug
    17. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    18. ThugThug
    19. Mex
    20. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    21. Con turret
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:30 · typical 9:23
    24. Mex
    25. ThugThug
    26. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug
    31. Con turret
    32. Wind ×2
    33. ThugThug
    34. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    35. Wind ×2
    36. GraverobberGraverobber
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Wind
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Wind
    43. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. ThugThug
    54. Wind ×2
    55. ThugThug ×2
    56. Wind
    57. ThugThug ×2
    58. Wind
    59. GraverobberGraverobber
    60. Wind ×2
    61. ThugThug
    62. GuardGuard
    63. Wind
    64. ThugThug
    65. Wind
    66. GuardGuard
    67. ThugThug
    68. Wind
    69. ThugThug
    70. Wind
    71. ThugThug
    72. Wind
    73. ThugThug
    74. Wind
    75. GraverobberGraverobber
    76. Wind
    77. Converter
    78. ThugThug
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. ThugThug
    81. Converter
    82. ThugThug
    83. Converter
    84. ThugThug ×2
    85. Wind
    86. Mex
    87. ThugThug
    88. Wind
    89. GruntGrunt ×2
    90. Wind
    91. GruntGrunt ×2
    92. Wind
    93. GruntGrunt
    94. Wind
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. Wind
    97. GruntGrunt ×2
    98. Wind
    99. GruntGrunt ×2
    100. Wind
    101. GruntGrunt
    102. Wind
    103. GruntGrunt
    104. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    105. GuardGuard
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is gmansawesome's (33 OS, 14/10/2026); 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

gmansawesome

32.8 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

10 received units · includes a constructor
171 metal received · 16877 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