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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 · 468 distinct matches · 145 players · 64% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 485 · 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 468 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 (40%)

    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 (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 29 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×3
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. Mex
    4. Wind
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. GruntGrunt ×5
    7. Mex
    8. GruntGrunt ×4
    9. Mex
    10. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    11. Mex
    12. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    13. GuardGuard
    14. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    15. GuardGuard
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. GuardGuard
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. GraverobberGraverobber
    20. GuardGuard
    21. AggravatorAggravator
    22. GuardGuard
    23. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    24. GuardGuard
    25. AggravatorAggravator
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. GuardGuard
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. AggravatorAggravator
  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
    • Thug4 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (43%) · energy storage (37%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (34%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 100 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator
    2. Wind
    3. AggravatorAggravator
    4. GuardGuard
    5. AggravatorAggravator
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Wind
    8. GuardGuard
    9. GraverobberGraverobber
    10. GuardGuard
    11. AggravatorAggravator
    12. Wind
    13. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    14. GuardGuard
    15. Wind
    16. GruntGrunt
    17. GuardGuard
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. Mex
    20. Wind
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    23. Wind
    24. GuardGuard
    25. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    26. GruntGrunt
    27. GuardGuard
    28. Wind
    29. Construction BotCon bot
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. AggravatorAggravator
    32. Wind
    33. AggravatorAggravator
    34. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    35. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:05
    39. Construction BotCon bot
    40. GraverobberGraverobber
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Wind
    43. GruntGrunt ×5
    44. Wind
    45. GuardGuard
    46. GruntGrunt ×3
    47. Wind
    48. GruntGrunt ×3
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    50. GruntGrunt
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt ×4
    53. Wind
    54. GruntGrunt ×3
    55. GuardGuard
    56. GruntGrunt ×5
    57. Mex
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. GuardGuard
    60. GruntGrunt ×4
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. GruntGrunt ×3
    63. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    64. GruntGrunt ×2
    65. GunslingerGunslingerdone 10:43
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. ThistleThistle
    68. GruntGrunt ×6
    69. ThistleThistle
    70. GruntGrunt ×5
    71. ThistleThistle
    72. GruntGrunt ×2
    73. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    74. GruntGrunt ×11
    75. ThistleThistle
    76. GruntGrunt ×2
    77. Con turret
    78. Metal storage
    79. GruntGrunt
    80. Wind
    81. GruntGrunt ×2
    82. Wind
    83. GruntGrunt
    84. Wind
    85. GruntGrunt
    86. Wind
    87. Con turret
    88. GruntGrunt
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt ×2
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Wind
    96. GruntGrunt
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. Wind
    100. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is PoisonedMango's (32 OS, 15/10/2026); 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 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

485 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:00163410686
4:002721386336
5:003878935840
6:00512715991555
7:00643723912457
8:00778431583352
9:00923638954269
10:001091546135075
11:001273552795989
12:001458557596889
13:001691562537616
14:001913867758561
15:002086474519382
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

PoisonedMango

32.0 OS · 15/10/2026

Open source match ↗

14 received units · includes a constructor
60 metal received · 9855 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=469
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:44 · n=352

Played most by

iLike2Eco30games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildEl_Turco15games of this build