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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 173 distinct matches · 62 players · 63% of Cortex Front games · team won 43% of 175 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 0:40

  1. Take 3 mex, then wind before opening Bot Lab.
  2. Finish Bot Lab, start producing Thug, Grunt and Aggravator.
  3. Send early units to coast first to stop leaks, not straight to mid.
  4. Add Twin Guard and Radar Tower to hold the wider gap.
  5. Bring Advanced Metal Extractor online as army transitions to T2.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 173 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
    • Wind Turbine1Wind
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 2 mex, 1 winddone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex · 1 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:40 · 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
    • Thug6 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 · 31 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Mex
    4. GruntGrunt ×4
    5. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    6. ThugThug ×3
    7. Mex
    8. ThugThug ×2
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug ×4
    12. Mex
    13. ThugThug
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Con turret
    19. ThugThug
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug ×2
    25. Construction BotCon bot
    26. Converter
    27. Wind
    28. GraverobberGraverobber ×3
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. Construction BotCon bot
  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
    • Thug1 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (47%) · energy storage (43%) · Twin Guard (36%) · Radar Tower (35%) · converter (34%)

    By 10:00 in all: 7 mex · 24 wind · 1 energy storage · 3 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 169 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Wind ×2
    3. ThugThug ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug
    6. Wind ×2
    7. ThugThug
    8. TrasherTrasher
    9. Wind
    10. TrasherTrasher
    11. ThugThug
    12. GraverobberGraverobber
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Wind
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. Wind
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Wind
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Wind
    21. GruntGrunt
    22. Wind
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Wind
    25. GruntGrunt
    26. Wind ×2
    27. GruntGrunt ×2
    28. Wind
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. Wind
    31. GruntGrunt
    32. Wind
    33. GruntGrunt
    34. Wind
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt ×2
    38. Wind
    39. GruntGrunt ×2
    40. Wind
    41. Con turret
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Wind
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. Con turret
    46. GruntGrunt ×2
    47. Wind
    48. Converter
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Con turret
    51. GruntGrunt ×2
    52. Wind
    53. Converter
    54. Wind ×2
    55. Advanced solar
    56. Converter
    57. Wind ×2
    58. Converter
    59. Advanced solar
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Construction BotCon bot
    62. Converter
    63. Wind
    64. Advanced solar
    65. Wind
    66. Construction BotCon bot
    67. Wind ×2
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. Metal storage
    70. Wind
    71. Construction BotCon bot
    72. Wind ×2
    73. Construction BotCon bot
    74. Wind ×3
    75. Construction BotCon bot
    76. Energy storage
    77. Wind
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. Advanced solar
    80. Wind ×3
    81. Advanced solar
    82. Wind ×2
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:02 · typical 9:12
    84. Converter
    85. Wind
    86. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    87. Wind
    88. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    89. Converter ×2
    90. Wind
    91. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    92. Converter ×2
    93. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    94. Converter ×2
    95. Advanced solar
    96. Converter
    97. Wind
    98. Advanced solar
    99. Converter
    100. Wind
    101. Converter
    102. Advanced solar
    103. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    104. Wind ×2
    105. Advanced solar
    106. Converter
    107. Wind
    108. Advanced solar
    109. Wind
    110. Converter ×2
    111. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 12:18
    112. Wind
    113. Converter
    114. Wind ×2
    115. Converter ×2
    116. Wind
    117. Converter ×2
    118. Wind
    119. Converter ×2
    120. Wind
    121. Converter
    122. Wind
    123. Converter
    124. Wind
    125. ArbiterArbiterdone 12:29
    126. Converter
    127. Wind ×2
    128. Converter
    129. ArbiterArbiter
    130. Converter
    131. Wind
    132. Converter
    133. ArbiterArbiter
    134. Wind
    135. Converter ×3
    136. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:13
    137. Con turret
    138. Converter
    139. ArbiterArbiter
    140. Converter
    141. Wind
    142. Con turret ×2
    143. Converter ×2
    144. Con turret
    145. ArbiterArbiter
    146. Converter ×2
    147. Wind
    148. Con turret
    149. Converter ×3
    150. VeilVeil
    151. Con turret
    152. ArbiterArbiter
    153. Converter
    154. Wind
    155. Converter
    156. Wind
    157. Converter ×2
    158. ArbiterArbiter
    159. Wind ×2
    160. DeceiverJammer bot
    161. AugurRadar bot
    162. Converter ×2
    163. SumoSumo ×2done 14:23
    164. Converter
    165. SumoSumo
    166. Converter
    167. SumoSumo ×2
    168. Converter ×2
    169. SumoSumo ×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, 05/08/2026); 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 67% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:30 · 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

175 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016248686
4:002686350336
5:003810938902
6:00504016861676
7:00633024302607
8:00768733073575
9:00902138954317
10:001084843745102
11:001285150665960
12:001505952866978
13:001772857647597
14:002019663178650
15:002293570989660
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This build has the worst win rate of the roles shown and trails Suicide front on kills while losing nearly as much metal.

  • + Produces more metal than Suicide front by 15:00 (22286 vs 18297).
  • + T2 constructor lands slightly faster (7:41) than Suicide front's 8:07.
  • − Loses 9797 own metal by 15:00, close to what it destroys (6775).
  • − Wins only 40% of games, well below every other role shown.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

El_Turco

35.6 OS · 05/08/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
508 metal received · 82150 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=160
Advanced Metal Extractor9:12Middle 50%: 8:10–10:30 · n=137

Played most by

watermeloans19games of this buildHummell16games of this buildiLike2Eco12games of this buildCentientWaffle9games of this buildGeeGee8games of this build