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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard front

The role's baseline: fast Bot Lab, economy first, then a Thug/Grunt/Aggravator mix moves up to hold the wider gap and contest middle with the ally.

#defence · 166 distinct matches · 58 players · 66% of Cortex Front games · team won 42% of 168 · 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 166 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 mex, 1 winddone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    Some games also: wind (49%)

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:45 · 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
    • Grunt4 Grunt
    • Aggravator3 Aggravator

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 22 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×3
    2. Wind
    3. GruntGrunt
    4. Wind
    5. GruntGrunt
    6. Wind
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Mex
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. GraverobberGraverobber
    11. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    12. Mex
    13. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    14. Mex
    15. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    16. Mex
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. GuardGuard
    19. GraverobberGraverobber
    20. AggravatorAggravator ×10
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. AggravatorAggravator ×2
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine17Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Graverobber1 Graverobber
    • Construction Bot1 Con bot
    Army
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug1 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (45%) · energy storage (42%) · Twin Guard (36%) · converter (34%) · Radar Tower (34%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 185 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator ×6
    2. GuardGuard
    3. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    6. Wind
    7. Con turret
    8. AggravatorAggravator
    9. Wind
    10. AggravatorAggravator
    11. ThistleThistle ×2
    12. AggravatorAggravator
    13. Wind
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:53 · typical 9:06
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. Wind
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. GraverobberGraverobber
    19. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    20. GruntGrunt ×3
    21. Wind
    22. GruntGrunt
    23. Construction BotCon bot
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Construction BotCon bot
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    27. Construction BotCon bot
    28. Mex
    29. Wind ×2
    30. Mex
    31. Wind ×2
    32. Construction BotCon bot
    33. Wind ×2
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind ×2
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Wind ×2
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind ×2
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Wind ×3
    49. GruntGrunt ×2
    50. Wind
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. Wind ×2
    54. GruntGrunt ×2
    55. Wind
    56. GruntGrunt
    57. Wind ×2
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. Wind ×3
    60. GruntGrunt
    61. Wind
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. Wind
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind
    66. GruntGrunt ×2
    67. Energy storage
    68. Wind
    69. GruntGrunt ×2
    70. Wind
    71. GruntGrunt ×3
    72. Wind
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. Wind
    75. GruntGrunt
    76. Construction BotCon bot
    77. Wind
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. Wind ×2
    80. Construction BotCon bot
    81. Wind ×2
    82. Energy storage
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    84. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    85. Wind ×2
    86. Converter
    87. Construction BotCon bot
    88. Converter
    89. GruntGrunt ×3
    90. Converter
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Metal storage
    94. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. Wind
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. Con turret
    99. GruntGrunt
    100. Wind
    101. Converter
    102. Wind
    103. GruntGrunt ×2
    104. Converter
    105. Wind
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. Converter
    109. Con turret
    110. Converter
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Converter
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Con turret
    115. Wind
    116. Converter
    117. GruntGrunt
    118. Con turret
    119. Wind
    120. Converter
    121. GruntGrunt
    122. Converter
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt
    125. Pit BullPit Bull
    126. Con turret
    127. GruntGrunt ×2
    128. Converter
    129. GruntGrunt
    130. Wind
    131. Converter
    132. GruntGrunt
    133. Converter
    134. GruntGrunt
    135. Wind
    136. GruntGrunt
    137. Converter
    138. GruntGrunt
    139. Converter ×2
    140. GruntGrunt
    141. Wind
    142. GruntGrunt
    143. Converter
    144. GruntGrunt ×2
    145. Wind
    146. GruntGrunt
    147. Converter
    148. GruntGrunt ×4
    149. Wind
    150. GruntGrunt
    151. Con turret
    152. GruntGrunt
    153. Converter
    154. Wind
    155. Con turret
    156. GruntGrunt ×3
    157. Wind
    158. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 14:29
    159. GruntGrunt
    160. Converter
    161. GruntGrunt
    162. IncisorIncisor
    163. GruntGrunt
    164. Wind
    165. IncisorIncisor
    166. GruntGrunt
    167. Wind
    168. GruntGrunt
    169. IncisorIncisor
    170. GruntGrunt
    171. Converter
    172. IncisorIncisor
    173. Wind ×2
    174. GruntGrunt
    175. IncisorIncisor
    176. GruntGrunt
    177. IncisorIncisor
    178. GruntGrunt
    179. Wind ×2
    180. IncisorIncisor
    181. GruntGrunt
    182. GraverobberGraverobber
    183. IncisorIncisor
    184. Converter
    185. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hummell's (47 OS, 19/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:18 · in 67% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:26 · in 68% 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

168 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0086400
3:0016328586
4:002697352348
5:003807950947
6:00506917041785
7:00640325812693
8:00769333273737
9:00908139204434
10:001080544245184
11:001273550825966
12:001494552977104
13:001732459477675
14:001972863318778
15:002252869019802
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

Hummell

47.2 OS · 19/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
3696 metal received · 12952 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=150
Advanced Metal Extractor9:06Middle 50%: 8:08–10:30 · n=130

Played most by

watermeloans19games of this buildHummell18games of this buildJelousOfMyEco12games of this buildCentientWaffle9games of this buildGeeGee7games of this build