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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 · 177 distinct matches · 62 players · 64% of Cortex Front games · team won 44% of 179 · 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 177 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 ×3
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:57 · 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 · 35 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. Wind ×3
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. Con turret
    6. GruntGrunt ×3
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug
    11. Mex
    12. Converter
    13. Wind
    14. ThugThug
    15. Converter
    16. ThugThug
    17. Mex
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. ThugThug
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. Mex
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug ×2
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug ×3
    27. Wind
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. ThugThug ×2
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug ×3
    32. Wind
    33. GraverobberGraverobber
    34. ThugThug ×2
    35. Wind
  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
    • Thug2 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (46%) · energy storage (42%) · Twin Guard (36%) · converter (35%) · Radar Tower (35%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 119 steps
    1. ThugThug ×2
    2. Wind
    3. ThugThug
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Wind
    6. ThugThug ×3
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug ×2
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Wind
    12. GraverobberGraverobber
    13. ThugThug ×2
    14. BlitzBlitz
    15. Wind
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. ThugThug
    19. Mex
    20. ThugThug
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. GraverobberGraverobber
    24. GruntGrunt ×2
    25. Wind
    26. GruntGrunt
    27. ThugThug
    28. GruntGrunt ×3
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:55 · typical 9:10
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug
    33. GraverobberGraverobber
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. GuardGuard
    37. Wind
    38. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    39. Wind
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. GuardGuard
    42. Con turret
    43. Construction BotCon bot
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. CastroCastro
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt ×2
    52. Con turret
    53. GruntGrunt ×2
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Wind
    57. GruntGrunt
    58. Wind
    59. GruntGrunt
    60. Wind
    61. GruntGrunt ×3
    62. Con turret
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:09
    65. GruntGrunt
    66. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    67. GruntGrunt
    68. Con turret
    69. Wind
    70. GruntGrunt ×2
    71. Con turret
    72. GruntGrunt ×2
    73. Con turret
    74. GruntGrunt
    75. Wind
    76. GruntGrunt ×2
    77. Energy storage
    78. GruntGrunt ×6
    79. Energy storage
    80. GruntGrunt ×2
    81. Wind
    82. GruntGrunt ×2
    83. Energy storage
    84. GruntGrunt ×7
    85. Wind
    86. GruntGrunt ×5
    87. Energy storage
    88. GruntGrunt ×5
    89. Energy storage
    90. GruntGrunt ×2
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt ×10
    93. Energy storage
    94. GruntGrunt ×2
    95. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:55
    96. GruntGrunt ×2
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt ×3
    99. Converter
    100. GruntGrunt ×4
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt ×4
    103. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:07
    104. GruntGrunt
    105. Converter
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. GruntGrunt ×7
    109. Wind
    110. GruntGrunt ×3
    111. Con turret
    112. GruntGrunt ×2
    113. Converter
    114. Con turret
    115. GruntGrunt ×8
    116. Wind
    117. GruntGrunt ×8
    118. T2 converter
    119. GruntGrunt ×18

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is lebel's (36 OS, 19/08/2026); 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 68% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:26 · 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

179 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016248686
4:002692359336
5:003828938883
6:00505116831622
7:00633024302606
8:00769932503477
9:00914838644317
10:001091543525092
11:001287049345948
12:001507052866934
13:001774557647566
14:002019663178516
15:002293570989484
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

lebel

36.1 OS · 19/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
322 metal received · 15010 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=164
Advanced Metal Extractor9:10Middle 50%: 8:09–10:29 · n=140

Played most by

Hummell19games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildiLike2Eco12games of this buildCentientWaffle9games of this buildGeeGee9games of this build