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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Slump's (38 OS, 07/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:17 · 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

Slump

38.0 OS · 07/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
760 metal received · 37726 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