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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 · 209 distinct matches · 68 players · 63% of Cortex Front games · team won 44% of 212 · 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 209 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 (50%)

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. 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
    • Thug7 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 · 43 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. Wind
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. GruntGrunt ×3
    6. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    7. GraverobberGraverobber
    8. Mex
    9. GraverobberGraverobber
    10. Construction BotCon bot
    11. Mex
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. ThugThug
    14. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    15. ThugThug
    16. GuardGuard
    17. ThugThug ×2
    18. Wind
    19. Mex
    20. ThugThug
    21. GuardGuard
    22. Wind
    23. GraverobberGraverobber
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. GuardGuard
    27. GruntGrunt ×2
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. ThugThug
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. GuardGuard
    36. Wind
    37. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    38. GuardGuard
    39. Wind
    40. GraverobberGraverobber
    41. Construction BotCon bot
    42. Wind
    43. 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
    • Thug2 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (47%) · energy storage (40%) · Radar Tower (39%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (36%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 124 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. Wind
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. WardenWarden
    6. AggravatorAggravator
    7. Wind
    8. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    9. Wind ×2
    10. AggravatorAggravator
    11. GraverobberGraverobber
    12. Con turret
    13. Wind
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. Wind
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. Energy storage
    18. AggravatorAggravator
    19. Converter
    20. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    21. Con turret
    22. CastroCastro
    23. Converter
    24. AggravatorAggravator
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. Wind
    29. GraverobberGraverobber
    30. Wind
    31. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    32. Wind
    33. AggravatorAggravator
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. Wind
    36. Construction BotCon bot
    37. Wind
    38. GruntGrunt
    39. Wind ×2
    40. GruntGrunt ×3
    41. Wind
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Wind
    44. GruntGrunt ×2
    45. Wind
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:25 · typical 9:13
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Wind
    49. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    50. Wind ×3
    51. AggravatorAggravator
    52. Con turret
    53. Wind
    54. Con turret
    55. AggravatorAggravator
    56. Wind ×2
    57. Mex
    58. AggravatorAggravator
    59. Wind ×3
    60. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    61. Wind ×3
    62. GraverobberGraverobber
    63. Wind ×4
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    66. Wind ×2
    67. GruntGrunt ×2
    68. Wind ×2
    69. GruntGrunt
    70. Construction BotCon bot
    71. Wind ×3
    72. Construction BotCon bot
    73. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    74. Wind ×2
    75. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. Wind ×2
    78. GruntGrunt ×3
    79. Wind ×2
    80. GruntGrunt ×4
    81. Wind ×2
    82. GruntGrunt ×3
    83. Wind
    84. RattlesnakeRattlesnakenot finished by 15:00
    85. Wind
    86. GruntGrunt ×2
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt ×2
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. RattlesnakeRattlesnake
    94. Wind
    95. Construction BotCon bot
    96. Wind
    97. GraverobberGraverobber
    98. Wind ×2
    99. Con turret ×2
    100. Wind
    101. GruntGrunt
    102. Wind
    103. ThistleThistle ×2
    104. GruntGrunt
    105. Wind ×5
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    109. Construction BotCon bot
    110. Wind ×2
    111. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    112. Pit BullPit Bull
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Wind ×2
    115. GruntGrunt
    116. Wind
    117. GruntGrunt
    118. Wind
    119. Con turret
    120. Wind ×2
    121. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    122. Wind ×3
    123. GraverobberGraverobber
    124. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is hainTsu's (37 OS, 09/10/2026); 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 66% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:34 · 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

212 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016238686
4:002685356326
5:003812920862
6:00505516461608
7:00632923862536
8:00769131743348
9:00914638224242
10:001088743925077
11:001282749235936
12:001501152976967
13:001732959477650
14:001970263318543
15:002237471809445
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

hainTsu

37.3 OS · 09/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
464 metal received · 16032 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=196
Advanced Metal Extractor9:13Middle 50%: 8:15–10:29 · n=166

Played most by

Hummell23games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildiLike2Eco13games of this buildErilium11games of this buildGeeGee11games of this build