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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 · 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 · 2 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:27 · 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 · 36 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Mex
    4. Wind
    5. GruntGrunt ×4
    6. Wind
    7. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    8. Mex
    9. GruntGrunt ×2
    10. Mex
    11. GruntGrunt ×3
    12. Wind
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Wind
    15. Mex
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ThugThug
    20. Wind
    21. GuardGuard
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. GuardGuard
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug ×2
    27. Mex
    28. ThugThug
    29. GuardGuard
    30. ThugThug
    31. GuardGuard
    32. ThugThug ×2
    33. GuardGuard
    34. ThugThug ×4
    35. Con turret
    36. ThugThug
  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 · 205 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Con turret
    3. ThugThug ×2
    4. Con turret
    5. Energy storage
    6. ThugThug
    7. Con turret
    8. ThugThug
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Mex
    11. TrasherTrasher
    12. Wind
    13. TrasherTrasher
    14. Wind
    15. TrasherTrasher
    16. Wind
    17. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    18. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    19. Wind
    20. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    21. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    22. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    23. Wind
    24. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    25. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    26. Wind
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Wind
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. Wind
    31. GruntGrunt
    32. Construction BotCon bot
    33. Wind
    34. Con turret
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Wind
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Converter
    43. Wind
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. GuardGuard
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Converter
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:02 · typical 9:10
    50. GruntGrunt
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. GuardGuard
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Wind
    57. GruntGrunt
    58. Converter
    59. Wind
    60. GruntGrunt
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Wind
    65. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Wind
    69. GruntGrunt
    70. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    71. GruntGrunt
    72. Wind ×4
    73. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 9:09
    74. Wind
    75. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    76. Wind
    77. TrasherTrasher
    78. ThistleThistle
    79. Wind
    80. TrasherTrasher
    81. Wind
    82. ThistleThistle
    83. Wind
    84. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    85. Wind ×2
    86. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    87. Wind
    88. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    89. Wind
    90. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    91. ThugThug
    92. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    93. ThugThug
    94. Wind
    95. ThugThug
    96. Wind
    97. ThugThug
    98. Energy storage
    99. ThugThug
    100. Wind
    101. ThugThug
    102. Wind
    103. ThugThug
    104. Wind
    105. ThugThug
    106. Wind
    107. ThugThug
    108. Wind
    109. ThugThug
    110. Wind
    111. ThugThug
    112. RascalRascal
    113. ThugThug
    114. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    115. ThugThug
    116. RascalRascal
    117. ThugThug
    118. RascalRascal
    119. ThugThug
    120. RascalRascal
    121. Wind
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt ×2
    125. Wind
    126. RascalRascal
    127. GruntGrunt ×2
    128. RascalRascal
    129. GruntGrunt
    130. Wind
    131. RascalRascal
    132. GruntGrunt
    133. VeilVeil
    134. RascalRascal
    135. GruntGrunt
    136. RascalRascal
    137. GruntGrunt
    138. RascalRascal
    139. GruntGrunt
    140. RascalRascal
    141. GarpikeGarpike
    142. GruntGrunt
    143. GraverobberGraverobber
    144. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    145. Wind
    146. GraverobberGraverobber
    147. GarpikeGarpike
    148. GraverobberGraverobber
    149. Advanced Radar TowerAdvanced Radar Tower
    150. GarpikeGarpike
    151. ThugThug
    152. Wind
    153. GarpikeGarpike
    154. ThugThug
    155. Wind
    156. ThugThug
    157. Wind
    158. ThugThug
    159. Wind
    160. ThugThug
    161. Wind
    162. ThugThug
    163. Wind
    164. GarpikeGarpike
    165. ThugThug
    166. RattlesnakeRattlesnakedone 13:39
    167. GarpikeGarpike
    168. ThugThug
    169. Wind
    170. GarpikeGarpike
    171. ThugThug
    172. GarpikeGarpike
    173. ThugThug
    174. Wind
    175. GarpikeGarpike
    176. ThugThug
    177. Wind
    178. GarpikeGarpike
    179. ThugThug
    180. GarpikeGarpike
    181. RattlesnakeRattlesnake
    182. ThugThug
    183. Wind
    184. ParalyzerParalyzernot finished by 15:00
    185. Wind
    186. GarpikeGarpike
    187. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    188. ThugThug
    189. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    190. Wind
    191. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    192. ThugThug
    193. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    194. Wind
    195. GarpikeGarpike
    196. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    197. ThugThug
    198. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    199. Wind
    200. GarpikeGarpike
    201. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    202. ThugThug
    203. GarpikeGarpike
    204. ThugThug
    205. GarpikeGarpike

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Teradactylman's (35 OS, 27/08/2026); 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

Teradactylman

35.1 OS · 27/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
178 metal received · 18002 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