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Standard front

Cortex Front build order · Supreme Isthmus

Standard economy-first Front play: Bot Lab immediately, Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:23, then a mixed Thug/Grunt/Aggravator army sent up to defend the wider gap and move to middle as a line.

#eco #team support · 485 distinct matches · 148 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 502 · 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 485 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 mexdone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    Some games also: wind (39%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:48 · 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
    • Thug9 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (45%) · Radar Tower (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 37 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×4
    2. Wind
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Wind
    8. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    9. ThugThug ×3
    10. GraverobberGraverobber
    11. PawnPawn
    12. Con turret
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Mex
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. ThugThug
    17. PawnPawn
    18. GruntGrunt
    19. Mex ×2
    20. ThugThug
    21. GuardGuard
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug
    27. Wind
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    33. ThugThug
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. 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
    • Thug5 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (43%) · energy storage (36%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (34%) · eat Bot Lab (38%)

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

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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is DarkandDarker's (31 OS, 23/08/2026); 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 64% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:48 · in 62% 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

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

502 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:00163410886
4:002721389336
5:003875939840
6:00512816131543
7:00644424332464
8:00779331883353
9:00926739104271
10:001092346525077
11:001270953165984
12:001458458426884
13:001687963607614
14:001912969798566
15:002069876059380
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

DarkandDarker

31.3 OS · 23/08/2026

Open source match ↗

23 received units · includes a constructor
61 metal received · 16706 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=487
Advanced Metal Extractor9:26Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=365

Played most by

iLike2Eco33games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildEl_Turco15games of this build