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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 502 distinct matches · 154 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 519 · 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 502 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 · 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
    • Thug9 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (45%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 38 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt ×2
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. GraverobberGraverobber
    6. Mex
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Con turret
    9. ThugThug
    10. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    11. Wind
    12. Mex
    13. AggravatorAggravator
    14. Wind
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. Wind
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. Mex
    19. Wind
    20. AggravatorAggravator
    21. Con turret
    22. Mex
    23. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    24. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    25. AggravatorAggravator
    26. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    27. AggravatorAggravator ×5
    28. Wind
    29. AggravatorAggravator
    30. Wind
    31. AggravatorAggravator
    32. Wind ×2
    33. GuardGuard
    34. AggravatorAggravator
    35. Wind
    36. ThugThug
    37. Wind
    38. 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 (44%) · energy storage (36%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (33%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 141 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug
    3. Wind
    4. ThugThug ×2
    5. Mex
    6. ThugThug
    7. GuardGuard
    8. ThugThug ×2
    9. Converter
    10. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    11. ThugThug
    12. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    13. Converter
    14. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    15. ThugThug
    16. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    17. Con turret
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    20. ThugThug
    21. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. Con turret
    24. ThugThug
    25. ThistleThistle
    26. ThugThug
    27. Construction BotCon bot
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug
    30. Wind ×2
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. ThugThug
    34. Con turret
    35. Converter
    36. ThugThug ×2
    37. Construction BotCon bot
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind ×3
    43. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×3
    44. Wind
    45. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    46. ThugThug
    47. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    48. Wind
    49. Converter
    50. Wind ×2
    51. ThugThug
    52. Converter
    53. Wind ×3
    54. ThugThug
    55. Wind ×4
    56. ThugThug
    57. Wind ×2
    58. GuardGuard
    59. Wind
    60. Converter
    61. Wind
    62. Converter
    63. Construction BotCon bot
    64. Converter
    65. ThugThug
    66. Wind
    67. Con turretfor Tech
    68. Wind
    69. ThugThug
    70. Wind
    71. GuardGuard
    72. Wind
    73. ThugThug
    74. Wind ×2
    75. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    76. ThugThug
    77. Wind ×3
    78. Converter
    79. Wind
    80. ThugThug
    81. Wind ×3
    82. Construction BotCon bot
    83. Converter ×2
    84. ThugThug
    85. GuardGuard
    86. Wind
    87. ThugThug
    88. Wind ×4
    89. ThugThug
    90. Wind
    91. GuardGuard
    92. Wind
    93. ThugThug
    94. Wind
    95. Con turret
    96. Converter
    97. Wind
    98. ThugThug
    99. Converter
    100. Con turret
    101. GruntGrunt
    102. Wind
    103. GruntGrunt
    104. Wind
    105. GruntGrunt ×2
    106. Wind
    107. GruntGrunt
    108. Wind ×2
    109. GruntGrunt ×2
    110. Wind ×2
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Converter
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Wind
    115. GruntGrunt
    116. Wind
    117. CastroCastro
    118. GruntGrunt
    119. Wind
    120. Converter
    121. Wind ×2
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt ×4
    125. Con turret
    126. GruntGrunt ×10
    127. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    128. GruntGrunt
    129. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    130. GruntGrunt ×4
    131. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    132. GruntGrunt
    133. GuardGuard ×2
    134. GruntGrunt
    135. GuardGuard
    136. GruntGrunt ×2
    137. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    138. GruntGrunt
    139. GuardGuard
    140. GruntGrunt ×8
    141. GuardGuard

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Buckyo's (35 OS, 15/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:16 · in 64% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:51 · 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

519 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085600
3:00163410886
4:002716391344
5:003868945840
6:00512416061538
7:00641424352457
8:00778931893352
9:00924339074317
10:001093247145092
11:001273553286009
12:001466158656890
13:001695663767632
14:001916570188570
15:002086476719383
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

Buckyo

35.3 OS · 15/10/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units
551 metal received · 9087 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=505
Advanced Metal Extractor9:27Middle 50%: 8:20–10:45 · n=378

Played most by

iLike2Eco33games of this buildSauceDispenser28games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildUncle_Cane15games of this build