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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 · 447 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 464 · 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 447 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 (41%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:34 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. Mex
    3. Wind ×2
    4. GruntGrunt ×2
    5. Wind
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. GruntGrunt ×2
    9. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    10. Mex
    11. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    12. Mex
    13. AggravatorAggravator
    14. ThugThug ×3
    15. GuardGuard
    16. ThugThug
    17. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    18. Mex
    19. ThugThug ×4
    20. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    21. ThugThug ×2
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. ThugThug
    24. GraverobberGraverobber
    25. Con turret
    26. 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
    • Grunt8 Grunt
    • Thug4 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (42%) · converter (36%) · energy storage (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 · 115 steps
    1. ThugThug ×10
    2. GuardGuard
    3. ThugThug
    4. Mex
    5. ThugThug
    6. Con turret
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Wind
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Mex
    11. Wind
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. Wind
    16. Construction BotCon bot
    17. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    18. ThugThug ×2
    19. Wind
    20. GruntGrunt ×3
    21. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    22. GruntGrunt ×3
    23. Wind
    24. GruntGrunt ×3
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:35 · typical 9:23
    26. Wind
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Wind
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. Con turret
    31. Wind
    32. GruntGrunt
    33. Wind
    34. AgitatorAgitatordone 9:59
    35. Wind
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Wind
    39. CastroCastro
    40. Mex
    41. CastroCastro
    42. Wind ×2
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 11:18
    45. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    46. Wind ×2
    47. WardenWarden
    48. GruntGrunt
    49. Wind ×3
    50. WardenWarden
    51. Wind ×2
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. Wind ×2
    54. GruntGrunt
    55. Wind
    56. GruntGrunt
    57. Wind ×2
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. GruntGrunt
    60. Wind ×3
    61. GruntGrunt
    62. WardenWarden
    63. RascalRascal ×2
    64. Wind ×2
    65. RascalRascal
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. RascalRascal ×2
    68. Wind
    69. RascalRascal
    70. Wind
    71. GruntGrunt
    72. Wind
    73. RascalRascal ×4
    74. Construction BotCon bot
    75. Wind
    76. RascalRascal
    77. Energy storage
    78. Wind
    79. RascalRascal ×4
    80. Energy storage
    81. RascalRascal ×2
    82. IncisorIncisor
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    84. Wind ×2
    85. IncisorIncisor
    86. Wind
    87. Construction BotCon bot
    88. IncisorIncisor ×3
    89. Wind
    90. IncisorIncisor
    91. Wind
    92. IncisorIncisor
    93. Construction BotCon bot
    94. Wind
    95. IncisorIncisor ×2
    96. Wind
    97. IncisorIncisor
    98. Wind
    99. IncisorIncisor
    100. Wind
    101. IncisorIncisor
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. Wind
    104. IncisorIncisor ×2
    105. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. IncisorIncisor
    108. Wind
    109. GuardGuard
    110. Wind
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Wind
    113. IncisorIncisor ×2
    114. GruntGrunt
    115. GuardGuard

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is MarcoRalseks's (36 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 64% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:46 · 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

02.5k5k7.5k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

464 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710286
4:002707387345
5:003850917839
6:00510515861559
7:00638923652478
8:00772631103385
9:00914638064291
10:001077345215079
11:001264252035987
12:001455356906925
13:001682962067650
14:001901866638566
15:002063272469349
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

MarcoRalseks

36.1 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
314 metal received · 11939 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=451
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=341

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildEl_Turco15games of this build