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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 · 443 distinct matches · 137 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 460 · 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 443 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. Wind
  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 · 18 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Mex
    3. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 1:01
    4. RascalRascal ×8
    5. Construction VehicleCon vehicle ×3
    6. Mex
    7. PounderPounder ×3
    8. WolverineWolverine
    9. Mex
    10. WolverineWolverine
    11. GuardGuard
    12. Con turret
    13. WolverineWolverine ×2
    14. Wind ×4
    15. Converter
    16. GuardGuard ×2
    17. PounderPounder
    18. Wind
  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 (43%) · 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 · 117 steps
    1. PounderPounder
    2. GuardGuard
    3. Wind
    4. PounderPounder
    5. Wind
    6. GuardGuard
    7. PounderPounder
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. PounderPounder ×2
    11. Wind
    12. WolverineWolverine
    13. Wind
    14. WolverineWolverine
    15. Wind ×2
    16. WolverineWolverine
    17. Converter
    18. WolverineWolverine
    19. Wind
    20. PounderPounder
    21. Wind
    22. PounderPounder
    23. Wind ×2
    24. PounderPounder
    25. Converter
    26. WolverineWolverine
    27. Wind ×2
    28. WolverineWolverine
    29. Wind
    30. WolverineWolverine
    31. Converter
    32. WolverineWolverine
    33. Wind
    34. PounderPounder
    35. Wind ×2
    36. PounderPounder
    37. Wind
    38. PounderPounder
    39. Converter
    40. WolverineWolverine
    41. Con turret
    42. WolverineWolverine
    43. Wind ×2
    44. WolverineWolverine
    45. Wind
    46. Con turret
    47. Wind
    48. WolverineWolverine
    49. Converter
    50. Energy storage
    51. Wind
    52. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:15 · typical 9:24
    53. Wind
    54. PounderPounder
    55. IncisorIncisor
    56. Wind ×2
    57. Con turret
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. Converter
    60. IncisorIncisor
    61. Wind
    62. IncisorIncisor
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Wind ×2
    65. Con turret
    66. IncisorIncisor
    67. Wind
    68. Con turret
    69. IncisorIncisor
    70. Wind ×2
    71. IncisorIncisor
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. Wind
    74. Converter
    75. IncisorIncisor
    76. Wind ×2
    77. IncisorIncisor
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. Wind ×4
    81. IncisorIncisor
    82. Converter
    83. Wind
    84. IncisorIncisor
    85. Wind
    86. RattlesnakeRattlesnakenot finished by 15:00
    87. Wind ×2
    88. IncisorIncisor
    89. Wind
    90. Converter
    91. Wind ×2
    92. IncisorIncisor
    93. Converter
    94. Wind
    95. IncisorIncisor
    96. Wind ×4
    97. IncisorIncisor
    98. Converter
    99. Wind
    100. IncisorIncisor
    101. Converter
    102. IncisorIncisor
    103. Wind ×3
    104. IncisorIncisor
    105. Wind ×2
    106. IncisorIncisor
    107. Wind ×2
    108. IncisorIncisor
    109. Wind
    110. Converter
    111. IncisorIncisor
    112. Converter
    113. Wind
    114. IncisorIncisor
    115. Wind ×3
    116. IncisorIncisor
    117. Wind ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is VeryCool's (31 OS, 11/08/2026); 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 65% 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

460 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710086
4:002704386337
5:003850916838
6:00510515861559
7:00638923642474
8:00772630943385
9:00914637694271
10:001077344855070
11:001264252035984
12:001455357176925
13:001682962137650
14:001901866638579
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

VeryCool

31.2 OS · 11/08/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
277 metal received · 19259 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=447
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=338

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildHummell15games of this build
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas