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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 · 451 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 468 · 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 451 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Solar
    4. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:54 · 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 · 32 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Construction BotCon bot
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. GruntGrunt ×2
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Mex
    8. GraverobberGraverobber
    9. Mex
    10. GruntGrunt
    11. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    12. Mex
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. GuardGuard
    15. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    16. Mex
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. Wind
    19. GuardGuard
    20. Wind
    21. AggravatorAggravator
    22. BeholderBeholder
    23. AggravatorAggravator
    24. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Wind
    27. AggravatorAggravator
    28. Wind ×2
    29. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. AggravatorAggravator ×5
    32. GraverobberGraverobber
  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%) · 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 · 143 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    2. ThugThug
    3. AggravatorAggravator
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. GraverobberGraverobber
    6. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    7. ThugThug
    8. AggravatorAggravator
    9. GruntGrunt
    10. GraverobberGraverobber
    11. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    12. Con turret
    13. AggravatorAggravator
    14. Wind
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind ×2
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. Wind
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Wind ×2
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. Wind ×4
    23. AggravatorAggravator
    24. Wind
    25. AggravatorAggravator
    26. Wind ×2
    27. AggravatorAggravator
    28. Wind
    29. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug
    32. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    33. Wind
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:08 · typical 9:23
    36. GraverobberGraverobber
    37. Wind
    38. GuardGuard
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. ThistleThistle
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind
    45. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    46. GruntGrunt ×2
    47. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Wind
    50. GruntGrunt ×2
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. Mex
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt ×2
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    57. Con turret
    58. ThugThug
    59. Wind
    60. Mex
    61. Wind
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. Wind ×2
    64. GraverobberGraverobber
    65. Wind
    66. GuardGuard
    67. Wind
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. Wind
    70. GruntGrunt ×2
    71. Wind
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. Construction BotCon bot
    74. Wind ×2
    75. BeholderBeholder
    76. Wind
    77. GraverobberGraverobber
    78. GruntGrunt ×2
    79. Wind
    80. GruntGrunt
    81. Wind
    82. ThugThug
    83. Construction BotCon bot
    84. GraverobberGraverobber
    85. Wind
    86. GruntGrunt
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt
    89. Con turret
    90. Wind
    91. GruntGrunt
    92. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. ThugThug
    96. Wind
    97. Construction BotCon bot
    98. GraverobberGraverobber
    99. Wind
    100. GruntGrunt ×2
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. Wind
    104. GruntGrunt
    105. Wind
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. GruntGrunt ×2
    109. Wind
    110. GruntGrunt ×3
    111. Wind
    112. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    113. Wind
    114. Con turret
    115. ThugThug
    116. Wind
    117. Construction BotCon bot
    118. Wind
    119. GraverobberGraverobber
    120. Wind
    121. CastroCastro
    122. Wind
    123. GruntGrunt
    124. Con turret
    125. GruntGrunt ×6
    126. Con turret
    127. GruntGrunt
    128. Wind
    129. GruntGrunt
    130. Wind
    131. GruntGrunt
    132. Wind
    133. Pit BullPit Bull
    134. ThugThug
    135. Wind
    136. TrasherTrasher
    137. Wind
    138. CastroCastro
    139. Construction BotCon bot
    140. Wind
    141. Con turret ×2
    142. Wind
    143. JellyfishJellyfish

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is hox2's (32 OS, 13/10/2026); 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 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

468 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085600
3:00162710486
4:002711389341
5:003853921839
6:00510915891556
7:00639523722474
8:00772631253385
9:00915138374291
10:001079845385079
11:001264252055987
12:001450856906925
13:001681462067630
14:001896966638539
15:002063272579305
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

hox2

31.8 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
321 metal received · 9225 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=454
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=343

Played most by

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