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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard front

Standard Front play: Bot Lab immediately, expanding economy with an Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:00, then defending the wider gap with bots like Thug, Grunt and Aggravator as the middle firms up.

#eco #defence · 171 distinct matches · 62 players · 63% of Cortex Front games · team won 43% of 173 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 0:40

  1. Take 3 mex, then wind before opening Bot Lab.
  2. Finish Bot Lab, start producing Thug, Grunt and Aggravator.
  3. Send early units to coast first to stop leaks, not straight to mid.
  4. Add Twin Guard and Radar Tower to hold the wider gap.
  5. Bring Advanced Metal Extractor online as army transitions to T2.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 171 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 mex, 1 winddone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    Some games also: wind (50%)

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Solar
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Bot LabBot Labdone 1:02 · 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
    • Thug6 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · Radar Tower (36%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 30 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. GruntGrunt ×3
    3. Wind
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. GruntGrunt
    6. Wind
    7. GruntGrunt ×5
    8. Construction BotCon bot ×3
    9. AggravatorAggravator
    10. Mex
    11. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug ×3
    18. Mex
    19. Wind
    20. Construction BotCon bot
    21. GuardGuard
    22. Construction BotCon bot
    23. GuardGuard
    24. Wind
    25. ThugThug ×3
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug ×3
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug ×3
    30. 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
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug1 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (47%) · energy storage (43%) · Twin Guard (36%) · Radar Tower (35%) · converter (34%)

    By 10:00 in all: 7 mex · 24 wind · 1 energy storage · 3 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 103 steps
    1. ThugThug ×2
    2. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    3. Wind
    4. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    5. Wind
    6. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 6:22
    7. ThugThug ×4
    8. Mex
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Energy storage
    12. ThugThug ×4
    13. PounderPounder
    14. ThugThug ×3
    15. PounderPounder
    16. Wind
    17. LasherLasher
    18. MaceMace
    19. Wind
    20. WolverineWolverine
    21. Wind
    22. WolverineWolverine
    23. Mex
    24. Con turret
    25. Wind
    26. WolverineWolverine
    27. Wind ×2
    28. WolverineWolverine
    29. ThistleThistle
    30. WolverineWolverine
    31. Wind
    32. WolverineWolverine
    33. ThistleThistle
    34. Wind
    35. WolverineWolverine
    36. Energy storage
    37. CastroCastro
    38. WolverineWolverine
    39. Wind ×2
    40. WolverineWolverine
    41. Wind
    42. ThistleThistle
    43. Wind
    44. WolverineWolverine
    45. Wind
    46. LasherLasher
    47. Wind
    48. WolverineWolverine
    49. Wind ×2
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:10
    51. WolverineWolverine
    52. Wind ×2
    53. WolverineWolverine
    54. Wind
    55. LasherLasher
    56. Wind ×2
    57. WolverineWolverine
    58. Wind ×2
    59. WolverineWolverine
    60. Wind
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. WolverineWolverine
    63. Con turret
    64. Wind
    65. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    66. RascalRascal
    67. Wind
    68. RascalRascal
    69. Wind
    70. RascalRascal ×4
    71. Wind
    72. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    73. RascalRascal ×2
    74. Wind
    75. RascalRascal
    76. Wind
    77. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 12:16
    78. Wind
    79. Energy storage
    80. GuardGuard
    81. Converter
    82. FiendFiend ×2
    83. Converter
    84. FiendFiend ×3
    85. Converter
    86. SheldonSheldondone 13:08
    87. Converter
    88. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    89. SheldonSheldon
    90. Converter
    91. SheldonSheldon ×2
    92. Converter
    93. SheldonSheldon
    94. Con turret
    95. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    96. Wind ×2
    97. SumoSumodone 14:29
    98. Wind ×2
    99. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    100. SheldonSheldon ×2
    101. Wind
    102. SheldonSheldon ×2
    103. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is RAM_biso's (36 OS, 27/09/2026); 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 68% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:34 · in 66% 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

173 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016248686
4:002686350336
5:003810938895
6:00504016971662
7:00633025242607
8:00769533073575
9:00914138954317
10:001085943745102
11:001287050665960
12:001507052866978
13:001774558947597
14:002023963458690
15:002294371609707
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This build has the worst win rate of the roles shown and trails Suicide front on kills while losing nearly as much metal.

  • + Produces more metal than Suicide front by 15:00 (22286 vs 18297).
  • + T2 constructor lands slightly faster (7:41) than Suicide front's 8:07.
  • − Loses 9797 own metal by 15:00, close to what it destroys (6775).
  • − Wins only 40% of games, well below every other role shown.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

RAM_biso

36.5 OS · 27/09/2026

Open source match ↗

15 received units · includes a constructor
2481 metal received · 31324 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=158
Advanced Metal Extractor9:12Middle 50%: 8:10–10:30 · n=136

Played most by

watermeloans19games of this buildHummell16games of this buildiLike2Eco12games of this buildCentientWaffle8games of this buildGeeGee8games of this build
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas