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Standard front

Cortex Front build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's default economy-first play: Bot Lab right away, Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:12, transitioning into the usual Thug/Grunt/Aggravator mix to hold the wider gap and feed the middle.

#eco #defence · 209 distinct matches · 68 players · 63% of Cortex Front games · team won 44% of 212 · 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 209 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Wind
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:33 · 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
    • Thug7 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 31 steps
    1. Mex
    2. GruntGrunt ×4
    3. Mex
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Wind
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. GraverobberGraverobber
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. Mex
    10. Wind
    11. GraverobberGraverobber
    12. ThugThug
    13. Mex
    14. ThugThug ×2
    15. Wind
    16. ThugThug
    17. Mex
    18. ThugThug ×2
    19. GuardGuard
    20. GraverobberGraverobber
    21. ThugThug ×4
    22. GraverobberGraverobber
    23. GuardGuard
    24. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    25. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    26. ThugThug
    27. GuardGuard
    28. ThugThug ×3
    29. AggravatorAggravator
    30. ThugThug
    31. AggravatorAggravator
  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
    • Thug2 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (47%) · energy storage (40%) · Radar Tower (39%) · converter (36%) · Twin Guard (36%) · eat Bot Lab (37%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 50 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    2. ThugThug
    3. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    4. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    5. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    6. ThugThug
    7. GraverobberGraverobber ×4
    8. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    9. GuardGuard
    10. AggravatorAggravatorfor Suicide front
    11. AggravatorAggravator
    12. ThugThug
    13. GuardGuard
    14. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    15. GuardGuard
    16. AggravatorAggravator
    17. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    18. AggravatorAggravator
    19. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    20. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    21. ThugThug ×2for Suicide front
    22. AggravatorAggravatorfor Suicide front
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Con turret
    25. GruntGrunt
    26. GuardGuard
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Wind
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. GuardGuard
    31. Wind
    32. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    33. GruntGrunt
    34. Wind
    35. GraverobberGraverobber
    36. GuardGuard
    37. Wind
    38. GraverobberGraverobber
    39. Wind
    40. GuardGuard
    41. GraverobberGraverobber
    42. Wind
    43. GuardGuard
    44. GraverobberGraverobber
    45. Wind
    46. GraverobberGraverobber
    47. Wind
    48. Mex
    49. GraverobberGraverobber
    50. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Grump]Matsuri's (38 OS, 06/10/2026); 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 66% 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

212 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016238686
4:002685356326
5:003812920862
6:00505516461608
7:00632923862536
8:00769131743348
9:00914638224242
10:001088743925077
11:001282749235936
12:001501152976967
13:001732959477650
14:001970263318543
15:002237471809445
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

[Grump]Matsuri

37.8 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units
6 metal received · 12266 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=196
Advanced Metal Extractor9:13Middle 50%: 8:15–10:29 · n=166

Played most by

Hummell23games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildiLike2Eco13games of this buildErilium11games of this buildGeeGee11games of this build
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas