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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 · 445 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 462 · 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 445 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 · 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
    • 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 · 27 steps
    1. Mex
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Mex
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. GraverobberGraverobber
    8. Wind
    9. GruntGrunt
    10. Wind
    11. GruntGrunt ×2
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. ThugThug ×4
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug ×2
    16. GraverobberGraverobber
    17. Construction BotCon bot
    18. Mex
    19. ThugThug ×2
    20. GruntGrunt
    21. Mex
    22. GruntGrunt
    23. ThugThug ×3
    24. Con turret
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. ThugThug ×2
  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 · 121 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×2
    2. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    3. ThugThug ×3
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. GuardGuard
    7. ThugThug
    8. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    9. ThugThug
    10. GruntGrunt
    11. Construction BotCon bot ×3
    12. WardenWarden
    13. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    14. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. ThugThug
    19. Wind
    20. ThugThug
    21. Wind
    22. GraverobberGraverobber
    23. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    24. Solar
    25. Wind
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. Wind
    28. GruntGrunt ×3
    29. Wind ×2
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. Wind
    32. GruntGrunt ×3
    33. Con turret
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. Con turret ×2
    36. GruntGrunt
    37. Wind
    38. Mex
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. Wind
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 10:12
    47. Wind ×2
    48. GruntGrunt
    49. CastroCastro
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Mex ×2
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Wind
    57. Con turret
    58. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    59. Wind ×7
    60. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:39
    61. Wind
    62. Converter
    63. Wind ×4
    64. AugurRadar bot
    65. Converter
    66. DeceiverJammer bot
    67. SheldonSheldondone 10:42
    68. Converter
    69. SheldonSheldon
    70. Converter
    71. SheldonSheldon
    72. Converter
    73. SheldonSheldon ×3
    74. GuardGuard
    75. Converter
    76. Wind
    77. SheldonSheldon
    78. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    79. Wind
    80. Converter
    81. SheldonSheldon ×2
    82. Wind
    83. SheldonSheldon
    84. Converter
    85. Con turret
    86. SheldonSheldon
    87. Converter
    88. Energy storage
    89. SheldonSheldon
    90. Wind
    91. SheldonSheldon
    92. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    93. Converter
    94. Con turret
    95. SheldonSheldon
    96. Converter
    97. SheldonSheldon ×2
    98. SumoSumonot finished by 15:00
    99. Converter
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind ×3
    102. Converter
    103. Wind ×4
    104. Converter
    105. Wind ×4
    106. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    107. Wind
    108. Energy storage
    109. Wind
    110. Con turret
    111. Wind
    112. Con turret
    113. Converter
    114. Wind
    115. Converter
    116. Metal storage
    117. Con turret
    118. Wind
    119. Con turret
    120. Wind
    121. Con turret

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

462 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162510186
4:002704386341
5:003848916838
6:00509915851559
7:00638823642474
8:00771130943385
9:00914237694271
10:001074145005077
11:001262251885987
12:001450856906925
13:001681462067650
14:001896966488566
15:002060472399349
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

TheGeneraI

31.6 OS · 10/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
2389 metal received · 24009 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=449
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=340

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildHummell15games of this build