BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 · 447 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 464 · 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 447 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. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:27 · 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 · 24 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Wind
    6. Mex
    7. GruntGrunt
    8. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    9. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug ×6
    12. GuardGuard
    13. ThugThug
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug
    16. Construction BotCon bot
    17. Mex
    18. GuardGuard
    19. ThugThug ×2
    20. GraverobberGraverobber ×3
    21. Mex
    22. ThugThug ×5
    23. WardenWarden
    24. ThugThug
  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 (42%) · 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 · 53 steps
    1. ThugThug ×4
    2. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    3. ThugThug
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. ThugThug ×2
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug ×2
    8. WardenWarden
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug ×3
    11. Wind
    12. ThugThug ×2
    13. GuardGuard
    14. ThugThug
    15. Wind
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. GraverobberGraverobber
    19. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    20. Energy storage
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind ×2
    24. ThugThug ×2
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:23 · typical 9:23
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. Mex
    29. GraverobberGraverobber
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. GraverobberGraverobber
    32. GruntGrunt
    33. GraverobberGraverobber
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. GraverobberGraverobber
    36. Con turret
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. GraverobberGraverobber
    40. Mex
    41. GruntGrunt
    42. GraverobberGraverobber
    43. Con turret
    44. GruntGrunt
    45. Wind
    46. GruntGrunt ×3
    47. Wind
    48. GruntGrunt
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Mex
    53. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is IhavenoIQ's (30 OS, 14/08/2026); 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 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

464 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710286
4:002707387345
5:003850917839
6:00510515861559
7:00638923652478
8:00772631103385
9:00914638064291
10:001077345215079
11:001264252035987
12:001455356906925
13:001682962067650
14:001901866638566
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

IhavenoIQ

30.0 OS · 14/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
61 metal received · 10522 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=451
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=341

Played most by

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