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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 · 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
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:34 · 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 · 29 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Mex
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Mex
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Mex
    11. GruntGrunt
    12. GuardGuard
    13. GruntGrunt ×3
    14. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    15. GuardGuard
    16. ThugThug
    17. Mex
    18. ThugThug
    19. GuardGuard
    20. ThugThug
    21. AggravatorAggravator
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    24. Con turret
    25. Mex
    26. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    27. AggravatorAggravator ×4
    28. Wind
    29. GuardGuard
  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 · 91 steps
    1. Wind
    2. AggravatorAggravator
    3. Wind
    4. AggravatorAggravator
    5. Wind ×2
    6. AggravatorAggravator
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug
    9. Wind
    10. ThugThug
    11. Wind
    12. ThugThug
    13. Wind
    14. ThugThug
    15. Wind
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. ThugThug
    19. Wind
    20. ThistleThistle
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. AgitatorAgitatordone 7:54
    27. ThugThug
    28. Mex
    29. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    30. Construction BotCon bot
    31. Wind
    32. GraverobberGraverobber
    33. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    34. Wind
    35. AggravatorAggravator
    36. Wind
    37. AggravatorAggravator
    38. Wind
    39. Mex
    40. Wind ×2
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind
    47. ThugThug
    48. Wind
    49. ThugThug ×6
    50. Converter
    51. ThugThug
    52. Converter
    53. ThugThug ×3
    54. Wind
    55. ThugThug
    56. Wind ×3
    57. GraverobberGraverobber
    58. Wind
    59. GraverobberGraverobber
    60. Wind
    61. GraverobberGraverobber
    62. Wind
    63. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    64. Wind ×3
    65. GuardGuard
    66. Con turret
    67. ThugThug
    68. Wind
    69. Con turret
    70. ThugThug
    71. Wind
    72. ThugThug
    73. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    74. ThugThug
    75. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    76. ThugThug
    77. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    78. Wind
    79. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    80. ThugThug
    81. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    82. ThugThug ×2
    83. Wind
    84. AgitatorAgitator
    85. ThugThug
    86. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 14:47
    87. Wind ×2
    88. ThugThug
    89. Wind ×2
    90. GuardGuard
    91. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Parasaurolophus's (31 OS, 05/10/2026); 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

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

Parasaurolophus

30.8 OS · 05/10/2026

Open source match ↗

21 received units · includes a constructor
265 metal received · 9175 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