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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:41 · 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 · 32 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt ×2
    3. Wind ×2
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Mex
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. ThugThug ×3
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug
    12. Mex
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. Mex
    17. AggravatorAggravator
    18. GuardGuard
    19. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    20. WardenWarden
    21. AggravatorAggravator
    22. ThugThug
    23. Construction BotCon bot
    24. Wind
    25. ThugThug
    26. WardenWarden
    27. ThugThug ×4
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. ThugThug ×3
    30. Wind
    31. WardenWarden
    32. 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 · 113 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. ThugThug
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. ThugThug
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Con turret
    8. ThugThug
    9. GraverobberGraverobber ×5
    10. ThugThug
    11. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    12. ThugThug ×3
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Con turret
    15. ThugThug
    16. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    17. ThugThug
    18. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Twin GuardTwin Guard ×3
    21. ThugThug
    22. JanusJanus
    23. BlitzBlitz
    24. GruntGrunt ×2
    25. ThugThug
    26. GruntGrunt
    27. ThugThug
    28. GruntGrunt
    29. ThugThug
    30. GruntGrunt ×2
    31. BlitzBlitz
    32. GruntGrunt
    33. BlitzBlitz
    34. ThugThug ×2
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. ThugThug
    37. GuardGuard
    38. ThugThug
    39. Wind
    40. JanusJanus
    41. Wind
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Wind
    44. GuardGuard
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind
    47. BlitzBlitz
    48. GruntGrunt
    49. Mex
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:29 · typical 9:23
    51. Wind
    52. ThugThug ×2
    53. Wind
    54. ThugThug ×2
    55. Wind
    56. ThugThug
    57. Wind
    58. ThugThug
    59. Wind
    60. GruntGrunt
    61. Wind
    62. Mex
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Wind ×3
    65. Mex
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Wind
    69. Mex
    70. GruntGrunt
    71. Wind ×3
    72. GruntGrunt
    73. Wind ×2
    74. GruntGrunt ×2
    75. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. Mex
    78. Wind
    79. GruntGrunt ×4
    80. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    81. Wind
    82. GruntGrunt ×3
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    84. GruntGrunt ×2
    85. Con turret
    86. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    87. GruntGrunt ×2
    88. Wind
    89. GruntGrunt
    90. Con turret
    91. GruntGrunt
    92. Wind
    93. GruntGrunt
    94. Wind
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. Wind
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. Wind
    99. GruntGrunt
    100. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    101. GruntGrunt
    102. Wind
    103. GruntGrunt ×2
    104. Wind
    105. Construction BotCon bot
    106. Wind
    107. Construction BotCon bot
    108. Wind
    109. Construction BotCon bot
    110. Wind
    111. Construction BotCon bot
    112. Wind
    113. Construction BotCon bot

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Man_Riding_Shrimp's (30 OS, 09/10/2026); 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

Man_Riding_Shrimp

30.3 OS · 09/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
30 metal received · 7841 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