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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [NWP]Kadafi923's (31 OS, 08/10/2026); 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

[NWP]Kadafi923

31.5 OS · 08/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
52 metal received · 18424 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