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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 · 450 distinct matches · 138 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 467 · 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 450 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 (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 33 steps
    1. GruntGrunt
    2. Mex
    3. GruntGrunt
    4. Wind
    5. GraverobberGraverobber
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. GraverobberGraverobber
    8. GruntGrunt
    9. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Mex
    12. ThugThug
    13. Mex
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. GuardGuard
    17. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    18. GuardGuard
    19. ThugThug ×2
    20. Mex
    21. ThugThug
    22. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug ×2
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug
    27. Con turret
    28. GuardGuard
    29. ThugThug
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug ×2
    32. Wind
    33. 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%) · energy storage (36%) · converter (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 · 90 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug ×2
    3. Con turret
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug ×2
    6. Mex
    7. Wind
    8. Mex
    9. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 6:14
    10. CastroCastro
    11. Wind
    12. Con turret
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Wind
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. AgitatorAgitatordone 7:23
    17. Energy storage
    18. GruntGrunt
    19. RascalRascal
    20. GruntGrunt
    21. RascalRascal
    22. Mex
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. RascalRascal
    25. GruntGrunt
    26. RascalRascal ×2
    27. Mex
    28. GruntGrunt
    29. RascalRascal ×3
    30. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    31. GruntGrunt
    32. RascalRascal ×3
    33. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. RascalRascal
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. RascalRascal
    39. CastroCastro
    40. GruntGrunt
    41. RascalRascal ×2
    42. Wind
    43. GruntGrunt
    44. RascalRascal ×2
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. RascalRascal
    47. GruntGrunt ×2
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt ×3
    50. Wind
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:24 · typical 9:23
    52. GruntGrunt ×3
    53. Wind
    54. GruntGrunt ×2
    55. Wind
    56. GruntGrunt ×2
    57. Wind
    58. GruntGrunt ×2
    59. Wind
    60. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    61. Construction BotCon bot
    62. Wind
    63. Construction BotCon bot
    64. Wind
    65. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    66. Wind
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. Wind
    70. GruntGrunt ×2
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret
    73. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    74. GruntGrunt ×4
    75. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. Energy storage
    78. Con turret
    79. GruntGrunt ×2
    80. Con turret
    81. GruntGrunt ×3
    82. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    83. GruntGrunt
    84. Converter
    85. GruntGrunt ×3
    86. Converter
    87. GruntGrunt ×3
    88. RattlesnakeRattlesnakenot finished by 15:00
    89. Converter
    90. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is MarcoRalseks's (35 OS, 04/10/2026); 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 65% 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

467 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085600
3:00162810286
4:002710390344
5:003850920840
6:00510815871557
7:00638923652476
8:00773231243394
9:00915338324309
10:001080045375079
11:001265852035989
12:001454156816934
13:001681562017643
14:001900866498561
15:002063772469322
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

MarcoRalseks

34.6 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

30 received units · includes a constructor
503 metal received · 21293 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=454
Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=343

Played most by

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