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Front / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard front

Cortex Front build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's default economy-first play: Bot Lab right away, Advanced Metal Extractor around 9:12, transitioning into the usual Thug/Grunt/Aggravator mix to hold the wider gap and feed the middle.

#eco #defence · 177 distinct matches · 62 players · 64% of Cortex Front games · team won 44% of 179 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 0:40

  1. Take 3 mex, then wind before opening Bot Lab.
  2. Finish Bot Lab, start producing Thug, Grunt and Aggravator.
  3. Send early units to coast first to stop leaks, not straight to mid.
  4. Add Twin Guard and Radar Tower to hold the wider gap.
  5. Bring Advanced Metal Extractor online as army transitions to T2.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 177 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
    • Wind Turbine1Wind
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 2 mex, 1 winddone ~0:40, middle half 0:34–0:46

    By 0:24 in all: 2 mex · 1 wind

    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
    • Thug6 Thug
    • Aggravator5 Aggravator
    • Grunt4 Grunt

    Some games also: con turret (42%) · 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. Mex
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Wind
    6. GruntGrunt
    7. Wind
    8. Construction BotCon bot ×3
    9. Mex
    10. ThugThug ×3
    11. Mex ×2
    12. ThugThug ×4
    13. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    14. ThugThug ×3
    15. GruntGruntfor Geo
    16. Mex
    17. GruntGruntfor Geo
    18. ThugThug
    19. Construction BotCon bot
    20. GuardGuard
    21. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    22. Construction BotCon bot
    23. GuardGuard
    24. ThugThug ×5
    25. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    26. ThugThug ×5
    27. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    28. Con turret
    29. Construction BotCon bot
  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
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug2 Thug

    Some games also: aggravator (46%) · energy storage (42%) · Twin Guard (36%) · converter (35%) · Radar Tower (35%)

    By 10:00 in all: 7 mex · 24 wind · 1 energy storage · 3 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 175 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. Wind
    4. ThugThug
    5. Wind
    6. ThugThug
    7. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    8. Wind
    9. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    10. ThugThug
    11. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    12. Wind
    13. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    14. ThugThug
    15. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    16. Wind
    17. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    18. ThugThug
    19. Wind
    20. ThugThug
    21. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    22. Wind
    23. ThugThug
    24. Wind
    25. ThugThug
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. ThugThug
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug
    46. Mex
    47. Energy storage
    48. Wind
    49. ThugThug
    50. Wind
    51. ThugThug
    52. Converter
    53. Wind
    54. ThugThug
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Converter
    57. Con turret
    58. ThugThug
    59. Wind ×2
    60. Converter
    61. Con turret
    62. ThugThug
    63. Converter
    64. Wind
    65. Mex
    66. Wind
    67. Converter
    68. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    69. Wind ×2
    70. Converter
    71. Wind ×3
    72. ThugThug
    73. Wind
    74. Converter
    75. Wind
    76. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:01 · typical 9:10
    77. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    78. Converter
    79. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 9:21
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    82. Converter
    83. Wind ×2
    84. Converter ×4
    85. Wind
    86. LasherLasher
    87. Wind
    88. Converter
    89. Wind
    90. IncisorIncisor
    91. BruteBrute
    92. Wind
    93. Converter
    94. BruteBrute
    95. Con turret
    96. Wind ×2
    97. Converter
    98. BruteBrute
    99. Wind
    100. BruteBrute
    101. Wind
    102. Converter
    103. BruteBrute
    104. Wind
    105. BruteBrute
    106. Converter
    107. Wind
    108. BruteBrute
    109. Converter
    110. Wind
    111. BruteBrute
    112. Converter
    113. BruteBrute
    114. Converter
    115. BruteBrute
    116. Converter
    117. BruteBrute
    118. Converter
    119. BruteBrute
    120. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    121. Wind
    122. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    123. BruteBrute
    124. Wind
    125. BruteBrute ×2
    126. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    127. Wind
    128. BruteBrute
    129. Wind ×2
    130. BruteBrute
    131. Wind
    132. BruteBrute
    133. Mex
    134. Wind
    135. BruteBrute
    136. Wind
    137. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    138. BruteBrute
    139. Wind
    140. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    141. BruteBrute
    142. Wind ×2
    143. BruteBrute
    144. Wind
    145. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    146. BruteBrute
    147. Wind
    148. BruteBrute
    149. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    150. BruteBrute ×2
    151. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    152. BruteBrute
    153. Wind
    154. BruteBrute
    155. Mex
    156. BruteBrute ×2
    157. Wind
    158. BruteBrute ×3
    159. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    160. Wind
    161. Converter
    162. BruteBrute
    163. Converter
    164. BruteBrute
    165. Converter
    166. BruteBrute
    167. Wind
    168. Converter
    169. BruteBrute
    170. Converter
    171. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    172. BruteBrute
    173. Converter
    174. BruteBrute
    175. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Slump's (39 OS, 07/09/2026); 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 68% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:26 · in 66% 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

179 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085800
3:0016248686
4:002692359336
5:003828938883
6:00505116831622
7:00633024302606
8:00769932503477
9:00914838644317
10:001091543525092
11:001287049345948
12:001507052866934
13:001774557647566
14:002019663178516
15:002293570989484
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This build has the worst win rate of the roles shown and trails Suicide front on kills while losing nearly as much metal.

  • + Produces more metal than Suicide front by 15:00 (22286 vs 18297).
  • + T2 constructor lands slightly faster (7:41) than Suicide front's 8:07.
  • − Loses 9797 own metal by 15:00, close to what it destroys (6775).
  • − Wins only 40% of games, well below every other role shown.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Slump

39.4 OS · 07/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
556 metal received · 134750 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=164
Advanced Metal Extractor9:10Middle 50%: 8:09–10:29 · n=140

Played most by

Hummell19games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildiLike2Eco12games of this buildCentientWaffle9games of this buildGeeGee9games of this build