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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 · 502 distinct matches · 154 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 51% of 519 · 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 502 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 (39%)

    By 0:23 in all: 2 mex

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:40 · 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 · 38 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt ×3
    3. Wind
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Mex
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. AggravatorAggravator
    8. Con turret
    9. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    10. Mex
    11. AggravatorAggravator ×3
    12. Mex
    13. AggravatorAggravator
    14. Wind
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug
    18. Mex
    19. Wind
    20. AggravatorAggravator
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Converter
    24. AggravatorAggravator
    25. Converter
    26. ThugThug
    27. Wind
    28. AggravatorAggravator
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug
    31. AggravatorAggravator
    32. ThugThug
    33. Con turret
    34. ThugThug
    35. Mex
    36. ThugThug
    37. Wind
    38. 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
    • Grunt7 Grunt
    • Thug5 Thug
    • Aggravator1 Aggravator

    Some games also: Radar Tower (44%) · 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 · 150 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug
    3. Wind
    4. GuardGuard
    5. ThugThug
    6. Wind
    7. ThugThug ×2
    8. ThistleThistle
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    12. ThugThug ×2
    13. Wind
    14. ThugThug
    15. Wind
    16. ThugThug
    17. Wind
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Mex
    23. Con turret
    24. ThugThug
    25. Con turret
    26. ThugThug ×2
    27. GuardGuard
    28. ThugThug ×2
    29. Construction BotCon bot
    30. ThugThug ×4
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. Wind
    36. ThugThug ×2
    37. Wind
    38. ThugThug ×2
    39. Con turret
    40. Converter
    41. ThugThug ×2
    42. Construction BotCon bot
    43. ThugThug
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug ×2
    46. Wind
    47. ThugThug ×2
    48. Wind
    49. ThugThug
    50. Converter
    51. Energy storage
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Construction BotCon bot
    54. Converter
    55. Wind
    56. Con turret ×2
    57. Converter
    58. ThugThug
    59. Converter ×2
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Converter
    62. ThugThug
    63. Converter
    64. Wind ×2
    65. ThugThug
    66. Converter
    67. Wind ×2
    68. Converter
    69. ThugThug
    70. Converter
    71. Wind
    72. GuardGuard
    73. Wind ×3
    74. Converter
    75. ThugThug
    76. Wind ×6
    77. ThugThug
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. GraverobberGraverobber
    80. Wind
    81. GuardGuard
    82. Wind
    83. Converter
    84. Wind
    85. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:39 · typical 9:27
    86. Wind ×3
    87. Converter
    88. GraverobberGraverobber
    89. Wind ×2
    90. GruntGrunt
    91. Converter
    92. Wind ×2
    93. Converter
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    96. Wind
    97. Mex
    98. Wind ×4
    99. Converter
    100. GruntGrunt
    101. Wind ×3
    102. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    103. Wind
    104. GruntGrunt
    105. Wind ×2
    106. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    107. Converter
    108. Wind ×2
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. ThugThug
    111. Converter
    112. Wind ×2
    113. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    114. ThugThug
    115. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    116. Wind ×3
    117. Converter
    118. Wind ×5
    119. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    120. Wind
    121. ThugThug
    122. Converter
    123. Wind
    124. ThugThug
    125. Wind ×2
    126. Converter
    127. Con turret
    128. Wind ×6
    129. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    130. Converter
    131. GruntGrunt
    132. Converter
    133. ThugThug
    134. Wind
    135. GruntGrunt
    136. ThugThug
    137. Wind
    138. GruntGrunt
    139. ThugThug
    140. Wind ×2
    141. Con turret
    142. Wind ×3
    143. Converter
    144. Wind
    145. GruntGrunt
    146. Wind
    147. GuardGuard
    148. Converter
    149. ThugThug
    150. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Buckyo's (36 OS, 15/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

Nothing regular.

You get

  • Tidal Generator4 Tidal from Pondfirst at 0:16 · in 64% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Geo or Techfirst at 7:51 · 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

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

05k10k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

519 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085600
3:00163410886
4:002716391344
5:003868945840
6:00512416061538
7:00641424352457
8:00778931893352
9:00924339074317
10:001093247145092
11:001273553286009
12:001466158656890
13:001695663767632
14:001916570188570
15:002086476719383
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

Buckyo

35.6 OS · 15/10/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
376 metal received · 14531 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=505
Advanced Metal Extractor9:27Middle 50%: 8:20–10:45 · n=378

Played most by

iLike2Eco33games of this buildSauceDispenser28games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildUncle_Cane15games of this build