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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 · 443 distinct matches · 137 players · 65% of Cortex Front games · team won 50% of 460 · 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 443 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 (34%)

    By 5:00 in all: 6 mex · 5 wind

    The example game in this phase · 22 steps
    1. GruntGrunt
    2. Mex
    3. Wind
    4. GruntGrunt
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. GruntGrunt ×3
    8. Mex
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. ThugThug
    11. Mex
    12. ThugThug ×3
    13. Mex
    14. ThugThug ×6
    15. GraverobberGraverobber
    16. GuardGuard
    17. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    18. GuardGuard
    19. ThugThug ×8
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Wind
  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%) · 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 · 199 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Wind
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. Wind
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Wind
    8. ThugThug
    9. Wind
    10. GuardGuard
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. GuardGuard
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. ThugThug ×2
    18. Wind
    19. ThugThug ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. GraverobberGraverobber
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug ×2
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug ×2
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug ×2
    32. Wind ×2
    33. ThugThug ×2
    34. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:52 · typical 9:24
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. Mex
    40. GraverobberGraverobber
    41. Wind
    42. ThugThug ×2
    43. Wind
    44. ThugThug
    45. Wind
    46. ThugThug
    47. Wind
    48. ThugThug
    49. Wind
    50. GraverobberGraverobber
    51. Construction BotCon bot
    52. Wind
    53. Construction BotCon bot
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Wind
    57. GruntGrunt
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. GruntGrunt
    60. Wind
    61. GruntGrunt ×2
    62. Wind
    63. Energy storage
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind
    66. GraverobberGraverobber
    67. Wind
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. Energy storage
    70. Wind ×2
    71. Construction BotCon bot
    72. Wind
    73. Con turret
    74. GruntGrunt
    75. Wind
    76. GruntGrunt ×2
    77. Wind
    78. GruntGrunt ×2
    79. Wind
    80. GruntGrunt
    81. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    82. Con turret
    83. GraverobberGraverobber
    84. Wind
    85. Construction BotCon bot
    86. Con turret
    87. Wind ×2
    88. Construction BotCon bot
    89. Wind
    90. Con turret
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Con turret
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Wind
    96. GruntGrunt
    97. Con turret
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. Wind
    100. GruntGrunt
    101. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. Wind
    104. GraverobberGraverobber
    105. Con turret
    106. Wind
    107. GruntGrunt
    108. Wind
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Wind
    111. Con turret
    112. GruntGrunt ×3
    113. Bot LabBot Labdone 12:14
    114. GruntGrunt
    115. GraverobberGraverobber
    116. Wind
    117. GruntGrunt ×2
    118. Converter
    119. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    120. GruntGrunt ×3
    121. Converter
    122. GruntGrunt ×4
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt
    125. GraverobberGraverobber
    126. GruntGrunt ×2
    127. Converter
    128. GruntGrunt
    129. Wind
    130. GruntGrunt
    131. GraverobberGraverobber
    132. GruntGrunt ×7
    133. Converter
    134. Wind
    135. GruntGrunt
    136. GraverobberGraverobber
    137. GruntGrunt ×4
    138. GraverobberGraverobber
    139. Wind
    140. GruntGrunt ×2
    141. Converter
    142. GruntGrunt ×5
    143. Wind
    144. GruntGrunt
    145. GraverobberGraverobber
    146. GruntGrunt ×4
    147. Converter
    148. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    149. GraverobberGraverobber
    150. Wind
    151. GruntGrunt ×6
    152. Wind
    153. GruntGrunt
    154. Converter
    155. GruntGrunt
    156. GraverobberGraverobber
    157. GruntGrunt ×3
    158. Wind
    159. Converter
    160. GruntGrunt
    161. GraverobberGraverobber
    162. GruntGrunt ×3
    163. Wind
    164. Converter
    165. GruntGrunt ×5
    166. GraverobberGraverobber
    167. GruntGrunt
    168. Wind
    169. GruntGrunt ×2
    170. Converter
    171. GruntGrunt
    172. GraverobberGraverobber
    173. GruntGrunt ×3
    174. Wind
    175. GruntGrunt ×4
    176. Converter
    177. GruntGrunt
    178. GraverobberGraverobber
    179. GruntGrunt ×2
    180. Wind
    181. GruntGrunt ×2
    182. GraverobberGraverobber
    183. GruntGrunt ×2
    184. Converter
    185. GruntGrunt
    186. Wind
    187. GruntGrunt ×2
    188. Wind
    189. GruntGrunt
    190. Wind
    191. GruntGrunt
    192. Wind
    193. GruntGrunt
    194. GraverobberGraverobber
    195. Wind
    196. GruntGrunt
    197. Wind
    198. Advanced Construction BotT2 con bot
    199. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hunfore's (31 OS, 13/10/2026); 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

460 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0033100
2:0085400
3:00162710086
4:002704386337
5:003850916838
6:00510515861559
7:00638923642474
8:00772630943385
9:00914637694271
10:001077344855070
11:001264252035984
12:001455357176925
13:001682962137650
14:001901866638579
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

Hunfore

31.1 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
1216 metal received · 23594 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=447
Advanced Metal Extractor9:24Middle 50%: 8:19–10:45 · n=338

Played most by

iLike2Eco31games of this buildTheGeneraI27games of this buildSauceDispenser27games of this buildwatermeloans19games of this buildHummell15games of this build