BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 · 48 steps
    1. GruntGrunt ×2
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. ThugThug
    7. Mex
    8. ThugThug
    9. Con turret
    10. ThugThug ×2
    11. Mex
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. Wind
    17. Mex
    18. AggravatorAggravator
    19. Wind
    20. AggravatorAggravator
    21. Mex
    22. Wind
    23. AggravatorAggravator
    24. GraverobberGraverobber
    25. GuardGuard
    26. Wind
    27. GuardGuard
    28. Energy storage
    29. GraverobberGraverobber
    30. Wind
    31. AggravatorAggravator
    32. GuardGuard
    33. Wind
    34. GruntGrunt
    35. AggravatorAggravator
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. ThugThug
    39. Wind
    40. ThugThug ×2
    41. Wind
    42. AggravatorAggravator
    43. ThugThug
    44. AggravatorAggravator
    45. Wind
    46. ThugThug
    47. AggravatorAggravator
    48. 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 · 160 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Wind
    3. AggravatorAggravator
    4. Wind
    5. AggravatorAggravator
    6. Wind
    7. GuardGuard
    8. AggravatorAggravator
    9. GuardGuard
    10. Wind
    11. AggravatorAggravator
    12. GuardGuard
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Wind
    15. GuardGuard
    16. GraverobberGraverobber
    17. Wind
    18. Mex
    19. GraverobberGraverobber
    20. Wind
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. Wind
    23. AggravatorAggravator
    24. Wind
    25. AggravatorAggravator
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. JanusJanus
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug ×2
    33. Wind
    34. ThugThug
    35. Wind
    36. GuardGuard
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    40. Converter
    41. AggravatorAggravator
    42. Converter
    43. AggravatorAggravator
    44. Construction BotCon bot
    45. Converter
    46. Construction BotCon bot
    47. Converter
    48. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:58
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:19
    50. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    51. Construction BotCon bot
    52. ThugThug
    53. GraverobberGraverobber
    54. Converter
    55. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    56. Construction BotCon bot
    57. ThugThug
    58. Converter
    59. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    60. ThugThug
    61. Construction BotCon bot
    62. ThugThug ×2
    63. Construction BotCon bot
    64. ThugThug ×3
    65. Construction BotCon bot
    66. Wind
    67. ThugThug
    68. JanusJanus
    69. ThugThug
    70. Construction BotCon bot
    71. Wind
    72. ThugThug
    73. Construction BotCon bot
    74. ThugThug
    75. Wind
    76. Construction BotCon bot
    77. ThugThug
    78. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    79. Construction BotCon bot
    80. Wind ×2
    81. ThugThug
    82. Construction BotCon bot
    83. ThugThug
    84. Wind
    85. AggravatorAggravator
    86. ThugThug
    87. Wind ×2
    88. ThugThug ×3
    89. Wind
    90. ThugThug ×2
    91. Wind ×2
    92. ThugThug ×2
    93. Wind
    94. ThugThug
    95. Wind
    96. AggravatorAggravator
    97. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    98. Wind ×2
    99. AggravatorAggravator
    100. Wind
    101. AggravatorAggravator
    102. Wind ×3
    103. AggravatorAggravator
    104. Wind ×2
    105. AggravatorAggravator
    106. Wind ×3
    107. ThugThug
    108. Wind ×2
    109. ThugThug
    110. Wind ×2
    111. ThugThug
    112. Construction BotCon bot
    113. Wind ×4
    114. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    115. Wind ×2
    116. Construction BotCon bot
    117. Wind ×3
    118. Converter
    119. Wind ×2
    120. Converter
    121. ThugThug
    122. Wind ×3
    123. ThugThug
    124. Wind ×4
    125. Converter
    126. GuardGuard
    127. Wind
    128. Converter
    129. ThugThug
    130. Wind ×5
    131. AggravatorAggravator
    132. GuardGuard
    133. Converter
    134. Wind ×3
    135. Converter
    136. Wind
    137. AggravatorAggravator
    138. Wind ×5
    139. Converter
    140. AggravatorAggravator
    141. Converter
    142. Wind ×6
    143. AggravatorAggravator
    144. Converter
    145. Wind
    146. Converter
    147. Wind ×3
    148. AggravatorAggravator
    149. Wind ×2
    150. Converter
    151. Wind
    152. Converter
    153. Wind ×2
    154. ThugThug
    155. Wind
    156. Converter
    157. Wind
    158. Converter
    159. Wind ×3
    160. ThugThug

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Crd]Atlas's (30 OS, 09/09/2026); 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 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

[Crd]Atlas

30.4 OS · 09/09/2026

Open source match ↗

16 received units · includes a constructor
294 metal received · 69520 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