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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 · 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:45 · 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 · 41 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. GruntGrunt ×3
    4. ThugThug
    5. Mex
    6. ThugThug ×3
    7. Mex
    8. ThugThug
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug
    12. Con turret
    13. ThugThug
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug ×3
    16. GraverobberGraverobber
    17. Wind
    18. Mex
    19. Wind
    20. Construction BotCon bot
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. GraverobberGraverobber
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug
    40. Wind
    41. 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
    • 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 · 149 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug
    3. Wind
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. ThugThug
    8. Con turret
    9. ThugThug
    10. Wind
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug ×2
    14. Wind
    15. ThugThug
    16. Wind
    17. GraverobberGraverobber
    18. ThugThug
    19. Wind
    20. ThugThug
    21. Wind
    22. ThugThug ×2
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. Con turret
    26. ThugThug
    27. GraverobberGraverobber
    28. ThugThug ×2
    29. Wind
    30. ThugThug ×5
    31. Wind
    32. ThugThug
    33. PawnPawn
    34. ThugThug ×3
    35. Wind
    36. ThugThug
    37. Mex
    38. ThugThug
    39. GraverobberGraverobber
    40. ThugThug
    41. PawnPawn
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug ×3
    44. AggravatorAggravator
    45. Wind
    46. ThugThug ×5
    47. Wind
    48. ThugThug ×4
    49. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:13 · typical 9:23
    51. Wind
    52. ThugThug ×2
    53. Wind
    54. ThugThug ×4
    55. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    56. Mex
    57. ThugThug
    58. Wind
    59. ThugThug
    60. Mex
    61. ThugThug ×3
    62. Wind
    63. Mex
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    65. ThugThug
    66. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    67. ThugThug
    68. Wind
    69. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    70. ThugThug
    71. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:34
    72. ThugThug ×2
    73. Wind
    74. ThugThug
    75. GruntGrunt
    76. Wind
    77. GruntGrunt ×3
    78. Wind
    79. GruntGrunt ×3
    80. Construction BotCon bot
    81. Wind
    82. Construction BotCon bot ×3
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    84. Wind
    85. Construction BotCon bot
    86. GruntGrunt ×8
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt ×10
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt ×2
    91. Con turret
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Con turret
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Con turret
    96. GraverobberGraverobber
    97. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    98. Wind
    99. Con turret
    100. GraverobberGraverobber
    101. Con turret ×2
    102. GraverobberGraverobber
    103. Con turret
    104. GruntGrunt
    105. Con turret
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind
    108. Con turret
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Con turret
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 13:21
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 13:23
    115. GruntGrunt ×6
    116. Wind
    117. GruntGrunt ×6
    118. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    119. GruntGrunt ×8
    120. Wind
    121. GruntGrunt ×14
    122. Wind
    123. GruntGrunt ×12
    124. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    125. GruntGrunt ×2
    126. Wind
    127. GruntGrunt
    128. IncisorIncisor ×2
    129. GruntGrunt ×2
    130. IncisorIncisor ×2
    131. GruntGrunt
    132. IncisorIncisor ×2
    133. GruntGrunt
    134. IncisorIncisor
    135. GruntGrunt
    136. IncisorIncisor ×2
    137. GruntGrunt
    138. IncisorIncisor
    139. GruntGrunt
    140. IncisorIncisor ×2
    141. GruntGrunt
    142. IncisorIncisor ×2
    143. Wind
    144. GruntGrunt
    145. IncisorIncisor ×2
    146. GruntGrunt
    147. IncisorIncisor ×2
    148. GruntGrunt
    149. IncisorIncisor ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is ObeIix's (31 OS, 26/09/2026); 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

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

ObeIix

30.9 OS · 26/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
1269 metal received · 25998 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
Standard front · Cortex Front build order · BAR Build Atlas