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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard pond

Economy-first Pond that builds tidal generators and wind for the fronts, often receives a Fatboy from an ally early, then adds a lab and sends units forward while boosting eco throughout.

#eco #team support · 102 distinct matches · 28 players · 40% of Cortex Pond games · team won 55% of 104 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • FatboyFatboy from an ally in 43%18% of all Pond games by then

Then transitions into grunt (23% of army), tick (15% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: T2 constructor by 7:57

  1. Drop 10 tidal generators immediately to boost front's wind.
  2. Take 3 mex, then a fourth, and get a bot lab by 3:02.
  3. Layer in wind and a guard for base defense.
  4. Push for your own T2 constructor once eco is stable.
  5. Transition into advanced mex and small bot army like Grunt and Tick.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 102 GAMES
  1. 1
  2. 2
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 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Wind Turbine8Wind
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage

    Some games also: converter (48%)

    By 5:00 in all: 4 mex · 8 wind · 2 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 14 steps
    1. Tidal ×2for Suicide front
    2. Tidal
    3. Tidal ×7for Suicide front
    4. Tidal
    5. Mex ×3
    6. Wind
    7. Mex
    8. Wind ×3
    9. Wind
    10. Energy storage
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Converter ×4
    13. Wind ×4
    14. Con turret
  2. 2

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine3Wind

    Some games also: converter (45%) · con turret (39%) · wind (33%) · grunt (33%) · con turret (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 16 wind · 2 tidal · 4 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 204 steps
    1. Bot LabBot Labdone 5:29
    2. TickTick ×2
    3. Wind
    4. TickTick ×2
    5. Wind
    6. LazarusLazarus
    7. Converter
    8. TickTick ×2
    9. Converter
    10. TickTick ×2
    11. Converter
    12. TickTick ×3
    13. Converter
    14. TickTick ×3
    15. Wind
    16. TickTick ×2
    17. Wind
    18. TickTick ×2
    19. Wind
    20. TickTick ×2
    21. Wind
    22. TickTick ×2
    23. Wind
    24. TickTick ×2
    25. Energy storage
    26. TickTick ×5
    27. Con turret
    28. TickTick ×2
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:20 · typical 9:23
    30. TickTick ×6
    31. Converter
    32. TickTick ×2
    33. Converter
    34. TickTick ×2
    35. Converter
    36. TickTick ×2
    37. Converter
    38. TickTick ×3
    39. Wind
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. TickTick
    42. Wind
    43. TickTick ×2
    44. Wind
    45. TickTick ×2
    46. Wind
    47. TickTick ×3
    48. Con turret
    49. TickTick ×2
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    51. TickTick ×10
    52. Con turret
    53. TickTick ×3
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. TickTick ×3
    56. Con turret
    57. TickTick ×4
    58. Wind
    59. TickTick ×3
    60. Wind
    61. TickTick
    62. Converter
    63. TickTick
    64. Converter
    65. TickTick
    66. Converter
    67. TickTick
    68. Converter
    69. TickTick ×3
    70. Energy storage
    71. CitadelAnti-nukedone 12:04
    72. TickTick ×2
    73. Wind
    74. TickTick
    75. Wind
    76. TickTick ×2
    77. Wind
    78. TickTick
    79. Wind
    80. TickTick
    81. Wind
    82. TickTick
    83. Wind
    84. TickTick ×2
    85. Wind
    86. TickTick
    87. Wind
    88. TickTick
    89. Wind
    90. TickTick ×2
    91. Wind ×2
    92. TickTick ×6
    93. Wind
    94. TickTick ×2
    95. Wind
    96. TickTick
    97. Wind
    98. TickTick
    99. Wind
    100. TickTick
    101. Wind
    102. TickTick ×2
    103. Wind
    104. TickTick ×3
    105. Con turret
    106. TickTick ×3
    107. Bot LabBot Labdone 12:11
    108. TickTick ×2
    109. PawnPawn
    110. TickTick
    111. PawnPawn
    112. TickTick
    113. PawnPawn
    114. TickTick
    115. PawnPawn
    116. Wind
    117. TickTick
    118. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:38
    119. PawnPawn
    120. Wind
    121. TickTick
    122. PawnPawn
    123. TickTick
    124. PawnPawn
    125. TickTick
    126. PawnPawn
    127. TickTick
    128. PawnPawn
    129. TickTick
    130. PawnPawn
    131. TickTick
    132. PawnPawn
    133. TickTick
    134. PawnPawn
    135. Con turret
    136. TickTick
    137. Con turret
    138. TickTick
    139. PawnPawn
    140. TickTick
    141. PawnPawn
    142. TickTick
    143. PawnPawn
    144. TickTick
    145. PawnPawn
    146. TickTick
    147. PawnPawn
    148. TickTick
    149. PawnPawn
    150. TickTick
    151. PawnPawn
    152. TickTick
    153. PawnPawn
    154. TickTick
    155. PawnPawn
    156. TickTick
    157. PawnPawn
    158. T2 converter
    159. TickTick
    160. PawnPawn
    161. TickTick
    162. PawnPawn
    163. TickTick
    164. PawnPawn
    165. TickTick
    166. PawnPawn
    167. TickTick
    168. PawnPawn
    169. TickTick
    170. PawnPawn
    171. TickTick
    172. PawnPawn
    173. TickTick
    174. T2 converter
    175. PawnPawn
    176. TickTick
    177. PawnPawn
    178. TickTick
    179. PawnPawn
    180. TickTick
    181. PawnPawn
    182. TickTick
    183. PawnPawn
    184. TickTick
    185. PawnPawn
    186. TickTick
    187. PawnPawn
    188. TickTick
    189. PawnPawn
    190. TickTick
    191. PawnPawn
    192. TickTick
    193. PawnPawn
    194. TickTick
    195. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labnot finished by 15:00
    196. PawnPawn
    197. TickTick
    198. PawnPawn
    199. TickTick
    200. PawnPawn
    201. TickTick
    202. PawnPawn
    203. TickTick
    204. PawnPawn

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Grump]Matsuri's (39 OS, 21/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:11 · in 97% of games

You get

  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Geo or Beach seafirst at 2:27 · in 35% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:42 · in 37% of games
  • Fatboy1 Fatboy from Techfirst at 5:18 · in 43% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 7:47 · in 94% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build, running totals by minute

Metal produced

010k20k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k6k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

104 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0011500
2:0027800
3:0081600
4:00151000
5:00221700
6:00296200
7:0038262880
8:0046231070189
9:0055351507591
10:0066512171899
11:00825026931360
12:001019431341695
13:001257434542159
14:001466838212820
15:001700442743392
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard pond wins slightly more than half its games while producing far less metal than most roles, matching its support job.

  • + Team win rate at 52%, the highest among the six standard builds shown.
  • + 42% of games receive a Fatboy from an ally by 5:17, well above the 18% role norm.
  • − Metal produced by 15:00 is only 16843, the lowest of all builds listed.
  • − Own metal lost climbs to 3271 by 15:00 despite the defensive role.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

[Grump]Matsuri

39.0 OS · 21/09/2026

Open source match ↗

42 received units · includes a constructor
679 metal received · 129911 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:39–10:27 · n=99

Played most by

[Grump]Matsuri24games of this buildDeathkebab11games of this buildBoozha9games of this buildEXZoPrimer37games of this buildNazarid7games of this build

Supporting games

Pick a game to read and play it above.

Boozha25/09/2026 · 36 OS↗JustSomeGuy25/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗Boozha25/09/2026 · 36 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri21/09/2026 · 39 OS↗
32 more of 96, the most recentCommandoMan25/09/2026 · 35 OS↗Deathkebab24/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Boozha24/09/2026 · 36 OS↗[Cookie]Maco23/09/2026 · 53 OS↗Deathkebab23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Deathkebab23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗PongoPygmaeus23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗zeus_on_god23/09/2026 · 37 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri23/09/2026 · 39 OS↗CommandoMan23/09/2026 · 35 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri22/09/2026 · 40 OS↗hihimik21/09/2026 · 35 OS↗zeus_on_god21/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri21/09/2026 · 39 OS↗Boozha20/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Espera20/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri20/09/2026 · 41 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri19/09/2026 · 41 OS↗zeus_on_god17/09/2026 · 37 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗Boozha16/09/2026 · 38 OS↗MischievousDragonGF16/09/2026 · 41 OS↗Boozha16/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Cookie]Maco15/09/2026 · 52 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗EpicTyrannus15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗EpicTyrannus14/09/2026 · 41 OS↗
Supreme Isthmus v2.1
Beyond All Reason test-31362-baea311
Naval balance tweaks off