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Standard pond

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Standard Pond play: eco first with Bot Lab and later Advanced Metal Extractor, boosting the fronts with Tidal Generators and sending Grunts forward; no special catch.

#eco #team support · 94 distinct matches · 38 players · 13% of Cortex Pond games · team won 47% of 94 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 5:03

  1. Build tidal generators first to start boosting the fronts.
  2. Grab mex and energy storage before committing further.
  3. Put down the bot lab and start sending Grunts forward.
  4. Fill out wind and add a Guard for early defense.
  5. Transition to T2 with an advanced mex once front stabilizes.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 94 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  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 Extractor4Mex
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Tidal Generator2Tidal−2 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine2Wind
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 2 tidal, 2 winddone ~3:32, middle half 3:21–4:35

    By 3:13 in all: 4 mex · 2 tidal (standard 4) · 2 wind · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 8 steps
    1. Tidal ×6for Suicide front
    2. Tidal
    3. Energy storage
    4. Tidal ×2
    5. Energy storage
    6. Mex ×3
    7. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    8. Bot LabBot Labdone 3:06 · typical 3:32
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to 5:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine1Wind−4 vs standard
    Builders
    • Construction Bot1 Con bot

    Some games also: con turret (47%) · converter (37%) · Graverobber (32%)

    By 5:00 in all: 4 mex · 7 wind · 2 tidal (standard 4) · 1 energy storage · 1 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 17 steps
    1. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. Wind
    4. Mex
    5. Wind
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Converter
    9. GraverobberGraverobber
    10. Converter
    11. Con turret
    12. GraverobberGraverobber
    13. Converter ×2
    14. Construction BotCon bot
    15. Converter
    16. Construction BotCon bot
    17. Converter
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine18Wind+18 vs standard
    • Energy Converter4Converter+4 vs standard
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret

    Some games also: grunt (48%) · con bot (33%) · eat Bot Lab (45%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 25 wind (standard 8) · 2 tidal (standard 4) · 6 converter (standard 1) · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret (standard 0)

    The example game in this phase · 133 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Con turret
    3. Construction BotCon bot
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter ×2
    7. Wind ×3
    8. TrasherTrasher
    9. Converter
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. TrasherTrasher
    14. Wind ×2
    15. AggravatorAggravator
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. AggravatorAggravator
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Converter
    21. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    22. AggravatorAggravator
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. AggravatorAggravator
    27. Wind ×3
    28. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    29. Wind ×2
    30. Converter
    31. Wind ×2
    32. GuardGuard
    33. Wind ×3
    34. Converter
    35. Wind ×4
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. GuardGuard
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Converter
    41. ThistleThistle
    42. Converter
    43. ThistleThistle
    44. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    45. Wind
    46. Converter
    47. Wind ×4
    48. BeholderBeholder
    49. Wind
    50. GuardGuard
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Converter
    53. Wind
    54. GuardGuard
    55. Wind ×3
    56. GuardGuard
    57. Wind ×2
    58. Converter
    59. Wind
    60. GuardGuard
    61. Wind ×3
    62. Converter
    63. GuardGuard
    64. Wind ×3
    65. GuardGuard
    66. Wind
    67. Converter
    68. Wind ×2
    69. GuardGuard
    70. Wind ×3
    71. Converter
    72. GuardGuard
    73. Wind
    74. Converter
    75. Wind ×4
    76. Converter
    77. Wind ×6
    78. Converter
    79. Wind ×3
    80. Converter
    81. Wind ×6
    82. Converter
    83. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:42 · typical 9:07
    84. Wind ×2
    85. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:27
    86. Wind
    87. Converter
    88. Wind ×3
    89. Converter
    90. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:51
    91. Wind
    92. Con turret
    93. Wind
    94. Con turret
    95. Wind
    96. Converter
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt ×9
    99. Converter
    100. GruntGrunt ×3
    101. Wind ×2
    102. GruntGrunt ×6
    103. Converter
    104. GruntGrunt ×2
    105. Wind
    106. GruntGrunt ×4
    107. Wind
    108. GruntGrunt ×2
    109. GuardGuard
    110. Converter
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Wind
    113. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    114. GruntGrunt
    115. Wind
    116. Con turret
    117. Wind
    118. Tidal
    119. Wind
    120. GruntGrunt
    121. GuardGuard
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind
    124. Wind
    125. GruntGrunt ×3
    126. Wind
    127. GuardGuard
    128. Converter
    129. GruntGrunt ×3
    130. Wind ×2
    131. GruntGrunt
    132. Converter
    133. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hokusai's (32 OS, 20/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:14 · in 96% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 7:22 · in 80% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

94 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0011500
2:0026000
3:0075200
4:00141400
5:00214200
6:00295100
7:00383900
8:0049135173
9:006340185172
10:007751321513
11:009899740796
12:001235111421054
13:001491015751637
14:001720918372073
15:001993426232966
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This Cortex pond baseline wins under half its games, with enemy metal destroyed just ahead of own losses by 15:00.

  • + Enemy metal destroyed (3099) edges past own metal lost (3482) less than in Armada pond.
  • − Bot Lab finishes later (5:03) than the Armada pond norm (3:41), slower front support.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Hokusai

31.9 OS · 20/09/2026

Open source match ↗

64 received units · includes a constructor
409 metal received · 23396 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab3:32Middle 50%: 3:21–4:35 · n=70
Advanced Metal Extractor9:07Middle 50%: 7:43–10:16 · n=77

Played most by

Yamato18games of this buildzeus_on_god7games of this buildEpicTyrannus6games of this buildEXZoPrimer36games of this buildBoozha5games of this build