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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard pond

Pond boosts front's economy with wind or tidal generators, gets an Advanced Metal Extractor by 9:23, and transitions into supporting units like Grunt and Tick to help hold the middle until T2.

#eco #team support · 108 distinct matches · 30 players · 40% of Cortex Pond games · team won 52% of 110 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • FatboyFatboy from an ally in 43%19% of all Pond games by then

Then transitions into grunt (22% 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 108 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 (45%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 9 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Front
    2. Tidal ×2
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×8
    5. Energy storage
    6. Converter ×2
    7. Wind ×5
    8. ThistleThistle
    9. Wind ×3
  2. 2

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine2Wind

    Some games also: converter (44%) · con turret (36%) · wind (35%) · con turret (34%) · grunt (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 15 wind · 2 tidal · 3 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 104 steps
    1. Wind ×3
    2. Bot LabBot Labdone 5:37
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Construction BotCon bot
    5. Wind ×4
    6. Construction BotCon bot
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Construction BotCon bot
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Construction BotCon bot
    11. Wind ×6
    12. Con turret
    13. Wind ×2
    14. JunoJuno
    15. GruntGrunt ×4
    16. Wind
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Wind
    19. GruntGrunt
    20. Wind
    21. GruntGrunt
    22. Wind ×2
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Wind
    25. GruntGrunt
    26. Wind
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind ×3
    30. ThistleThistle
    31. Wind ×2
    32. ThistleThistle
    33. Wind
    34. Converter
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 11:24 · typical 9:23
    39. Wind
    40. Converter ×5
    41. Wind
    42. GruntGrunt
    43. Converter
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    45. Wind
    46. Converter
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. GruntGrunt
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. Converter
    56. Wind
    57. GruntGrunt
    58. Wind
    59. Con turret
    60. GruntGrunt
    61. Wind
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. Wind
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    65. Wind
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. Wind
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. Wind
    70. GruntGrunt
    71. Wind
    72. GruntGrunt
    73. Wind ×2
    74. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:07
    75. GruntGrunt
    76. Con turret
    77. Wind
    78. GruntGrunt
    79. Con turret
    80. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:16
    81. Wind
    82. GruntGrunt
    83. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    84. Wind
    85. GuardGuard
    86. GruntGrunt
    87. Wind
    88. TickTick ×4
    89. GruntGrunt
    90. TickTick
    91. Wind
    92. TickTick ×10
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. TickTick ×8
    96. Wind
    97. TickTick ×3
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. TickTick ×6
    100. Wind
    101. TickTick ×4
    102. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    103. GruntGrunt
    104. TickTick ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Deathkebab's (36 OS, 24/09/2026); 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 sea or Techfirst at 2:28 · in 37% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:41 · in 36% 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 95% 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

110 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0011500
2:0027600
3:0081600
4:00150900
5:00221500
6:00295500
7:0038102930
8:0046191063176
9:0055351545591
10:0066702171899
11:00825026661350
12:001015630851664
13:001249534322143
14:001447138202786
15:001685141903392
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

Deathkebab

36.1 OS · 24/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
184 metal received · 39831 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:37–10:28 · n=105

Played most by

[Grump]Matsuri25games of this buildBoozha12games of this buildDeathkebab11games of this buildEXZoPrimer37games of this buildNazarid7games of this build