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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 · 91 distinct matches · 38 players · 12% of Cortex Pond games · team won 46% of 91 · 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 91 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, 3 wind, 2 tidaldone ~3:33, middle half 3:23–4:45

    By 3:14 in all: 4 mex · 2 tidal (standard 4) · 2 wind · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Tidal ×9for Suicide front
    2. Tidal
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Bot LabBot Labdone 2:49 · typical 3:33
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to 5:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine1Wind−4 vs standard

    Some games also: con bot (49%) · con turret (45%) · converter (36%)

    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 · 10 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. Wind ×5
    4. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Construction BotCon bot
    10. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine15Wind+15 vs standard
    • Energy Converter3Converter+3 vs standard
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret

    Some games also: grunt (47%) · con bot (32%) · eat Bot Lab (43%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 24 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 · 108 steps
    1. GruntGrunt
    2. Wind
    3. GruntGrunt ×2
    4. Wind
    5. GruntGrunt
    6. Wind
    7. Con turret
    8. GruntGrunt
    9. Wind
    10. GruntGrunt
    11. Wind
    12. GruntGrunt
    13. Wind
    14. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    15. Wind ×3
    16. Converter
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Converter
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Converter
    21. Wind ×3
    22. Converter
    23. Wind ×6
    24. Converter
    25. Wind ×3
    26. Converter
    27. Tidal
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:52 · typical 9:06
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Tidal ×5
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    34. Tidal ×3
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. Tidal
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. Wind
    39. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 10:05
    40. Wind ×5
    41. RascalRascal
    42. Wind
    43. RascalRascal
    44. Wind
    45. Con turret
    46. RascalRascal
    47. Wind
    48. RascalRascal ×2
    49. Wind
    50. RascalRascal
    51. Energy storage
    52. Wind
    53. RascalRascal
    54. RattlesnakeRattlesnakedone 11:35
    55. RascalRascal
    56. Wind
    57. RascalRascal
    58. Wind
    59. RascalRascal
    60. Wind
    61. RascalRascal
    62. Wind
    63. RascalRascal
    64. Wind
    65. RascalRascal ×2
    66. Wind ×2
    67. RascalRascal
    68. Wind
    69. RascalRascal
    70. Wind
    71. RascalRascal
    72. Wind
    73. RascalRascal
    74. Pit BullPit Bull
    75. Wind ×2
    76. RascalRascal ×2
    77. Wind
    78. RascalRascal
    79. Wind
    80. RascalRascal ×2
    81. Wind
    82. RascalRascal ×2
    83. Wind
    84. Pit BullPit Bull
    85. RascalRascal
    86. Wind
    87. RascalRascal
    88. Wind
    89. RascalRascal
    90. Wind
    91. RascalRascal ×2
    92. Wind
    93. RascalRascal ×2
    94. Wind
    95. RascalRascal ×2
    96. Wind
    97. RascalRascal
    98. Wind
    99. RascalRascal ×2
    100. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labdone 13:38
    101. RascalRascal ×7
    102. Con turret
    103. MammothMammothnot finished by 15:00
    104. RascalRascal ×3
    105. Con turret
    106. RascalRascal ×3
    107. Con turret
    108. RascalRascal ×7

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Smoked2Much's (32 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 7:19 · in 79% 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

91 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0011500
2:0025900
3:0073700
4:00140900
5:00213000
6:00294900
7:00382900
8:0048745486
9:006257220189
10:007661350640
11:009859766836
12:001209211961075
13:001453415781661
14:001688118141995
15:001936126322964
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

Smoked2Much

31.7 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

1 received units · includes a constructor
610 metal received · 12071 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab3:33Middle 50%: 3:23–4:45 · n=67
Advanced Metal Extractor9:06Middle 50%: 7:42–10:16 · n=74

Played most by

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