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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 · 13 steps
    1. Tidal
    2. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind
    7. ShipyardShipyarddone 3:33
    8. OppressorDestroyerdone 4:10
    9. HerringMissile corvette
    10. Death CavalryDeath Cavalry
    11. Construction ShipCon ship
    12. Naval Construction Turret
    13. Bot LabBot Labdone 6:59 · 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

  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 · 87 steps
    1. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    2. ShipyardEat Shipyardreclaimed for its metal
    3. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    4. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    5. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    6. Con turret
    7. Wind
    8. ShipyardShipyarddone 8:50
    9. Wind
    10. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    11. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:26 · typical 9:06
    17. OrcaSubmarinenot finished by 15:00
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. Tidal
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Tidal
    24. Wind
    25. Tidal
    26. Converter
    27. SlingshotSlingshot
    28. Wind
    29. Tidal
    30. Converter
    31. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    32. Naval Construction Turret
    33. Wind
    34. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    35. Converter
    36. Naval Construction Turret
    37. Converter
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. Wind
    42. Tidal
    43. Wind
    44. Tidal
    45. Converter
    46. Tidal
    47. Wind
    48. Tidal
    49. Converter
    50. Tidal
    51. Wind
    52. Tidal
    53. Converter
    54. Wind
    55. Tidal
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    57. Tidal
    58. Converter
    59. Tidal
    60. Wind
    61. OrcaSubmarine
    62. Tidal
    63. Converter
    64. Wind
    65. JellyfishJellyfish
    66. Converter
    67. Wind
    68. OrcaSubmarine
    69. Wind
    70. Converter
    71. Wind
    72. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:58
    73. Converter
    74. OrcaSubmarine
    75. Wind
    76. SlingshotSlingshot
    77. Converter
    78. Wind
    79. OrcaSubmarine
    80. Converter
    81. Wind
    82. OrcaSubmarine
    83. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    84. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 14:59
    85. Wind
    86. SlingshotSlingshot
    87. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is HALF_DALLAH_HABIT's (33 OS, 07/10/2026); 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

HALF_DALLAH_HABIT

33.1 OS · 07/10/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
249 metal received · 62492 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