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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 · 6 steps
    1. Tidal ×9for Front
    2. Naval Energy Storagefor Suicide front
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×6for Front
    5. Converter ×2for Suicide front
    6. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:03 · 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 · 8 steps
    1. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
    2. Wind ×4for Front
    3. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
    4. Windfor Front
    5. Converterfor Suicide front
    6. Wind ×2for Front
    7. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
    8. Windfor Front
  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 · 92 steps
    1. Converterfor Suicide front
    2. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    3. Windfor Suicide front
    4. Converterfor Suicide front
    5. Windfor Suicide front
    6. GraverobberGraverobberfor Suicide front
    7. Windfor Suicide front
    8. ThistleThistlefor Suicide front
    9. Converterfor Suicide front
    10. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    11. Converterfor Suicide front
    12. Windfor Suicide front
    13. ThistleThistlefor Suicide front
    14. Windfor Suicide front
    15. Converterfor Suicide front
    16. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    17. Converterfor Suicide front
    18. Windfor Suicide front
    19. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    20. JellyfishJellyfishfor Suicide front
    21. Windfor Suicide front
    22. Metal storagefor Suicide front
    23. Windfor Suicide front
    24. Converterfor Suicide front
    25. Wind ×4for Suicide front
    26. Con turretfor Suicide front
    27. Windfor Suicide front
    28. Converterfor Suicide front
    29. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    30. Bot LabBot Labfor Suicide frontdone 8:35
    31. Wind
    32. Converterfor Suicide front
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Suicide frontdone 9:20 · typical 9:07
    34. GruntGruntfor Suicide front
    35. Converterfor Suicide front
    36. TrasherTrasherfor Suicide front
    37. Converterfor Suicide front
    38. Con turretfor Suicide front
    39. TrasherTrasher
    40. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
    41. Converterfor Suicide front
    42. Construction BotCon botfor Suicide front
    43. Converterfor Suicide front
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Suicide front
    45. Converterfor Suicide front
    46. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    47. Advanced Bot LabAdvanced Bot Labnot finished by 15:00
    48. Windfor Suicide front
    49. Converterfor Suicide front
    50. Windfor Suicide front
    51. AggravatorAggravator
    52. Windfor Suicide front
    53. ThugThug
    54. Advanced Bot LabEat Advanced Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    55. Windfor Suicide front
    56. ThugThug
    57. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    58. Converterfor Suicide front
    59. Windfor Suicide front
    60. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    61. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    62. Converterfor Suicide front
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Suicide front
    64. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    65. Wind ×4for Suicide front
    66. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    67. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    68. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    69. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    70. ThistleThistlefor Suicide front
    71. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    72. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    73. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    74. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    75. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    76. Windfor Suicide front
    77. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    78. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    79. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    80. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    81. ThistleThistlefor Suicide front
    82. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    83. Wind ×3for Suicide front
    84. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    85. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    86. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Suicide front
    87. Wind ×2for Suicide front
    88. ThugThugfor Suicide front
    89. Wind ×5for Suicide front
    90. ThugThugfor Geo sea
    91. Wind ×3for Geo sea
    92. ThugThugfor Geo sea

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is eL_bArToad's (31 OS, 30/09/2026); 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

eL_bArToad

31.5 OS · 30/09/2026

Open source match ↗

131 received units · includes a constructor
1024 metal received · 53497 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