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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard pond

Economy-first Pond that builds tidal generators and wind for the fronts, often receives a Fatboy from an ally early, then adds a lab and sends units forward while boosting eco throughout.

#eco #team support · 102 distinct matches · 28 players · 40% of Cortex Pond games · team won 55% of 104 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • FatboyFatboy from an ally in 43%18% of all Pond games by then

Then transitions into grunt (23% 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 102 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 (48%)

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

    The example game in this phase · 11 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Tidal
    3. Mex ×4
    4. Wind ×6
    5. Con turret
    6. Energy storage
    7. Wind ×6
    8. Converter
    9. Con turret
    10. Converter ×4
    11. Wind ×4
  2. 2

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine3Wind

    Some games also: converter (45%) · con turret (39%) · wind (33%) · grunt (33%) · con turret (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 16 wind · 2 tidal · 4 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 114 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThistleThistle
    3. Wind ×3
    4. ThistleThistle
    5. Converter ×2
    6. ThistleThistle
    7. Wind ×10
    8. Bot LabBot Labdone 6:45
    9. Wind
    10. Construction BotCon bot
    11. Wind
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Converter ×2
    15. Construction BotCon bot
    16. Wind ×2
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Wind
    19. GruntGrunt ×2
    20. Wind
    21. GruntGrunt ×2
    22. Wind
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Wind
    25. GruntGrunt
    26. Wind
    27. GruntGrunt
    28. Converter
    29. GruntGrunt
    30. Converter
    31. GruntGrunt ×2
    32. Wind
    33. GruntGrunt
    34. Wind
    35. GruntGrunt
    36. Wind
    37. GruntGrunt
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:07 · typical 9:23
    39. GruntGrunt
    40. Wind
    41. GruntGrunt ×6
    42. Wind
    43. GruntGrunt ×6
    44. Wind
    45. GruntGrunt ×2
    46. Wind ×2
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Converter
    50. GruntGrunt ×7
    51. Wind
    52. GruntGrunt ×5
    53. Wind
    54. GruntGrunt ×2
    55. Converter
    56. GruntGrunt ×2
    57. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    58. Converter
    59. GruntGrunt ×6
    60. Wind
    61. GruntGrunt
    62. Wind
    63. GruntGrunt ×2
    64. Wind
    65. GruntGrunt
    66. Wind
    67. GruntGrunt
    68. Wind
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    70. GruntGrunt ×2
    71. Wind
    72. Converter
    73. GruntGrunt ×2
    74. Converter
    75. Wind
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. Wind
    78. GruntGrunt
    79. Wind
    80. Con turret ×2
    81. GruntGrunt
    82. Metal storage
    83. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00
    84. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 13:54
    85. GruntGrunt
    86. Wind
    87. GruntGrunt
    88. Wind
    89. GruntGrunt
    90. Wind ×2
    91. GruntGrunt
    92. Wind
    93. GruntGrunt
    94. Converter
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. Converter
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind
    99. BruteBrute
    100. Wind ×3
    101. BruteBrute
    102. Wind
    103. Con turret
    104. Wind ×2
    105. PounderPounder
    106. Converter
    107. Con turret
    108. Converter
    109. Con turret
    110. BruteBrute
    111. Wind ×2
    112. BruteBrute
    113. Wind ×2
    114. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Nazarid's (37 OS, 21/08/2026); 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 seafirst at 2:27 · in 35% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport from Air or Techfirst at 4:42 · in 37% 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 94% 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

104 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0011500
2:0027800
3:0081600
4:00151000
5:00221700
6:00296200
7:0038262880
8:0046231070189
9:0055351507591
10:0066512171899
11:00825026931360
12:001019431341695
13:001257434542159
14:001466838212820
15:001700442743392
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

Nazarid

36.6 OS · 21/08/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
87 metal received · 96696 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Advanced Metal Extractor9:23Middle 50%: 8:39–10:27 · n=99

Played most by

[Grump]Matsuri24games of this buildDeathkebab11games of this buildBoozha9games of this buildEXZoPrimer37games of this buildNazarid7games of this build

Supporting games

Pick a game to read and play it above.

Boozha25/09/2026 · 36 OS↗JustSomeGuy25/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri25/09/2026 · 39 OS↗Boozha25/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Nazarid21/08/2026 · 37 OS↗
32 more of 96, the most recentCommandoMan25/09/2026 · 35 OS↗Deathkebab24/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Boozha24/09/2026 · 36 OS↗[Cookie]Maco23/09/2026 · 53 OS↗Deathkebab23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Deathkebab23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗PongoPygmaeus23/09/2026 · 36 OS↗zeus_on_god23/09/2026 · 37 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri23/09/2026 · 39 OS↗CommandoMan23/09/2026 · 35 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri22/09/2026 · 40 OS↗hihimik21/09/2026 · 35 OS↗zeus_on_god21/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri21/09/2026 · 39 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri21/09/2026 · 39 OS↗Boozha20/09/2026 · 36 OS↗Espera20/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri20/09/2026 · 41 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri19/09/2026 · 41 OS↗zeus_on_god17/09/2026 · 37 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗[Grump]Matsuri17/09/2026 · 40 OS↗Boozha16/09/2026 · 38 OS↗MischievousDragonGF16/09/2026 · 41 OS↗Boozha16/09/2026 · 38 OS↗[Cookie]Maco15/09/2026 · 52 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗MischievousDragonGF15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗EpicTyrannus15/09/2026 · 42 OS↗EpicTyrannus14/09/2026 · 41 OS↗
Supreme Isthmus v2.1
Beyond All Reason test-31001-7b9fbd4
Naval balance tweaks off