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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Thug bot assault

Pond opens a Bot Lab by 3:15 and pushes Thugs (with some Mace) into the middle from about 4:03, forming a T1 bot assault well ahead of the role's usual timing.

#push #raid · 13 distinct matches · 10 players · 5% of Cortex Pond games · team won 54% of 13 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • ThugT1 bot assault from 4:03 · 4% of role by thenFrom the Bot Lab. Only 4% of Pond games have it by then; others who build it get it around 4:40
  • ThugThug in 77%4% of all Pond games by then
  • Bot LabBot Lab in 46%17% of all Pond games by then

Started with Thug (92%), Mace (8%).

Where those units first fight, in 13 games with kill data: in the middle 85%, on their own side 15%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,960 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Bot Lab by 4:03, first Thug by 4:40

  1. Open tidals, mex, and wind as usual for Pond eco.
  2. Get Bot Lab up early instead of the usual lab timing.
  3. Commit to T1 bot assault led by Thug from lab.
  4. Keep Thug output flowing to middle to support front.
  5. Add Grunt as the push transitions into sustained fighting.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 13 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  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 the T1 bot assault

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind+3 vs standard
    • Tidal Generator1Tidal
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 8 wind, 1 energy storage
    2. ThugT1 bot assault after 4 mex, 9 wind, 1 energy storage
    Builders
    • Construction Bot2 Con bot +2 vs standard

    Some games also: con turret (46%) · tidal for allies (38%) · Graverobber (31%) · converter (31%) · Guard (31%)

    By 4:03 in all: 4 mex · 9 wind (standard 6) · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 39 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 1:07 · typical 3:30
    4. Wind
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. Wind
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Mex
    10. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. AggravatorAggravator
    13. GruntGrunt
    14. Wind
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. Wind
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Con turret
    19. GruntGrunt ×2
    20. Energy storage
    21. GruntGrunt
    22. Wind
    23. GruntGrunt
    24. Con turret
    25. Wind
    26. GruntGrunt
    27. Wind
    28. GruntGrunt
    29. Wind
    30. GruntGrunt
    31. Wind
    32. GruntGrunt
    33. Converter
    34. Con turret
    35. Converter
    36. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:07
    37. Converter
    38. Wind ×2
    39. ThugThugdone 4:16
  2. 2

    T1 bot assault to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    Army
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Thug13 Thug +13 vs standard
    Other
    • Radar Tower1 Radar Tower

    Some games also: converter (46%) · mex (46%) · con bot (46%) · con turret (46%) · Graverobber (38%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 27 wind (standard 15) · 1 tidal · 3 converter · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret (standard 0)

    The example game in this phase · 151 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ThugThug
    3. Wind
    4. ThugThug
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. ThugThug
    8. Converter
    9. ThugThug
    10. Converter ×2
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. Wind ×3
    15. ThugThug ×2
    16. Wind ×2
    17. ThugThug
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ThugThug
    20. Wind
    21. ThugThug
    22. Wind
    23. ThugThug
    24. Wind
    25. ThugThug
    26. Wind
    27. ThugThug
    28. Wind
    29. ThugThug
    30. Wind
    31. ThugThug
    32. Wind
    33. ThugThug
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug ×2
    40. Wind
    41. ThugThug
    42. Wind
    43. ThugThug ×2
    44. Wind
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind
    47. GraverobberGraverobber
    48. Wind
    49. GraverobberGraverobber
    50. Wind
    51. ThugThug
    52. Wind
    53. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    54. ThugThug
    55. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    56. ThugThug ×2
    57. GraverobberGraverobber
    58. ThugThug
    59. GraverobberGraverobber
    60. ThugThug ×2
    61. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    62. ThugThug ×3
    63. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    64. ThugThug ×3
    65. GraverobberGraverobber
    66. ThugThug
    67. Mex
    68. ThugThug ×2
    69. GraverobberGraverobber
    70. ThugThug ×4
    71. GraverobberGraverobber
    72. ThugThug
    73. RocketeerRocketeer
    74. GraverobberGraverobber
    75. BeamerBeamer
    76. ThugThug ×2
    77. RocketeerRocketeer ×2
    78. GraverobberGraverobber
    79. RocketeerRocketeer
    80. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    81. ThugThug
    82. RocketeerRocketeer
    83. ThugThug
    84. RocketeerRocketeer
    85. GraverobberGraverobber
    86. ThugThug
    87. GraverobberGraverobber
    88. ThugThug
    89. RocketeerRocketeer
    90. ThugThug
    91. CenturionCenturion
    92. ThugThug
    93. GraverobberGraverobber
    94. ThugThug
    95. GraverobberGraverobber
    96. ThugThug ×4
    97. GruntGrunt
    98. ThugThug ×2
    99. GruntGrunt
    100. ThugThug ×5
    101. GraverobberGraverobber
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. ThugThug
    104. AggravatorAggravator
    105. ThugThug
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. ThugThug ×2
    108. GruntGrunt
    109. ThugThug
    110. AggravatorAggravator ×2
    111. GruntGrunt ×2
    112. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    113. AggravatorAggravator
    114. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    115. AggravatorAggravator
    116. GruntGrunt ×2
    117. ThugThug
    118. Bot LabBot Labdone 10:49
    119. GruntGrunt ×2
    120. Mex
    121. SheldonSheldondone 10:58
    122. GruntGrunt ×5
    123. Construction BotCon bot
    124. GruntGrunt ×3
    125. ThugThug
    126. RocketeerRocketeer
    127. GruntGrunt
    128. ThugThug
    129. GruntGrunt ×2
    130. ThugThug
    131. GruntGrunt ×2
    132. Construction BotCon bot
    133. GruntGrunt ×2
    134. Armada CommanderArmada Commander
    135. GruntGrunt ×4
    136. ThugThug
    137. GruntGrunt
    138. ThugThug
    139. Construction BotCon bot
    140. GruntGrunt
    141. Mex
    142. Mex
    143. GruntGrunt ×3
    144. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    145. GruntGrunt ×2
    146. Construction BotCon bot
    147. GruntGrunt
    148. ThugThug
    149. GruntGrunt
    150. ThugThug ×2
    151. GruntGrunt

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is kirinokirino's (40 OS, 18/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:16 · in 38% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Tech or Geofirst at 8:01 · in 77% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build against the role’s standard build, running totals by minute

  • This build
  • Standard pond

Metal produced

010k20k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k6k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k6k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

13 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard pondEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard pondOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard pond
1:001151150000
2:003812780000
3:0010128160000
4:00169915090000
5:00252122160000
6:00374529603600430
7:00513238174342936500
8:006212462199010581303176
9:0078605535148415071861591
10:0089706670331121172743899
11:001047882504719265242531350
12:0012379101565174307146731664
13:0014278124955240341946732143
14:0015858144715240382046732820
15:0015858168515240419046863522
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won less often than the standard build despite producing more metal, and lost far more metal by 15:00.

  • + Produces more metal by 10:00 (8970 vs 6657)
  • + Destroys more enemy metal by 15:00 (6255 vs 4391)
  • − Loses far more metal by 10:00 (2743 vs 941)
  • − Team win rate well below the standard build's 52%
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

kirinokirino

40.2 OS · 18/09/2026

Open source match ↗

0 received units
3 metal received · 115 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab3:30Middle 50%: 2:25–4:00 · n=12
Advanced Metal Extractor9:54Middle 50%: 8:13–10:04 · n=9

Played most by

Rysica3games of this buildUsurpeR2games of this build[AFUS]Trotski1game of this buildDeathkebab1game of this buildEpicTyrannus1game of this build