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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 · 22 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind
    3. Mex
    4. Wind ×6
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind ×3
    7. Wind ×3for Air
    8. Wind
    9. Bot LabBot Labdone 2:55 · typical 3:30
    10. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Construction BotCon bot
    13. GraverobberGraverobber
    14. Wind ×6
    15. GruntGrunt
    16. Wind ×2
    17. GruntGrunt
    18. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:49
    19. Wind
    20. GruntGrunt
    21. Wind ×3
    22. ThugThugdone 4:57
  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 · 115 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. Con turret
    3. ThugThug
    4. Wind
    5. ThugThug ×4
    6. Wind ×2
    7. ThugThug
    8. Wind
    9. ThugThug
    10. Wind ×3
    11. ThugThug
    12. Wind
    13. ThugThug
    14. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ThugThug
    17. GraverobberGraverobber
    18. Wind
    19. GraverobberGraverobber
    20. Wind ×2
    21. GraverobberGraverobber
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ThugThug
    24. Wind
    25. ThugThug
    26. GuardGuard
    27. ThugThug
    28. Wind
    29. RocketeerRocketeer
    30. ThugThug ×2
    31. Wind ×3
    32. ThugThug
    33. ShellshockerArtyfor Front
    34. Wind
    35. ThugThug ×3
    36. Wind
    37. ThugThug
    38. Wind
    39. ThugThug
    40. RocketeerRocketeer
    41. ThugThug
    42. RocketeerRocketeer
    43. ThugThug
    44. RocketeerRocketeer
    45. Con turret
    46. Converter
    47. ThugThug
    48. RocketeerRocketeer
    49. ThugThug ×4
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:54 · typical 9:54
    51. ThugThug
    52. Con turret
    53. Converter
    54. ThugThug
    55. ThugThugfor Front
    56. Wind
    57. Mex
    58. Mexfor Front
    59. Converter
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. ThugThug
    63. Construction BotCon bot
    64. Wind
    65. Converter
    66. Construction BotCon bot
    67. Wind ×2
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. Converter
    70. Wind
    71. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    72. Converter
    73. Wind ×3
    74. Con turret
    75. Wind
    76. Con turret
    77. Energy storage
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. Con turret
    81. Wind
    82. Converter
    83. Con turret
    84. Wind ×2
    85. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    86. Wind
    87. Converter
    88. Energy storage
    89. Wind
    90. Con turret
    91. Advanced solar ×6
    92. Wind ×3
    93. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 12:54
    94. Converter
    95. Wind ×2
    96. Construction VehicleCon vehicle
    97. Converter
    98. Advanced Vehicle PlantAdvanced Vehicle Plantdone 13:42
    99. Wind
    100. Converter ×2
    101. Wind ×2
    102. Converter
    103. Wind ×2
    104. Converter
    105. TremorTremordone 14:28
    106. Converter ×2
    107. Wind ×4
    108. Converter ×2
    109. Wind ×2
    110. TremorTremor
    111. Wind
    112. Converter
    113. Wind ×2
    114. Converter
    115. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Viltrum's (41 OS, 13/09/2026); 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
2:003812760000
3:0010128160000
4:00169915090000
5:00252122150000
6:00374529553600430
7:00513238104342936500
8:006212461999010631303176
9:0078605535148415451861591
10:0089706670331121712743899
11:001047882504719266642531350
12:0012379101565174308546731664
13:0014278124955240343246732143
14:0015858144715240382046732786
15:0015858168515240419046863392
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

Viltrum

41.0 OS · 13/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
190 metal received · 103401 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