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Pond / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Thug bot assault

Pond opens a Bot Lab by ~3:15 and pushes Thugs into the middle from just after 4 minutes, fighting forward instead of the usual pure economy start.

#raid #push · 12 distinct matches · 9 players · 5% of Cortex Pond games · team won 50% of 12 · 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 75%3% of all Pond games by then
  • Bot LabBot Lab in 50%18% of all Pond games by then
  • GruntGrunt in 42%6% of all Pond games by then

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

Where those units first fight, in 12 games with kill data: in the middle 83%, on their own side 17%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,363 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 12 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
    • Wind Turbine7Wind+3 vs standard
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 7 wind, 1 energy storagedone ~3:15, middle half 2:20–3:50

    Some games also: tidal (50%) · tidal for allies (33%) · Guard (33%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 2 tidal

    By 3:13 in all: 4 mex · 7 wind (standard 4) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. GuardGuardfor Geo sea
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 1:00 · typical 3:15
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to T1 bot assault

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine2Wind
    Order
    1. ThugT1 bot assault after 4 mex, 9 wind, 1 energy storage
    Builders
    • Construction Bot2 Con bot +2 vs standard

    Some games also: con turret (50%) · Graverobber (33%)

    By 4:01 in all: 4 mex · 9 wind (standard 6) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. GraverobberGraverobber
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. ThugThugdone 1:38
  3. 3

    T1 bot assault to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine13Wind+5 vs standard
    Army
    • Guard1 Guard
    • Thug14 Thug +14 vs standard
    Other
    • Radar Tower1 Radar Tower

    Some games also: converter (50%) · con bot (50%) · con turret (50%) · Graverobber (42%) · mex (42%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 2 converter

    By 10:00 in all: 5 mex · 26 wind (standard 16) · 2 converter (standard 4) · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret (standard 0)

    The example game in this phase · 138 steps
    1. ThugThug
    2. Mex
    3. ThugThug
    4. GuardGuard
    5. ThugThug
    6. GruntGruntfor Front
    7. ThugThug ×2
    8. Mex
    9. Construction BotCon botfor Geo sea
    10. Construction BotCon bot
    11. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    12. ThugThug
    13. GuardGuard
    14. ThugThug ×4
    15. Windfor Geo sea
    16. ThugThug
    17. Windfor Geo sea
    18. ThugThug
    19. Windfor Geo sea
    20. ThugThug
    21. Windfor Geo sea
    22. ThugThug
    23. Windfor Geo sea
    24. Mex
    25. ThugThug
    26. Windfor Geo sea
    27. ThugThug ×2
    28. GraverobberGraverobber
    29. Windfor Geo sea
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. ThugThug ×2
    32. Windfor Geo sea
    33. ThugThug ×2
    34. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    35. Mex
    36. Windfor Geo sea
    37. ThugThug ×4
    38. RocketeerRocketeer
    39. Windfor Geo sea
    40. ThugThug ×2
    41. Windfor Geo sea
    42. ThugThug
    43. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    44. Windfor Geo sea
    45. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    46. ThugThug
    47. Windfor Geo sea
    48. Mex
    49. Construction BotCon botfor Geo sea
    50. RocketeerRocketeer ×2
    51. Construction BotCon botfor Geo sea
    52. RocketeerRocketeer
    53. Windfor Geo sea
    54. Construction BotCon botfor Geo sea
    55. RocketeerRocketeer
    56. Construction BotCon bot
    57. ThugThug
    58. BeamerBeamer
    59. Construction BotCon bot
    60. Solar
    61. PawnPawn
    62. Solar
    63. GruntGrunt
    64. Mex
    65. Solarfor Geo sea
    66. BlitzBlitz
    67. RocketeerRocketeer
    68. GuardGuard
    69. Solarfor Geo sea
    70. Con turretfor Geo sea
    71. Solarfor Geo sea
    72. ThugThug
    73. Con turretfor Geo sea
    74. Solarfor Geo sea
    75. ThugThug
    76. Con turretfor Geo sea
    77. Solar
    78. ThugThug ×2
    79. Solar
    80. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    81. ThugThug ×5
    82. Mex
    83. ThugThug ×6
    84. GraverobberGraverobber
    85. Con turretfor Geo sea
    86. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    87. Con turret
    88. GraverobberGraverobber
    89. Energy storagefor Geo sea
    90. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo seadone 11:51 · typical 9:57
    91. Con turret
    92. Wind ×3for Geo sea
    93. Con turret
    94. Windfor Geo sea
    95. GruntGrunt
    96. Wind ×3for Geo sea
    97. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. Windfor Geo sea
    100. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo sea
    101. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    102. Windfor Geo sea
    103. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    104. CastroCastro
    105. GruntGrunt
    106. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    107. GruntGrunt
    108. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    111. GruntGrunt
    112. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Windfor Geo sea
    115. GruntGrunt
    116. Windfor Geo sea
    117. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo sea
    118. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    119. GruntGrunt
    120. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    121. GruntGrunt
    122. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    123. GruntGrunt
    124. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    125. Wind ×2for Geo sea
    126. GruntGrunt ×2
    127. Windfor Geo sea
    128. GruntGrunt
    129. Windfor Geo sea
    130. GruntGrunt
    131. Windfor Geo sea
    132. GruntGrunt
    133. Windfor Geo sea
    134. GruntGrunt ×2
    135. Windfor Geo sea
    136. GruntGrunt
    137. Windfor Geo sea
    138. GruntGrunt ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is luxa_'s (37 OS, 10/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator7–8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:12 · in 33% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Tech or Geofirst at 8:27 · in 75% 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

12 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
2:003902780000
3:0010278160000
4:00170715100000
5:00266222170000
6:003920296234601570
7:00521538266972885120
8:0062524623118210701377189
9:0078705535154915072186591
10:0092596651335521713722899
11:001067882504947269348431360
12:0011991101945305313450531695
13:0013909125745485345450532159
14:0014699146685727382150532820
15:0015358170045748427450593392
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

luxa_

36.7 OS · 10/08/2026

Open source match ↗

31 received units · includes a constructor
77 metal received · 17921 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab3:15Middle 50%: 2:20–3:50 · n=11
Advanced Metal Extractor9:57Middle 50%: 8:32–10:16 · n=8

Played most by

Rysica3games of this buildUsurpeR2games of this build[AFUS]Trotski1game of this buildEpicTyrannus1game of this buildkirinokirino1game of this build