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Thug bot assault

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond adds Thugs from its Bot Lab around 5:13 for an early bot push, fighting mostly on its own side at first before moving to the middle.

#push · 24 distinct matches · 16 players · 3% of Cortex Pond games · team won 54% of 24 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • ThugT1 bot assault from 4:11 · 3% of role by thenFrom the Bot Lab. Only 3% of Pond games have it by then; others who build it get it around 5:58
  • ThugThug in 79%2% of all Pond games by then
  • GruntGrunt in 46%9% of all Pond games by then

Where those units first fight, in 24 games with kill data: in the middle 88%, on their own side 13%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,875 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into grunt (13% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Thug push by 3:58

  1. Open tidal-heavy economy, then Bot Lab by 3:15.
  2. Push Thugs out of Bot Lab toward the middle.
  3. Keep Thug numbers up as the main front-line unit.
  4. Eat the old Bot Lab for metal once replaced.
  5. Mix in Grunt and transition toward T2 constructor.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 24 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 Generator6Tidalfor allies−2 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine3Wind
    • Tidal Generator1Tidal
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 3 wind, 1 tidaldone ~3:32, middle half 2:41–3:56

    By 3:17 in all: 4 mex · 3 wind · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 7 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Tidal ×4
    3. ThistleThistle
    4. Mex ×4
    5. Wind ×6
    6. Energy storage ×2
    7. Bot LabBot Labdone 4:19 · typical 3:32
  2. 2

    Bot Lab to T1 bot assault

    Order
    1. ThugT1 bot assault after 4 mex, 7 wind, 1 energy storage
    Builders
    • Construction Bot1 Con bot

    Some games also: wind (46%) · con turret (42%) · Graverobber (38%)

    By 4:08 in all: 4 mex · 7 wind (standard 3) · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. AggravatorAggravator
    2. ThugThugdone 4:29
  3. 3

    T1 bot assault to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine12Wind−8 vs standard
    • Energy Converter2Converter−2 vs standard
    Order
    1. Bot LabEat Bot Lab in 67% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret
    • Graverobber2 Graverobber +2 vs standard
    Army
    • Thug13 Thug +13 vs standard

    Some games also: Radar Tower (50%) · con bot (46%) · Guard (42%) · mex (38%) · grunt (38%)

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 21 wind · 2 tidal · 3 converter (standard 6) · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 24 steps
    1. ThugThug ×2for Front
    2. ThugThug
    3. ThugThugfor Front
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Converter
    6. GraverobberGraverobber
    7. Converter ×2
    8. ThugThug
    9. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4done 7:15 · typical 9:05
    11. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 9:44
    12. RascalRascal ×53
    13. Mex
    14. RascalRascal ×3
    15. Mex
    16. RascalRascal
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    18. RascalRascal
    19. Mex
    20. RascalRascal ×2
    21. Mex
    22. RascalRascal
    23. Bot LabBot Labdone 14:42
    24. RascalRascal ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is FrontLiner69er's (32 OS, 08/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:09 · in 54% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Tech or Geofirst at 7:26 · in 83% 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

24 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
2:003582600000
3:009137520000
4:00158514140000
5:00237721420000
6:0032572951253000
7:004213383942704100
8:005384491396651101573
9:007045634014401851650172
10:008492775117793212040513
11:0010409989922847402287796
12:0011991123512618114233811054
13:0014080149103769157545531637
14:0015917172093863183745992073
15:0016396199344234262347142966
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Slightly outperformed the standard build's win rate while destroying more enemy metal by 15:00.

  • + Destroys 4346 enemy metal by 15:00 vs 3127 standard.
  • + Team win rate 54% vs standard's 46%.
  • − Own metal lost by 10:00 is 2511 vs 755 for standard.
  • − Metal produced by 15:00 trails standard, 15858 vs 19066.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

FrontLiner69er

31.9 OS · 08/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
56 metal received · 36824 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Bot Lab3:32Middle 50%: 2:41–3:56 · n=24
Advanced Metal Extractor9:05Middle 50%: 7:54–10:25 · n=19

Played most by

FrontLiner69er4games of this buildRysica4games of this buildspieriz2games of this buildYogaBoy1584972games of this build[AFUS]Trotski1game of this build