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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 · 4 steps
    1. Tidal ×8for Suicide front
    2. Mex ×4
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Bot LabBot Labdone 2:47 · 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 · 8 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GraverobberGraverobber
    3. Wind ×2
    4. GraverobberGraverobber
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. Energy storage
    7. Con turret
    8. ThugThugdone 3:49
  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 · 130 steps
    1. ThugThug ×3
    2. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 4:46
    4. HephaestusHeavy transport
    5. ShurikenShuriken ×11
    6. Mex
    7. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    8. Mex
    9. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    10. Mex
    11. ValiantValiantfor Air
    12. GuardGuard
    13. Wind
    14. GuardGuard
    15. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    16. ValiantValiantfor Air
    17. GuardGuard
    18. Wind
    19. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    20. ValiantValiantfor Air
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant ×2for Air
    23. Wind ×6
    24. Mex
    25. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Con turret
    28. Wind
    29. Bot LabBot Labdone 9:16
    30. Construction BotCon bot
    31. Con turret
    32. Wind
    33. Con turret
    34. Wind ×6
    35. ShurikenShuriken
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 10:24 · typical 9:05
    37. ShurikenShuriken
    38. Mex
    39. GuardGuard
    40. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. ShurikenShuriken
    43. GuardGuard
    44. HerculesLight transport
    45. GuardGuard
    46. FinchFinch
    47. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    48. GuardGuard
    49. JunoJuno
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    51. Con turret
    52. GruntGrunt
    53. Con turret
    54. GruntGrunt ×2
    55. Wind
    56. GruntGrunt
    57. Wind
    58. GruntGrunt
    59. Wind ×2
    60. GruntGrunt
    61. Wind
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. Converter
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind ×2
    66. GruntGrunt
    67. Wind ×2
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. Wind ×3
    70. GruntGrunt
    71. GuardGuard
    72. Wind ×2
    73. GruntGrunt
    74. ShurikenShuriken
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. GruntGrunt
    78. ShurikenShuriken
    79. Converter
    80. GruntGrunt
    81. ShurikenShuriken
    82. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    83. GuardGuard
    84. Wind
    85. GruntGrunt
    86. Wind
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. Wind
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Wind ×2
    94. ShurikenShuriken
    95. Wind
    96. ShurikenShuriken
    97. Converter
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. ShurikenShuriken
    100. Wind
    101. Converter
    102. Wind
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Wind ×2
    105. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    106. GruntGrunt
    107. Wind ×2
    108. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    109. GruntGrunt
    110. Wind
    111. ShurikenShuriken
    112. Converter
    113. Con turret
    114. Wind
    115. GruntGrunt
    116. Converter
    117. Wind ×2
    118. GruntGrunt
    119. Wind ×2
    120. GruntGrunt
    121. Wind ×2
    122. GruntGrunt
    123. Wind ×3
    124. GruntGrunt
    125. Wind
    126. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    127. GruntGrunt
    128. Wind
    129. Converter
    130. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is krtf's (45 OS, 30/09/2026); 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

krtf

45.1 OS · 30/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
136 metal received · 39468 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
Thug bot assault · Cortex Pond build order · BAR Build Atlas