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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Bot LabBot Labdone 0:40 · 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 4) · 1 tidal · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Wind
    2. GruntGrunt
    3. GraverobberGraverobber
    4. GruntGrunt ×2
    5. ThugThugdone 1:08
  3. 3

    T1 bot assault to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine12Wind−7 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 · 149 steps
    1. ThugThug ×2
    2. Construction BotCon bot
    3. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    4. GuardGuard
    5. Construction BotCon bot
    6. Mex
    7. Construction BotCon bot
    8. Mex
    9. GraverobberGraverobber ×2
    10. Mex
    11. ThugThug
    12. Con turret
    13. ThugThug
    14. Mex
    15. ThugThug ×2
    16. GuardGuard
    17. ThugThug ×2
    18. GuardGuard
    19. ThugThug
    20. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    21. ThugThug
    22. GruntGrunt ×2
    23. Wind
    24. ThugThug
    25. Wind
    26. ThugThug
    27. Wind ×3
    28. ThugThug
    29. Wind ×2
    30. GraverobberGraverobber
    31. Wind ×3
    32. ThugThug ×2
    33. Wind
    34. ThugThug
    35. Wind
    36. GuardGuard
    37. ThugThug ×2
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. ThugThug
    41. Wind
    42. ThugThug
    43. Con turret
    44. Construction BotCon bot
    45. ThugThug
    46. Wind ×2
    47. ThugThug
    48. Wind ×2
    49. ThugThug
    50. Wind
    51. Con turret
    52. Metal storage
    53. Wind
    54. ThugThug
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:46 · typical 9:05
    57. CastroCastro
    58. Wind
    59. ThugThug
    60. Con turret
    61. Wind ×2
    62. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    63. Wind ×3
    64. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    65. CastroCastro
    66. Wind
    67. Converter
    68. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    69. ThugThug
    70. Wind
    71. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    72. Converter
    73. Wind ×2
    74. AgitatorAgitatordone 9:07
    75. ThugThug
    76. Converter
    77. GruntGrunt
    78. Wind
    79. ThugThug
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. GruntGrunt
    83. Wind
    84. Mex
    85. GruntGrunt
    86. Wind ×2
    87. Construction BotCon bot
    88. ThugThug
    89. Wind
    90. Dragon's MawDragon's Maw
    91. Converter
    92. Construction BotCon bot
    93. Wind
    94. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    95. Converter
    96. Wind
    97. Construction BotCon bot
    98. Wind
    99. RocketeerRocketeer
    100. CastroCastro
    101. GraverobberGraverobber
    102. Wind
    103. Con turret
    104. CenturionCenturion
    105. GraverobberGraverobber
    106. Wind
    107. Converter
    108. GraverobberGraverobber
    109. Wind
    110. GuardGuard
    111. GraverobberGraverobber
    112. RocketeerRocketeer
    113. CenturionCenturion
    114. Wind
    115. GraverobberGraverobber
    116. Wind ×2
    117. CenturionCenturion
    118. Wind
    119. Converter
    120. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    121. Energy storage
    122. Wind ×3
    123. Energy storage
    124. Con turret ×2
    125. Energy storage
    126. CenturionCenturion ×2
    127. Wind
    128. Mex
    129. Energy storage
    130. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    131. BeholderBeholder
    132. Wind ×2
    133. Mex
    134. Wind
    135. Mex
    136. Wind
    137. ThistleThistle
    138. Wind ×4
    139. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    140. BeholderBeholder
    141. Wind
    142. Mex
    143. Wind
    144. GuardGuard
    145. Wind
    146. GuardGuard
    147. Wind
    148. Con turret
    149. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is spieriz's (34 OS, 26/09/2026); 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
2:003582590000
3:009137370000
4:00158514090000
5:00237721300000
6:0032572949253000
7:004213382942704100
8:005384487496654101586
9:007045625714402201650189
10:008492766117793502040640
11:0010409985922847662287836
12:0011991120922618119633811075
13:0014080145343769157845531661
14:0015917168813863181445991995
15:0016396193614234263247142964
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

spieriz

33.6 OS · 26/09/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
609 metal received · 40736 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