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Pond / Armada / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Banshee air

Pond opens an Aircraft Plant by ~2:57 and commits to Banshee gunships with Falcon support from around 3:15, an unusual full air-focused build for the role with dedicated repeat players.

#air #raid · 21 distinct matches · 7 players · 2% of Armada Pond games · team won 33% of 21 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • BansheeT1 air gunships from 3:15 · 2% of role by thenFrom the Aircraft Plant. Only 2% of Pond games have it by then; others who build it get it around 4:47
  • Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant in 100%4% of all Pond games by then
  • FalconFighter in 71%2% of all Pond games by then
  • FalconFighter in 57%1% of all Pond games by then
  • BansheeBanshee in 57%1% of all Pond games by then

Where those units first fight, in 21 games with kill data: in the middle 76%, on their own side 24%.

Those units destroy a typical 2,823 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into blitz (13% of army), fighter (11% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 3:15

  1. Open tidal-based eco, skipping Pond's usual ground lab plan.
  2. Rush Aircraft Plant instead of boosting front on the ground.
  3. Push Banshee gunships as the main early attacker.
  4. Mix in Falcon fighters to contest the middle skies.
  5. Keep reinforcing with Banshee as the core army composition.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 21 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD POND
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
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 air gunships

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Wind Turbine6Wind+2 vs standard
    • Solar Collector1Solar
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 4 mex, 5 wind, 1 solar
    2. BansheeT1 air gunships after 4 mex, 6 wind, 1 solar

    Some games also: energy storage (48%) · solar for allies (48%) · tidal (43%) · tidal for allies (38%)

    By 3:15 in all: 4 mex · 6 wind (standard 4) · 1 solar

    The example game in this phase · 7 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Solar ×6for Suicide front
    3. Solar
    4. Mex ×3
    5. Wind
    6. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 2:30 · typical 3:15
    7. BansheeBansheedone 2:47
  2. 2

    T1 air gunships to 5:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine1Wind−6 vs standard
    Army
    • Banshee4 Banshee +4 vs standard
    • Falcon2 Fighter +2 vs standard

    By 5:00 in all: 4 mex · 9 wind · 1 solar

    The example game in this phase · 10 steps
    1. Wind ×2for Tech
    2. BansheeBanshee ×2
    3. Wind ×2for Tech
    4. BansheeBanshee
    5. Wind ×2for Tech
    6. BansheeBanshee
    7. Wind ×2for Tech
    8. FalconFighter ×3
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. BansheeBanshee
  3. 3

    5:00 to Bot Lab

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine13Wind
    • Energy Converter2Converter
    Order
    1. Bot LabBot Lab after 4 mex, 30 wind, 3 con turretdone ~9:38, middle half 5:54–12:18
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    Army
    • Banshee5 Banshee +5 vs standard

    Some games also: fighter (43%) · con aircraft (38%) · energy storage (33%)

    By 9:28 in all: 4 mex · 30 wind · 1 solar · 3 converter · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 27 steps
    1. BansheeBanshee ×4
    2. FalconFighter ×3
    3. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2for Tech
    4. Con turretfor Tech
    5. FalconFighter ×2
    6. Windfor Tech
    7. FalconFighter
    8. Wind ×3for Tech
    9. FalconFighter
    10. Windfor Tech
    11. Con turretfor Tech
    12. Windfor Tech
    13. Energy storagefor Tech
    14. FalconFighter
    15. Wind ×2for Tech
    16. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantfor Techdone 8:59
    17. FalconFighter
    18. Wind ×2for Tech
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Techdone 8:51 · typical 9:42
    20. Windfor Tech
    21. Converter ×2for Tech
    22. Windfor Tech
    23. BlitzBlitz
    24. Windfor Tech
    25. BlitzBlitz ×2
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    27. BlitzBlitz ×2
  4. 4

    Bot Lab to 15:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine19Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret −2 vs standard

    Some games also: converter (33%) · banshee (33%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 6 tick

    By 15:00 in all: 4 mex · 46 wind · 1 solar · 5 converter (standard 9) · 1 energy storage · 5 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 45 steps
    1. Windfor Tech
    2. BlitzBlitz
    3. Windfor Tech
    4. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    5. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    6. Converterfor Tech
    7. Windfor Tech
    8. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    9. Converterfor Tech
    10. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    11. Windfor Tech
    12. Converterfor Tech
    13. Windfor Tech
    14. Mexfor Tech
    15. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    16. Wind ×3for Tech
    17. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    18. Con turretfor Tech
    19. Wind ×2for Tech
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    21. Converterfor Tech
    22. Windfor Tech
    23. Con turretfor Tech
    24. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    25. Windfor Tech
    26. Converterfor Tech
    27. Wind ×2for Tech
    28. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    29. Mexfor Tech
    30. Wind ×2for Tech
    31. Converterfor Tech
    32. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    33. Windfor Tech
    34. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    35. Wind ×2for Tech
    36. Converterfor Tech
    37. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    38. Windfor Tech
    39. Mexfor Tech
    40. Windfor Tech
    41. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    42. Converterfor Tech
    43. Windfor Tech
    44. BlitzBlitzfor Tech
    45. Windfor Tech

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is yubiyubi's (37 OS, 09/08/2026); 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 38% of games
  • Solar Collector6 Solar to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:17 · in 48% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 7:54 · in 90% 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

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

21 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
1:002311150000
2:006112730000
3:0012648170000
4:00191515100000
5:002520223100730
6:003213298516206340
7:00392138417694807480
8:004936474225311276956148
9:0057375693278020251361379
10:0066996872290628651642720
11:00787783343043331716891188
12:009791102903330368423171616
13:0011787125933548426228071966
14:0013732149143548478028072454
15:0016020174563649532430013030
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won far less often than the standard build, with lower metal produced and destroyed and more losses by 15:00.

  • + Aircraft Plant up by 2:57 in all games, radically earlier than role norm.
  • − Won only 30% of games vs 48% for standard.
  • − Destroyed just 3649 metal by 15:00, below standard's 5316, and lost more too.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

yubiyubi

37.1 OS · 09/08/2026

Open source match ↗

31 received units · includes a constructor
132 metal received · 26673 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant3:15Middle 50%: 2:51–3:56 · n=21
Bot Lab9:38Middle 50%: 5:54–12:18 · n=11
Advanced Metal Extractor9:42Middle 50%: 8:51–10:59 · n=17

Played most by

yubiyubi11games of this buildUsurpeR3games of this buildHorlof2games of this buildViltrum2games of this build0neTw01game of this build