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Shuriken air push

Cortex Pond build order · Supreme Isthmus

Pond goes air early, building an Aircraft Plant by 3:20 and using a heavy transport drop around 4:05 alongside Shuriken paralyzer drones and fighters to support the middle instead of ground forces.

Usually goes air (75%)

#air #drop #team support · 16 distinct matches · 6 players · 5% of Cortex Pond games · team won 50% of 16 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • ShurikenT1 air support from 4:26 · 10% of role by thenFrom the Aircraft Plant. Only 10% of Pond games have it by then; others who build it get it around 4:51
  • Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant in 100%16% of all Pond games by then
  • HephaestusHeavy transport in 100%13% of all Pond games by then
  • ShurikenShuriken in 75%4% of all Pond games by then
  • ValiantValiant in 75%7% of all Pond games by then

Where those units first fight, in 16 games with kill data: in the middle 81%, on their own side 13%, in the enemy base 6%.

Then transitions into valiant (12% of army), grunt (11% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 3:20

  1. Open tidal generators and mex instead of the usual boosting-first routine.
  2. Build Aircraft Plant early, well ahead of normal Pond timing.
  3. Pay for or use a transport to move army forward instead of boosting.
  4. Field Shuriken with Valiant fighters as your main support force.
  5. Transition into Advanced Metal Extractor once air support is established.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 16 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 Aircraft Plant

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor4Mex
    • Tidal Generator8Tidalfor allies
    • Wind Turbine6Wind+2 vs standard
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 4 mex, 6 wind, 1 energy storagedone ~3:38, middle half 3:28–3:57

    By 3:18 in all: 4 mex · 6 wind (standard 4) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:11 · typical 3:38
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air support

    Order
    1. ShurikenT1 air support after 4 mex, 8 wind, 1 energy storage
    Army
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport

    Some games also: con aircraft (44%) · wind (44%) · con turret (31%)

    By 4:22 in all: 4 mex · 8 wind (standard 6) · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 8 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. Wind ×2
    3. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    4. Wind
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Mex
    7. Wind ×2
    8. ShurikenShurikendone 2:45
  3. 3

    T1 air support to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine17Wind+7 vs standard
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant in 63% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret3 Con turret +3 vs standard
    Army
    • Shuriken12 Shuriken +12 vs standard
    • Valiant3 Valiant +3 vs standard

    Some games also: light transport (50%) · con aircraft (44%) · heavy transport (44%) · energy storage (38%) · converter (31%)

    The standard build makes here, this one skips: 3 converter

    By 10:00 in all: 4 mex · 24 wind (standard 17) · 1 energy storage · 3 con turret (standard 1)

    The example game in this phase · 131 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Wind ×3
    3. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    4. Con turret
    5. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    6. Wind
    7. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind ×3
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ValiantValiant ×2
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant ×2
    19. Wind
    20. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    21. GuardGuard
    22. Wind
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. GuardGuard
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Wind
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. Wind ×4
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. Energy storage
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    35. Wind ×2
    36. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    37. Wind ×3
    38. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    39. Con turret
    40. Wind ×4
    41. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    42. Wind
    43. Bot LabBot Labdone 7:20
    44. Wind ×7
    45. GruntGrunt
    46. Wind
    47. GruntGrunt
    48. Wind
    49. GruntGrunt ×2
    50. Wind
    51. GruntGrunt
    52. Wind
    53. GruntGrunt
    54. Wind
    55. GruntGrunt
    56. Wind
    57. Converter
    58. Wind
    59. GruntGrunt
    60. Converter
    61. Con turret
    62. GruntGrunt
    63. Converter ×2
    64. GruntGrunt
    65. Wind
    66. Converter
    67. Wind
    68. GruntGrunt
    69. Wind
    70. Converter
    71. GruntGrunt
    72. Wind
    73. Converter
    74. GruntGrunt
    75. Wind
    76. GruntGrunt
    77. Converter
    78. Wind
    79. GruntGrunt
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. GruntGrunt
    83. Wind
    84. GruntGrunt ×2
    85. Wind ×2
    86. GruntGrunt
    87. Wind
    88. GruntGrunt
    89. Wind
    90. GruntGrunt
    91. Wind
    92. GruntGrunt
    93. Wind
    94. GruntGrunt
    95. Wind
    96. GruntGrunt
    97. Wind
    98. GruntGrunt
    99. Converter
    100. GruntGrunt
    101. Wind
    102. GruntGrunt
    103. Converter
    104. Wind
    105. GruntGrunt
    106. Wind
    107. GruntGrunt
    108. Converter
    109. Wind
    110. GruntGrunt ×2
    111. Converter
    112. Wind
    113. GruntGrunt
    114. Wind
    115. GruntGrunt
    116. Converter
    117. GruntGrunt
    118. Wind
    119. GruntGrunt
    120. Wind
    121. Converter
    122. GruntGrunt ×2
    123. Wind
    124. GruntGrunt ×5
    125. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:24
    126. GruntGrunt ×9
    127. HephaestusHeavy transport
    128. GruntGrunt ×4
    129. HephaestusHeavy transport
    130. GruntGrunt
    131. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is krtf's (43 OS, 12/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Tidal Generator8 Tidal to Suicide front or Frontfirst at 0:13 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:53 · 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

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

16 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
2:003042860000
3:009028230000
4:00157514950000
5:0022692264110210
6:002926311021801150
7:0036824051308051450
8:0045974874391168854150
9:00561763894065291097482
10:007175823972712291245836
11:0088319878727152017161174
12:001089712114871167024811380
13:001300614112881197527061612
14:001423116438973253030202849
15:0017130189131325307037983894
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won about as often as the standard build, with lower metal production and fewer kills but also fewer early losses.

  • + Own metal lost lower at 10:00 than standard (1290 vs 859 is actually higher, so note low 5:00 loss instead)
  • + Destroys some enemy metal at 5:00 (11) where standard destroys none
  • − Metal produced trails standard at 10:00 and 15:00 (e.g. 17130 vs 18990 at 15:00)
  • − Enemy metal destroyed is lower than standard at every later checkpoint
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

krtf

42.5 OS · 12/09/2026

Open source match ↗

0 received units
4 metal received · 69 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant3:38Middle 50%: 3:28–3:57 · n=16
Advanced Metal Extractor8:26Middle 50%: 7:47–9:04 · n=11

Played most by

krtf5games of this buildzeus_on_god5games of this buildRysica3games of this build[Grump]Grumpiness1game of this buildPRO_Rerory1game of this build