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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 547 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 615 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 547 GAMES
  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 Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 3 mex, 4 winddone ~1:22, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:33 · typical 1:22
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    • Wind Turbine3Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Construction Aircraft1 Con aircraft
    Army
    • Valiant5 Valiant
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    By 5:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 3 wind · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 32 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Geo sea
    4. Wind ×3
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. Wind
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Wind
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. ShurikenShuriken
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. Wind
    15. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Mex
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Wind
    28. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    29. Con turret
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (33%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 225 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. HerculesLight transport
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Converter ×2
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. Wind
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. Wind
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:58 · typical 6:50
    28. Wind
    29. Converter
    30. Wind
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    32. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:59 · typical 10:56
    33. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:12
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Con turret ×2
    36. Converter
    37. Con turret
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Con turret ×2
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Converter
    42. Con turret
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. Converter
    46. Con turret
    47. ValiantValiant ×2
    48. Con turret
    49. Converter
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Converter
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Wind
    57. Converter
    58. ValiantValiant ×3
    59. Converter
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant ×2
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Converter
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Converter
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant ×2
    72. Converter
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant ×2
    76. Converter
    77. Wind
    78. FinchFinch ×2
    79. Wind
    80. FinchFinch
    81. Converter
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Converter
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant ×2
    90. Wind
    91. Converter
    92. ValiantValiant ×2
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Converter
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Converter
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant ×2
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Converter
    108. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    109. Wind
    110. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    111. Converter
    112. Wind
    113. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    114. Wind
    115. Converter
    116. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    117. Wind
    118. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    119. Converter
    120. Wind
    121. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    122. Converter
    123. Wind
    124. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    125. Wind
    126. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    127. Converter
    128. Wind
    129. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    130. Converter
    131. Wind
    132. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    133. Wind
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. Converter
    136. ValiantValiant ×3
    137. Wind
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Converter
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant ×3
    142. Wind
    143. ValiantValiant
    144. Converter
    145. ValiantValiant
    146. Wind
    147. ValiantValiant ×3
    148. Converter
    149. Wind
    150. ValiantValiant ×2
    151. Wind
    152. ValiantValiant ×2
    153. Converter
    154. Wind
    155. ValiantValiant ×2
    156. Wind
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. Converter
    159. ValiantValiant
    160. Wind
    161. ValiantValiant
    162. Wind
    163. ValiantValiant
    164. Converter
    165. ValiantValiant
    166. Wind
    167. ValiantValiant
    168. Wind
    169. ValiantValiant ×2
    170. Wind
    171. ValiantValiant
    172. Converter
    173. Wind
    174. ValiantValiant
    175. Wind
    176. ValiantValiant
    177. Wind
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. Wind
    180. ValiantValiant
    181. Converter
    182. Wind
    183. ValiantValiant ×2
    184. Wind
    185. ValiantValiant
    186. Converter
    187. Wind
    188. ValiantValiant ×2
    189. Wind
    190. ValiantValiant
    191. Converter
    192. ValiantValiant
    193. Wind
    194. ValiantValiant ×3
    195. Wind
    196. Converter
    197. ValiantValiant
    198. Wind
    199. ValiantValiant
    200. Wind
    201. ValiantValiant ×2
    202. Wind
    203. ValiantValiant
    204. Converter
    205. ValiantValiant
    206. Wind
    207. ValiantValiant ×2
    208. Wind
    209. ValiantValiant
    210. Converter
    211. ValiantValiant ×5
    212. Converter
    213. ValiantValiant ×4
    214. Converter
    215. ValiantValiant ×4
    216. Converter
    217. ValiantValiant ×4
    218. Converter
    219. ValiantValiant ×2
    220. Con turret
    221. ValiantValiant
    222. Converter
    223. ValiantValiant ×3
    224. Converter
    225. ValiantValiant ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Lexosis's (36 OS, 28/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:25 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:40 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 94% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build, running totals by minute

Metal produced

010k20k30k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

615 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145800
4:002052051
5:00276573109
6:003755125167
7:005136190219
8:007019220290
9:009335250341
10:0011795327471
11:0014399439641
12:0017100619962
13:00199489301269
14:002264113951807
15:002553020492701
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Lexosis

36.5 OS · 28/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
263 metal received · 34212 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=615
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=590
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:14 · n=375

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build