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Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

Economy-first air build: Aircraft Plant then Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor, making transports and scouts for allies while transitioning into fighters and occasional bombers over the whole game.

Usually transports first (78%)

#eco #air #team support · 1496 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1799 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:24

  1. Open 3 mex and wind, then drop Aircraft Plant early.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant and start fighters for scouting and defense.
  3. Eat the Aircraft Plant once production needs outgrow it.
  4. Get Advanced Metal Extractor up to scale eco.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online and keep feeding transports, scouts, fighters to allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 1496 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 ~1:26, middle half 1:14–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:07 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:15 · typical 1:26
  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
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Finch1 Finch
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: shuriken (49%) · energy storage (45%) · converter (44%) · light transport (40%)

    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 · 27 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    6. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    7. Wind ×2
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. ValiantValiant ×4
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. Mex
    13. ValiantValiant ×2
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Energy storage
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    22. Wind
    23. HerculesLight transport
    24. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    25. Wind ×2
    26. Metal storage
    27. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine21Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    2. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 19 wind, 18 wind, 7 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret3 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (48%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 25 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 93 steps
    1. Energy storage
    2. Wind
    3. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:45 · typical 6:54
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    7. Con turret
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. T2 converter
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Con turret
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:57 · typical 10:53
    18. Wind ×5
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret
    22. Wind
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. T2 converter
    26. Con turret
    27. Wind
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind ×2
    30. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:50
    31. Wind ×2
    32. ShurikenShuriken
    33. Wind
    34. ShurikenShuriken
    35. Wind
    36. ShurikenShuriken
    37. Fusion ReactorFusion
    38. ShurikenShuriken
    39. Wind
    40. ShurikenShuriken
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant ×2
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant ×3
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant ×2
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant ×3
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant ×2
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant ×3
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant ×2
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    67. Wind
    68. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×11
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant ×11
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant ×7
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Advanced Fusion ReactorAdvanced Fusion Reactornot finished by 15:00
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant ×2
    82. Con turret
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    86. Con turret
    87. Wind
    88. Con turret ×7
    89. Wind ×2
    90. T2 converter
    91. Wind
    92. T2 converter
    93. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is iamlegion's (35 OS, 26/08/2026); 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 Beach seafirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:23 · in 72% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:37 · in 64% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:42 · in 46% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:23 · in 88% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:05 · in 96% 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

01k2k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

1799 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002052051
5:0027635173
6:003705102124
7:005088146167
8:006898190219
9:009278232270
10:0011753292384
11:0014351373538
12:0017061513781
13:00198507811102
14:002270012641689
15:002570818042405
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard air play wins less than half its games, with very low combat losses and kills since the role mostly supports rather than fights.

  • + Own metal lost stays very low, only 2701 by 15:00.
  • + Metal production reaches 25740 by 15:00, a strong support economy.
  • − Team wins under half of games (47%).
  • − Enemy metal destroyed stays low at 2097 by 15:00, showing little direct impact.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

iamlegion

34.6 OS · 26/08/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
1402 metal received · 54047 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:26Middle 50%: 1:14–1:35 · n=1799
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1740
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1151

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build