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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 · 501 distinct matches · 111 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 559 · 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 501 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 1:13–1:33

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · 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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · con turret (31%)

    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 · 30 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×2
    6. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. Wind
    9. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    10. Wind
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    12. Wind
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Mex
    16. Energy storage
    17. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    18. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Con turret
    21. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    22. Con turret
    23. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Converter
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Converter ×2
    28. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    29. Converter
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
  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 · 179 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. Wind
    3. Con turret ×2
    4. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    5. Wind
    6. Wind
    7. Wind
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Converter ×2
    10. Wind
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Wind
    13. Wind
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind
    16. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    17. Wind ×3
    18. Wind
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind ×6
    21. Con turret
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:19 · typical 6:50
    23. Wind
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    25. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantfor Geodone 7:47
    29. Wind ×3
    30. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:08
    31. Construction BotCon bot
    32. Wind
    33. Construction BotCon bot
    34. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    35. Construction BotCon bot
    36. Wind
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. Construction BotCon bot ×4
    39. Wind
    40. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    41. Wind
    42. Construction BotCon bot
    43. Converter
    44. Wind ×2
    45. Converter
    46. Wind
    47. Converter
    48. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:19
    49. Wind ×5
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. Con turret
    54. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Con turret ×2
    57. Wind
    58. Converter
    59. Wind ×3
    60. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind ×3
    63. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    64. Wind
    65. Converter
    66. Wind ×4
    67. Con turret
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    70. Wind ×3
    71. Converter
    72. Wind
    73. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    74. Wind ×4
    75. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    76. Wind
    77. Converter
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Converter
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    84. Wind ×3
    85. Con turret
    86. Converter
    87. Wind ×2
    88. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    89. Wind ×2
    90. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    91. Wind ×2
    92. Converter
    93. Wind ×2
    94. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    95. Wind
    96. Converter
    97. Wind ×2
    98. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    99. Wind ×2
    100. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    101. Converter
    102. Advanced solar
    103. Wind ×4
    104. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    105. Wind ×4
    106. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    107. Wind
    108. Converter
    109. Wind ×4
    110. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    111. Wind ×3
    112. Converter
    113. Advanced solar
    114. Wind ×2
    115. ValiantValiant
    116. Wind ×4
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Wind
    119. Converter
    120. Wind ×2
    121. Advanced solar
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind ×3
    124. Converter
    125. Wind
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind ×4
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind
    130. Advanced solar
    131. Wind
    132. Converter
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Wind ×4
    135. ValiantValiant
    136. Wind ×3
    137. Converter
    138. ValiantValiant
    139. Wind
    140. Advanced solar
    141. Wind
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Wind ×4
    144. ValiantValiant
    145. Converter
    146. Wind ×3
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. Advanced solar
    150. Wind
    151. ValiantValiant
    152. Wind ×2
    153. Converter
    154. Wind
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Wind ×4
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. Wind
    159. Converter
    160. Wind ×2
    161. ValiantValiant
    162. Wind
    163. ValiantValiant
    164. Con turret
    165. Wind ×2
    166. ValiantValiant
    167. Wind ×3
    168. Converter
    169. ValiantValiant
    170. Wind ×2
    171. ValiantValiant
    172. Wind ×3
    173. ValiantValiant
    174. Wind ×2
    175. Converter
    176. ValiantValiant
    177. Wind ×2
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is RitualMurder's (38 OS, 06/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:05 · in 98% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 66% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:45 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:19 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · 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

559 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145700
4:002052051
5:00276573102
6:003779124147
7:005128176219
8:007036220281
9:009352250341
10:0011841314464
11:0014395439635
12:0017109605955
13:00199329071256
14:002261913911819
15:002548920592748
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

RitualMurder

38.3 OS · 06/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
415 metal received · 50014 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:33 · n=559
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:23–7:27 · n=536
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:02–12:19 · n=338

Played most by

DRM35games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildAdeus28games of this buildNutzz25games of this buildhaaven24games of this build