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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:08 · 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 · 29 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    6. Wind
    7. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. Wind
    10. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    11. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    12. Con turret
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Mex
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. Energy storage
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Con turret
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Converter
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2done 5:54 · typical 6:54
    29. ValiantValiant
  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 (47%) · 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 · 131 steps
    1. Converter
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Converter ×2
    4. ValiantValiant ×2
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Con turret
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind ×2
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant ×2
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind ×2
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind ×2
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Advanced solar
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind ×3
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Con turret
    44. Wind ×3
    45. Advanced solar
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind
    53. Con turret
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. FinchFinch
    57. Wind
    58. FinchFinch ×3
    59. T2 converter
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Con turret
    63. Wind ×3
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. Con turret ×2
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant ×3
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×3
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×2
    73. Wind
    74. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant ×2
    78. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:40
    79. Wind
    80. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    81. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:45 · typical 10:53
    82. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    83. Wind ×4
    84. T2 converter
    85. Wind ×4
    86. Con turret
    87. T2 converter
    88. Wind
    89. Con turret
    90. FalconFighter ×2
    91. Wind
    92. Con turret ×2
    93. Wind
    94. FalconFighter ×2
    95. Wind
    96. FalconFighter ×2
    97. Wind
    98. FalconFighter
    99. T2 converter
    100. FalconFighter
    101. StorkLight transportfor Beach sea
    102. FalconFighter
    103. Wind
    104. FalconFighter ×2
    105. Wind ×2
    106. FalconFighter ×4
    107. Wind
    108. FalconFighter ×3
    109. Wind
    110. FalconFighter ×4
    111. Wind
    112. FalconFighter
    113. Con turret
    114. FalconFighter
    115. Con turret
    116. Wind
    117. FalconFighter ×2
    118. Con turret
    119. FalconFighter ×2
    120. Wind
    121. FalconFighter
    122. Pit BullPit Bull
    123. FalconFighter
    124. BansheeBanshee
    125. Wind
    126. BansheeBanshee ×2
    127. Wind
    128. SentrySentry
    129. BansheeBanshee ×2
    130. Wind
    131. BansheeBanshee ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Vaticineur's (32 OS, 13/10/2026); 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 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

1811 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
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

Vaticineur

32.4 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

10 received units · includes a constructor
150 metal received · 40319 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build