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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 · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:34 · 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 · 32 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    2. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    3. Con turret
    4. Wind
    5. FinchFinch
    6. Wind
    7. FinchFinch
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. Mex
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind ×2
    15. ValiantValiant ×2
    16. Con turret
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. Metal storage
    20. Wind
    21. Wind
    22. Wind
    23. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Wind ×3
    27. Wind
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Con turret
  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 · 155 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 5:38
    13. Wind
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind
    16. HerculesLight transport
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Converter
    26. Wind
    27. Converter ×2
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Converter
    30. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:03 · typical 6:54
    31. Converter
    32. Wind
    33. Converter
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. Converter
    37. Wind ×3
    38. Con turret
    39. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:44
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. Wind
    42. ShurikenShuriken
    43. Wind
    44. ShurikenShuriken
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    47. Wind
    48. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    49. Wind
    50. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    51. Wind
    52. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    53. Wind
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    56. Wind
    57. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant ×2
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant ×2
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant ×2
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind ×8
    73. Con turret
    74. FinchFinch
    75. Con turret
    76. Wind
    77. FinchFinch
    78. Con turret
    79. Wind
    80. FinchFinch ×2
    81. Wind
    82. FinchFinch
    83. Wind
    84. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:30 · typical 10:52
    85. Wind ×3
    86. Con turret ×3
    87. Wind
    88. Con turret
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×5
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant ×3
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant ×3
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×3
    99. Wind
    100. Con turret
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. T2 converter
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Con turret
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Wind
    107. ShurikenShuriken
    108. Con turret
    109. Wind
    110. ShurikenShuriken
    111. Con turret
    112. Wind
    113. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    114. Con turret
    115. ShurikenShuriken
    116. Wind
    117. Con turret
    118. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    119. Con turret
    120. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    121. Con turret
    122. Wind
    123. ShurikenShuriken ×9
    124. T2 converter
    125. ShurikenShuriken
    126. ValiantValiant ×3
    127. Con turret
    128. ValiantValiant ×4
    129. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×6
    130. Wind
    131. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    132. Wind
    133. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    134. Wind
    135. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    136. Wind
    137. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    138. Wind
    139. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant ×2
    142. GuardGuard
    143. ValiantValiant
    144. Wind
    145. ValiantValiant ×4
    146. Wind
    147. ValiantValiant ×2
    148. GuardGuard
    149. ValiantValiant ×2
    150. Wind
    151. ValiantValiant ×4
    152. Wind
    153. ValiantValiant ×3
    154. Wind
    155. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Cookie]CottonBuds's (30 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 71% 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 2:22 · 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

1813 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
6:003711102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

[Cookie]CottonBuds

30.4 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
1453 metal received · 42404 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas