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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×8
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:37 · 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 · 20 steps
    1. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    3. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    4. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Mex
    9. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. ValiantValiant ×3
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Energy storage
    15. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    16. Wind ×3
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind ×2
    19. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    20. 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 · 74 steps
    1. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:55 · typical 6:54
    2. Con turret
    3. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    4. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 6:46
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    7. HerculesLight transport ×2
    8. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    9. ValiantValiant ×4
    10. ValiantValiant ×15for Tech
    11. HerculesLight transport
    12. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    15. Con turret
    16. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    19. Con turret
    20. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    21. CitadelAnti-nukedone 10:59
    22. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    23. Wind ×3
    24. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    25. Wind
    26. TracerTracer
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Wind ×3
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. Wind
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. Wind
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. Wind ×2
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Wind
    47. Wind
    48. Wind
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind
    52. Wind
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    56. Wind
    57. Wind
    58. Wind ×3
    59. Wind
    60. Wind
    61. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    62. Wind
    63. Wind
    64. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:04 · typical 10:52
    65. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    66. Wind ×2
    67. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    68. Fusion ReactorFusion
    69. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    70. Wind
    71. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    72. Wind
    73. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    74. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is DouglasBacon's (31 OS, 16/09/2026); 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 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

DouglasBacon

31.2 OS · 16/09/2026

Open source match ↗

10 received units · includes a constructor
32 metal received · 78593 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