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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 · 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 · 6 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Mex
    4. Wind ×3
    5. Energy storage
    6. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:28 · 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 · 40 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. FinchFinch
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. Mex
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    13. Con turret ×2
    14. ValiantValiant ×2
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Converter
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    25. Wind ×2
    26. FinchFinch
    27. Wind ×3
    28. FinchFinch
    29. Wind
    30. ShurikenShuriken
    31. Wind
    32. ShurikenShuriken
    33. Wind
    34. ShurikenShuriken
    35. FinchFinch
    36. Wind
    37. FinchFinch
    38. Wind
    39. Converter
    40. Wind ×2
  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 · 265 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Converter
    5. Wind ×2
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Geo sea
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Con turret
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. HerculesLight transport
    14. Wind ×3
    15. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    16. Wind ×8
    17. Con turret ×2
    18. Wind ×5
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:35 · typical 6:54
    20. Wind
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. Converter
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Converter
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Converter
    27. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:28
    28. Con turret ×2
    29. Construction BotCon bot
    30. Con turret
    31. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    32. Wind
    33. Construction BotCon bot
    34. Wind ×2
    35. Construction BotCon bot
    36. Wind
    37. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:13
    38. Wind ×6
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind ×2
    41. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    42. Wind
    43. Converter ×2
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind ×2
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Wind
    50. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    51. Converter
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    54. Wind ×3
    55. Con turret
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind ×3
    62. Advanced solar
    63. Wind
    64. Converter
    65. Wind
    66. Con turret
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Converter
    69. Wind ×4
    70. Converter
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret
    73. Wind
    74. Advanced solar
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. Wind ×3
    78. ShurikenShuriken
    79. Converter
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Converter
    82. Wind ×2
    83. ShurikenShuriken
    84. Converter
    85. Wind
    86. ShurikenShuriken
    87. Wind ×2
    88. ShurikenShuriken
    89. Converter
    90. Wind
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind ×2
    93. Converter
    94. Wind
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Wind ×4
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Converter ×2
    99. Wind ×3
    100. Converter
    101. Advanced solar
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. Converter
    105. Wind
    106. Converter
    107. Wind ×3
    108. Converter
    109. Wind
    110. Converter
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. Converter
    115. Wind ×2
    116. Converter
    117. Wind ×2
    118. Converter
    119. Advanced solar
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiant
    122. Wind
    123. Converter
    124. Wind
    125. Converter
    126. Wind ×3
    127. Converter
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind
    130. Converter
    131. Wind ×2
    132. Converter
    133. Wind ×2
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. Converter
    136. Wind
    137. Converter
    138. ValiantValiant
    139. Wind ×2
    140. Converter
    141. ValiantValiant
    142. Wind ×2
    143. Converter
    144. Wind
    145. ValiantValiant
    146. Wind ×3
    147. Converter
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Wind
    150. Converter
    151. Wind ×2
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Converter
    154. Wind
    155. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    156. Wind
    157. Converter
    158. Wind ×2
    159. ValiantValiant
    160. Wind
    161. Converter
    162. Wind ×2
    163. ValiantValiant
    164. Wind
    165. ValiantValiant
    166. Wind ×3
    167. ValiantValiant
    168. Wind
    169. Converter
    170. ValiantValiant
    171. Wind
    172. Converter
    173. Wind
    174. ValiantValiant
    175. Wind
    176. Con turret
    177. Wind
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. Converter
    180. Wind ×4
    181. ValiantValiant
    182. Advanced solar
    183. Converter
    184. Wind
    185. Converter
    186. Wind ×2
    187. ValiantValiant
    188. Wind ×2
    189. Converter ×2
    190. Wind ×3
    191. ValiantValiant
    192. Wind
    193. Con turret
    194. Wind
    195. ValiantValiant
    196. Wind
    197. Con turret
    198. Wind ×2
    199. Converter
    200. Advanced solar
    201. Wind ×2
    202. ValiantValiant
    203. Wind ×2
    204. Converter
    205. ValiantValiant
    206. Wind ×4
    207. Converter
    208. ValiantValiant
    209. Wind ×3
    210. Advanced solar
    211. ValiantValiant
    212. Converter
    213. Wind ×4
    214. ValiantValiant
    215. Wind ×2
    216. Converter
    217. ValiantValiant
    218. Wind ×3
    219. ValiantValiant
    220. Advanced solar
    221. Wind ×2
    222. Converter
    223. ValiantValiant
    224. Wind ×4
    225. ValiantValiant
    226. Wind ×2
    227. ValiantValiant
    228. Converter
    229. Wind ×2
    230. ValiantValiant
    231. Wind ×2
    232. ValiantValiant ×2
    233. Wind ×3
    234. ValiantValiant
    235. Wind ×3
    236. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    237. Converter
    238. Wind ×2
    239. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    240. Wind ×4
    241. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    242. Converter
    243. Wind
    244. Mex
    245. Wind
    246. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    247. Wind ×5
    248. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    249. Wind ×4
    250. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    251. Wind
    252. Mex
    253. Converter
    254. Wind ×2
    255. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    256. Converter
    257. Wind ×3
    258. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    259. Wind ×2
    260. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    261. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    262. Converter
    263. Wind ×3
    264. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    265. Wind ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is bob7's (30 OS, 05/09/2026); 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 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

bob7

30.1 OS · 05/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
1383 metal received · 41769 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
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas