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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Tregan's (38 OS, 23/09/2026); 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

Tregan

37.8 OS · 23/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
217 metal received · 77026 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