BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

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 · 555 distinct matches · 116 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 624 · 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 555 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 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:03 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 1:29 · 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
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    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 · 23 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. Wind ×2
    4. ShurikenShuriken
    5. Wind ×2
    6. ShurikenShuriken
    7. Wind
    8. FinchFinch
    9. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    11. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    13. HerculesLight transport
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    15. Mex
    16. ValiantValiant ×3
    17. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    20. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    21. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant ×2
  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 · 82 steps
    1. ValiantValiant
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:48 · typical 6:50
    7. ValiantValiant ×2
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant ×2
    10. Wind
    11. Con turret ×2
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Wind
    18. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:03
    19. Wind ×3
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Con turret ×2
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    29. Con turret
    30. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    31. Wind
    32. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    33. Wind
    34. ShurikenShuriken
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind ×2
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind ×6
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind ×2
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:37 · typical 10:56
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant ×2
    47. Wind
    48. ValiantValiant ×2
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. FinchFinch ×3
    52. Wind
    53. FinchFinch ×3
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Fusion ReactorFusion
    57. ValiantValiant ×3
    58. ShurikenShuriken ×8
    59. ValiantValiant ×2
    60. T2 converter
    61. Converter
    62. Con turret
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Con turret
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Con turret
    67. ValiantValiant ×3
    68. Con turret
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Con turret
    71. ValiantValiant ×2
    72. Con turret
    73. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    74. Con turret
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Con turret
    77. Fusion ReactorFusion
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Con turret ×3
    80. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    81. Con turret ×3
    82. ValiantValiant ×7

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is PrepareUrAfus's (46 OS, 12/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:40 · in 64% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · 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

624 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002053051
5:00276573109
6:003759125167
7:005136190219
8:007017225290
9:009298258342
10:0011788328471
11:0014383440641
12:0017097606958
13:00199439331269
14:002265314171801
15:002554320602701
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

PrepareUrAfus

45.5 OS · 12/09/2026

Open source match ↗

10 received units · includes a constructor
337 metal received · 30818 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=624
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=599
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=383

Played most by

DRM37games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build