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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:16 · 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 · 25 steps
    1. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. Solar
    6. FinchFinchfor Geo
    7. Wind ×2
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Geo
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    12. Wind
    13. Mex
    14. ValiantValiant ×2
    15. Wind
    16. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    17. Energy storage
    18. Wind
    19. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind
    22. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. HerculesLight transport
  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 · 135 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind ×3
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind ×2
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind ×2
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:01 · typical 6:54
    20. Wind ×2
    21. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    22. Wind ×3
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Wind ×4
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Con turret
    28. Wind
    29. Con turret
    30. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:21 · typical 10:52
    31. Wind
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    33. Wind ×3
    34. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:18
    35. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Front
    36. Wind
    37. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    41. Con turret
    42. Wind
    43. Con turret
    44. Fusion ReactorFusion
    45. Wind
    46. Con turret
    47. Wind
    48. Converter ×2
    49. Wind
    50. Converter
    51. Wind
    52. Converter
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. Wind
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 12:48
    59. Wind
    60. Converter
    61. Wind ×2
    62. Converter
    63. Wind ×2
    64. Converter
    65. Wind ×2
    66. Converter
    67. Wind ×2
    68. Converter
    69. Wind
    70. Converter
    71. Con turret
    72. NighthawkNighthawk
    73. Wind
    74. Con turret
    75. Converter ×2
    76. Wind
    77. Converter
    78. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    79. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    80. Wind
    81. NighthawkNighthawk
    82. Con turret
    83. Converter
    84. Con turret
    85. Wind
    86. Con turret
    87. Wind
    88. Con turret
    89. NighthawkNighthawk
    90. Converter
    91. NighthawkNighthawk
    92. Wind
    93. NighthawkNighthawk
    94. Con turret
    95. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    96. Con turret
    97. Wind
    98. NighthawkNighthawk
    99. Converter
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind
    102. NighthawkNighthawk
    103. Converter
    104. Wind
    105. NighthawkNighthawk
    106. Wind
    107. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    108. Wind
    109. NighthawkNighthawk
    110. Wind
    111. Converter
    112. NighthawkNighthawk
    113. Wind
    114. NighthawkNighthawk
    115. Wind
    116. Converter
    117. NighthawkNighthawk
    118. Wind
    119. NighthawkNighthawk
    120. Con turret
    121. Wind
    122. Con turret
    123. NighthawkNighthawk
    124. Converter
    125. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    126. Converter
    127. Wind
    128. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    129. Wind
    130. Converter
    131. NighthawkNighthawk
    132. Wind
    133. NighthawkNighthawk
    134. Converter
    135. NighthawkNighthawk ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is DRM's (43 OS, 14/10/2026); 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

DRM

42.6 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
1038 metal received · 11655 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