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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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:31 · 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. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    2. HerculesLight transport ×2for Beach sea
    3. HephaestusHeavy transport
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Mex
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. Con turret
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Converter
    16. Wind ×3
    17. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Converter
    24. Wind ×4
    25. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 5:09
  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 · 269 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:54 · typical 6:54
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    11. Con turret
    12. Bot LabBot Labdone 6:55
    13. Construction BotCon bot ×7
    14. Wind
    15. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Construction BotCon bot
    18. Wind ×4
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    22. Wind ×5
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:25
    26. Wind ×6
    27. ValiantValiant ×2
    28. Wind ×3
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant ×2
    32. Wind
    33. Con turret
    34. Converter
    35. Wind ×4
    36. Con turret
    37. Wind
    38. Con turret
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind ×3
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Converter
    44. Con turret
    45. Wind ×4
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Converter
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant ×2
    50. Converter
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind ×4
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Con turret
    56. Converter
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind ×3
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Converter
    65. Wind ×3
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind ×2
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Converter
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Wind ×3
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind ×2
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Converter
    76. ValiantValiant ×2
    77. Con turret
    78. Wind ×4
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. ShurikenShuriken
    84. Wind
    85. ShurikenShuriken
    86. Wind ×2
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind ×2
    89. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    90. Converter
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind ×2
    93. ShurikenShuriken
    94. Wind
    95. ShurikenShuriken
    96. Wind ×2
    97. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    98. Converter
    99. ShurikenShuriken
    100. Wind ×2
    101. ShurikenShuriken
    102. Wind
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Wind ×2
    105. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    106. Wind
    107. ShurikenShuriken
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind ×2
    110. Converter
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. Wind ×2
    113. ValiantValiant ×3
    114. Wind ×3
    115. ValiantValiant ×2
    116. Wind ×2
    117. ValiantValiant ×3
    118. Wind
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind ×2
    121. ValiantValiant
    122. Converter
    123. Wind ×2
    124. ValiantValiant ×3
    125. Wind ×2
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Converter
    130. Wind ×2
    131. ValiantValiant ×2
    132. Wind
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Converter
    135. Wind ×2
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Wind ×2
    138. ValiantValiant
    139. Converter
    140. ValiantValiant
    141. Wind ×2
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Wind ×2
    144. ValiantValiant
    145. Converter
    146. Wind
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Converter
    151. Wind
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Wind ×3
    154. ValiantValiant
    155. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    156. Wind
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. Converter
    159. Wind ×2
    160. ValiantValiant
    161. Wind ×2
    162. ValiantValiant ×2
    163. Converter
    164. Wind
    165. ValiantValiant
    166. Wind ×2
    167. ValiantValiant
    168. Wind
    169. Converter
    170. Wind
    171. ValiantValiant ×2
    172. Wind
    173. ValiantValiant
    174. Converter
    175. Wind ×2
    176. ValiantValiant ×2
    177. Wind ×2
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. Converter
    180. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    181. Wind ×3
    182. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    183. Converter
    184. Wind ×2
    185. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    186. Wind
    187. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    188. Wind ×2
    189. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    190. Converter
    191. Wind ×2
    192. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    193. Wind
    194. Converter
    195. Wind
    196. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    197. Wind ×3
    198. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    199. Converter
    200. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    201. Wind ×3
    202. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    203. Con turret
    204. Converter
    205. Hardened Energy Storage
    206. Wind ×2
    207. Con turret
    208. Converter
    209. Wind ×5
    210. Converter
    211. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    212. Wind
    213. Converter
    214. Wind ×4
    215. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    216. Converter
    217. Wind ×2
    218. Converter
    219. Wind ×3
    220. CitadelAnti-nukedone 14:14
    221. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    222. Converter
    223. Wind ×3
    224. Converter ×2
    225. Wind ×2
    226. Converter
    227. Wind ×3
    228. Converter
    229. Wind ×2
    230. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    231. Converter
    232. Wind ×5
    233. Converter
    234. Wind
    235. T2 converter
    236. Wind
    237. Converter
    238. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    239. Wind
    240. Converter
    241. Wind ×2
    242. ValiantValiant
    243. Converter
    244. ValiantValiant
    245. Wind ×3
    246. ValiantValiant
    247. Converter
    248. Wind ×2
    249. ValiantValiant
    250. Converter
    251. Wind ×2
    252. ValiantValiant
    253. Wind ×2
    254. ValiantValiant
    255. Converter
    256. Wind
    257. T2 converter
    258. ValiantValiant
    259. Converter
    260. ValiantValiant
    261. Wind ×3
    262. Converter
    263. ValiantValiant
    264. Wind ×2
    265. ValiantValiant
    266. Wind
    267. Converter
    268. Wind ×2
    269. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is zimt's (31 OS, 25/08/2026); 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

zimt

31.2 OS · 25/08/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
923 metal received · 73622 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