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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 · 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 · 6 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Mex ×2
    3. Wind
    4. Mex
    5. Wind ×2
    6. 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 · 26 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    2. Wind ×2
    3. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    4. Wind
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. Con turret
    8. Mex
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. ShurikenShuriken
    11. Wind ×4
    12. Con turret
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Energy storage
    15. FinchFinch
    16. Converter
    17. FinchFinch
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Con turret
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    23. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    24. Converter
    25. Con turret
    26. Converter
  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 · 128 steps
    1. Converter ×3
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Converter
    4. FinchFinch
    5. Converter
    6. Wind
    7. FinchFinch
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Converter
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:10 · typical 6:54
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    15. Wind ×3
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. Wind
    22. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    25. Wind
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    27. Wind
    28. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    29. Wind
    30. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    31. Con turret
    32. ShurikenShuriken
    33. Wind
    34. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    35. Wind
    36. ShurikenShuriken
    37. Wind
    38. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    39. Wind
    40. ShurikenShuriken
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:08 · typical 10:52
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant ×2
    47. Wind ×2
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Con turret
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant ×2
    52. Wind
    53. ChainsawChainsaw
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant ×8
    59. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:17
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Con turret
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant ×2
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    75. Fusion ReactorFusion
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. T2 converter
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Wind ×3
    86. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    87. Wind ×3
    88. Con turret
    89. Wind
    90. Con turret
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. T2 converter
    94. Wind ×2
    95. Con turret
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Con turret
    99. Wind
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind
    102. Con turret
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 14:10
    106. Wind
    107. ValiantValiant ×2
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant ×2
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. Con turret
    113. ValiantValiant
    114. Wind
    115. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    116. Con turret
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Con turret
    119. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    120. Con turret
    121. Wind
    122. Con turret
    123. FinchFinch
    124. Wind
    125. FinchFinch
    126. Fusion ReactorFusion
    127. Con turret
    128. FinchFinch

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Cinnamon18's (33 OS, 21/09/2026); 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 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

Cinnamon18

32.7 OS · 21/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
69 metal received · 60887 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