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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 633 distinct matches · 123 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 48% of 707 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:24

  1. Take 3 mex and open wind before committing to aircraft plant.
  2. Finish aircraft plant to start churning scouts and transports.
  3. Send Hercules, Finch and Hephaestus to allies as they ask.
  4. Get your advanced metal extractor up to fund fighter spam.
  5. Bring fusion online and shift into Valiant fighter coverage.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 633 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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Mex
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:17 · 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 (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · 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 · 24 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. ShurikenShuriken
    7. Energy storage
    8. Wind
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. HerculesLight transport
    11. Con turret
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Mex
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant ×2
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant ×2
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    2. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (50%) · fusion (36%) · con aircraft (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 19 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 140 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ShurikenShuriken
    6. Converter
    7. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:15 · typical 6:50
    12. Converter
    13. Wind ×3
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×3
    16. Con turret
    17. Wind ×5
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Wind ×5
    22. Converter
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Wind
    25. Con turret
    26. Wind ×6
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind ×3
    29. Con turret
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Con turret
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. Solar
    39. Converter
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. Solar
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. Converter
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind ×4
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Con turret
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. Con turret
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Con turret
    63. Wind
    64. Con turret
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant ×2
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant ×3
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×3
    86. Wind
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind
    89. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    90. Wind
    91. Con turret
    92. ShurikenShuriken
    93. Con turret
    94. ShurikenShuriken
    95. Con turret
    96. ShurikenShuriken
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind
    99. ShurikenShuriken
    100. Con turret
    101. ShurikenShuriken
    102. Con turret
    103. ShurikenShuriken ×11
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Wind
    107. ValiantValiant ×2
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant ×3
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant ×14
    112. Wind ×3
    113. ValiantValiant ×2
    114. Wind
    115. ValiantValiant ×13
    116. Wind
    117. ValiantValiant ×3
    118. Wind
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiant
    122. ShurikenShuriken
    123. Wind
    124. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    125. Bot LabBot Labdone 13:41
    126. ShurikenShuriken
    127. HerculesLight transport ×3
    128. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    129. Wind
    130. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    131. ValiantValiant ×6
    132. Wind
    133. ValiantValiant ×2
    134. Construction BotCon bot
    135. ValiantValiant ×2
    136. Wind
    137. Construction BotCon bot
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Construction BotCon bot
    140. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Rysica's (37 OS, 05/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · 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 2:26 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 65% 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 95% 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

707 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002057051
5:00276873116
6:003751125167
7:005142190225
8:007010240292
9:009301263344
10:0011805340474
11:0014399440641
12:0017093607949
13:00199139491280
14:002269914671852
15:002558321432789
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard air sits below average team win rate at 48%, reflecting the role's support nature rather than kills.

  • + Aircraft plant lands fast at 1:24, enabling early transport and scout support.
  • − Own metal lost still reaches 2705 by 15:00 despite a support-first role.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Rysica

36.9 OS · 05/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
456 metal received · 46356 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=707
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:24–7:25 · n=681
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:53–12:08 · n=442

Played most by

DRM44games of this buildAdeus37games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort29games of this buildNutzz29games of this build