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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 · 1496 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1799 · 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 1496 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 ×6
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:30 · 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 · 20 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×3
    6. HerculesLight transport
    7. Wind ×2
    8. ValiantValiant ×3
    9. Wind ×4
    10. FinchFinch
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Wind ×2
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. Mex
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant ×2
    19. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    20. ValiantValiant ×3
  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 (48%) · 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 · 61 steps
    1. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    2. Con turret
    3. ValiantValiant ×2
    4. Con turret
    5. Wind ×2
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. Wind
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:19 · typical 6:54
    36. HerculesLight transport
    37. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    39. Con turret ×3
    40. Fusion ReactorFusion ×2done 11:04 · typical 10:53
    41. Converter ×3
    42. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    43. Converter
    44. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    45. Converter
    46. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 13:52
    47. Converter ×4
    48. Fusion ReactorFusion
    49. Converter
    50. NighthawkNighthawk
    51. Con turret
    52. SkyhookHeavy transportfor Geo sea
    53. Con turret
    54. Converter
    55. Con turret ×2
    56. NighthawkNighthawk
    57. Con turret
    58. Converter
    59. Con turret
    60. NighthawkNighthawk
    61. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is BigJohnny2's (32 OS, 06/10/2026); 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 2:23 · in 72% 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 2:23 · 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

1799 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
6:003705102124
7:005088146167
8:006898190219
9:009278232270
10:0011753292384
11:0014351373538
12:0017061513781
13:00198507811102
14:002270012641689
15:002570818042405
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

BigJohnny2

32.0 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
257 metal received · 4130 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=1799
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1740
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1151

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build