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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 · 1486 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1790 · 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 1486 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 (41%)

    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 Geo sea
    2. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    3. ShurikenShuriken
    4. Wind ×2
    5. ShurikenShuriken
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. Con turret
    9. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    10. Mex
    11. FinchFinchfor Geo
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. Wind
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Converter
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    24. Wind
    25. 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 (48%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 82 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4done 5:37
    8. Bot LabBot Labdone 6:34
    9. Construction BotCon bot ×5
    10. Wind
    11. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    12. Wind
    13. Construction BotCon bot
    14. Wind
    15. Construction BotCon bot
    16. Wind
    17. Construction BotCon bot
    18. Wind ×7
    19. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    20. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:03
    21. Wind ×5
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind ×6
    26. Con turret
    27. Wind ×3
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. Con turret
    33. Wind ×5
    34. Con turret
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. Con turret
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Con turret
    42. Wind ×4
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. Wind ×2
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind ×2
    48. FinchFinch
    49. Wind ×2
    50. Con turret
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind ×3
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind ×2
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind ×5
    58. HerculesLight transport
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind ×3
    62. Converter
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind ×2
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind ×2
    67. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    68. Wind ×3
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind ×2
    73. Converter
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind ×2
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind

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 1:51 · 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 47% 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

1790 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027635173
6:003712102124
7:005087146167
8:006902190219
9:009285231273
10:0011760292386
11:0014377374540
12:0017071517781
13:00198517811112
14:002267412691690
15:002569318242435
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 ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
379 metal received · 47262 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=1790
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1731
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1146

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build