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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Solar
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 0:51 · 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. Solar
    2. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo
    3. Solar
    4. ShurikenShuriken
    5. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    6. Mex
    7. Wind
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    9. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    10. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    11. Wind
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. Con turret
    14. Con turret
    15. Energy storage
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. Con turret
    19. Mex
    20. Wind ×2
    21. Wind
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind
  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 · 148 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. Wind
    5. Wind ×3
    6. Wind
    7. Con turret
    8. Converter
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Con turret
    11. Converter
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ShurikenShuriken
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:41 · typical 6:54
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    21. Converter
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Converter
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. Wind
    29. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    30. Wind
    31. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:31
    32. Wind ×5
    33. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    34. Wind ×2
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. FinchFinch
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. FinchFinch ×2
    41. Wind
    42. Con turret
    43. Wind ×2
    44. Converter ×2
    45. ShurikenShuriken
    46. Converter
    47. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    48. Converter
    49. Wind
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Wind
    52. Converter
    53. ShurikenShuriken
    54. Advanced solar
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. Advanced solar
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind ×2
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Advanced solar
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    67. Converter
    68. Wind ×2
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind ×2
    71. Converter
    72. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    73. Wind ×2
    74. Converter
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    76. Wind
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant ×2
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Converter
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×2
    86. Converter
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind ×2
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. Converter
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind
    93. ShurikenShuriken
    94. Converter
    95. Wind
    96. ShurikenShuriken
    97. Advanced solar
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Converter
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant ×2
    102. Advanced solar
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Advanced solar
    107. Wind
    108. WhirlwindWhirlwindfor Geo
    109. Wind
    110. WhirlwindWhirlwindfor Geo
    111. Wind ×2
    112. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2for Geo
    113. Wind
    114. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2for Geo
    115. Wind
    116. WhirlwindWhirlwindfor Geo
    117. Wind
    118. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3for Geo
    119. ValiantValiant ×6
    120. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:15 · typical 10:52
    121. ValiantValiant ×3
    122. Wind
    123. ValiantValiant
    124. Wind ×2
    125. ValiantValiant
    126. Wind ×3
    127. WhirlwindWhirlwindfor Geo
    128. Wind ×2
    129. Con turret
    130. Advanced solar
    131. Wind
    132. WhirlwindWhirlwindfor Geo
    133. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    134. Wind
    135. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Wind
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Wind
    140. ValiantValiant ×4
    141. Wind ×2
    142. ValiantValiant ×3
    143. Wind
    144. ValiantValiant ×4
    145. Wind ×2
    146. ValiantValiant ×3
    147. Wind
    148. ValiantValiant ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Milkdragon's (31 OS, 26/09/2026); 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

Milkdragon

31.1 OS · 26/09/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
392 metal received · 12701 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