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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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 ×8
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:39 · 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 · 17 steps
    1. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    4. ValiantValiant ×2
    5. Mex
    6. ValiantValiant ×6
    7. Con turret ×2
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Wind ×2
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. 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 · 76 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:13 · typical 6:54
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind ×3
    7. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    8. Wind
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:35
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant ×3
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant ×2
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant ×3
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant ×3
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind
    43. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant ×2
    46. Con turret
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:05 · typical 10:53
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant ×3
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Con turret
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    58. Fusion ReactorFusion
    59. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    60. Wind
    61. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    62. Wind
    63. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. ShurikenShuriken
    67. ValiantValiant ×4
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant ×2
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant ×2
    72. Wind
    73. ValiantValiant ×3
    74. Wind
    75. CitadelAnti-nukenot finished by 15:00
    76. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is DouglasBacon's (31 OS, 05/09/2026); 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 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

1811 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
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

DouglasBacon

31.0 OS · 05/09/2026

Open source match ↗

17 received units · includes a constructor
2080 metal received · 18244 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build