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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 · 1480 distinct matches · 250 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1783 · 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 1480 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 ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:16 · 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 · 24 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. Wind ×4
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. FinchFinch
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Mex
    13. ValiantValiant ×2
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiant ×2
    19. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind
    22. Con turret
    23. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    24. 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 (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 · 133 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    2. Wind
    3. ShurikenShuriken
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant ×3
    7. Converter
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Converter ×2
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:44 · typical 6:54
    14. Converter ×2
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Converter ×2
    18. Wind
    19. Converter ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Converter ×2
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    25. ValiantValiant ×2
    26. Wind
    27. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. ValiantValiant ×2
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant ×2
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Con turret ×2
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Con turret ×3
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind
    48. Con turret
    49. Wind ×2
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Con turret
    54. Wind
    55. Con turret
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. Con turret
    60. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:26 · typical 10:53
    61. Wind ×2
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind
    64. Con turret
    65. Wind ×2
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind ×3
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind ×2
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Converter
    72. Wind ×2
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind ×3
    75. ValiantValiant ×2
    76. Wind
    77. Converter
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. HerculesLight transport
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant ×2
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Converter
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Converter
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×2
    93. Converter
    94. Wind
    95. ValiantValiant ×2
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant ×2
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant ×5
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant ×2
    102. Wind
    103. ValiantValiant ×3
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant ×3
    106. Wind
    107. ValiantValiant ×3
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant ×2
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    113. FinchFinch ×2
    114. Wind
    115. FinchFinch
    116. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    117. Wind
    118. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    119. Wind
    120. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    121. Wind
    122. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    123. Wind
    124. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    125. Wind
    126. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×4
    127. Wind
    128. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    129. Wind
    130. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    131. Wind
    132. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    133. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Ecky9's (31 OS, 14/09/2026); 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

1783 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
6:003715102124
7:005089146167
8:006904190219
9:009291230271
10:0011771292384
11:0014395373538
12:0017078517781
13:00198597811115
14:002270012691689
15:002572918312440
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

Ecky9

31.3 OS · 14/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
114 metal received · 68616 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=1783
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1724
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1143

Played most by

TheGeneraI112games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build