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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 501 distinct matches · 111 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 559 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 501 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 ~1:22, middle half 1:13–1:33

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · typical 1:22
  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
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · con turret (31%)

    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 · 23 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    5. Solar
    6. Wind ×2
    7. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    8. Wind
    9. Solar
    10. FinchFinch ×3for Beach sea
    11. HerculesLight transport
    12. FinchFinch
    13. HerculesLight transport
    14. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    15. Mex
    16. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    17. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    18. Con turret
    19. Con turret
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind ×2
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (33%) · 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 · 204 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Con turret
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. HerculesLight transport
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Wind
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:55 · typical 6:50
    33. Wind
    34. Wind ×2
    35. Wind
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Wind
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind ×3
    40. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:23
    41. Wind
    42. Wind
    43. Wind
    44. ShurikenShuriken
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken
    47. Wind
    48. ShurikenShuriken
    49. Wind
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. FinchFinch
    52. Wind
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    54. Wind
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    57. Wind
    58. Wind ×2
    59. Con turret
    60. Wind
    61. Wind
    62. Converter
    63. Wind
    64. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    65. Converter
    66. Wind
    67. Con turret
    68. Converter
    69. Wind
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Converter
    73. Wind
    74. Con turret
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. Con turret
    78. Wind
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Converter
    82. Wind
    83. Wind
    84. Con turret
    85. Converter
    86. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:55 · typical 10:56
    87. Converter
    88. Wind
    89. Wind
    90. Converter
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Con turret
    93. Wind ×2
    94. Wind
    95. Wind
    96. Wind
    97. Wind
    98. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    99. Con turret
    100. Wind
    101. Wind
    102. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    103. Wind
    104. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    105. Wind
    106. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    107. Wind
    108. Wind
    109. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    110. Wind
    111. Wind
    112. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    113. Wind
    114. Wind
    115. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    116. Wind ×2
    117. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    118. Wind
    119. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    120. Wind
    121. Wind
    122. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    123. Wind
    124. Wind
    125. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    126. ValiantValiant ×2
    127. Wind
    128. Wind
    129. ValiantValiant ×2
    130. Wind
    131. ValiantValiant ×2
    132. Wind ×2
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Wind
    135. ValiantValiant ×2
    136. Wind
    137. ValiantValiant
    138. Wind
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant ×2
    142. Wind
    143. ValiantValiant ×2
    144. Wind
    145. ValiantValiant ×2
    146. Wind
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. ShurikenShuriken
    150. Wind ×2
    151. Wind
    152. Wind ×4
    153. ShurikenShuriken
    154. Wind
    155. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    156. Wind
    157. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    158. Wind
    159. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    160. Wind
    161. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    162. Wind
    163. ShurikenShuriken
    164. Wind
    165. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    166. Wind
    167. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    168. Wind
    169. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    170. Wind
    171. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    172. Wind
    173. ValiantValiant
    174. Wind
    175. ValiantValiant ×3
    176. Wind
    177. Wind
    178. Fusion ReactorFusion
    179. ValiantValiant ×2
    180. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    181. Wind
    182. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    183. Wind
    184. Converter
    185. Wind
    186. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    187. Wind
    188. ValiantValiant
    189. Wind
    190. ValiantValiant
    191. Wind
    192. ValiantValiant
    193. Wind
    194. ValiantValiant
    195. Converter
    196. Wind
    197. ValiantValiant
    198. Wind
    199. ValiantValiant ×3
    200. Wind
    201. Wind
    202. ValiantValiant
    203. Converter
    204. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Gieds's (48 OS, 20/09/2026); 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 Geofirst at 2:05 · in 98% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 66% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:45 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:19 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · in 94% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

559 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145700
4:002052051
5:00276573102
6:003779124147
7:005128176219
8:007036220281
9:009352250341
10:0011841314464
11:0014395439635
12:0017109605955
13:00199329071256
14:002261913911819
15:002548920592748
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Gieds

48.0 OS · 20/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
523 metal received · 9329 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:33 · n=559
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:23–7:27 · n=536
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:02–12:19 · n=338

Played most by

DRM35games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildAdeus28games of this buildNutzz25games of this buildhaaven24games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas