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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 598 distinct matches · 119 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 671 · 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 598 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 ~1:24, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    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 1:08 · typical 1:24
  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
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    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. FinchFinch
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Suicide front
    5. Wind
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Con turret
    13. Mex
    14. Con turret
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind ×3
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Energy storage
    24. Wind ×7
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • 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 (35%) · fusion (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 · 114 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Converter
    6. Wind
    7. Converter
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Converter ×2
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:23 · typical 6:48
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret
    22. Wind
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    28. Con turret
    29. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:05 · typical 10:55
    30. Con turret ×5
    31. T2 converter
    32. Wind
    33. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:30
    34. Wind ×2
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant ×2
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant ×2
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant ×2
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant ×2
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Wind
    47. Con turret
    48. ValiantValiant ×2
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant ×2
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant ×2
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant ×2
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant ×2
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Wind
    59. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    60. Wind
    61. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    62. Wind
    63. ShurikenShuriken
    64. Con turret
    65. Wind
    66. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    67. Wind
    68. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    69. Wind
    70. ShurikenShuriken
    71. Wind
    72. ShurikenShuriken
    73. Wind
    74. ShurikenShuriken
    75. Wind
    76. ShurikenShuriken
    77. Wind
    78. ShurikenShuriken
    79. Wind
    80. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    81. Wind
    82. ShurikenShuriken
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×2
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant ×2
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant ×11
    90. Wind
    91. ValiantValiant ×11
    92. Wind
    93. ValiantValiant ×9
    94. Con turret
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Con turret
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Con turret
    100. ValiantValiant ×12
    101. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    102. ValiantValiant ×17
    103. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    104. ValiantValiant ×16
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    108. ValiantValiant ×5
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant ×14
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant ×10
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant ×5

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SkyFireEX's (39 OS, 04/10/2026); 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 2:25 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 49% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · 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

671 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002054051
5:00276673116
6:003772125167
7:005147190224
8:007026240292
9:009354263343
10:0011850338467
11:0014411439631
12:0017116585949
13:00199489191276
14:002269914241819
15:002558820892709
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

SkyFireEX

38.5 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
580 metal received · 96554 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:24Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=671
Advanced Metal Extractor6:48Middle 50%: 6:22–7:25 · n=645
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 9:53–12:11 · n=413

Played most by

DRM39games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort28games of this buildNutzz28games of this build