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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 · 1496 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1799 · 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 1496 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 ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:09 · 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 · 27 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    2. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. FinchFinch
    8. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    13. Wind
    14. Mex
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind ×4
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Con turret
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Energy storage
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    26. FinchFinch
    27. 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 · 25 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 124 steps
    1. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:36 · typical 6:54
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Wind
    9. Wind ×4
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    13. Con turret
    14. ShurikenShuriken
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    16. HerculesLight transport
    17. Con turret
    18. Wind
    19. HerculesLight transport
    20. Wind
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. Wind
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Wind
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. Wind ×2
    31. Wind
    32. Con turret ×2
    33. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    34. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:58 · typical 10:53
    35. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    36. Converter
    37. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    38. Wind
    39. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    40. Wind ×3
    41. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    42. T2 converter
    43. Converter
    44. Wind ×2
    45. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    46. Wind ×6
    47. Con turret
    48. Wind ×2
    49. T2 converter
    50. Wind
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind ×3
    53. Con turret ×2
    54. Wind ×7
    55. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:57
    56. Wind ×3
    57. Fusion ReactorFusion
    58. Wind ×3
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind ×2
    61. ShurikenShuriken
    62. Wind ×2
    63. ShurikenShuriken
    64. Wind
    65. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    66. T2 converter
    67. ShurikenShuriken
    68. Wind
    69. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×2
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant ×2
    75. Wind ×3
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant ×3
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant ×3
    81. Wind
    82. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    83. Wind
    84. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    85. Wind
    86. ShurikenShuriken
    87. Wind
    88. ShurikenShuriken
    89. Wind ×2
    90. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    91. Wind
    92. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    93. Wind
    94. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind ×2
    98. ValiantValiant ×2
    99. Wind ×2
    100. Con turret
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Wind ×2
    103. Con turret ×2
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind
    106. Con turret
    107. Wind
    108. Con turret
    109. ValiantValiant
    110. Con turret
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Con turret
    114. T2 converter
    115. Wind
    116. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 14:48
    117. Wind
    118. Con turret
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind
    122. Con turret
    123. Wind ×2
    124. Con turret ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is gy0h6y's (33 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 2:23 · 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

1799 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
6:003705102124
7:005088146167
8:006898190219
9:009278232270
10:0011753292384
11:0014351373538
12:0017061513781
13:00198507811102
14:002270012641689
15:002570818042405
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

gy0h6y

33.0 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
158 metal received · 41622 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=1799
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1740
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1151

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build