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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 · 1529 distinct matches · 254 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1836 · 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 1529 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×5
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:34 · 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 · 30 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. ValiantValiant ×3
    8. Mex
    9. Con turret
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. Wind
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind ×2
    19. HerculesLight transport
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Wind
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. Con turret
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
  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 (34%) · 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 · 123 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:05 · typical 6:54
    7. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    8. Wind
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:18
    14. Wind ×2
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:44 · typical 10:52
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind ×2
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    31. Wind ×3
    32. Converter
    33. Wind
    34. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:02
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant ×2
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant ×2
    41. Wind
    42. Converter
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Con turret
    47. CitadelAnti-nukedone 10:34
    48. Con turret
    49. Wind
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind ×2
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Con turret
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Con turret ×2
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Con turret
    59. Cloakable Fusion ReactorCloakable Fusion Reactordone 12:33
    60. ValiantValiant ×2
    61. Con turret
    62. ValiantValiant ×10
    63. Con turret
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind ×5
    66. Con turret
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. Fusion ReactorFusion
    73. ValiantValiant ×2
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Con turret
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant ×2
    80. Hardened Energy Storage
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind
    83. Con turret
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Con turret
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Wind
    91. Fusion ReactorFusion
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. T2 converter
    94. Wind
    95. Converter
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. Converter
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Wind
    101. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    102. Wind
    103. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    104. Converter
    105. Wind
    106. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    107. Wind
    108. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×4
    109. Wind
    110. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    111. Converter
    112. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    113. Wind
    114. Converter
    115. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    116. Converter
    117. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    118. Wind
    119. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    120. Converter
    121. Fusion ReactorFusion
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is iriS_xe's (31 OS, 14/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · 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 2:22 · in 71% 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 2:22 · 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

1836 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
7:005089146169
8:006903190219
9:009282230271
10:0011758292379
11:0014379366535
12:0017077511778
13:00198737701089
14:002271112571687
15:002574318182435
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

iriS_xe

30.6 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
711 metal received · 43257 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=1836
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1775
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1179

Played most by

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