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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 · 1490 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1793 · 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 1490 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 1:18 · 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 · 25 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. FinchFinch
    4. Wind ×2
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Front
    6. Wind ×2
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    11. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind ×3
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Mex
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ValiantValiant ×4
    20. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    21. Con turret
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Con turret
    24. ValiantValiant ×3
    25. Energy storage
  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 · 125 steps
    1. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    2. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:57 · typical 6:54
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Con turret
    5. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    6. Wind ×5
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Front
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. Wind
    10. Con turret
    11. Wind
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    16. Wind
    17. Con turret
    18. HerculesLight transport
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Bot LabBot Labdone 7:54
    21. Wind ×4
    22. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    23. HerculesLight transport
    24. Construction BotCon bot
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant ×2
    29. Construction BotCon bot
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. Construction BotCon bot
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind ×2
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Construction BotCon bot
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Construction BotCon bot
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Con turret
    44. Wind ×2
    45. Construction BotCon bot
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind
    48. Con turret
    49. Wind ×3
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Construction BotCon bot
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. T2 converter
    56. Wind ×2
    57. Construction BotCon bot
    58. Wind ×2
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Converter
    62. Wind ×4
    63. Converter
    64. Wind
    65. Construction BotCon bot
    66. Wind ×3
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Converter
    69. Wind ×3
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. Converter
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind ×3
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Converter
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ShurikenShuriken
    81. Converter
    82. ShurikenShuriken
    83. Wind ×4
    84. ShurikenShuriken
    85. Wind ×2
    86. ShurikenShuriken
    87. Wind
    88. Converter
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    92. Wind
    93. Converter
    94. Wind ×7
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Converter
    97. Wind ×4
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind ×2
    100. Converter
    101. Wind ×2
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind ×2
    104. HerculesLight transport
    105. Wind
    106. Converter
    107. Wind ×4
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind ×2
    110. Converter
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind ×5
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Converter
    116. Wind ×3
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Wind ×2
    119. Converter
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiant
    122. Wind ×5
    123. Converter
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Flerpz's (31 OS, 13/08/2026); 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 2:22 · 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

1793 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
6:003706102124
7:005088146167
8:006900190219
9:009279232270
10:0011757292384
11:0014351373540
12:0017061515781
13:00198467811109
14:002269912691689
15:002570018082409
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

Flerpz

31.4 OS · 13/08/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
206 metal received · 37767 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=1793
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1734
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1147

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas