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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 ×6
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:54 · 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 · 23 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    5. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    6. HephaestusHeavy transport
    7. FinchFinch
    8. ValiantValiant ×3
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    14. ValiantValiant ×2
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    18. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    19. Wind
    20. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    21. Con turret
    22. HerculesLight transport
    23. 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 (47%) · 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 · 187 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Wind
    3. Con turret ×2
    4. Wind
    5. Con turret
    6. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind
    12. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:28 · typical 6:54
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×3
    16. Converter
    17. Wind
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    19. Wind
    20. Converter ×2
    21. Wind
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    23. Converter ×2
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:04 · typical 10:52
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Converter ×2
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Wind
    33. Converter ×2
    34. Wind
    35. Con turret
    36. Wind
    37. Converter
    38. Con turret
    39. Wind
    40. Con turret
    41. Converter
    42. Con turret
    43. Wind
    44. Con turret
    45. Converter
    46. Wind
    47. Con turret
    48. Wind
    49. Con turret
    50. Wind
    51. Con turret
    52. Converter
    53. Wind
    54. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:59
    55. Wind
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    59. Wind
    60. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    61. Converter
    62. ShurikenShuriken
    63. Wind
    64. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    65. Wind
    66. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Converter
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×3
    73. Wind
    74. Converter
    75. ValiantValiant ×2
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant ×2
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. ValiantValiant ×2
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant ×2
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Converter
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Converter
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×2
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Converter
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant ×2
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant ×2
    107. Converter
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant ×2
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant ×2
    113. Converter
    114. Wind
    115. ValiantValiant ×2
    116. Wind
    117. ValiantValiant ×3
    118. Converter
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind
    121. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    122. Wind
    123. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    124. Converter
    125. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    126. Wind
    127. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind
    130. ValiantValiant
    131. Converter
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Wind
    134. ValiantValiant ×3
    135. Wind
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Converter
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Wind
    140. ValiantValiant ×2
    141. Wind
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Converter
    144. ValiantValiant ×2
    145. Wind
    146. ValiantValiant ×3
    147. Converter
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Wind
    150. ValiantValiant ×3
    151. Wind
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Con turret
    154. ValiantValiant
    155. Converter
    156. Wind
    157. Con turret ×2
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Con turret
    160. Wind
    161. Converter
    162. ValiantValiant ×4
    163. Wind
    164. ValiantValiant ×3
    165. Converter
    166. ValiantValiant
    167. Wind
    168. ValiantValiant
    169. Con turret
    170. ValiantValiant
    171. Con turret
    172. Wind
    173. Con turret
    174. ValiantValiant
    175. Con turret
    176. Wind
    177. Converter
    178. ValiantValiant ×3
    179. Wind
    180. ValiantValiant ×4
    181. Wind
    182. Converter
    183. ValiantValiant ×3
    184. Wind
    185. ValiantValiant ×4
    186. Wind
    187. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [A7O]SuperTetra's (32 OS, 28/08/2026); 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 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

1813 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
6:003711102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

[A7O]SuperTetra

32.1 OS · 28/08/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
493 metal received · 288435 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

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