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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 (77%)

#eco #air #team support · 1581 distinct matches · 259 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1890 · 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 1581 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 1:14–1:36

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    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 1:15 · 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%) · converter (45%) · energy storage (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 · 19 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×2
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    9. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    10. ValiantValiant ×3
    11. Wind ×4
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant ×6
    15. Mex
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Wind
    18. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    19. Wind ×2
  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 18 wind, 18 wind, 7 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret3 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (47%) · fusion (39%) · 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 · 150 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    3. Con turret
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Energy storage
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. ShurikenShuriken
    8. Con turret
    9. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Converter
    13. Wind ×3
    14. Converter
    15. Wind
    16. Converter ×2
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:54 · typical 6:54
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind ×4
    32. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    33. Con turret
    34. Converter
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Converter ×2
    37. Con turret
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Converter
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. Converter ×2
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind ×2
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind ×3
    60. ValiantValiant ×3
    61. Con turret
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant ×2
    65. Wind
    66. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:53 · typical 10:51
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind ×2
    69. ValiantValiant ×2
    70. Wind ×5
    71. FinchFinch ×6
    72. Wind
    73. FinchFinch ×4
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. Fusion ReactorFusion
    77. ValiantValiant ×4
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant ×3
    80. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    81. Wind ×2
    82. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×4
    83. Wind
    84. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Converter
    87. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    88. Converter
    89. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    90. Con turret
    91. Converter
    92. Con turret
    93. Converter
    94. Con turret
    95. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantfor Techdone 13:50
    96. Converter
    97. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    98. Con turret
    99. TracerTracer
    100. Converter
    101. Con turret
    102. Converter
    103. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    104. Converter
    105. Wind
    106. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    107. Wind
    108. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Converter
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. Converter
    115. ValiantValiant
    116. Wind
    117. Converter
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Converter
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Converter
    124. Wind
    125. ValiantValiant
    126. Wind
    127. ValiantValiant
    128. Wind
    129. Converter
    130. Wind
    131. ValiantValiant
    132. Wind ×2
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Wind
    135. ValiantValiant
    136. Wind
    137. Converter
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Converter
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant
    142. Converter
    143. ValiantValiant ×2
    144. Wind
    145. Converter
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Wind
    148. Converter
    149. Wind
    150. Fusion ReactorFusion

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hunfore's (33 OS, 15/10/2026); 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 2:07 · 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 63% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:41 · 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 6:04 · 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

1890 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027655173
6:003723102124
7:005096146167
8:006916190215
9:009301223270
10:0011780278365
11:0014398365524
12:0017093498755
13:00199347491057
14:002278412331658
15:002582617812391
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

Hunfore

32.6 OS · 15/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
919 metal received · 15868 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:26Middle 50%: 1:14–1:36 · n=1890
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:26–7:26 · n=1829
Fusion Reactor10:51Middle 50%: 9:44–12:15 · n=1220

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner73games of this buildHunfore63games of this buildDRM52games of this buildHALF_DALLAH_HABIT52games of this build