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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 555 distinct matches · 116 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 624 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 555 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 ~1:22, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:03 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 1:22
  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
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    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 · 28 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×3
    6. FinchFinch
    7. Wind
    8. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    9. ValiantValiant ×2
    10. Wind
    11. Mex
    12. Wind ×3
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    14. Wind
    15. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    16. Con turret
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    21. Wind
    22. HerculesLight transport
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind ×2
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind ×4
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (33%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SkyFireEX's (37 OS, 19/09/2026); 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 Geofirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:40 · in 64% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 94% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

624 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002053051
5:00276573109
6:003759125167
7:005136190219
8:007017225290
9:009298258342
10:0011788328471
11:0014383440641
12:0017097606958
13:00199439331269
14:002265314171801
15:002554320602701
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

SkyFireEX

37.2 OS · 19/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
928 metal received · 29054 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=624
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=599
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=383

Played most by

DRM37games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build