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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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 1:12 · 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 · 33 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    6. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    7. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    9. ValiantValiant ×2
    10. ShurikenShuriken
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Con turret
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Mex
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Energy storage
    17. ShurikenShuriken
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind ×5
    21. ShurikenShuriken
    22. Wind
    23. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    24. Con turret
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Converter
    28. Wind ×2
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Converter
    33. Converter
  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 · 125 steps
    1. Converter
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Converter
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Con turret
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. Wind ×2
    14. HerculesLight transport
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:59 · typical 6:54
    16. Wind ×3
    17. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    18. Wind
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Con turret
    25. Wind ×4
    26. T2 converter
    27. Advanced solar
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Con turret
    30. Wind ×4
    31. Con turret
    32. Wind
    33. Con turret
    34. Wind
    35. Con turret
    36. Wind
    37. Con turret ×2
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. Wind
    41. Advanced solar
    42. T2 converter
    43. Wind ×6
    44. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:07
    45. Wind
    46. FalconFighter
    47. Wind
    48. Hardened Energy Storage
    49. Wind ×2
    50. BlinkScout plane
    51. Wind ×2
    52. BlinkScout plane ×2
    53. Wind
    54. BlinkScout plane
    55. Wind
    56. BlinkScout plane
    57. Wind
    58. BlinkScout plane
    59. Wind
    60. FalconFighter
    61. Wind
    62. FalconFighter
    63. Wind ×2
    64. FalconFighter
    65. Wind
    66. FalconFighter
    67. Wind ×2
    68. FalconFighter
    69. Wind
    70. FalconFighter
    71. Wind
    72. FalconFighter
    73. Wind
    74. FalconFighter ×2
    75. Wind ×2
    76. FalconFighter
    77. Wind
    78. FalconFighter
    79. Wind ×2
    80. FalconFighter
    81. Wind
    82. FalconFighter
    83. Wind
    84. FalconFighter
    85. Wind ×2
    86. FalconFighter
    87. Wind
    88. FalconFighter
    89. Wind ×2
    90. FalconFighter
    91. Wind ×2
    92. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    93. Wind ×5
    94. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:54 · typical 10:53
    95. Wind ×9
    96. Fusion ReactorFusion
    97. Wind
    98. T2 converter
    99. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    100. Con turret
    101. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×10
    102. Wind
    103. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    104. Con turret
    105. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×8
    106. Con turret
    107. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    108. Con turret
    109. T2 converter
    110. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    111. Con turret
    112. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    113. T2 converter
    114. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    115. Con turret
    116. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×4
    117. Con turret
    118. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth
    119. T2 converter
    120. Dragon's TeethDragon's Teeth ×2
    121. Con turret ×3
    122. T2 converter
    123. Con turret ×2
    124. T2 converter
    125. Con turret ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Vaticineur's (33 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 2:23 · 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 2:23 · 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

1811 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
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

Vaticineur

33.5 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
0 metal received · 100273 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

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