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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 · 1480 distinct matches · 250 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1783 · 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 1480 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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Mex
    4. Wind ×2
    5. 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 · 38 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. FinchFinch
    4. Wind
    5. HephaestusHeavy transport
    6. Wind
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    8. HephaestusHeavy transport
    9. Wind
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    11. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. Energy storage
    16. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    22. Wind
    23. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    24. Mex
    25. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind
    30. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Con turret
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. Wind
    37. Con turret
    38. 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 (48%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · 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 · 108 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Converter
    6. Wind ×2
    7. Converter
    8. HerculesLight transport
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:47 · typical 6:54
    10. Wind
    11. HerculesLight transport
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    16. Wind
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    18. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:51
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant ×3for Geo
    23. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    26. Converter
    27. Con turret
    28. ShurikenShuriken
    29. Converter
    30. Con turret
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    33. Converter
    34. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    39. Bot LabBot Labdone 9:10
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. Energy storage
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    45. Wind
    46. Construction BotCon bot
    47. Wind
    48. Converter
    49. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    50. Construction BotCon bot
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    53. Wind ×2
    54. Construction BotCon bot
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    57. Wind ×3
    58. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    59. Construction BotCon bot
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant ×2
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×3
    71. Wind
    72. Construction BotCon bot
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind ×2
    81. ValiantValiant ×2
    82. Construction BotCon bot
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Construction BotCon bot
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Construction BotCon bot
    94. Wind
    95. ValiantValiant ×2
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Con turret
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Wind ×4
    108. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is gamercore's (31 OS, 13/10/2026); 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

1783 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027635173
6:003715102124
7:005089146167
8:006904190219
9:009291230271
10:0011771292384
11:0014395373538
12:0017078517781
13:00198597811115
14:002270012691689
15:002572918312440
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

gamercore

31.4 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
161 metal received · 28648 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=1783
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1724
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1143

Played most by

TheGeneraI112games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas