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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 · 1515 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1820 · 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 1515 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 ×6
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:28 · 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 · 15 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant ×5
    7. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    8. Mex
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind ×3
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Con turret
    14. ValiantValiant ×2
    15. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
  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 · 92 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    3. Wind ×3
    4. Con turret
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Energy storage
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind ×7
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:34 · typical 6:54
    16. Converter
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. Con turret
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    44. Wind
    45. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    53. Wind
    54. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    55. Wind
    56. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    57. Wind ×4
    58. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    59. Wind
    60. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:42 · typical 10:52
    61. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    62. Con turret
    63. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant ×3
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant ×2
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    72. Wind
    73. ShurikenShuriken
    74. Wind
    75. T2 converter
    76. ShurikenShuriken
    77. Wind
    78. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    79. Con turret
    80. ShurikenShuriken
    81. Con turret
    82. ValiantValiant ×5
    83. ShurikenShuriken
    84. Fusion ReactorFusion
    85. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    86. Con turret
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Con turret
    89. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    90. ValiantValiant ×7
    91. T2 converter
    92. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is BLORGY's (35 OS, 07/08/2026); 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 2:23 · 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

1820 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
6:003709102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285231271
10:0011765292380
11:0014373367535
12:0017074512780
13:00198647751095
14:002271012621682
15:002573918112415
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

BLORGY

35.1 OS · 07/08/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
222 metal received · 47079 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=1820
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1760
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1165

Played most by

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