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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 · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:39 · 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. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinch
    4. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    6. Mex
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    10. Wind ×3
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind ×2
    15. ValiantValiant ×2
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Con turret
    18. ShurikenShuriken
    19. Wind ×2for Geo
    20. Con turret
    21. Windfor Geo
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Windfor Geo
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind ×2for Geo
    26. Wind
    27. Windfor Geo
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Windfor Geo
    30. Wind
    31. Windfor Geo
    32. Wind ×2
    33. ShurikenShuriken
  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 · 103 steps
    1. HerculesLight transport
    2. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 5:25
    5. Converter
    6. HerculesLight transport
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. ShurikenShuriken
    11. Converter
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Converter
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Converter
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Converter
    18. HephaestusHeavy transport
    19. ValiantValiant ×2
    20. Converter
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Converter
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Converter
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:37 · typical 6:54
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. Mexfor Suicide front
    29. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    30. Mexfor Suicide front
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    32. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    33. Mexfor Suicide front
    34. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    35. ValiantValiant ×2
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Mexfor Geo
    41. ValiantValiant ×4
    42. Mex
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Mex
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. ThistleThistle
    48. ThistleThistle ×2for Geo
    49. ValiantValiant ×5
    50. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo
    51. ValiantValiant ×4
    52. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:57
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo
    54. Construction BotCon bot
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Construction BotCon bot
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Construction BotCon bot
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Construction BotCon bot
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Construction BotCon bot
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Construction BotCon bot
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Construction BotCon bot
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Construction BotCon bot
    70. Wind ×2
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. Construction BotCon bot
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind ×2
    77. Construction BotCon bot
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind ×2
    81. Construction BotCon bot
    82. Wind ×3
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Construction BotCon bot
    85. Wind ×3
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Construction BotCon bot
    88. Wind ×3
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Wind ×2
    91. Construction BotCon bot
    92. Wind ×2
    93. Con turret
    94. Wind
    95. ShurikenShuriken
    96. Wind ×3
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind ×3
    99. Construction BotCon bot
    100. ShurikenShuriken
    101. Con turret
    102. Wind ×4
    103. Construction BotCon bot

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is heihallo's (31 OS, 15/08/2026); 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 2:22 · 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

1813 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
6:003711102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

heihallo

31.4 OS · 15/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
1013 metal received · 70249 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

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