BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 ×6
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:25 · 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 · 19 steps
    1. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    2. Wind
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. Wind
    5. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Energy storage
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Mex
    17. ValiantValiant ×6
    18. Con turret
    19. ValiantValiant
  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 · 163 steps
    1. ValiantValiant
    2. HephaestusHeavy transport
    3. Con turret
    4. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:41 · typical 6:50
    5. HerculesLight transport
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind ×2
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Con turret
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant ×2
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant ×2
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. T2 converter
    43. Wind
    44. Converter
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind ×2
    48. Converter
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Converter
    52. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Converter
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Con turret ×2
    59. Converter
    60. Wind ×3
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Converter
    63. Wind
    64. Con turret
    65. Wind
    66. Converter
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. Con turret
    70. ShurikenShuriken
    71. Con turret
    72. ShurikenShuriken
    73. Con turret
    74. ShurikenShuriken
    75. Wind
    76. ShurikenShuriken
    77. Con turret
    78. ShurikenShuriken
    79. Wind
    80. ShurikenShuriken
    81. Wind
    82. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    83. Wind
    84. T2 converter
    85. ShurikenShuriken
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Con turret
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. FinchFinch ×4
    96. Wind
    97. FinchFinch
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. T2 converter
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Wind
    102. Wind
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Wind
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Con turret
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant ×4
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind
    116. Wind
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Wind
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiant ×2
    122. Wind
    123. Wind
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind
    128. Wind
    129. ValiantValiant
    130. Wind
    131. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 14:25 · typical 10:56
    132. Wind
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Wind ×2
    135. ValiantValiant
    136. Wind
    137. Wind
    138. Wind
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. Wind
    142. Wind
    143. ValiantValiant
    144. Wind ×2
    145. ValiantValiant
    146. Wind
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Wind
    151. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    152. Wind
    153. ShurikenShuriken
    154. Fusion ReactorFusion
    155. ShurikenShuriken
    156. Wind
    157. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    158. Wind
    159. ShurikenShuriken
    160. ValiantValiant
    161. Wind
    162. ValiantValiant
    163. Wind ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Teradactylman's (36 OS, 20/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · 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

Teradactylman

35.5 OS · 20/08/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
417 metal received · 141232 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