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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 1496 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1799 · 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 1496 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 ×5
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:16 · 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. Wind
    4. FinchFinch
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    6. FinchFinch
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. Mex
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. HerculesLight transport
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. Energy storage
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Con turret
    30. Converter
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Converter
    33. Wind
    34. Wind
    35. Converter
    36. HerculesLight transport
    37. Wind
    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 · 25 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 186 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind
    5. Converter
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Converter
    8. Wind
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Converter
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:37 · typical 6:54
    16. Converter
    17. Wind
    18. Wind
    19. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    20. Con turret
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. Converter
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Converter
    30. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    31. Wind
    32. Wind
    33. Converter
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Converter
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Converter
    41. Wind ×2
    42. Wind
    43. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    44. Converter
    45. Wind
    46. Wind
    47. Converter
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Wind
    50. Converter
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Con turret
    53. Converter
    54. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:04
    55. Wind
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. Con turret
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:34 · typical 10:53
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind ×3
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Converter
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    73. Con turret
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. Con turret
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant ×2
    81. Converter
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Converter
    92. Wind
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Wind
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. Converter
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant ×2
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Converter
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant ×2
    110. Wind
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant ×2
    113. Converter
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    118. Wind
    119. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    120. Con turret
    121. Converter
    122. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    123. Wind
    124. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    125. Converter
    126. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    127. Wind
    128. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    129. Converter
    130. Wind
    131. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    132. Converter
    133. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    134. Wind
    135. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    136. ShurikenShuriken
    137. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    138. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    139. Converter
    140. ShurikenShuriken
    141. Wind
    142. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    143. Wind
    144. ShurikenShuriken
    145. Converter
    146. ShurikenShuriken
    147. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    148. Wind
    149. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    150. Converter
    151. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    152. Wind
    153. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    154. Converter
    155. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    156. Con turret
    157. Wind
    158. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    159. Converter
    160. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    161. Converter
    162. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    163. Con turret
    164. Con turret
    165. Con turret
    166. Converter
    167. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    168. FinchFinch ×2
    169. Converter
    170. FinchFinch ×3
    171. ValiantValiant ×3
    172. Converter
    173. ValiantValiant
    174. Wind
    175. ValiantValiant ×4
    176. Wind
    177. Fusion ReactorFusion
    178. ValiantValiant ×3
    179. Wind
    180. ValiantValiant ×3
    181. Wind
    182. ValiantValiant ×3
    183. Wind
    184. ValiantValiant ×3
    185. Wind
    186. ValiantValiant ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is GazzGrim's (30 OS, 11/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

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

1799 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
6:003705102124
7:005088146167
8:006898190219
9:009278232270
10:0011753292384
11:0014351373538
12:0017061513781
13:00198507811102
14:002270012641689
15:002570818042405
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

GazzGrim

30.0 OS · 11/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
105 metal received · 19680 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=1799
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1740
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1151

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build