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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

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 (73%)

#eco #team support #air · 525 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 590 · 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 525 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 ~1:21, middle half 1:13–1:34

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:02 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:30 · typical 1:21
  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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · 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 · 27 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    2. FinchFinch
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transport ×2
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Con turret
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. Mex
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind
    11. Wind
    12. Wind ×2
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. Wind
    15. Metal storage
    16. Wind ×2
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind
    21. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. Con turret
    25. Wind
    26. Con turret
    27. Wind
  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 (32%) · 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 · 75 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. Wind ×2
    7. Wind
    8. Wind ×3
    9. Wind
    10. Wind
    11. Wind
    12. Converter
    13. Wind
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Wind
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:22 · typical 6:50
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Wind
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:20
    37. Wind
    38. ShurikenShuriken
    39. Wind
    40. ShurikenShuriken
    41. Wind
    42. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. HerculesLight transport
    45. FinchFinch
    46. HerculesLight transport
    47. Con turret
    48. ValiantValiant ×2
    49. Con turret ×2
    50. Wind
    51. Con turret
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Geo sea
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant ×9
    64. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:47 · typical 10:55
    65. ValiantValiant ×3
    66. FinchFinch ×4
    67. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:14
    68. Fusion ReactorFusion
    69. T2 converter ×3
    70. Con turret ×4
    71. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:56
    72. FinchFinch
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×25
    75. ValiantValiant ×21

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is haaven's (46 OS, 25/09/2026); 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 2:05 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:25 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 66% 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 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · 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

590 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145800
4:002050051
5:00276373102
6:003766125150
7:005129176219
8:007014219285
9:009298248341
10:0011788315470
11:0014397439639
12:0017105603950
13:00199438701236
14:002263713511806
15:002549320022670
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

haaven

45.7 OS · 25/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
451 metal received · 29700 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:21Middle 50%: 1:13–1:34 · n=590
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:22–7:27 · n=566
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=355

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus32games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildImmort25games of this buildNutzz25games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas