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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 · 552 distinct matches · 116 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 621 · 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 552 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 · 7 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Solar
    3. Wind
    4. Solar
    5. Wind
    6. Energy storage
    7. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:41 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    2. FinchFinch
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. HerculesLight transport
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. FinchFinch
    9. ValiantValiant ×3
    10. FinchFinch
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. Con turret
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Mex
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. FinchFinch
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. Con turret
    22. ShurikenShuriken
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Wind ×3
    26. Con turret
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • 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 · 125 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Wind
    3. Con turret
    4. Wind
    5. Con turret
    6. Wind
    7. Converter
    8. Wind ×5
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:31 · typical 6:50
    10. Wind
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. Wind
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Con turret
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Solar
    20. Wind ×2
    21. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:14
    22. Wind ×2
    23. FinchFinch
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant ×2
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant ×2
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Solar
    37. Wind
    38. Solar
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Solar
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Con turret
    47. Wind ×2
    48. ValiantValiant ×2
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind ×2
    62. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    63. Wind ×3
    64. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    65. Wind
    66. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    67. Wind
    68. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    69. Wind
    70. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    71. Wind
    72. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    73. Wind ×2
    74. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    75. Solar
    76. Wind
    77. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    78. Wind
    79. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    80. Wind
    81. Solar
    82. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    83. Wind
    84. Solar
    85. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    86. Wind
    87. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    88. Wind
    89. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    90. Wind
    91. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    92. Wind
    93. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    94. Wind
    95. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    96. Wind
    97. FinchFinch
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Wind ×2
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind
    116. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:14 · typical 10:56
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Wind ×3
    119. Fusion ReactorFusion
    120. Wind ×3
    121. T2 converter
    122. Wind ×4
    123. T2 converter
    124. Wind ×7
    125. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is NFX_Scurvy's (36 OS, 30/09/2026); 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 2:06 · 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 1:40 · in 65% 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

621 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145800
4:002053051
5:00276573109
6:003763125167
7:005136190219
8:007019223290
9:009335256341
10:0011795327471
11:0014399440641
12:0017100607960
13:00199489321269
14:002266414091805
15:002555520592701
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

NFX_Scurvy

35.8 OS · 30/09/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
311 metal received · 37098 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=621
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=596
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:17 · n=381

Played most by

DRM37games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build