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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 · 1490 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1793 · 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 1490 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. Solar ×2
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:08 · 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. FinchFinch
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Wind ×2
    6. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. HerculesLight transport
    16. Mex
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind
    19. Energy storage
    20. Wind
    21. ShurikenShuriken
    22. Con turret
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Wind
    27. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 4:47
    28. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    29. Wind
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. Wind
    32. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    33. 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 · 196 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Con turret
    3. Wind
    4. Con turret
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Wind ×2
    7. FalconFighter
    8. Wind ×2
    9. FalconFighter
    10. Wind ×4
    11. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    12. Wind ×10
    13. Converter
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Converter
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Converter ×2
    18. Wind ×3
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Converter ×2
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Converter ×3
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4done 7:44 · typical 6:54
    25. Wind ×8
    26. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:18
    27. Wind ×2
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. ShurikenShuriken
    34. Wind
    35. ShurikenShuriken
    36. Wind
    37. ShurikenShuriken
    38. FinchFinch
    39. ShurikenShuriken
    40. Wind
    41. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    42. Wind
    43. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    44. Wind
    45. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant ×2
    51. Wind
    52. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    53. Wind
    54. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant ×2
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Con turret
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. Con turret
    67. Wind
    68. ThistleThistle
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Con turret
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret ×2
    73. Wind
    74. Con turret
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant ×3
    89. Wind ×2
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. FinchFinch
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. FinchFinch
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant ×4
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant ×2
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiant ×4
    103. Wind ×2
    104. ValiantValiant ×3
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant ×2
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant ×2
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant ×3
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant ×3
    117. Wind
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Con turret
    120. ValiantValiant ×6
    121. Wind
    122. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    123. Wind
    124. ShurikenShuriken
    125. Wind
    126. ShurikenShuriken
    127. Wind
    128. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    129. Wind ×2
    130. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    131. FinchFinch
    132. Wind ×2
    133. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    134. Wind
    135. ShurikenShuriken
    136. Wind
    137. ShurikenShuriken
    138. Wind
    139. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    140. Wind
    141. ShurikenShuriken
    142. Wind
    143. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    144. Wind
    145. ShurikenShuriken
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Wind
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Wind
    150. ValiantValiant ×2
    151. Wind ×2
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Wind
    154. ValiantValiant
    155. Wind
    156. ValiantValiant
    157. Wind
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Wind
    160. ValiantValiant
    161. Wind
    162. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    163. Wind
    164. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    165. Wind
    166. ShurikenShuriken
    167. Converter
    168. Wind
    169. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    170. Wind
    171. Converter
    172. ShurikenShuriken
    173. Wind
    174. ShurikenShuriken
    175. Converter
    176. Wind
    177. FinchFinch
    178. Wind
    179. FinchFinch
    180. Converter
    181. ShurikenShuriken
    182. Wind ×2
    183. ShurikenShuriken
    184. Converter
    185. ValiantValiant
    186. Wind
    187. ValiantValiant
    188. Converter
    189. Wind ×2
    190. ShurikenShuriken
    191. ValiantValiant
    192. Wind ×2
    193. FinchFinch
    194. Wind
    195. ValiantValiant ×2
    196. Wind ×8

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is TrevGod's (30 OS, 06/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · 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 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 2:22 · 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

1793 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
6:003706102124
7:005088146167
8:006900190219
9:009279232270
10:0011757292384
11:0014351373540
12:0017061515781
13:00198467811109
14:002269912691689
15:002570018082409
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

TrevGod

30.1 OS · 06/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
969 metal received · 43836 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=1793
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1734
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1147

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build