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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 598 distinct matches · 119 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 671 · 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 598 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 ~1:24, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Solar
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:15 · typical 1:24
  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 · 43 steps
    1. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinch
    4. ShurikenShuriken
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    7. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ShurikenShuriken
    10. Mex
    11. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    13. Con turret
    14. Con turret
    15. Con turret
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. Energy storage
    25. Wind
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Wind
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. Wind ×2
    34. Converter
    35. Wind ×2
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Converter
    39. Wind
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. Wind
  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 (35%) · fusion (35%) · 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 · 135 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind ×2
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Wind
    7. Converter
    8. Wind
    9. Wind
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Wind
    17. Wind
    18. Converter
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. ThistleThistle
    27. Wind ×2
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ThistleThistle
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    37. Wind
    38. Wind
    39. Wind
    40. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    41. Wind
    42. Wind
    43. HerculesLight transport
    44. Wind
    45. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:03 · typical 6:48
    46. Wind
    47. Wind ×2
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Wind
    50. Wind
    51. Wind ×2
    52. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    53. Wind ×2
    54. Wind
    55. HephaestusHeavy transport
    56. Wind ×2
    57. Wind
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. Wind
    60. Wind ×2
    61. Con turret
    62. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    63. Wind
    64. Con turret ×2
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Con turret
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Con turret
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. ThistleThistle
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Con turret
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Wind
    82. Con turret
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×4
    86. Wind
    87. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:14 · typical 10:55
    88. Wind ×2
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    91. Converter
    92. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    93. Wind
    94. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×6
    95. Wind
    96. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    97. Converter
    98. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×5
    99. ValiantValiant ×2
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant ×3
    102. Converter
    103. ValiantValiant ×8
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant ×4
    106. Converter
    107. ValiantValiant ×6
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant
    110. Fusion ReactorFusion
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. Converter ×2
    113. Wind
    114. Converter ×3
    115. Fusion ReactorFusion
    116. Wind
    117. Converter ×3
    118. Wind
    119. T2 converter
    120. Converter ×2
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Converter
    124. ValiantValiant ×3
    125. Converter
    126. ValiantValiant ×2
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Converter
    130. ValiantValiant ×2
    131. Con turret ×2
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Converter
    134. Con turret
    135. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Gieds's (46 OS, 03/10/2026); 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 2:25 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 49% 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

671 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002054051
5:00276673116
6:003772125167
7:005147190224
8:007026240292
9:009354263343
10:0011850338467
11:0014411439631
12:0017116585949
13:00199489191276
14:002269914241819
15:002558820892709
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

Gieds

46.0 OS · 03/10/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
175 metal received · 29668 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:24Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=671
Advanced Metal Extractor6:48Middle 50%: 6:22–7:25 · n=645
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 9:53–12:11 · n=413

Played most by

DRM39games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort28games of this buildNutzz28games of this build