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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 · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:47 · 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 · 24 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. Wind ×5
    3. ShurikenShuriken
    4. Solar
    5. FinchFinch
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Solar
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Mex
    10. Solar
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind ×3
    13. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. ShurikenShuriken
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
  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 (47%) · 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 · 192 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant ×2
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. Wind
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Wind
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. Converter ×2
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    21. Con turret
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:19 · typical 6:54
    23. Con turret ×2
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    25. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:11
    26. Construction BotCon bot ×6
    27. Wind
    28. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    29. Wind
    30. Construction BotCon bot
    31. Wind
    32. Construction BotCon bot
    33. Wind
    34. Construction BotCon bot
    35. Wind ×2
    36. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    37. Wind ×3
    38. Construction BotCon bot
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Wind
    41. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    42. Wind
    43. Wind ×2
    44. Wind ×2
    45. Wind ×2
    46. Wind
    47. Wind ×2
    48. Wind
    49. Wind ×4
    50. Wind
    51. Energy storage
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Wind
    54. Wind ×2
    55. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:47
    56. Wind ×5
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. Wind
    60. Wind
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind
    63. HerculesLight transport
    64. Wind ×3
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind ×2
    68. Wind
    69. Wind ×2
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind ×2
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind
    74. Wind
    75. Wind ×2
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind ×2
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. Wind
    82. Wind ×2
    83. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    84. Wind ×4
    85. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    86. Wind
    87. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    88. Wind
    89. Wind
    90. Wind ×4
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Wind
    93. Wind ×2
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind ×2
    96. Converter
    97. Wind ×3
    98. Converter
    99. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    100. Converter
    101. Wind
    102. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 11:59
    103. Wind ×5
    104. ParalyzerParalyzernot finished by 15:00
    105. Wind ×18
    106. Converter ×2
    107. Wind ×2
    108. Converter
    109. Wind ×4
    110. Converter
    111. Wind ×6
    112. NighthawkNighthawk
    113. Converter
    114. Wind ×4
    115. Converter
    116. Wind
    117. NighthawkNighthawk
    118. Wind ×2
    119. NighthawkNighthawk
    120. Wind ×3
    121. Converter
    122. Wind
    123. NighthawkNighthawk
    124. Wind ×2
    125. Converter
    126. Wind ×3
    127. NighthawkNighthawk
    128. Wind
    129. Converter ×2
    130. Wind ×5
    131. NighthawkNighthawk
    132. Wind
    133. Converter
    134. Wind ×3
    135. NighthawkNighthawk
    136. Wind ×2
    137. Converter
    138. NighthawkNighthawk
    139. Wind ×5
    140. Converter
    141. NighthawkNighthawk
    142. Wind ×2
    143. Converter
    144. Wind ×3
    145. NighthawkNighthawk
    146. Wind ×2
    147. Con turret
    148. Wind
    149. Converter
    150. Wind ×2
    151. Converter
    152. Wind
    153. WaspWasp
    154. Wind
    155. Converter
    156. Wind ×4
    157. Converter
    158. WaspWasp
    159. Wind ×5
    160. Converter
    161. Wind
    162. WaspWasp
    163. Wind ×5
    164. Converter
    165. Wind
    166. WaspWasp
    167. Wind ×5
    168. Converter
    169. Wind ×3
    170. Converter
    171. WaspWasp
    172. Wind ×3
    173. Converter
    174. Wind ×3
    175. NighthawkNighthawk
    176. Wind ×2
    177. Converter
    178. Wind
    179. NighthawkNighthawk
    180. Wind ×2
    181. Converter
    182. Wind ×2
    183. NighthawkNighthawk
    184. Converter
    185. Wind ×2
    186. NighthawkNighthawk
    187. Wind ×3
    188. Converter
    189. Con turret
    190. NighthawkNighthawk
    191. Wind ×6
    192. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Spongeb0b's (31 OS, 28/09/2026); 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 71% 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

1813 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
6:003711102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

Spongeb0b

30.6 OS · 28/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
180 metal received · 48448 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build