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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 · 633 distinct matches · 123 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 48% of 707 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:24

  1. Take 3 mex and open wind before committing to aircraft plant.
  2. Finish aircraft plant to start churning scouts and transports.
  3. Send Hercules, Finch and Hephaestus to allies as they ask.
  4. Get your advanced metal extractor up to fund fighter spam.
  5. Bring fusion online and shift into Valiant fighter coverage.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 633 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:07 · 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 (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · 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 · 33 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    8. Mex
    9. Wind
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×3
    15. Con turret
    16. Wind ×2
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind
    19. HerculesLight transport
    20. Energy storage
    21. Wind ×2
    22. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Wind
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Wind
    28. ShurikenShuriken
    29. ValiantValiant ×2
    30. Wind ×2
    31. HerculesLight transport
    32. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    33. Con turret
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    2. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (50%) · fusion (36%) · con aircraft (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 19 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 198 steps
    1. Wind ×38
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:54 · typical 6:50
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Converter
    6. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    7. Converter ×2
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Converter ×5
    12. Wind
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    14. Wind
    15. Converter ×5
    16. Con turret ×2
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    20. Converter
    21. Wind ×2
    22. ThistleThistle
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:45
    25. ValiantValiant ×2
    26. Con turret ×2
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind
    30. Con turret
    31. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    32. Wind ×2
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind ×2
    35. HerculesLight transport
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind ×3
    39. ValiantValiant ×2
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind ×2
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind ×5
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Wind ×2
    47. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    48. Wind ×2
    49. ShurikenShuriken
    50. Wind ×3
    51. ShurikenShuriken
    52. Wind ×4
    53. ShurikenShuriken
    54. Wind
    55. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    56. Wind ×2
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Energy storage
    59. Wind
    60. ShurikenShuriken
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind
    63. Con turret
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Con turret
    66. Wind
    67. Con turret
    68. Wind
    69. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    70. Wind ×2
    71. ShurikenShuriken
    72. Wind
    73. ShurikenShuriken
    74. Wind ×2
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    76. Wind ×2
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Wind ×2
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind ×2
    83. ValiantValiant ×2
    84. Energy storage
    85. Wind ×2
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Wind ×2
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind ×2
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×3
    93. Wind ×2
    94. ValiantValiant ×2
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×3
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant ×2
    101. Converter
    102. ValiantValiant ×2
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Converter
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiant ×5
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant ×4
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant ×3
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant ×3
    117. Wind
    118. ValiantValiant ×2
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant ×3
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant ×2
    123. Converter
    124. Wind
    125. ValiantValiant ×3
    126. Wind
    127. ValiantValiant
    128. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    129. Wind
    130. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    131. Wind
    132. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    133. Wind
    134. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    135. Wind ×2
    136. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    137. Wind
    138. ShurikenShuriken
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant ×2
    142. Wind
    143. ValiantValiant ×2
    144. Wind
    145. ValiantValiant ×2
    146. Converter
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Wind
    151. ValiantValiant
    152. Wind
    153. ValiantValiant
    154. Wind
    155. ValiantValiant ×2
    156. Wind
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. Wind
    159. ValiantValiant ×4
    160. Wind ×2
    161. ValiantValiant
    162. Wind
    163. ValiantValiant ×3
    164. Wind ×2
    165. ValiantValiant ×2
    166. Wind
    167. ValiantValiant ×3
    168. Wind ×2
    169. ValiantValiant ×4
    170. Wind ×2
    171. Converter
    172. ValiantValiant ×2
    173. Wind
    174. ValiantValiant
    175. Wind
    176. ValiantValiant
    177. Wind
    178. ValiantValiant ×2
    179. Wind
    180. ValiantValiant ×3
    181. Wind ×2
    182. ValiantValiant ×4
    183. Wind ×2
    184. ValiantValiant
    185. Wind
    186. ValiantValiant ×2
    187. Wind
    188. ValiantValiant
    189. Wind
    190. ValiantValiant
    191. Wind
    192. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    193. ValiantValiant
    194. Wind
    195. ValiantValiant
    196. Wind
    197. ValiantValiant ×2
    198. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Nutzz's (41 OS, 06/10/2026); 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 2:26 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · 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 95% 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

707 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002057051
5:00276873116
6:003751125167
7:005142190225
8:007010240292
9:009301263344
10:0011805340474
11:0014399440641
12:0017093607949
13:00199139491280
14:002269914671852
15:002558321432789
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard air sits below average team win rate at 48%, reflecting the role's support nature rather than kills.

  • + Aircraft plant lands fast at 1:24, enabling early transport and scout support.
  • − Own metal lost still reaches 2705 by 15:00 despite a support-first role.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Nutzz

40.7 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
467 metal received · 32911 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=707
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:24–7:25 · n=681
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:53–12:08 · n=442

Played most by

DRM44games of this buildAdeus37games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort29games of this buildNutzz29games of this build