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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. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:07 · 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 · 25 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. Wind ×3
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. Wind ×2
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. Energy storage
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    12. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Mex
    16. ValiantValiant ×3
    17. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    18. Con turret
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant ×3
    22. Wind
    23. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
  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 · 103 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Con turret
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant ×2
    8. Wind
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2done 7:26 · typical 6:54
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Wind
    25. Converter ×2
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Con turret
    28. ShurikenShuriken
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    32. Converter
    33. ShurikenShuriken
    34. Wind
    35. Bot LabBot Labdone 9:27
    36. ShurikenShuriken
    37. Converter
    38. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    42. Wind
    43. Converter
    44. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    45. Converter
    46. ShurikenShuriken
    47. Wind
    48. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    49. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Converter
    52. ShurikenShuriken
    53. Wind
    54. Construction BotCon bot
    55. ShurikenShuriken
    56. Converter
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Construction BotCon bot
    59. ShurikenShuriken
    60. Construction BotCon bot
    61. ShurikenShuriken
    62. Wind
    63. Converter
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Construction BotCon bot
    66. Wind
    67. ShurikenShuriken
    68. Construction BotCon bot
    69. ShurikenShuriken
    70. Converter
    71. ShurikenShuriken
    72. Construction BotCon bot
    73. Wind
    74. ShurikenShuriken
    75. Construction BotCon bot
    76. ShurikenShuriken
    77. Converter
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Wind ×2
    81. ShurikenShuriken
    82. Wind
    83. Construction BotCon bot
    84. Wind
    85. Converter
    86. ShurikenShuriken
    87. Wind
    88. ShurikenShuriken
    89. Wind
    90. Construction BotCon bot
    91. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    92. Wind
    93. Converter
    94. Construction BotCon bot
    95. Wind ×2
    96. Con turret
    97. ShurikenShuriken
    98. Wind
    99. Construction BotCon bot
    100. Wind ×2
    101. Converter
    102. Wind ×2
    103. Construction BotCon bot

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [CC]CupOfCoffee's (30 OS, 13/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

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

[CC]CupOfCoffee

30.3 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
576 metal received · 124286 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