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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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 ×2
    2. Solar
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 0:47 · 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 · 31 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    2. Solar
    3. Mex
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. Mex
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Con turret
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Con turret
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Con turret
    13. Wind
    14. Wind ×3
    15. Wind
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Wind
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. ShurikenShuriken
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    25. Wind
    26. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    27. Wind
    28. ShurikenShuriken
    29. Wind
    30. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    31. 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 (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 · 125 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:40 · typical 6:54
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    6. Wind
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    8. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    9. Converter
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Converter
    12. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    13. Converter
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Converter
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Converter
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Converter
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Converter
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Converter
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant ×2
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant ×2
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant ×2
    40. Wind
    41. SAMSAM
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. FerretFerret
    45. Wind
    46. ArbalestArbalest
    47. ValiantValiant ×2
    48. Con turret ×3
    49. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:06 · typical 10:53
    50. Con turret ×5
    51. Fusion ReactorFusion
    52. Converter ×5
    53. Converter
    54. Converter
    55. Converter
    56. Converter
    57. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:52
    58. Converter
    59. ValiantValiant ×2
    60. Converter
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Converter
    63. Converter
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Converter
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Converter
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Converter
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Converter
    72. Converter
    73. ValiantValiant ×3
    74. Converter
    75. ValiantValiant ×3
    76. Bot LabBot Labdone 13:39
    77. Converter
    78. ValiantValiant ×2
    79. Converter
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Converter
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Construction BotCon bot
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Construction BotCon bot
    86. Converter
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Construction BotCon bot
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Construction BotCon bot
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Converter
    93. Construction BotCon bot
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Construction BotCon bot
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Construction BotCon bot
    98. Converter
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Construction BotCon bot
    101. ValiantValiant ×3
    102. Con turret
    103. Wind
    104. Converter
    105. ValiantValiant ×2
    106. Con turret
    107. Wind
    108. Con turret
    109. ValiantValiant ×2
    110. Converter
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. Con turret
    115. Wind
    116. Con turret
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Con turret
    119. Wind ×2
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Converter
    122. Fusion ReactorFusion
    123. Wind
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is El_Turco's (38 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 2:23 · 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

1811 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
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

El_Turco

37.7 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
280 metal received · 80976 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

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