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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 · 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:15 · 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 · 19 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×4
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×3
    6. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    7. Wind ×2
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. Wind ×2
    10. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    11. ValiantValiant ×3
    12. Mex
    13. ValiantValiant ×4
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Con turret
    17. ValiantValiant ×2
    18. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    19. 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 · 109 steps
    1. ValiantValiant ×2
    2. Con turret
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind ×4
    5. Wind
    6. Energy storage
    7. FinchFinch
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind
    16. Converter
    17. Wind
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:33 · typical 6:54
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. ShurikenShuriken
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Converter
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Converter
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. ThistleThistle ×2
    32. Wind
    33. ThistleThistle
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant ×2
    36. Wind
    37. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    38. Wind ×3
    39. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind ×2
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Con turret
    48. ShurikenShuriken
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind ×2
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind ×2
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind ×2
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    58. ValiantValiant ×2
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Con turret
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. ShurikenShuriken
    74. Wind
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    76. Wind
    77. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant ×5
    81. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:36 · typical 10:52
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant ×5
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×5
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant ×5
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×4
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×3
    93. Wind
    94. Fusion ReactorFusion
    95. Wind ×4
    96. ValiantValiant ×3
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×2
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant ×3
    101. Con turret
    102. ValiantValiant ×6
    103. Converter
    104. ValiantValiant ×2
    105. Converter
    106. Con turret ×2
    107. Converter
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hunfore's (33 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 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

Hunfore

32.6 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
179 metal received · 38839 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
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas