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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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:24 · 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 · 30 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor unknown
    2. HephaestusHeavy transportfor unknown
    3. Wind ×3
    4. ValiantValiant ×2
    5. Wind
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Wind
    8. Con turret
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    11. Mex
    12. FinchFinch
    13. ValiantValiant ×3
    14. Wind
    15. HephaestusHeavy transport
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Con turret
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
  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 · 128 steps
    1. ValiantValiant ×2
    2. Wind
    3. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    4. Wind
    5. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    6. Wind
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:53 · typical 6:50
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind ×3
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret ×2
    22. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Energy storage
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    26. Energy storage
    27. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    28. Con turret
    29. ShurikenShuriken
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind ×2
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant ×2
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    58. Wind
    59. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:28 · typical 10:52
    60. ShurikenShuriken
    61. Wind
    62. ShurikenShuriken
    63. Wind
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Wind
    66. ShurikenShuriken
    67. Wind
    68. ShurikenShuriken
    69. Wind
    70. ShurikenShuriken
    71. Wind
    72. ShurikenShuriken
    73. Wind
    74. ShurikenShuriken
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant ×2
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Con turret
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Con turret
    86. Fusion ReactorFusion
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Con turret ×2
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Con turret ×4
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Con turret
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Con turret
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Con turret
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Con turret ×2
    99. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    100. Con turret
    101. Converter ×4
    102. Hardened Energy Storage
    103. Converter ×2
    104. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:49
    105. Con turret ×4
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Con turret
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Con turret
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Con turret
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 14:21
    114. ValiantValiant ×6
    115. Converter
    116. ValiantValiant ×4
    117. Converter
    118. ValiantValiant ×4
    119. Converter
    120. ValiantValiant ×5
    121. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    122. Converter
    123. ValiantValiant
    124. Pit BullPit Bull
    125. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    128. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SusCheeze's (44 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

SusCheeze

44.3 OS · 06/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
4072 metal received · 63286 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