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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 501 distinct matches · 111 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 559 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 501 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 1:13–1:33

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · con turret (31%)

    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 · 21 steps
    1. Wind
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    3. Wind ×8
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Wind ×2
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    8. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    9. HerculesLight transport
    10. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    11. Mex
    12. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    19. Con turret ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Energy storage
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (33%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 148 steps
    1. Wind ×12
    2. Converter
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Converter
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Converter
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:40 · typical 6:50
    14. Converter ×2
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    16. Wind ×20
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:04
    20. Converter
    21. Con turret
    22. Converter
    23. Con turret ×2
    24. Converter
    25. Con turret ×3
    26. Converter
    27. FalconFighterfor Tech
    28. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    29. Converter
    30. FalconFighterfor Tech
    31. Converter
    32. FalconFighter
    33. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:22
    34. FalconFighterfor Tech
    35. FalconFighter
    36. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:27
    37. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    42. Energy storage
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Energy storage
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    57. HephaestusHeavy transport
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    61. Wind
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    70. Wind
    71. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    72. Wind
    73. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    74. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Tech
    75. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    76. Wind
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Wind
    79. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    80. Wind
    81. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    82. Wind
    83. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    84. Wind
    85. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    86. Wind
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind
    89. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    90. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    91. Wind
    92. Con turret
    93. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    94. Wind
    95. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Con turret
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Wind ×2
    105. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    106. Wind
    107. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    108. Wind ×2
    109. ValiantValiant ×2
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    112. Wind ×2
    113. ValiantValiant
    114. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    118. Wind
    119. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    122. Wind
    123. ValiantValiant ×5for Tech
    124. Wind
    125. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    126. Wind
    127. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    128. Wind
    129. ValiantValiant ×4for Tech
    130. Wind ×2
    131. ValiantValiant ×6for Tech
    132. Wind
    133. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    134. Wind
    135. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    136. Wind ×2
    137. Con turret ×2
    138. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    139. Wind ×8
    140. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:41
    141. Wind ×3
    142. Advanced Construction AircraftT2 con aircraft
    143. Wind
    144. Advanced Construction AircraftT2 con aircraft
    145. HighwindHighwind
    146. Wind
    147. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00 · typical 10:56
    148. HighwindHighwind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Kuchy's (43 OS, 09/08/2026); 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 Geofirst at 2:05 · in 98% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:26 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 66% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:45 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:19 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · in 94% 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

559 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145700
4:002052051
5:00276573102
6:003779124147
7:005128176219
8:007036220281
9:009352250341
10:0011841314464
11:0014395439635
12:0017109605955
13:00199329071256
14:002261913911819
15:002548920592748
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Kuchy

42.6 OS · 09/08/2026

Open source match ↗

25 received units · includes a constructor
394 metal received · 60166 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:33 · n=559
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:23–7:27 · n=536
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:02–12:19 · n=338

Played most by

DRM35games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildAdeus28games of this buildNutzz25games of this buildhaaven24games of this build