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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 (77%)

#eco #air #team support · 1534 distinct matches · 254 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1841 · 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 1534 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 ×5
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:21 · 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 · 16 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2
    2. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. ValiantValiant ×3
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Wind
    8. Mex
    9. Energy storage
    10. Con turret
    11. Energy storage
    12. Con turret
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. ShurikenShuriken
    15. FinchFinch
    16. ShurikenShuriken ×2
  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 18 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 (34%) · 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 · 107 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken
    2. ValiantValiant ×6
    3. HerculesLight transport
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:40
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. Wind
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Mex
    21. ValiantValiant ×3
    22. Wind
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    25. Wind
    26. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    27. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. ShurikenShuriken
    31. ThistleThistle
    32. Wind
    33. ShurikenShuriken
    34. Wind
    35. ShurikenShuriken
    36. GuardGuard
    37. ShurikenShuriken
    38. Wind
    39. ShurikenShuriken
    40. Wind
    41. FinchFinch ×2
    42. Wind
    43. GuardGuard
    44. FinchFinch ×2
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken
    47. Con turret
    48. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    49. Con turret
    50. GuardGuard
    51. Con turret
    52. GuardGuard
    53. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:19
    54. Wind
    55. GuardGuard
    56. Wind
    57. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    58. Con turret
    59. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    60. Con turret
    61. Wind
    62. Con turret
    63. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    64. Con turret
    65. Converter
    66. ThistleThistle
    67. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    68. Wind
    69. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    70. Converter
    71. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    72. Wind
    73. Converter
    74. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    75. Wind
    76. Converter
    77. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    81. Wind
    82. Converter
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Converter
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Converter
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Converter
    90. Wind
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Converter
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    95. Wind
    96. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    97. ValiantValiant ×9
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant ×14
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant ×13
    102. Wind
    103. ValiantValiant ×3
    104. Wind
    105. Fusion ReactorFusion
    106. ValiantValiant ×4
    107. Wind ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is happy_'s (33 OS, 16/09/2026); 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 2:22 · 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 1:41 · 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

1841 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
7:005090146167
8:006902190219
9:009284232270
10:0011758292379
11:0014382366532
12:0017078511777
13:00198807701093
14:002272212561689
15:002576818132440
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

happy_

32.6 OS · 16/09/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
37 metal received · 65360 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=1841
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:26–7:26 · n=1780
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1183

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildHALF_DALLAH_HABIT52games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas