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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 · 596 distinct matches · 119 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 48% of 668 · 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 596 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 ~1:24, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    By 1:03 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 1:24
  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 (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · 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 · 17 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    6. Wind
    7. Energy storage
    8. ValiantValiant ×3
    9. ThistleThistle
    10. Mex
    11. Wind ×2
    12. FinchFinch
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind ×2
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Con turret ×3
    17. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 57% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (35%) · fusion (34%) · 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 · 133 steps
    1. Wind ×3
    2. Converter
    3. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    4. Wind
    5. Converter
    6. Wind ×2
    7. Converter
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Con turret
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:41 · typical 6:48
    20. Wind ×5
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. Wind ×5
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Wind
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Wind ×3
    27. Con turret
    28. Wind
    29. Con turret
    30. Wind
    31. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:14
    32. Wind
    33. HephaestusHeavy transport
    34. Converter
    35. HephaestusHeavy transport
    36. BeamerBeamer
    37. Converter
    38. HephaestusHeavy transport
    39. Converter
    40. BeamerBeamer
    41. Converter
    42. BeamerBeamer
    43. Converter
    44. ValiantValiant ×2
    45. Converter
    46. ValiantValiant ×2
    47. Converter
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. Wind ×3
    53. Energy storage
    54. Wind ×10
    55. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:48 · typical 10:55
    56. Wind
    57. Con turret ×2
    58. Wind
    59. Con turret ×3
    60. Wind
    61. Converter ×2
    62. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:13
    63. FinchFinch ×2
    64. Wind
    65. Converter
    66. FinchFinch
    67. ValiantValiant ×2
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Converter
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×2
    73. Wind
    74. Converter
    75. ValiantValiant ×2
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant ×2
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Converter
    81. HephaestusHeavy transport
    82. ShurikenShuriken
    83. Wind
    84. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    85. Wind
    86. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    87. Converter
    88. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    89. Wind
    90. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    91. Converter
    92. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    93. Converter
    94. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    95. Con turret
    96. Wind
    97. ShurikenShuriken
    98. Con turret
    99. ShurikenShuriken
    100. Con turret
    101. ShurikenShuriken
    102. Con turret
    103. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Tech
    104. Con turret ×2
    105. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    106. Wind
    107. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    108. Wind
    109. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    110. Wind ×5
    111. ThistleThistle ×2
    112. Wind
    113. Con turret ×3
    114. Fusion ReactorFusion
    115. ValiantValiant
    116. Con turret
    117. ValiantValiant ×16
    118. HephaestusHeavy transport
    119. AnemoneAnemone
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Converter
    122. ValiantValiant ×2
    123. Converter
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Converter ×2
    126. ArbalestArbalest
    127. ValiantValiant
    128. Converter
    129. ValiantValiant ×4
    130. Converter
    131. ArbalestArbalest
    132. ValiantValiant ×4
    133. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is MischievousDragonGF's (42 OS, 04/10/2026); 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 2:25 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 49% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:19 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · 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

668 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002056051
5:00276673116
6:003766125171
7:005147190224
8:007024235292
9:009353263343
10:0011863338467
11:0014420442639
12:0017138603956
13:00199509331278
14:002270214261818
15:002560320832705
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

MischievousDragonGF

42.1 OS · 04/10/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
535 metal received · 110003 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:24Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=668
Advanced Metal Extractor6:48Middle 50%: 6:22–7:25 · n=642
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 9:55–12:14 · n=411

Played most by

DRM38games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort28games of this buildNutzz28games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas