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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

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 · 555 distinct matches · 116 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 624 · 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 555 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:08 · 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 (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 · 34 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. Wind
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. Wind ×2
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. ShurikenShuriken
    9. Converter
    10. ShurikenShuriken
    11. Wind
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Wind ×2
    14. ShurikenShuriken
    15. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    16. Converter
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind
    20. Mex
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Con turret
    27. Converter
    28. Wind ×3
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind ×3
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    33. Wind
    34. 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 · 107 steps
    1. ValiantValiant
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind ×2
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. Wind ×2
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind ×3
    24. Advanced solar
    25. Wind ×5
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. Wind ×2
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. Converter ×3
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Converter
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Energy storage
    45. Converter
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. HerculesLight transport
    48. Converter ×3
    49. Metal storage
    50. Converter
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:58 · typical 6:50
    52. Converter
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    54. Converter
    55. Wind ×5
    56. Con turret
    57. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:46 · typical 10:56
    58. Con turret
    59. Wind
    60. Con turret ×2
    61. Wind ×4
    62. T2 converter
    63. Wind
    64. Fusion ReactorFusion
    65. Con turret ×3
    66. Wind
    67. T2 converter
    68. Con turret
    69. Wind
    70. Con turret ×3
    71. Fusion ReactorFusion
    72. Wind
    73. Converter
    74. T2 converter
    75. Converter ×2
    76. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:08
    77. Converter
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:12
    80. Converter
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Con turret
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Con turret
    85. ValiantValiant ×9
    86. Converter
    87. ValiantValiant ×42
    88. Converter
    89. ValiantValiant ×8
    90. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    91. ValiantValiant ×4
    92. Con turret
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Con turret
    95. ValiantValiant ×2
    96. Con turret
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Con turret
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Con turret
    101. ValiantValiant ×2
    102. Con turret
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Con turret ×2
    105. ValiantValiant ×2
    106. Converter
    107. ValiantValiant ×7

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is KaptenKaki's (36 OS, 11/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst 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 1:40 · in 64% 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 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

624 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002053051
5:00276573109
6:003759125167
7:005136190219
8:007017225290
9:009298258342
10:0011788328471
11:0014383440641
12:0017097606958
13:00199439331269
14:002265314171801
15:002554320602701
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

KaptenKaki

36.1 OS · 11/08/2026

Open source match ↗

36 received units · includes a constructor
3845 metal received · 78005 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=624
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=599
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=383

Played most by

DRM37games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build