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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 (78%)

#eco #air #team support · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 ×6
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:31 · 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 · 25 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    2. Wind
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind ×2
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind ×3
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. ShurikenShuriken
    12. Mex
    13. ShurikenShuriken
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    17. Con turret
    18. Con turret
    19. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind
    22. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
  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 19 wind, 18 wind, 7 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret3 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Grump]Pickul's (33 OS, 07/08/2026); 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 Beach seafirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:23 · 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 1:42 · 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

1813 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
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

[Grump]Pickul

33.1 OS · 07/08/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
100 metal received · 59478 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build