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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 1:25 · 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 · 27 steps
    1. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. Wind
    5. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    6. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    7. Mex
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    10. Wind ×3
    11. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×2
    15. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    16. Wind ×3
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    24. Wind ×2
    25. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    26. Wind ×2
    27. ValiantValiantfor Tech
  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 · 123 steps
    1. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    2. ValiantValiant ×2
    3. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:27 · typical 6:54
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind ×3
    13. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    14. Wind ×5
    15. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    16. Wind ×2
    17. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    18. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. ValiantValiant ×4for Tech
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Con turret
    26. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    27. Con turret
    28. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    29. Con turret
    30. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    31. ValiantValiant ×2
    32. ValiantValiant ×3for Tech
    33. ValiantValiant ×2
    34. Con turret
    35. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    36. Wind
    37. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:55
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    47. Wind
    48. ShurikenShuriken
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    53. ShurikenShuriken
    54. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    63. Wind
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    68. Converter
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    73. Converter
    74. Wind
    75. Bot LabBot Labdone 13:38
    76. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    79. Energy storage
    80. Construction BotCon bot
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    85. Wind
    86. Construction BotCon bot
    87. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    88. Wind
    89. Wind
    90. Construction BotCon bot
    91. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    92. Wind
    93. Converter
    94. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    101. Wind
    102. Con turret
    103. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    104. Wind
    105. Con turret
    106. Wind
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    109. Wind
    110. Wind
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Converter
    114. Wind
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. Wind
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    120. Wind ×2
    121. Wind
    122. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00 · typical 10:52
    123. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [NWP]Kadafi923's (31 OS, 13/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · 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

[NWP]Kadafi923

30.6 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
13 metal received · 16561 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