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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:27 · 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. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. ValiantValiant ×3
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Mex
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Con turret
    10. ValiantValiant ×3
    11. Con turret
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. Wind
    15. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    16. Wind
    17. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    18. Wind
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Wind
    21. Wind ×3
    22. Wind
    23. Wind ×3
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
  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 · 145 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. ShurikenShuriken
    5. Wind ×3
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. HerculesLight transport
    9. Converter ×2
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Wind
    14. Converter
    15. Wind
    16. Wind
    17. Wind
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Wind
    28. Wind ×3
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:06 · typical 6:54
    30. Wind
    31. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    32. Wind
    33. Wind
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. Wind
    39. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:09
    40. Wind
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. Converter
    43. Wind
    44. ShurikenShuriken
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    47. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Con turret
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. Con turret ×2
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant ×2
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant ×3
    66. Converter
    67. ValiantValiant ×3
    68. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:44 · typical 10:53
    69. Converter
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Converter
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Converter
    74. Converter
    75. Converter
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Converter
    78. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    79. Fusion ReactorFusion
    80. Converter
    81. Converter
    82. Converter ×2
    83. Converter
    84. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:40
    85. Converter ×2
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Converter
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Converter
    90. ShurikenShuriken
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. ShurikenShuriken
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Converter
    95. Con turret ×2
    96. ShurikenShuriken
    97. Converter
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Con turret
    100. Converter
    101. Con turret
    102. ShurikenShuriken
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Con turret
    105. Converter
    106. Con turret
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Con turret
    109. Converter
    110. ValiantValiant ×3
    111. Converter
    112. ValiantValiant ×4
    113. Converter
    114. ValiantValiant ×2
    115. Converter
    116. ValiantValiant ×3
    117. Converter
    118. ValiantValiant ×8
    119. Converter
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Fusion ReactorFusion
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Converter
    124. ValiantValiant ×7
    125. Converter
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Converter
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Converter
    130. ValiantValiant
    131. Converter
    132. ValiantValiant ×3
    133. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    134. Converter
    135. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    136. Converter
    137. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    138. Converter
    139. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    140. Converter
    141. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    142. Converter
    143. ValiantValiant ×4
    144. Converter
    145. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Adeus's (35 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 72% 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 2:23 · 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

1811 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
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

Adeus

35.3 OS · 13/10/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
235 metal received · 14939 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

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