BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 · 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. Solar ×2
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:09 · 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 · 43 steps
    1. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. Mex
    5. Wind
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Tidalfor Beach sea
    9. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    10. Con turret
    11. FinchFinch
    12. Wind
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    14. Wind
    15. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    16. Wind
    17. Energy storage
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind ×2
    22. Converter
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. Converter
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Converter
    28. Wind ×2
    29. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    30. Converter
    31. Wind ×3
    32. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    33. Wind ×5
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Converter
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. Wind
    42. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    43. 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 · 115 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    11. Advanced solar
    12. ValiantValiant ×6
    13. HephaestusHeavy transport
    14. FinchFinch
    15. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    16. FinchFinch
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    19. HephaestusHeavy transport
    20. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    21. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    22. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    23. Wind
    24. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    25. HerculesLight transportfor Suicide front
    26. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    27. Wind
    28. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    29. ValiantValiant ×6
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant ×5
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 9:41 · typical 6:54
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant ×2
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Geo
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant ×2
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant ×3
    51. JellyfishJellyfish
    52. Con turret
    53. Wind
    54. Advanced solar
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Converter
    57. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    58. Con turret
    59. Advanced solar
    60. Wind
    61. Con turret
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. GuardGuard
    64. Converter
    65. ThistleThistle
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Converter
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. SlingshotSlingshot
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Converter
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant ×2
    77. Mex
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. Wind ×2
    83. Converter
    84. Wind ×2
    85. Converter
    86. Wind
    87. Con turret
    88. Converter
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Con turret
    91. ValiantValiant ×2
    92. Converter
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Converter
    95. ValiantValiant ×2
    96. Converter
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Naval Radar / Sonar TowerNaval Radar / Sonar Tower
    99. Converter
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Converter
    102. ValiantValiant ×2
    103. Converter
    104. UrchinUrchin
    105. ValiantValiant ×3
    106. Fusion ReactorFusionnot finished by 15:00 · typical 10:52
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Con turret
    109. Converter
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Con turret ×2
    112. Converter ×2
    113. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    114. Converter
    115. WhirlwindWhirlwind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hokusai's (32 OS, 28/08/2026); 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

Hokusai

31.8 OS · 28/08/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
254 metal received · 27317 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