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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 · 6 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Solar
    6. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:58 · 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 · 33 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. FinchFinch
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. Con turret
    9. Wind
    10. Con turret
    11. Wind
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    13. Wind
    14. Wind
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. Mex
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. Converter ×2
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind
    28. Converter
    29. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    30. Wind
    31. Converter ×2
    32. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    33. Con turret
  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 · 162 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. Wind
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Wind
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind
    12. Wind
    13. Wind
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Con turret
    17. Wind
    18. Wind ×3
    19. Wind
    20. Wind ×2
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Wind ×4
    30. Converter
    31. Wind
    32. Wind
    33. Wind ×2
    34. Wind
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:41 · typical 6:54
    36. Wind
    37. Wind ×2
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind ×3
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    41. Con turret ×2
    42. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:00
    43. ValiantValiant ×2
    44. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Converter
    47. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant ×2
    50. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:38
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    53. Construction BotCon bot
    54. ValiantValiant ×2
    55. Wind
    56. Construction BotCon bot
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Construction BotCon bot
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind
    62. CrossbowCrossbow
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. CrossbowCrossbow
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. Wind
    70. Converter
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. CrossbowCrossbow
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind
    75. CrossbowCrossbow ×2
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. Wind ×2
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. CrossbowCrossbow
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant ×2
    88. Wind ×2
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. CrossbowCrossbow
    92. Wind
    93. Construction BotCon bot
    94. ValiantValiant ×2
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Converter
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    101. Wind ×2
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. Wind
    105. Con turret
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Construction BotCon bot
    108. Con turret
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Construction BotCon bot
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. Wind
    115. Construction BotCon bot
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. Wind ×2
    118. Construction BotCon bot
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind
    121. Wind
    122. Construction BotCon bot
    123. ValiantValiant ×2
    124. Construction BotCon bot
    125. ValiantValiant
    126. Wind
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Construction BotCon bot
    130. Wind
    131. ValiantValiant
    132. Wind
    133. Wind
    134. Converter
    135. ValiantValiant
    136. Wind ×2
    137. Construction BotCon bot
    138. Wind ×2
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant
    142. Construction BotCon bot
    143. Wind
    144. ValiantValiant
    145. Wind
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Wind
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Wind
    150. Wind
    151. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    152. Wind ×4
    153. HerculesLight transport
    154. Wind
    155. Wind ×4
    156. HerculesLight transport
    157. Wind ×2
    158. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    159. Wind ×2
    160. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    161. Wind ×4
    162. Construction AircraftCon aircraft

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Herbiderpi's (33 OS, 09/10/2026); 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

Herbiderpi

32.5 OS · 09/10/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
1069 metal received · 57953 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