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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 ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:14 · 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 · 23 steps
    1. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Tech
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    6. Con turret
    7. HephaestusHeavy transport
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Mex
    10. Wind ×4
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Con turret
    13. Energy storage
    14. Wind ×4
    15. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Converter
    20. Energy storage
    21. Wind
    22. Con turret
    23. Converter
  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 · 189 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. Con turret
    21. Converter
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:13 · typical 6:54
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    27. Con turret ×2
    28. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:58
    29. Con turret
    30. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    31. Con turret
    32. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:58 · typical 10:52
    33. ValiantValiant ×3
    34. HerculesLight transport
    35. ValiantValiant ×2
    36. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    37. ValiantValiant ×3
    38. Con turret
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Con turret ×5
    41. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    42. Con turret
    43. ValiantValiant ×6
    44. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Con turret
    47. Wind
    48. Con turret
    49. Con turret
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant ×4
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant ×2
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Con turret
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. HephaestusHeavy transport
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant ×3
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind ×2
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    81. Wind ×2
    82. Wind
    83. Wind
    84. Wind
    85. Wind
    86. Vehicle PlantVehicle Plantdone 11:22
    87. Wind
    88. BruteBrute
    89. T2 converter
    90. Wind
    91. BruteBrutefor Geo
    92. Wind
    93. Wind
    94. Wind ×2
    95. IncisorIncisor ×2for Geo
    96. Wind
    97. BruteBrutefor Geo
    98. Wind
    99. IncisorIncisor ×2for Geo
    100. Wind
    101. Wind
    102. BruteBrutefor Geo
    103. IncisorIncisorfor Geo
    104. Wind
    105. IncisorIncisorfor Geo
    106. Wind
    107. BruteBrutefor Front
    108. Wind
    109. IncisorIncisor ×2for Front
    110. Wind
    111. Wind
    112. BruteBrutefor Front
    113. IncisorIncisorfor Front
    114. Wind
    115. IncisorIncisorfor Front
    116. Wind
    117. BruteBrutefor Front
    118. Wind
    119. IncisorIncisor
    120. Vehicle PlantEat Vehicle Plantreclaimed for its metal
    121. Wind
    122. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    123. Wind ×2
    124. Wind
    125. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 13:18
    126. Wind
    127. Wind
    128. ShurikenShuriken
    129. Wind
    130. Wind
    131. Wind
    132. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    133. Wind
    134. Wind
    135. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    136. NighthawkNighthawk
    137. Wind
    138. NighthawkNighthawk
    139. Wind
    140. NighthawkNighthawk
    141. Con turret
    142. Wind
    143. Con turret
    144. Wind
    145. Con turret ×2
    146. NighthawkNighthawk
    147. Wind
    148. Con turret ×2
    149. Wind
    150. Con turret
    151. Wind
    152. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    153. Wind
    154. Wind
    155. Wind
    156. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    157. Wind
    158. Wind
    159. NighthawkNighthawk
    160. Wind
    161. Wind
    162. NighthawkNighthawk
    163. Wind
    164. NighthawkNighthawk
    165. Wind
    166. CondorRadar planefor Beach sea
    167. Wind ×2
    168. NighthawkNighthawk
    169. Wind
    170. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    171. Wind
    172. Wind ×2
    173. NighthawkNighthawk
    174. Wind
    175. NighthawkNighthawk
    176. Wind
    177. NighthawkNighthawk
    178. Wind
    179. Wind
    180. NighthawkNighthawk
    181. CondorRadar plane
    182. Wind
    183. Wind
    184. NighthawkNighthawk
    185. Wind
    186. NighthawkNighthawk
    187. Wind
    188. Wind
    189. NighthawkNighthawk

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is dzikiTygrys12's (32 OS, 08/10/2026); 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

dzikiTygrys12

32.4 OS · 08/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
417 metal received · 104975 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