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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 1:15 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    5. Wind ×3
    6. FinchFinch ×2
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant ×2
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. Con turret
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Mex
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Energy storage
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. Con turret
    21. Converter ×3
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Converter
    26. 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 · 179 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. ShurikenShuriken
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. ShurikenShuriken
    16. Wind
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    31. Wind
    32. Converter
    33. Wind
    34. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:36 · typical 6:54
    35. Wind
    36. Wind
    37. Converter
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. Wind ×4
    44. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    45. Wind
    46. Wind
    47. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:54
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Wind ×2
    50. Wind
    51. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    52. ValiantValiant ×2
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. Wind
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Con turret
    59. Wind
    60. Con turret
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Converter
    65. Con turret
    66. Converter
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Converter
    72. Wind
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind
    77. Converter
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Con turret ×2
    80. Wind
    81. Converter
    82. Wind ×2
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. Wind
    86. Wind
    87. Wind
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Converter
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Converter
    96. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:04 · typical 10:52
    97. ValiantValiant ×2
    98. Con turret
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Converter
    101. ValiantValiant ×2
    102. Wind
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Converter
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. FinchFinch
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiant ×2
    109. Converter
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant ×2
    112. Wind
    113. ValiantValiant
    114. Converter
    115. ValiantValiant
    116. Wind
    117. ValiantValiant
    118. Wind
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind
    121. ValiantValiant ×2
    122. Wind
    123. ValiantValiant
    124. Wind
    125. ValiantValiant ×2
    126. Wind
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind
    130. ValiantValiant ×2
    131. Wind
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Wind
    134. ValiantValiant ×2
    135. Wind
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Fusion ReactorFusion
    138. Wind
    139. FinchFinch
    140. Wind
    141. Con turret
    142. Converter
    143. Wind
    144. Converter
    145. Con turret
    146. Wind
    147. Con turret
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Converter
    150. Wind
    151. Converter
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Wind
    154. Converter
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Wind ×2
    157. Converter
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Con turret
    160. ValiantValiant
    161. Converter
    162. ValiantValiant
    163. Converter
    164. Wind
    165. ValiantValiant
    166. Converter
    167. Wind
    168. ValiantValiant
    169. Wind
    170. ValiantValiant
    171. Converter
    172. ValiantValiant
    173. Wind
    174. ValiantValiant ×2
    175. Wind
    176. ValiantValiant
    177. Converter
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. Wind

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

GazzGrim

32.7 OS · 10/10/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
486 metal received · 27673 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