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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 · 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:13 · 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. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. ValiantValiant ×2
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind
    15. Mex
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Wind ×3
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. Energy storage
    25. 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 · 167 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. Converter
    3. FinchFinch
    4. Wind
    5. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:40 · typical 6:54
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Converter
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Converter
    16. ShurikenShuriken
    17. Wind
    18. Converter
    19. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    20. Converter
    21. Wind ×2
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    25. Wind
    26. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    27. Converter
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. Converter
    31. Con turret
    32. Converter
    33. Wind
    34. Converter
    35. Con turret
    36. Wind
    37. Converter
    38. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:00
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. Con turret
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Converter
    45. Wind ×2
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind ×2
    48. Converter
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind
    53. Converter
    54. Wind ×2
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind ×2
    57. Con turret
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Con turret
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Con turret
    66. Converter
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. ShurikenShuriken
    71. Wind
    72. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:47 · typical 10:53
    73. ShurikenShuriken
    74. Converter
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    76. Wind
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Wind
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Converter
    81. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    82. Wind
    83. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    84. Converter
    85. Wind
    86. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Converter
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Wind ×2
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Converter
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. Con turret
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Wind ×2
    101. ValiantValiant ×2
    102. Converter
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind ×2
    106. Con turret
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Converter
    109. Con turret
    110. Fusion ReactorFusion
    111. Wind
    112. Con turret
    113. ValiantValiant
    114. Converter
    115. Con turret
    116. Wind ×2
    117. Converter
    118. FinchFinch
    119. Con turret
    120. Wind
    121. Con turret
    122. Converter
    123. ValiantValiant ×2
    124. Converter
    125. Con turret
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Converter
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind
    130. Converter
    131. ValiantValiant
    132. Converter
    133. ValiantValiant
    134. Converter
    135. ValiantValiant
    136. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:27
    137. ValiantValiant
    138. Converter
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant ×5
    142. Converter
    143. ValiantValiant ×4
    144. Wind
    145. ValiantValiant ×4
    146. Converter
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind
    149. ValiantValiant ×2
    150. Fusion ReactorFusion
    151. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    152. Converter
    153. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    154. Converter
    155. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    156. Wind ×2
    157. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    158. Converter
    159. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    160. Converter
    161. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    162. Wind ×2
    163. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    164. Converter
    165. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    166. ValiantValiant
    167. ShurikenShuriken ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is GazzGrim's (31 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 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

GazzGrim

30.6 OS · 10/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
1014 metal received · 124083 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