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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is DRM's (43 OS, 14/10/2026); 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

DRM

42.6 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
3033 metal received · 79683 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