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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 · 1515 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1820 · 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 1515 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 1:16 · 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 · 31 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Con turret
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. Wind
    9. Mex
    10. Wind ×5
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. Energy storage
    14. Wind ×12
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    22. Wind
    23. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    24. Wind
    25. Converter
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Converter
    28. ThistleThistle
    29. ValiantValiant ×3
    30. Converter
    31. ValiantValiant
  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 · 126 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    2. Wind
    3. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    4. Wind ×2
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    6. Wind
    7. FinchFinch
    8. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    9. Wind ×4
    10. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    11. Wind ×15
    12. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:34 · typical 6:54
    13. Con turret
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    15. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:29
    16. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    18. Converter ×2
    19. Con turret
    20. Converter ×3
    21. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    22. Converter
    23. Wind ×7
    24. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    25. Wind ×2
    26. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    27. Wind ×10
    28. Con turret
    29. Wind
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. Wind ×5
    32. Con turret
    33. Wind ×2
    34. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    35. Con turret
    36. Wind ×5
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind ×3
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. Con turret
    42. Wind ×2
    43. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    44. Wind ×5
    45. Converter
    46. Wind ×3
    47. Con turret
    48. Wind ×3
    49. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:12 · typical 10:52
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. Con turret
    53. Wind ×3
    54. Con turret
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Con turret
    57. Converter
    58. Wind ×2
    59. Con turret
    60. Wind ×3
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind ×2
    63. Converter
    64. Wind ×5
    65. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    66. T2 converter
    67. Wind ×3
    68. Converter
    69. Wind ×11
    70. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    71. Wind ×3
    72. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    73. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 13:32
    74. Wind ×5
    75. T2 converter
    76. Wind ×18
    77. T2 converter
    78. Wind ×10
    79. NighthawkNighthawk
    80. Wind ×3
    81. NighthawkNighthawk
    82. T2 converter
    83. Wind ×3
    84. NighthawkNighthawk
    85. Wind ×5
    86. Hardened Energy Storage
    87. Wind
    88. NighthawkNighthawk
    89. Wind ×2
    90. Con turret
    91. Wind
    92. Con turret
    93. Wind ×2
    94. NighthawkNighthawk
    95. Con turret
    96. Wind
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind ×2
    99. NighthawkNighthawk
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind ×3
    102. NighthawkNighthawk
    103. Wind ×3
    104. NighthawkNighthawk
    105. Wind ×2
    106. WaspWasp
    107. Wind ×4
    108. WaspWasp
    109. Wind
    110. NighthawkNighthawk
    111. ThistleThistle
    112. Wind
    113. NighthawkNighthawk
    114. ThistleThistle
    115. Wind
    116. NighthawkNighthawk
    117. ThistleThistle
    118. Wind ×2
    119. NighthawkNighthawk
    120. Wind ×3
    121. ThistleThistle
    122. NighthawkNighthawk
    123. Wind ×2
    124. NighthawkNighthawk
    125. Wind ×2
    126. NighthawkNighthawk

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Zippo9's (38 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 2:23 · 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

1820 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
6:003709102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285231271
10:0011765292380
11:0014373367535
12:0017074512780
13:00198647751095
14:002271012621682
15:002573918112415
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

Zippo9

37.8 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
77 metal received · 159452 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=1820
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1760
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1165

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build