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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 547 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 615 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 547 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 ~1:22, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:38 · typical 1:22
  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
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    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. Wind
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. Mex
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×2
    15. Con turret
    16. Wind
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    18. Converter
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Wind
    21. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    22. Converter
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (33%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 221 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. Wind
    7. Converter
    8. ShurikenShuriken
    9. Wind
    10. ShurikenShuriken
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Converter
    15. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    16. Converter
    17. ShurikenShuriken
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Wind
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:39 · typical 6:50
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. Converter
    33. Wind ×2
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. Wind ×2
    42. Converter
    43. Wind
    44. Wind
    45. Converter
    46. Wind
    47. Wind
    48. Wind
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. Wind
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. Converter
    59. Wind
    60. Converter
    61. Wind
    62. Wind
    63. Wind
    64. Wind
    65. Wind
    66. Wind
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:06
    69. Wind ×2
    70. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    71. Con turret
    72. Con turret
    73. FinchFinch
    74. Con turret
    75. FinchFinch
    76. Wind
    77. FinchFinch
    78. Wind
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. Wind
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Converter
    93. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    94. Wind
    95. ShurikenShuriken
    96. Wind
    97. Wind
    98. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    99. Wind
    100. Wind
    101. ShurikenShuriken
    102. Wind
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Wind
    105. ShurikenShuriken
    106. Wind
    107. Wind
    108. ShurikenShuriken
    109. Wind
    110. Wind ×2
    111. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    112. Wind
    113. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    114. Wind
    115. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    116. Wind
    117. Con turret
    118. ShurikenShuriken
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant ×2
    121. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:51 · typical 10:56
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind ×2
    124. Converter
    125. HephaestusHeavy transport
    126. Wind
    127. Wind
    128. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    129. Wind
    130. Wind
    131. Wind
    132. Converter
    133. Wind
    134. Wind
    135. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    136. Wind ×2
    137. Wind
    138. Wind
    139. Wind
    140. Wind ×2
    141. Wind
    142. Converter
    143. Wind
    144. Wind ×2
    145. Fusion ReactorFusion
    146. Wind
    147. Wind
    148. Wind
    149. Converter
    150. Wind
    151. Converter
    152. Wind
    153. Wind
    154. Converter
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Converter
    157. Wind
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Wind
    160. ValiantValiant ×2
    161. HephaestusHeavy transport
    162. Converter
    163. Wind
    164. ValiantValiant
    165. Wind
    166. ValiantValiant
    167. Wind
    168. ValiantValiant
    169. Converter
    170. ValiantValiant ×5
    171. Converter
    172. ValiantValiant
    173. Con turret
    174. ValiantValiant ×2
    175. Con turret
    176. Converter
    177. ValiantValiant ×2
    178. Wind
    179. Wind
    180. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    181. Wind
    182. ValiantValiant
    183. Wind
    184. ValiantValiant
    185. Con turret
    186. Converter
    187. ValiantValiant
    188. Wind
    189. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    190. ValiantValiant ×2
    191. Wind
    192. ValiantValiant
    193. Wind
    194. Converter
    195. ValiantValiant
    196. Wind
    197. ValiantValiant
    198. Wind
    199. ValiantValiant
    200. Wind
    201. Wind
    202. ValiantValiant
    203. Wind
    204. Converter
    205. ValiantValiant
    206. Wind
    207. ValiantValiant ×2
    208. Wind
    209. ValiantValiant
    210. Con turret
    211. ValiantValiant
    212. Wind
    213. Converter
    214. ValiantValiant
    215. Wind
    216. ValiantValiant
    217. Wind
    218. ValiantValiant ×2
    219. Con turret
    220. Wind
    221. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Gieds's (45 OS, 29/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:25 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:40 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 94% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

615 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145800
4:002052051
5:00276573109
6:003755125167
7:005136190219
8:007019220290
9:009335250341
10:0011795327471
11:0014399439641
12:0017100619962
13:00199489301269
14:002264113951807
15:002553020492701
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Gieds

44.7 OS · 29/09/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
320 metal received · 33888 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=615
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:21–7:26 · n=590
Fusion Reactor10:56Middle 50%: 10:03–12:14 · n=375

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort26games of this build