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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 · 1486 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1790 · 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 1486 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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×5
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:49 · 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 (41%)

    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 · 21 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinch
    5. Wind ×2
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant ×4
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. Mex
    11. Con turret
    12. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    13. Con turret
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Con turret
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. 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 (48%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · 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 · 170 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Converter
    7. HerculesLight transport
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. HerculesLight transport
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Converter
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Converter
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:51 · typical 6:54
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    22. Wind
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    26. Converter
    27. Con turret
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. Wind ×4
    31. Converter
    32. Wind ×3
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    34. Wind ×2
    35. Con turret
    36. Wind
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:34
    41. Wind
    42. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    43. Converter
    44. Wind
    45. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    46. Converter ×2
    47. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    48. Converter ×3
    49. Wind
    50. Converter ×3
    51. FinchFinch
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Converter
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Converter
    56. Wind
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Converter
    59. ShurikenShuriken
    60. Wind
    61. ShurikenShuriken
    62. Converter
    63. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:02 · typical 10:53
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Converter
    66. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    67. Wind
    68. Converter
    69. ShurikenShuriken
    70. Converter
    71. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    72. ValiantValiant ×3
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant ×2
    75. Converter
    76. ValiantValiant ×3
    77. Converter
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Converter
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Converter
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Converter
    85. Fusion ReactorFusion
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Converter
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Wind
    92. Converter ×2
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Converter
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Converter
    98. Con turret
    99. Converter ×3
    100. Con turret
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Converter
    103. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    104. Wind
    105. Converter
    106. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    107. Converter
    108. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    109. Converter
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Converter ×2
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Converter
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. Converter
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Converter
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Converter
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Converter
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind
    126. Converter
    127. ValiantValiant ×2
    128. Converter ×2
    129. ValiantValiant ×2
    130. Con turret
    131. ValiantValiant
    132. Converter ×2
    133. Wind
    134. Fusion ReactorFusion
    135. Converter ×2
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:37
    138. Converter ×4
    139. ValiantValiant
    140. Wind
    141. Converter ×3
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Converter ×2
    144. Wind
    145. Fusion ReactorFusion
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Converter
    148. FinchFinch
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Converter
    151. ValiantValiant ×2
    152. Converter
    153. ValiantValiant
    154. Converter
    155. ValiantValiant ×2
    156. FinchFinch
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. Converter
    159. ValiantValiant
    160. Converter
    161. ValiantValiant
    162. Wind
    163. ValiantValiant ×3
    164. Converter ×2
    165. ValiantValiant ×3
    166. Converter
    167. ValiantValiant ×5
    168. Wind
    169. Converter
    170. ValiantValiant ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [Grump]Pickul's (30 OS, 21/09/2026); 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 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 47% 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

1790 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027635173
6:003712102124
7:005087146167
8:006902190219
9:009285231273
10:0011760292386
11:0014377374540
12:0017071517781
13:00198517811112
14:002267412691690
15:002569318242435
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

[Grump]Pickul

30.2 OS · 21/09/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
428 metal received · 270108 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=1790
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1731
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1146

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build