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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 (77%)

#eco #air #team support · 1538 distinct matches · 255 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1845 · 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 1538 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 1:40 · 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%) · converter (44%) · energy storage (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 · 27 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. Mex
    13. ValiantValiant ×2
    14. Wind
    15. Con turret
    16. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    17. Wind
    18. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Converter
    27. 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 18 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 (34%) · 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 · 169 steps
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    2. Converter
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:55 · typical 6:54
    7. Con turret
    8. Wind
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    12. Wind
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    14. Wind ×3
    15. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:07
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind ×2
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Converter
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:39 · typical 10:52
    40. Wind ×5
    41. Con turret
    42. Con turret
    43. ValiantValiant ×2
    44. Converter
    45. ShurikenShuriken
    46. Wind
    47. ShurikenShuriken
    48. Converter
    49. Wind ×2
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. ShurikenShuriken
    54. Wind
    55. ShurikenShuriken
    56. Converter
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Converter
    64. ValiantValiant ×2
    65. Wind
    66. Fusion ReactorFusion
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. Converter
    70. Wind ×2
    71. Con turret
    72. Wind
    73. Converter
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind ×2
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Con turret
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. Wind
    81. Con turret
    82. Wind ×2
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind ×4
    85. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    86. Wind
    87. Con turret
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Converter
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. Converter
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Wind
    97. ShurikenShuriken
    98. Converter
    99. Wind ×2
    100. ShurikenShuriken
    101. Converter
    102. Wind
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Converter
    105. Wind
    106. ShurikenShuriken
    107. Converter
    108. ShurikenShuriken
    109. Converter
    110. ShurikenShuriken
    111. Con turret
    112. Wind
    113. ShurikenShuriken
    114. Con turret
    115. Wind
    116. ShurikenShuriken
    117. Wind
    118. ShurikenShuriken
    119. Converter
    120. Con turret
    121. ShurikenShuriken
    122. Wind
    123. ShurikenShuriken
    124. Con turret
    125. Wind
    126. ShurikenShuriken
    127. Converter
    128. Wind
    129. ShurikenShuriken
    130. Wind
    131. ShurikenShuriken
    132. Converter
    133. ShurikenShuriken
    134. Wind
    135. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    136. Converter
    137. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Converter
    140. ValiantValiant
    141. Wind
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Converter
    144. ValiantValiant
    145. CitadelAnti-nukedone 13:24
    146. Converter
    147. Wind
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Wind
    150. ValiantValiant
    151. Wind
    152. Converter
    153. FinchFinch
    154. Wind
    155. FinchFinch
    156. Wind
    157. FinchFinch
    158. Converter
    159. Wind
    160. FinchFinch
    161. Wind
    162. FinchFinch
    163. ValiantValiant ×3
    164. T2 converter
    165. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    166. ValiantValiant ×17
    167. ShurikenShuriken ×21
    168. ValiantValiant ×7
    169. Fusion ReactorFusion

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is iriS_xe's (31 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 2:22 · 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 1:41 · 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

1845 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
6:003711102124
7:005090146167
8:006903190219
9:009285229270
10:0011761292378
11:0014384366531
12:0017078511777
13:00198827691085
14:002272512551684
15:002576818132440
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

iriS_xe

30.8 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
60 metal received · 25599 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=1845
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:26–7:26 · n=1784
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1186

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildHALF_DALLAH_HABIT52games of this build