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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 (73%)

#eco #team support #air · 525 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 590 · 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 525 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 ~1:21, middle half 1:13–1:34

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:02 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 1:21
  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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · 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 · 23 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    5. Wind ×3
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. Wind ×3
    8. Energy storage
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind ×2
    12. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. ValiantValiant ×3
    16. Wind ×7
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind ×3
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
  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 (32%) · 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 · 126 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind ×9
    4. HephaestusHeavy transportfor unknown
    5. Wind ×3
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. FinchFinch
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Converter
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:25 · typical 6:50
    18. Converter ×3
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    20. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:18
    21. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:39
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    23. HerculesLight transport
    24. Con turret
    25. HephaestusHeavy transport
    26. Con turret ×2
    27. HerculesLight transport
    28. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    31. ValiantValiant ×7
    32. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    33. ValiantValiant ×28
    34. Bot LabBot Labdone 11:04
    35. ValiantValiant ×7
    36. Construction BotCon bot
    37. ValiantValiant ×2
    38. Construction BotCon bot
    39. ValiantValiant ×2
    40. Construction BotCon bot
    41. ValiantValiant ×2
    42. Construction BotCon bot
    43. ValiantValiant ×2
    44. Construction BotCon bot
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Construction BotCon bot
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Construction BotCon bot
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Construction BotCon bot
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Construction BotCon bot
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Construction BotCon bot
    55. ValiantValiant ×4
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind ×2
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Wind ×2
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant ×2
    68. Wind ×3
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. Construction BotCon bot
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind ×3
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. Construction BotCon bot
    79. ValiantValiant
    80. Wind
    81. Construction BotCon bot
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind ×2
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Construction BotCon bot
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind ×2
    89. ValiantValiant
    90. Wind ×2
    91. ValiantValiant
    92. Construction BotCon bot
    93. Wind ×3
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind ×2
    96. Construction BotCon bot
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Wind ×4
    103. ValiantValiant ×2
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Wind ×3
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Wind ×6
    109. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:56
    110. Wind ×7
    111. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    112. Wind ×5
    113. Con turret
    114. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    115. Wind ×6
    116. Con turret
    117. Wind ×6
    118. Converter
    119. Wind ×6
    120. Converter
    121. Wind ×2
    122. Converter
    123. Wind ×4
    124. Converter
    125. Converter
    126. Wind ×5

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is RogShotz's (44 OS, 19/08/2026); 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 2:05 · 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 1:39 · in 66% 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 6:04 · 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

590 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145800
4:002050051
5:00276373102
6:003766125150
7:005129176219
8:007014219285
9:009298248341
10:0011788315470
11:0014397439639
12:0017105603950
13:00199438701236
14:002263713511806
15:002549320022670
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

RogShotz

43.6 OS · 19/08/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
637 metal received · 154011 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:21Middle 50%: 1:13–1:34 · n=590
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:22–7:27 · n=566
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=355

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus32games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildImmort25games of this buildNutzz25games of this build