BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 · 7 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Mex
    4. Wind ×3
    5. Energy storage
    6. Wind ×7
    7. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 2:18 · 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 · 17 steps
    1. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    4. Wind ×2
    5. ShurikenShuriken
    6. Wind
    7. ShurikenShuriken
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    10. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    11. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Suicide front
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. Con turret
    15. HerculesLight transport
    16. Mex
    17. Con turret ×2
  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 · 116 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Converter ×2
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind
    12. Converter ×2
    13. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:19 · typical 6:50
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    18. Wind
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    20. Wind ×7
    21. Con turret ×2
    22. Wind
    23. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:07
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Wind
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    31. Wind
    32. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    33. Wind
    34. ShurikenShuriken
    35. Wind
    36. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    37. Wind
    38. ShurikenShuriken
    39. Wind
    40. ShurikenShuriken
    41. Wind
    42. ShurikenShuriken
    43. Wind
    44. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    45. ValiantValiant ×15
    46. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    47. Wind ×3
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:48 · typical 10:55
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Fusion ReactorFusion
    57. Wind ×3
    58. Converter
    59. JunoJuno
    60. Wind
    61. Converter
    62. Wind ×3
    63. Converter
    64. Wind
    65. Converter
    66. Wind ×2
    67. Converter ×2
    68. Con turret
    69. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:32
    70. Converter
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Converter
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Converter
    75. ValiantValiant ×2
    76. Converter
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Converter
    79. ValiantValiant ×2
    80. Converter
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Converter
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. Converter
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Converter
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. Converter
    91. ValiantValiant ×2
    92. Converter
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Wind
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Converter
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. Converter
    100. ValiantValiant ×6
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiant ×2
    103. Con turret
    104. Wind
    105. Con turret
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Con turret ×3
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Con turret
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Con turret
    114. ValiantValiant ×3
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant ×3

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Fruit_'s (41 OS, 27/09/2026); 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 2:05 · 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

Fruit_

41.1 OS · 27/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
214 metal received · 33695 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