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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 ×2
    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 (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 · 30 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. FinchFinch
    5. ValiantValiant ×2
    6. Wind ×2
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Con turret
    10. HerculesLight transport
    11. Mex
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. Wind
    15. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    18. Wind
    19. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 4:28
    20. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    21. Wind
    22. ShurikenShuriken
    23. Wind
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Wind
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Wind
    30. 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 (47%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · 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 · 179 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:22 · typical 6:54
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    15. ShurikenShuriken
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ShurikenShuriken
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. ShurikenShuriken
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    25. Wind
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. ShurikenShuriken
    30. Wind
    31. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. Con turret
    35. ShurikenShuriken
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. ShurikenShuriken
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Con turret
    40. ShurikenShuriken
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. ShurikenShuriken
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. ShurikenShuriken
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. ShurikenShuriken
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. ShurikenShuriken
    52. ThistleThistle
    53. Wind
    54. ThistleThistle
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. ThistleThistle
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. ValiantValiant ×2
    59. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    60. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:23
    61. Wind
    62. ValiantValiant ×3
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant ×4
    65. ShurikenShuriken
    66. Con turret
    67. ShurikenShuriken
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant ×2
    70. ShurikenShuriken
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    74. ValiantValiant ×2
    75. Wind ×2
    76. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    77. Wind
    78. ShurikenShuriken
    79. Wind
    80. ShurikenShuriken
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant
    84. Wind
    85. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    86. Wind ×2
    87. ValiantValiant ×2
    88. Wind ×3
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. Wind
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind ×2
    93. ValiantValiant ×2
    94. Wind
    95. ShurikenShuriken
    96. Wind
    97. Con turret
    98. ShurikenShuriken
    99. Con turret ×2
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Wind ×2
    102. ValiantValiant ×2
    103. Wind
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Wind ×2
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. ShurikenShuriken
    109. ValiantValiant ×3
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. ShurikenShuriken
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant ×2
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. ShurikenShuriken
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind ×2
    122. ValiantValiant ×2
    123. ShurikenShuriken
    124. Wind
    125. ValiantValiant ×2
    126. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    127. Wind
    128. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    129. Wind
    130. ShurikenShuriken
    131. Wind
    132. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    133. Wind
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    136. Wind ×2
    137. ValiantValiant ×2
    138. Wind
    139. Wind
    140. Wind
    141. ValiantValiant
    142. Wind
    143. Con turret ×2
    144. ShurikenShuriken
    145. ValiantValiant
    146. Wind ×3
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind ×2
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Wind
    151. ValiantValiant
    152. Wind
    153. ShurikenShuriken
    154. ValiantValiant
    155. Wind ×2
    156. ValiantValiant ×2
    157. Wind
    158. ShurikenShuriken
    159. ValiantValiant ×2
    160. Wind ×3
    161. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    162. ValiantValiant ×2
    163. Wind
    164. Wind
    165. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    166. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:30
    167. ValiantValiant
    168. Wind ×4
    169. CitadelAnti-nukenot finished by 15:00
    170. Wind
    171. ShurikenShuriken
    172. NighthawkNighthawk
    173. Wind ×3
    174. Wind
    175. ShurikenShuriken
    176. Wind
    177. NighthawkNighthawk
    178. Wind ×2
    179. ShurikenShuriken

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Spongeb0b's (31 OS, 16/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · 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 2:23 · 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 46% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:23 · 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

1811 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002052051
5:0027635173
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

Spongeb0b

31.2 OS · 16/08/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
1677 metal received · 70112 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build