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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 · 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×5
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:39 · 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 · 32 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    2. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind ×2
    5. Mex
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind ×2
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. Con turret
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind ×3
    20. Con turret
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    23. Wind ×3
    24. Converter
    25. HerculesLight transport
    26. Wind ×2
    27. Converter ×2
    28. Wind
    29. Converter
    30. Wind
    31. HerculesLight transport
    32. 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 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 · 131 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4done 6:00 · typical 6:54
    10. Con turret
    11. Bot LabBot Labdone 7:04
    12. Construction BotCon bot ×6
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind
    15. Construction BotCon bot
    16. Wind
    17. Con turret
    18. Construction BotCon bot
    19. Wind
    20. Construction BotCon bot
    21. Wind
    22. Construction BotCon bot
    23. Wind ×3
    24. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    25. Wind
    26. Construction BotCon bot
    27. Wind ×2
    28. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:18
    29. Wind ×5
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind ×3
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind ×2
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind ×2
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind ×2
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind ×4
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. ShurikenShuriken
    46. Wind ×2
    47. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    48. ShurikenShuriken
    49. Wind
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Wind
    52. ShurikenShuriken
    53. Wind ×2
    54. SentrySentry
    55. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    56. Wind ×2
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Wind
    59. ShurikenShuriken
    60. Wind ×2
    61. ShurikenShuriken
    62. SentrySentry
    63. ShurikenShuriken
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind ×2
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind ×2
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind ×3
    76. ValiantValiant ×2
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Wind
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Wind ×2
    81. ShurikenShuriken
    82. Wind ×2
    83. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    84. SentrySentry ×2
    85. ShurikenShuriken
    86. Wind
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Wind
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. Wind ×2
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind
    93. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind ×3
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant ×2
    101. Wind ×2
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind ×2
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind ×3
    106. ValiantValiant ×2
    107. Wind
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind ×2
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Wind ×4
    112. ValiantValiant ×2
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. Wind ×4
    118. ValiantValiant ×2
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind ×2
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind ×3
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind ×2
    130. ValiantValiant
    131. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is theogbob's (31 OS, 21/08/2026); 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

theogbob

31.1 OS · 21/08/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
85 metal received · 78521 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