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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 · 1508 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1813 · 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 1508 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 ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:29 · 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 · 19 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind ×4
    6. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    7. Wind
    8. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    9. ShurikenShuriken ×2for Geo sea
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Mex
    13. ValiantValiant ×3
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind ×2
  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 · 140 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Solar
    3. ValiantValiant ×2
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:04 · typical 6:54
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Converter ×2
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Converter
    21. HerculesLight transport
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant ×2
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Con turret
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. ValiantValiant ×2
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Con turret
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind ×2
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. Wind
    45. Wind
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Wind
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turret
    51. Wind
    52. Wind
    53. Con turret
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. T2 converter
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. Con turret
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:15 · typical 10:52
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Wind
    92. ShurikenShuriken
    93. Wind
    94. ShurikenShuriken
    95. Wind
    96. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    97. Wind
    98. T2 converter
    99. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    100. Wind
    101. ShurikenShuriken
    102. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:39
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Wind
    105. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    106. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    107. ShurikenShuriken
    108. Wind
    109. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    110. Wind
    111. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    112. ValiantValiant ×2
    113. Con turret
    114. Wind
    115. Fusion ReactorFusion
    116. Wind
    117. Con turret
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind ×2
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind ×2
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant
    129. Wind ×2
    130. ValiantValiant ×2
    131. Wind
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. T2 converter
    134. ValiantValiant ×2
    135. Wind
    136. ValiantValiant ×4
    137. Wind
    138. ValiantValiant ×2
    139. Wind
    140. ValiantValiant ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Ubilosis's (30 OS, 03/10/2026); 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 2:23 · 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 1:42 · 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

1813 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
6:003711102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285230270
10:0011761292379
11:0014370369533
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811101
14:002270412631689
15:002573618082409
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

Ubilosis

30.5 OS · 03/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
262 metal received · 91540 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=1813
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1753
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:46–12:17 · n=1160

Played most by

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