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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 · 1490 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1793 · 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 1490 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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3for Pond
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:08 · 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 · 31 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    2. Windfor Pond
    3. HerculesLight transport ×2for Beach sea
    4. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    5. FinchFinch
    6. Wind ×2for Pond
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    8. FinchFinch
    9. Windfor Pond
    10. Energy storagefor Pond
    11. Mex
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Pond
    13. Windfor Pond
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Energy storagefor Pond
    16. Con turretfor Pond
    17. Wind
    18. Windfor Pond
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    25. Converterfor Pond
    26. Wind
    27. Con turretfor Pond
    28. Wind
    29. Con turretfor Pond
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Converterfor Pond
  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 (48%) · 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 · 93 steps
    1. ValiantValiant
    2. Converterfor Pond
    3. Converter
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Ponddone 6:27 · typical 6:54
    8. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    9. Wind
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    11. Windfor Pond
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Wind
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Pond
    15. Wind
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Wind
    18. Wind ×4for Pond
    19. Solar ×4
    20. Wind
    21. Wind ×2for Pond
    22. Con turret ×2for Pond
    23. Wind
    24. Windfor Pond
    25. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantfor Ponddone 8:34
    26. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:52 · typical 10:53
    27. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant ×5
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant ×2
    32. Con turretfor Pond
    33. ValiantValiant ×3
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant ×4
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Converterfor Pond
    39. ValiantValiant ×3
    40. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Pond
    41. Converterfor Pond
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Converterfor Pond
    46. ValiantValiant
    47. Converterfor Pond
    48. Con turretfor Pond
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turretfor Pond
    51. Wind
    52. Con turretfor Pond
    53. ValiantValiant ×2
    54. Twin GuardTwin Guardfor Pond
    55. Converterfor Pond
    56. ValiantValiant ×2
    57. Wind
    58. Converterfor Pond
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Converterfor Pond
    61. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Converterfor Pond
    64. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    65. Converterfor Pond
    66. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    67. Metal storagefor Pond
    68. Converterfor Pond
    69. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    70. Wind
    71. Bot LabBot Labfor Ponddone 11:16
    72. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    73. Fusion ReactorFusion
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×3for Pond
    76. Construction BotCon botfor Pond
    77. ShurikenShurikenfor Pond
    78. Converterfor Pond
    79. ShurikenShuriken ×2for Pond
    80. Wind ×2
    81. ShurikenShurikenfor Pond
    82. Twin GuardTwin Guardfor Pond
    83. Construction BotCon botfor Pond
    84. ShurikenShurikenfor Pond
    85. GuardGuardfor Pond
    86. Construction BotCon botfor Pond
    87. ShurikenShurikenfor Pond
    88. Construction BotCon bot
    89. ShurikenShurikenfor Pond
    90. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    91. GraverobberGraverobberfor Pond
    92. ValiantValiantfor Pond
    93. GraverobberGraverobberfor Pond

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is RiskyDonut's (33 OS, 12/10/2026); 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 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 2:22 · 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

1793 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
6:003706102124
7:005088146167
8:006900190219
9:009279232270
10:0011757292384
11:0014351373540
12:0017061515781
13:00198467811109
14:002269912691689
15:002570018082409
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

RiskyDonut

32.9 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
3263 metal received · 129529 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=1793
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1734
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1147

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build