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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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:37 · 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 Geo sea
    2. Wind
    3. HerculesLight transport
    4. FinchFinch
    5. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Geo
    10. Mex
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Con turret ×2
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind ×2
    24. ShurikenShuriken
    25. Wind ×2
    26. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    27. Wind
    28. ShurikenShuriken
    29. Wind
    30. ShurikenShuriken
    31. 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 · 88 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transport
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transport
    5. Wind ×5
    6. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    7. Wind ×9
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexnot finished by 15:00 · typical 6:54
    9. Wind
    10. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:37
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    13. ValiantValiant ×5
    14. HephaestusHeavy transport
    15. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    16. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    17. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    18. Con turret
    19. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    20. Mex ×2
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    22. Con turret
    23. Mex
    24. GuardGuard
    25. Converter
    26. GuardGuard
    27. Converter
    28. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:56 · typical 10:53
    29. GuardGuard
    30. Converter ×2
    31. GuardGuard
    32. Converter ×3
    33. Mex
    34. Converter ×4
    35. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:04
    36. NettleNettle
    37. Mex
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. NettleNettle
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. NettleNettle
    42. ValiantValiant ×7
    43. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2for Geo
    44. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×3
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Con turret
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Con turret
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turret
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Converter
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Con turret
    55. Converter
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Con turret
    58. GuardGuard
    59. Con turret
    60. Converter
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Con turret
    63. GuardGuard
    64. Converter
    65. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:29
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Converter
    68. GuardGuard
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. Converter
    72. Wind ×3
    73. Converter
    74. NighthawkNighthawk
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Wind
    77. NighthawkNighthawk
    78. Wind
    79. Converter
    80. ValiantValiant
    81. Wind
    82. NighthawkNighthawk
    83. Converter
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Fusion ReactorFusion
    86. Wind
    87. Converter
    88. NighthawkNighthawk

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is OsamaBinClappin's (30 OS, 22/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · 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

OsamaBinClappin

30.0 OS · 22/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
233 metal received · 33705 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