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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 583 distinct matches · 119 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 655 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 583 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 ~1:24, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    By 1:03 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 1:34 · typical 1:24
  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
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    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. Wind
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind
    6. FinchFinch
    7. ValiantValiant ×2
    8. FinchFinch
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. Wind
    12. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    13. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant ×2
    16. Mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    22. Wind
    23. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    24. Wind
    25. HerculesLight transport
    26. Wind
    27. Wind
    28. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    29. Wind
    30. Con turret
    31. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 57% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (35%) · fusion (34%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 134 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Con turret
    3. Wind
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. ThistleThistle ×3
    7. Wind ×3
    8. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 6:36
    9. Converter
    10. Wind
    11. Converter ×2
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Converter
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. ValiantValiant ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Wind
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:31 · typical 6:48
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. HerculesLight transport
    32. Con turret
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    34. ShurikenShuriken
    35. Con turret
    36. ShurikenShuriken
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind
    39. ShurikenShuriken
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Con turret
    43. Wind ×2
    44. ValiantValiant ×2
    45. Wind ×7
    46. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    47. Wind ×4
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Con turret
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind ×2
    57. ValiantValiant ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. ShurikenShuriken
    63. Con turret
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Wind
    66. ShurikenShuriken
    67. Wind
    68. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    69. Con turret
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Con turret
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    74. Con turret
    75. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    76. Con turret
    77. ShurikenShuriken
    78. Con turret
    79. ValiantValiant ×2
    80. Con turret
    81. ValiantValiant
    82. Con turret ×2
    83. ValiantValiant ×3
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×2
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant ×2
    90. Wind ×2
    91. Con turret
    92. Wind
    93. Con turret
    94. Wind ×2
    95. Con turret
    96. Wind
    97. Con turret
    98. Wind ×2
    99. Con turret
    100. Wind
    101. Con turret
    102. Wind
    103. Con turret
    104. ValiantValiant
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiant
    107. Con turret
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiant ×6
    111. Wind
    112. ValiantValiant
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant ×2
    117. Wind
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind
    122. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    123. Wind
    124. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    125. Wind
    126. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    127. Wind
    128. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    129. Wind
    130. ValiantValiant
    131. Wind
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Twin GuardTwin Guard
    134. ValiantValiant ×10

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Lexosis's (39 OS, 02/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · 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 2:25 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 49% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 94% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

655 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002055051
5:00276673116
6:003769125167
7:005146190219
8:007021226290
9:009346260342
10:0011817328467
11:0014409438638
12:0017109605950
13:00199519421277
14:002267214281816
15:002558320892709
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Lexosis

38.8 OS · 02/10/2026

Open source match ↗

13 received units · includes a constructor
1380 metal received · 89142 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:24Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=655
Advanced Metal Extractor6:48Middle 50%: 6:21–7:25 · n=629
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 9:56–12:17 · n=401

Played most by

DRM38games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildImmort27games of this build