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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×6
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:28 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. FinchFinch ×2
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Energy storage
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×2
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Mex
    10. Con turret
    11. ValiantValiant ×3
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant ×2
    18. Wind
    19. FinchFinch
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. 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 · 157 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Wind
    7. Converter
    8. HerculesLight transport
    9. Wind ×3
    10. Converter
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind
    16. ThistleThistle
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Con turret
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. Converter
    32. ValiantValiant ×2
    33. Converter
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Converter
    36. Con turret
    37. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:43
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:24 · typical 6:54
    39. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    40. Con turret
    41. Converter
    42. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    43. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    44. Converter
    45. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    46. Construction BotCon bot
    47. Wind
    48. Construction BotCon bot
    49. Wind ×2
    50. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    51. Wind ×2
    52. Construction BotCon bot
    53. Wind
    54. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:15
    55. Construction BotCon bot
    56. Wind ×2
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Wind
    59. Construction BotCon bot
    60. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    61. Wind
    62. ShurikenShuriken
    63. Wind
    64. ShurikenShuriken
    65. Construction BotCon bot
    66. Wind ×2
    67. Construction BotCon bot
    68. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:05 · typical 10:52
    69. Wind ×2
    70. Construction BotCon bot
    71. Wind ×3
    72. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    73. Wind ×4
    74. Construction BotCon bot
    75. Wind ×6
    76. Construction BotCon bot
    77. Wind ×12
    78. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    79. Wind ×4
    80. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:30
    81. Wind ×13
    82. ValiantValiant
    83. Wind ×3
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Wind ×2
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Converter
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind ×5
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind ×3
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind ×2
    94. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    95. ValiantValiant
    96. Wind ×4
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. Converter
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Wind ×4
    102. ValiantValiant
    103. Wind
    104. Converter ×2
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Wind ×5
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Converter
    109. Wind ×2
    110. ValiantValiant
    111. Wind
    112. FinchFinch
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant
    115. Wind ×3
    116. Converter
    117. Wind ×2
    118. ValiantValiant
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Wind ×4
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Wind ×2
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Converter
    126. Wind ×4
    127. ValiantValiant
    128. Wind ×2
    129. ValiantValiant
    130. Wind ×3
    131. Con turret
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Wind ×3
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. Wind ×2
    136. Converter
    137. Wind ×2
    138. ValiantValiant
    139. Wind ×3
    140. ValiantValiant
    141. Converter
    142. Wind ×2
    143. ValiantValiant
    144. Wind
    145. Converter
    146. Wind ×2
    147. ValiantValiant
    148. Wind ×3
    149. ValiantValiant
    150. Wind ×2
    151. Converter ×2
    152. Wind
    153. ValiantValiant
    154. Wind ×2
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Wind ×4
    157. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is [BS]Nampukk's (31 OS, 23/08/2026); 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 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

[BS]Nampukk

31.0 OS · 23/08/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
169 metal received · 52124 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