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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is ITz_HonestAbee's (35 OS, 01/10/2026); 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

ITz_HonestAbee

35.0 OS · 01/10/2026

Open source match ↗

92 received units · includes a constructor
3008 metal received · 67017 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
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas