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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (73%)

#eco #team support #air · 525 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 590 · 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 525 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 ~1:21, middle half 1:13–1:34

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:02 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind
    3. Solar
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:07 · typical 1:21
  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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · 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 · 21 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. Solar
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. HerculesLight transport
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. Wind
    10. Solar
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind ×2
    13. FinchFinch
    14. HerculesLight transport ×2for Tech
    15. Mex
    16. HerculesLight transport
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Energy storage
    19. Con turret ×3
    20. FinchFinch
    21. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (32%) · 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 · 193 steps
    1. Wind ×6
    2. Energy storage
    3. Wind ×8
    4. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    5. Wind
    6. Converter ×2
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Converter
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Converter
    15. Wind ×5
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:35 · typical 6:50
    17. Con turret ×3
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    19. Wind ×6
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    21. Wind ×2
    22. Con turret ×2
    23. Energy storage
    24. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:00
    25. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    26. Wind
    27. StorkLight transportfor Beach sea
    28. Wind ×3
    29. FalconFighter
    30. Wind
    31. FalconFighter
    32. Wind
    33. FalconFighter
    34. Wind
    35. BlinkScout plane
    36. Wind
    37. BlinkScout plane
    38. Wind
    39. Con turret
    40. Wind
    41. Con turret
    42. Wind ×30
    43. Converter
    44. Wind ×4
    45. Converter
    46. Wind ×2
    47. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:37
    48. Converter
    49. Wind ×4
    50. Converter
    51. Converter
    52. Wind ×2
    53. Converter
    54. Wind
    55. Converter
    56. Converter
    57. Wind ×2
    58. Converter ×2
    59. Converter
    60. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    61. Wind ×2
    62. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    63. Converter
    64. Converter
    65. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    66. Wind ×2
    67. Converter
    68. Con turret
    69. Converter
    70. Con turret
    71. TracerTracer
    72. Wind
    73. Con turret
    74. Wind
    75. Converter
    76. Wind ×2
    77. Con turret
    78. Converter
    79. Wind
    80. Converter
    81. Con turret
    82. Wind ×2
    83. Converter
    84. Con turret
    85. Wind
    86. Converter
    87. Con turret ×2
    88. Wind ×2
    89. Con turret
    90. Converter
    91. Wind
    92. Con turret
    93. Wind ×2
    94. Energy storage
    95. Converter
    96. Wind ×2
    97. Converter
    98. Energy storage
    99. Wind
    100. Converter
    101. Wind ×5
    102. Converter
    103. Wind
    104. Converter
    105. Wind ×6
    106. Converter
    107. Wind ×2
    108. Converter
    109. Wind ×5
    110. Converter
    111. Wind
    112. ShurikenShuriken
    113. Wind
    114. ShurikenShuriken
    115. Converter
    116. ShurikenShuriken
    117. Wind
    118. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    119. Wind
    120. ShurikenShuriken
    121. Converter
    122. ShurikenShuriken
    123. Wind
    124. ShurikenShuriken
    125. Wind
    126. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    127. Converter
    128. Converter
    129. Wind
    130. ShurikenShuriken
    131. Wind
    132. ShurikenShuriken
    133. Wind
    134. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    135. Converter
    136. ShurikenShuriken
    137. Wind ×2
    138. ShurikenShuriken
    139. Wind
    140. ShurikenShuriken
    141. Converter
    142. ShurikenShuriken
    143. Wind
    144. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    145. Wind ×2
    146. ShurikenShuriken
    147. Wind
    148. ShurikenShuriken
    149. Converter
    150. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    151. Wind
    152. ShurikenShuriken
    153. ValiantValiant
    154. Wind ×2
    155. Converter
    156. ValiantValiant
    157. Wind
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Converter
    160. Wind
    161. ValiantValiant
    162. Wind
    163. ValiantValiant
    164. Wind ×2
    165. ValiantValiant
    166. Wind
    167. ValiantValiant
    168. Converter
    169. Wind
    170. ValiantValiant
    171. Wind
    172. ValiantValiant
    173. Converter
    174. Wind
    175. ValiantValiant
    176. Wind ×3
    177. ValiantValiant
    178. Converter
    179. ValiantValiant
    180. Wind ×2
    181. ValiantValiant
    182. Wind
    183. ValiantValiant
    184. Converter
    185. Wind ×2
    186. ValiantValiant ×2
    187. Wind ×3
    188. ValiantValiant ×3
    189. Wind ×2
    190. ValiantValiant
    191. Wind
    192. ValiantValiant
    193. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is MischievousDragonGF's (43 OS, 25/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:05 · 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 66% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · 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

590 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145800
4:002050051
5:00276373102
6:003766125150
7:005129176219
8:007014219285
9:009298248341
10:0011788315470
11:0014397439639
12:0017105603950
13:00199438701236
14:002263713511806
15:002549320022670
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

MischievousDragonGF

42.7 OS · 25/09/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
850 metal received · 11740 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:21Middle 50%: 1:13–1:34 · n=590
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:22–7:27 · n=566
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=355

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus32games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildImmort25games of this buildNutzz25games of this build