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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 · 1486 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1790 · 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 1486 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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×6
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:45 · 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 (41%)

    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. Wind
    2. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. Wind
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    7. HerculesLight transport
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant ×3
    11. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    12. Wind
    13. ShurikenShuriken
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant ×2
    17. Wind
    18. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    22. 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 (48%) · fusion (38%) · con aircraft (35%) · 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 · 72 steps
    1. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:47 · typical 6:54
    2. Con turret
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. ValiantValiant ×2
    15. Wind
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. ValiantValiant ×2
    24. Wind
    25. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:30 · typical 10:53
    26. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    27. Con turret
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Con turret
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant ×2
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind ×2
    39. T2 converter
    40. Wind
    41. Con turret ×2
    42. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 10:53
    43. Wind ×2
    44. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    45. Wind
    46. SkyhookHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    47. Wind
    48. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    49. Wind
    50. NighthawkNighthawk
    51. Wind
    52. AnglerTorpedo bomberdone 11:43
    53. Wind
    54. AnglerTorpedo bomber
    55. NighthawkNighthawk
    56. Wind
    57. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    58. Wind
    59. NighthawkNighthawk
    60. Wind
    61. NighthawkNighthawk
    62. ThistleThistle
    63. NighthawkNighthawk
    64. ThistleThistle
    65. NighthawkNighthawk
    66. Con turret
    67. NighthawkNighthawk
    68. AnglerTorpedo bomber
    69. Con turret ×2
    70. Fusion ReactorFusion
    71. AnglerTorpedo bomber ×2
    72. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Call_Me_Sir's (33 OS, 04/08/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · 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 2:23 · 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 47% 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

1790 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027635173
6:003712102124
7:005087146167
8:006902190219
9:009285231273
10:0011760292386
11:0014377374540
12:0017071517781
13:00198517811112
14:002267412691690
15:002569318242435
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

Call_Me_Sir

33.1 OS · 04/08/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
297 metal received · 35325 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=1790
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1731
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1146

Played most by

TheGeneraI113games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas