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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 (77%)

#eco #air #team support · 1581 distinct matches · 259 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1890 · 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 1581 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 1:14–1:36

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    By 1:07 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Mex ×3
    3. Wind
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:03 · 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%) · converter (45%) · energy storage (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 · 33 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind
    6. FinchFinch
    7. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    9. Wind
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    11. Wind
    12. FinchFinch
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Con turret
    15. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    16. Wind
    17. Mex
    18. Wind ×5
    19. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    20. Wind
    21. Energy storage
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    26. Wind
    27. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    28. Con turret
    29. Converter
    30. Wind
    31. FinchFinch
    32. Converter ×2
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:51 · typical 6:54
  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 18 wind, 18 wind, 7 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret3 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (47%) · fusion (39%) · con aircraft (34%) · 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 · 124 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Converter
    3. Wind
    4. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    5. Converter
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    7. Wind ×3
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    11. Wind
    12. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 6:51
    13. Wind ×2
    14. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    15. Wind
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Wind
    18. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    19. Wind
    20. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    21. Wind
    22. ShurikenShuriken
    23. Con turret
    24. Wind
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Wind ×2
    27. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    28. Wind
    29. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    30. Wind
    31. Con turret
    32. Wind
    33. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:42 · typical 10:51
    34. ValiantValiant
    35. Wind
    36. ValiantValiant ×4
    37. Wind ×2
    38. Con turret
    39. Wind ×3
    40. Con turret ×2
    41. Wind ×3
    42. Con turret
    43. Wind ×3
    44. Fusion ReactorFusion
    45. Con turret
    46. T2 converter ×2
    47. Wind ×2
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant ×2
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind ×3
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. ValiantValiant ×2
    61. Wind
    62. Con turret
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. Con turret
    66. Wind
    67. T2 converter
    68. Wind
    69. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:57
    70. Wind ×3
    71. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    72. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:08
    73. Wind
    74. Fusion ReactorFusion
    75. Wind
    76. Con turret
    77. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    78. Wind
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Con turret
    81. ShurikenShuriken
    82. Wind
    83. ShurikenShuriken
    84. Wind
    85. ShurikenShuriken
    86. Wind
    87. ShurikenShuriken
    88. Con turret
    89. ShurikenShuriken
    90. T2 converter
    91. ShurikenShuriken
    92. Wind
    93. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    94. Wind
    95. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    96. Wind
    97. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    98. Wind
    99. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    100. Wind
    101. T2 converter
    102. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    103. Wind
    104. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    105. Wind
    106. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    107. Wind
    108. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    109. HighwindHighwind
    110. ShurikenShuriken
    111. Wind ×2
    112. HighwindHighwind
    113. Wind
    114. HighwindHighwind
    115. Con turret
    116. Advanced Fusion ReactorAdvanced Fusion Reactornot finished by 15:00
    117. Con turret
    118. Wind
    119. HighwindHighwind
    120. Con turret
    121. Wind
    122. HighwindHighwind
    123. Wind
    124. HighwindHighwind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Cinnamon18's (31 OS, 15/10/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:50 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 2:07 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:22 · in 71% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:37 · in 63% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:41 · 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 6:04 · 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

1890 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027655173
6:003723102124
7:005096146167
8:006916190215
9:009301223270
10:0011780278365
11:0014398365524
12:0017093498755
13:00199347491057
14:002278412331658
15:002582617812391
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

Cinnamon18

31.2 OS · 15/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
1724 metal received · 47312 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:26Middle 50%: 1:14–1:36 · n=1890
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:26–7:26 · n=1829
Fusion Reactor10:51Middle 50%: 9:44–12:15 · n=1220

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner73games of this buildHunfore63games of this buildDRM52games of this buildHALF_DALLAH_HABIT52games of this build