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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 · 1515 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1820 · 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 1515 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 ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:34 · 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 · 25 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Solar
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    7. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Geo
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. Wind
    14. HerculesLight transport
    15. Con turret
    16. Wind
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind
    20. Converter ×2
    21. Wind
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    25. Converter
  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 · 76 steps
    1. Converter
    2. Wind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Converter
    6. Wind ×2
    7. Converter
    8. Wind
    9. Converter
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Converter
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Converter
    14. Wind
    15. Metal storage
    16. Converter
    17. Wind
    18. Converter
    19. Wind ×13
    20. Energy storage
    21. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4not finished by 15:00 · typical 6:54
    22. Bot LabBot Labdone 8:53
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    24. Construction BotCon bot ×6
    25. Wind
    26. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    27. Wind ×2
    28. Construction BotCon bot ×2
    29. Wind
    30. Construction BotCon bot
    31. Wind ×6
    32. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:26
    33. Wind ×4
    34. Con turret
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind ×5
    37. Con turret
    38. Wind ×2
    39. Bot LabEat Bot Labreclaimed for its metal
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind ×3
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. Wind ×3
    46. Con turret
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. Con turret
    50. Wind ×4
    51. Con turret
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Con turret
    55. Wind
    56. Con turret
    57. Wind ×3
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. Con turret ×2
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Con turret
    64. Wind ×4
    65. Con turret
    66. ValiantValiant
    67. Wind
    68. Con turret
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Con turret
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind ×3
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is zimt's (31 OS, 19/08/2026); 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 2:23 · 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

1820 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
6:003709102124
7:005089146167
8:006903190219
9:009285231271
10:0011765292380
11:0014373367535
12:0017074512780
13:00198647751095
14:002271012621682
15:002573918112415
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

zimt

30.9 OS · 19/08/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
124 metal received · 47183 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=1820
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1760
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:45–12:16 · n=1165

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildDRM52games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this build