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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 · 1496 distinct matches · 252 players · 80% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1799 · 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 1496 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 1:14 · 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. FinchFinch
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Wind ×5
    5. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    6. Con turret ×2
    7. Wind ×4
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. HerculesLight transport
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Converter
    15. Wind
    16. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor unknown
    17. Converter
    18. Mex
    19. Wind
    20. ValiantValiant
    21. Wind ×3
    22. ValiantValiant ×2
    23. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    24. Converter
    25. ShurikenShuriken ×2
  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 · 25 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 78 steps
    1. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    2. Con turret
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    8. Wind ×2
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind ×3
    11. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:08 · typical 6:54
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    17. Wind
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    19. Wind ×5
    20. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:39
    21. Wind ×3
    22. FinchFinchfor Geo
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant ×2
    25. Wind
    26. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:24 · typical 10:53
    27. ValiantValiant ×2
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Wind
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant ×2
    36. Wind
    37. Con turret
    38. T2 converter
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant ×2
    43. Fusion ReactorFusion
    44. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    45. ValiantValiant ×2
    46. T2 converter
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Con turret ×2
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind ×2
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. T2 converter
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. Fusion ReactorFusion
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Wind ×3
    64. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    65. Wind ×2
    66. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:15
    67. T2 converter
    68. Wind ×6
    69. AnglerTorpedo bomberdone 14:24
    70. Wind
    71. AnglerTorpedo bomber
    72. Wind ×2
    73. AnglerTorpedo bomber
    74. Wind
    75. AnglerTorpedo bomber
    76. Advanced Fusion ReactorAdvanced Fusion Reactornot finished by 15:00
    77. Wind
    78. AnglerTorpedo bomber

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is whitetiger2819's (31 OS, 02/10/2026); 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 2:23 · 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 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

1799 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
6:003705102124
7:005088146167
8:006898190219
9:009278232270
10:0011753292384
11:0014351373538
12:0017061513781
13:00198507811102
14:002270012641689
15:002570818042405
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

whitetiger2819

31.3 OS · 02/10/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
151 metal received · 16042 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=1799
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1740
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:47–12:18 · n=1151

Played most by

TheGeneraI114games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon51games of this buildAdeus50games of this build