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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 ×4for Tech
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:12 · 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 · 26 steps
    1. HerculesLight transport ×3for Geo sea
    2. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    3. Wind ×2for Tech
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind ×3for Tech
    6. Energy storagefor Tech
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Windfor Tech
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Windfor Tech
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. Windfor Tech
    13. ValiantValiant ×2
    14. Con turretfor Tech
    15. ValiantValiant ×2
    16. Mex
    17. ValiantValiant ×3
    18. Windfor Tech
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Wind ×2for Tech
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Windfor Tech
    23. Con turretfor Tech
    24. Windfor Tech
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Techdone 6:09 · typical 6:54
    26. Windfor Tech
  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 · 97 steps
    1. ValiantValiant
    2. Converter ×2for Tech
    3. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    4. Converterfor Tech
    5. Converterfor Tech
    6. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    7. Converterfor Tech
    8. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    9. Windfor Tech
    10. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    11. Windfor Tech
    12. Converterfor Tech
    13. Windfor Tech
    14. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    15. Windfor Tech
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Windfor Tech
    18. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    19. Windfor Tech
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Windfor Tech
    23. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    24. Windfor Tech
    25. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    26. Windfor Tech
    27. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    28. Windfor Tech
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Windfor Tech
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Windfor Tech
    33. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    34. Con turretfor Tech
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    36. Windfor Tech
    37. Con turretfor Tech
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Tech
    39. Windfor Tech
    40. Con turret ×2for Tech
    41. Advanced solarfor Tech
    42. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantfor Techdone 9:14
    43. Windfor Tech
    44. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    45. FalconFighter ×3for Geo
    46. Windfor Tech
    47. FalconFighter ×2for Geo
    48. Windfor Tech
    49. FalconFighter ×2for Geo
    50. Wind ×2for Tech
    51. FalconFighter ×2for Geo
    52. Windfor Tech
    53. FalconFighter ×3for Geo
    54. Windfor Tech
    55. FalconFighter ×2
    56. Windfor Tech
    57. FalconFighter ×2
    58. Windfor Tech
    59. Con turretfor Tech
    60. Windfor Tech
    61. Con turretfor Tech
    62. FalconFighter
    63. Windfor Tech
    64. Advanced solarfor Tech
    65. FalconFighter
    66. Windfor Tech
    67. FalconFighter ×3
    68. Windfor Tech
    69. FalconFighter ×2
    70. Windfor Tech
    71. FalconFighter ×3
    72. Windfor Tech
    73. FalconFighter
    74. Windfor Tech
    75. FalconFighter ×2
    76. BlinkScout planefor Front
    77. BlinkScout plane
    78. Windfor Tech
    79. BlinkScout plane
    80. FalconFighter ×2
    81. Windfor Tech
    82. BlinkScout planefor Tech
    83. FalconFighter ×2
    84. Windfor Tech
    85. FalconFighter ×3
    86. Windfor Tech
    87. FalconFighter
    88. Windfor Tech
    89. FalconFighter ×3
    90. Windfor Tech
    91. FalconFighter ×2
    92. Windfor Tech
    93. FalconFighter ×11
    94. FalconFighter ×3for Tech
    95. Windfor Tech
    96. FalconFighter
    97. FalconFighterfor Tech

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Vaticineur's (34 OS, 14/10/2026); 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 2:06 · 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

Vaticineur

33.7 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
146 metal received · 54943 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
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas