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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 633 distinct matches · 123 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 48% of 707 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:24

  1. Take 3 mex and open wind before committing to aircraft plant.
  2. Finish aircraft plant to start churning scouts and transports.
  3. Send Hercules, Finch and Hephaestus to allies as they ask.
  4. Get your advanced metal extractor up to fund fighter spam.
  5. Bring fusion online and shift into Valiant fighter coverage.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 633 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 ~1:22, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (38%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · typical 1:22
  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
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (40%) · con turret (33%)

    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 · 27 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    3. Wind ×2
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. Energy storage
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    8. Wind
    9. HephaestusHeavy transport
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    12. ValiantValiant ×2
    13. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    14. Mex
    15. ValiantValiant ×3
    16. Con turret
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind ×2
    19. ShurikenShuriken
    20. Wind
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. ValiantValiant
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    2. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant

    Some games also: shuriken (50%) · fusion (36%) · con aircraft (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 19 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 62 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant ×3
    3. Con turret
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant ×2
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    12. Con turret
    13. ShurikenShuriken
    14. Wind
    15. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    16. Wind
    17. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    18. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:59 · typical 6:50
    19. Wind
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. Wind ×2
    22. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    23. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    24. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:50
    25. ShurikenShuriken
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    27. ShurikenShuriken
    28. Wind
    29. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    30. Wind
    31. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    32. Wind
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant ×2
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:00 · typical 10:52
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    46. Con turret ×2
    47. T2 converter
    48. Con turret
    49. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 11:27
    50. Con turret
    51. T2 converter
    52. Con turret ×2
    53. ShurikenShuriken ×20
    54. ValiantValiant ×17
    55. ShurikenShuriken ×14
    56. ValiantValiant ×14
    57. Fusion ReactorFusion
    58. ValiantValiant ×3
    59. Con turret
    60. ValiantValiant ×3
    61. Con turret
    62. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Gieds's (45 OS, 07/10/2026); 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 2:26 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 48% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 95% 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

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

707 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002057051
5:00276873116
6:003751125167
7:005142190225
8:007010240292
9:009301263344
10:0011805340474
11:0014399440641
12:0017093607949
13:00199139491280
14:002269914671852
15:002558321432789
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Standard air sits below average team win rate at 48%, reflecting the role's support nature rather than kills.

  • + Aircraft plant lands fast at 1:24, enabling early transport and scout support.
  • − Own metal lost still reaches 2705 by 15:00 despite a support-first role.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Gieds

45.4 OS · 07/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
5 metal received · 34715 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:22Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=707
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:24–7:25 · n=681
Fusion Reactor10:52Middle 50%: 9:53–12:08 · n=442

Played most by

DRM44games of this buildAdeus37games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildImmort29games of this buildNutzz29games of this build
Standard air · Cortex Air build order · BAR Build Atlas