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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 · 1506 distinct matches · 252 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1811 · 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 1506 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 ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:13 · 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 · 23 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    3. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    4. Wind ×4
    5. FinchFinch
    6. Wind ×2
    7. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    8. Wind ×3
    9. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Energy storage
    12. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    13. Wind ×3
    14. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    15. Wind ×4
    16. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    17. Wind
    18. Mex
    19. Converter
    20. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    21. Converter ×2
    22. Con turret
    23. HephaestusHeavy transportfor 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 · 165 steps
    1. Converter
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    4. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    5. Wind
    6. Con turret
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Con turret
    9. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×9
    15. Converter
    16. Wind ×3
    17. Converter
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:41
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    27. Converter ×3
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    29. Converter ×4
    30. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    31. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:45
    32. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    33. Converter
    34. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    35. Converter
    36. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    37. Converter
    38. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    39. Converter
    40. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    41. Converter
    42. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    43. Con turret
    44. Converter
    45. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    46. Converter
    47. Wind
    48. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    49. Con turret
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    58. Converter
    59. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    60. Wind ×3
    61. Converter
    62. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    63. Wind ×3
    64. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    65. Converter
    66. Wind ×4
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Converter
    69. Wind ×4
    70. Converter
    71. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    72. Wind ×2
    73. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    74. Wind
    75. Converter
    76. Wind ×2
    77. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    78. Wind ×2
    79. Converter
    80. Wind
    81. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    82. Wind
    83. Converter
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    86. Wind
    87. Con turret
    88. Wind ×3
    89. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    90. Con turret
    91. Wind ×2
    92. Con turret
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    95. Converter
    96. Wind ×2
    97. Con turret
    98. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    99. Wind
    100. Con turret
    101. Wind ×2
    102. Converter
    103. Wind
    104. ValiantValiant ×2for Tech
    105. Wind
    106. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    107. Wind ×2
    108. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    109. Wind
    110. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    111. Wind ×2
    112. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    113. Wind ×2
    114. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:35
    115. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    116. Wind ×2
    117. ValiantValiantfor Tech
    118. Wind ×4
    119. ValiantValiant
    120. Wind ×3
    121. ValiantValiant
    122. Wind ×2
    123. ValiantValiant
    124. Wind ×4
    125. ValiantValiant
    126. Wind ×15
    127. PrevailerPrevailerdone 13:31
    128. Wind
    129. Con turret
    130. Wind ×2
    131. Con turret ×2
    132. Wind ×2
    133. Con turret ×2
    134. Wind ×3
    135. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    136. Wind ×6
    137. Converter
    138. Wind ×2
    139. Converter
    140. Wind ×2
    141. Con turret
    142. Wind ×2
    143. Converter
    144. Wind ×2
    145. Con turret
    146. Wind ×2
    147. Con turret
    148. Converter
    149. Con turret ×2
    150. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:45
    151. Wind ×3
    152. Converter
    153. Wind ×2
    154. Converter ×2
    155. Wind ×5
    156. NighthawkNighthawk
    157. Con turret
    158. Wind ×2
    159. Con turret
    160. Wind
    161. Con turret
    162. NighthawkNighthawk
    163. Wind ×2
    164. Con turret ×2
    165. Wind

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is q[o_o]p's (34 OS, 25/09/2026); 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 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

1811 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
6:003707102124
7:005089146167
8:006902190219
9:009284230270
10:0011758292380
11:0014356369536
12:0017069512781
13:00198597811102
14:002270412641689
15:002573618132420
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

q[o_o]p

34.4 OS · 25/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
274 metal received · 73096 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=1811
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1751
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1159

Played most by

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