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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 · 1480 distinct matches · 250 players · 81% of Cortex Air games · team won 46% of 1783 · 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 1480 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 · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:43 · 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 · 15 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    4. FinchFinch
    5. ValiantValiant ×3
    6. Mex
    7. ValiantValiant ×3
    8. Con turret
    9. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    11. Con turret
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. FinchFinch
    15. Wind ×4
  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 · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 147 steps
    1. Wind ×3
    2. Converter
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Converter
    7. Wind
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Wind
    12. Converter
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. ShurikenShuriken
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:46 · typical 6:54
    21. Wind
    22. ShurikenShuriken
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    25. Wind
    26. ShurikenShuriken
    27. Converter ×3
    28. ValiantValiant ×2
    29. Wind
    30. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    31. Wind
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. Wind
    34. Con turret
    35. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    36. ValiantValiant
    37. Wind
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Wind
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Wind
    51. ValiantValiant ×3
    52. Wind
    53. ValiantValiant
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. Wind
    59. FinchFinch
    60. Converter
    61. FinchFinch ×3
    62. Converter
    63. FinchFinch
    64. Converter
    65. Wind ×2
    66. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant
    69. Wind
    70. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 12:28 · typical 10:53
    71. Con turret
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Con turret
    76. Wind
    77. ValiantValiant
    78. Wind
    79. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    80. Wind ×2
    81. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    82. Con turret
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    102. Converter
    103. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    104. Converter
    105. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    106. Converter
    107. ShurikenShuriken
    108. FinchFinch ×5
    109. Wind
    110. FinchFinch
    111. ValiantValiant ×3
    112. Wind
    113. ValiantValiant ×2
    114. Wind
    115. ValiantValiant ×2
    116. Wind
    117. ValiantValiant ×3
    118. Wind
    119. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    120. Wind
    121. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    122. Wind
    123. HephaestusHeavy transport ×2
    124. Wind
    125. HephaestusHeavy transport
    126. Converter
    127. HephaestusHeavy transport
    128. ValiantValiant ×2
    129. Wind
    130. ValiantValiant ×2
    131. Wind
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Fusion ReactorFusion
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. Wind
    136. Con turret
    137. ThistleThistle
    138. Con turret
    139. Wind
    140. Con turret
    141. ValiantValiant
    142. Con turret
    143. ValiantValiant ×2
    144. Con turret ×2
    145. Wind
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is gmansawesome's (33 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 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

1783 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039200
2:0092300
3:00145600
4:002053051
5:0027635173
6:003715102124
7:005089146167
8:006904190219
9:009291230271
10:0011771292384
11:0014395373538
12:0017078517781
13:00198597811115
14:002270012691689
15:002572918312440
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

gmansawesome

33.0 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

11 received units · includes a constructor
413 metal received · 70382 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=1783
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:26 · n=1724
Fusion Reactor10:53Middle 50%: 9:45–12:17 · n=1143

Played most by

TheGeneraI112games of this buildDad_The_Speedrunner72games of this buildHunfore62games of this buildMilkdragon52games of this buildAdeus50games of this build