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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 · 2 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:07 · 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 · 28 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Solar ×2
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. Wind ×4
    6. FinchFinch
    7. ShurikenShuriken
    8. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    9. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    10. Wind
    11. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    12. Wind
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    14. Mex
    15. Wind ×2
    16. ValiantValiantfor Geo sea
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Con turret
    19. Wind
    20. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    21. Wind
    22. Wind ×2
    23. ValiantValiant
    24. Wind
    25. Wind ×2
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
  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 · 78 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. Wind
    5. Wind ×4
    6. Wind
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind ×2
    10. Wind
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind ×3
    14. Wind
    15. Wind ×3
    16. Wind
    17. Wind ×3
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. Wind ×4
    22. Wind
    23. Wind
    24. FinchFinch
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 8:08 · typical 6:54
    26. Wind
    27. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    28. Wind
    29. Con turret
    30. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    31. Wind ×2
    32. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:02 · typical 10:53
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    34. Converter ×11
    35. Con turret
    36. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 12:13
    37. Converter ×3
    38. Con turret
    39. Converter
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. NighthawkNighthawk
    42. Con turret
    43. NighthawkNighthawk ×3
    44. Converter
    45. Con turret
    46. NighthawkNighthawk
    47. Converter
    48. NighthawkNighthawk
    49. Con turret
    50. Converter
    51. NighthawkNighthawk
    52. Con turret
    53. Converter
    54. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    55. Converter
    56. Con turret
    57. NighthawkNighthawk
    58. CondorRadar plane
    59. Advanced Construction AircraftT2 con aircraft
    60. AnglerTorpedo bombernot finished by 15:00
    61. NighthawkNighthawk
    62. WaspWasp
    63. Energy storage
    64. WaspWasp
    65. NighthawkNighthawk ×6
    66. Con turret
    67. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    68. Con turret
    69. NighthawkNighthawk
    70. Converter
    71. NighthawkNighthawk
    72. Con turret
    73. CondorRadar plane
    74. Converter
    75. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    76. Advanced Construction AircraftT2 con aircraft
    77. Converter
    78. Advanced Construction AircraftT2 con aircraft

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is hox2's (33 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 1:50 · 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

hox2

32.6 OS · 07/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
180 metal received · 20699 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