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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 ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:15 · 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 · 29 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    7. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Con turret
    10. Wind
    11. Mex
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Wind ×3
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind ×2
    17. Con turret
    18. Wind ×4
    19. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    20. Wind ×4
    21. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    25. Energy storage
    26. Wind
    27. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
  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 · 87 steps
    1. Wind
    2. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. Wind
    6. Converter
    7. Wind ×2
    8. Converter
    9. Wind
    10. Wind
    11. Converter
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind
    15. Converter
    16. Wind
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind ×2
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Con turret
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. Converter
    33. Wind
    34. Wind
    35. Converter
    36. Wind
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:58 · typical 6:50
    38. Wind
    39. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    40. Wind ×2
    41. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    42. Wind
    43. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:02
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    45. Wind
    46. HerculesLight transport
    47. Wind
    48. FinchFinch
    49. Wind
    50. ShurikenShuriken
    51. Wind
    52. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    53. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:08 · typical 10:52
    54. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. ShurikenShuriken
    58. Wind
    59. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant ×3
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant ×3
    64. Con turret
    65. T2 converter
    66. Con turret
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Con turret
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Con turret
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Con turret
    73. ValiantValiant
    74. Con turret ×2
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Con turret
    77. ValiantValiant ×15
    78. Fusion ReactorFusion
    79. ValiantValiant ×19
    80. Con turret
    81. ValiantValiant ×7
    82. FinchFinch ×2
    83. ValiantValiant ×12
    84. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×12
    85. ValiantValiant ×4
    86. ShurikenShuriken ×29
    87. ValiantValiant ×4

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Zippo9's (38 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

Zippo9

37.7 OS · 07/10/2026

Open source match ↗

9 received units · includes a constructor
198 metal received · 42114 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