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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

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 ×7for Beach sea
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:33 · 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 · 34 steps
    1. Windfor Beach sea
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. Wind ×2for Beach sea
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. Wind ×2for Beach sea
    7. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Mex
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Con turretfor Beach sea
    14. Windfor Beach sea
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Converterfor Beach sea
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. ShurikenShuriken
    19. Windfor Beach sea
    20. Windfor Beach sea
    21. ShurikenShuriken
    22. Windfor Beach sea
    23. ShurikenShuriken
    24. Windfor Beach sea
    25. ValiantValiant ×2
    26. Windfor Beach sea
    27. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    28. Windfor Beach sea
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Windfor Beach sea
    31. ValiantValiant ×2
    32. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    33. Windfor Beach sea
    34. Windfor Beach sea
  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 · 61 steps
    1. Windfor Beach sea
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind ×5for Beach sea
    4. Con turretfor Beach sea
    5. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    6. Energy storagefor Beach sea
    7. Windfor Beach sea
    8. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Beach seadone 6:50 · typical 6:54
    9. Windfor Beach sea
    10. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Beach sea
    11. Windfor Beach sea
    12. Converter ×2for Beach sea
    13. Windfor Beach sea
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Beach sea
    15. Windfor Beach sea
    16. Converterfor Beach sea
    17. Windfor Beach sea
    18. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantfor Beach seadone 7:56
    19. Converterfor Beach sea
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexfor Beach sea
    21. Windfor Beach sea
    22. FinchFinch
    23. Windfor Beach sea
    24. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    25. Windfor Beach sea
    26. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    27. Wind ×2for Beach sea
    28. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    29. Windfor Beach sea
    30. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    31. Windfor Beach sea
    32. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    33. Converterfor Beach sea
    34. Windfor Beach sea
    35. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    36. Windfor Beach sea
    37. ThistleThistlefor Beach sea
    38. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    39. Radar TowerRadar Towerfor Beach sea
    40. Windfor Beach sea
    41. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    42. Windfor Beach sea
    43. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    44. Wind ×2for Beach sea
    45. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    46. Windfor Beach sea
    47. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    48. Windfor Beach sea
    49. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    50. Converterfor Beach sea
    51. Windfor Beach sea
    52. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Beach sea
    53. Windfor Beach sea
    54. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    55. Con turretfor Beach sea
    56. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    57. Windfor Beach sea
    58. Converterfor Beach sea
    59. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea
    60. Con turretfor Beach sea
    61. ValiantValiantfor Beach sea

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

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

TheGeneraI

33.3 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
530 metal received · 5505 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