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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

The usual Cortex air game: Aircraft Plant just after the start, Advanced Metal Extractor around 7 minutes and Fusion Reactor around 11 minutes, making transports and fighters for the team while scaling economy normally.

Usually transports first (73%)

#eco #team support #air · 525 distinct matches · 115 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 590 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 525 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 ~1:21, middle half 1:13–1:34

    Some games also: energy storage (37%)

    By 1:02 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · typical 1:21
  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
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies

    Some games also: energy storage (46%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · 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 · 32 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. Wind ×5
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. FinchFinch ×2for Beach sea
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    7. FinchFinch
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    12. Energy storage
    13. Wind
    14. Con turret
    15. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    16. Wind
    17. Converter
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    21. Wind
    22. Con turret
    23. Converter ×2
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. Wind
    28. Converter
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. Converter
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 58% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (36%) · fusion (32%) · 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 · 180 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Wind
    3. Wind
    4. Converter
    5. Wind
    6. ShurikenShuriken
    7. Converter
    8. Wind ×2
    9. ShurikenShuriken
    10. Wind
    11. Wind
    12. ShurikenShuriken
    13. Wind
    14. ShurikenShuriken
    15. Wind
    16. ShurikenShuriken
    17. Wind
    18. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    19. Wind
    20. ShurikenShuriken
    21. Wind ×3
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Wind
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:03 · typical 6:50
    32. Wind ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Converter
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Converter
    39. Wind
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. Wind
    44. Converter
    45. Wind
    46. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    47. Wind
    48. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    49. Wind
    50. Wind
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    54. Wind
    55. Wind
    56. Con turret
    57. Wind
    58. Wind ×2
    59. Con turret
    60. Wind
    61. Con turret
    62. Wind
    63. Con turret
    64. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 9:55 · typical 10:55
    65. Wind
    66. Con turret ×2
    67. Wind
    68. Wind
    69. Con turret ×2
    70. Wind
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret
    73. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:05
    74. Wind
    75. Wind
    76. Radar TowerRadar Tower
    77. T2 converter
    78. Wind
    79. Wind
    80. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    81. Wind
    82. Wind
    83. ValiantValiant ×4
    84. Wind
    85. ValiantValiant ×2
    86. Wind
    87. ValiantValiant
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant ×3
    90. Wind
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×3
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×3
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant
    101. Wind
    102. ValiantValiant ×3
    103. ShurikenShuriken
    104. Wind
    105. Wind
    106. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    107. Wind
    108. Wind
    109. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    110. Wind
    111. ShurikenShuriken
    112. Wind
    113. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    114. Wind
    115. ShurikenShuriken
    116. Wind
    117. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    118. Wind
    119. Wind
    120. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    121. Wind
    122. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    123. Wind
    124. ValiantValiant ×7
    125. Wind
    126. ValiantValiant ×4
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant ×4
    129. Wind
    130. ValiantValiant ×4
    131. Fusion ReactorFusion
    132. ValiantValiant
    133. Wind
    134. ValiantValiant ×2
    135. Converter
    136. ValiantValiant
    137. Wind
    138. ValiantValiant ×6
    139. Wind
    140. ValiantValiant ×4
    141. Wind
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Converter
    144. ValiantValiant ×2
    145. Wind
    146. ValiantValiant ×2
    147. T2 converter
    148. Wind
    149. ValiantValiant ×8
    150. Wind
    151. Wind
    152. ValiantValiant ×3
    153. Converter
    154. ValiantValiant ×6
    155. Wind
    156. ValiantValiant ×2
    157. Wind
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Wind
    160. ValiantValiant ×2
    161. Wind
    162. ValiantValiant
    163. Fusion ReactorFusion
    164. Wind
    165. ValiantValiant ×2
    166. Wind
    167. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    168. Wind
    169. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    170. Wind
    171. Converter
    172. ValiantValiant ×2
    173. Wind
    174. ValiantValiant
    175. Con turret
    176. ValiantValiant
    177. Wind
    178. ValiantValiant
    179. T2 converter
    180. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Gieds's (46 OS, 12/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:05 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:25 · in 75% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:39 · in 66% 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 84% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:04 · in 94% 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

590 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092400
3:00145800
4:002050051
5:00276373102
6:003766125150
7:005129176219
8:007014219285
9:009298248341
10:0011788315470
11:0014397439639
12:0017105603950
13:00199438701236
14:002263713511806
15:002549320022670
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Gieds

46.3 OS · 12/09/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
40 metal received · 83914 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:21Middle 50%: 1:13–1:34 · n=590
Advanced Metal Extractor6:50Middle 50%: 6:22–7:27 · n=566
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 10:03–12:16 · n=355

Played most by

DRM36games of this buildAdeus32games of this buildCentientWaffle32games of this buildImmort25games of this buildNutzz25games of this build