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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SauceDispenser's (36 OS, 05/10/2026); 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

SauceDispenser

35.8 OS · 05/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
3916 metal received · 210817 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