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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Whirlwind bomber rush

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

After the usual economy start, the player commits early (by 5:07) to T1 Whirlwind bombers that push forward and fight in the enemy base well before the role's norm, a clear forward plan rather than a reaction.

Usually transports first (66%)

#air #rush #raid · 74 distinct matches · 32 players · 3% of Cortex Air games · team won 55% of 74 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • WhirlwindT1 air bombers from 5:07 · 6% of role by thenFrom the Aircraft Plant. Only 6% of Air games have it by then; others who build it get it around 11:03
  • WhirlwindWhirlwind in 41%3% of all Air games by then

Where those units first fight, in 72 games with kill data: in the middle 50%, in the enemy base 49%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,057 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into valiant (48% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:28

  1. Build Aircraft Plant immediately instead of the usual later timing.
  2. Commit to Whirlwind bombers well before the role norm of 10:48.
  3. Send Whirlwinds forward to fight in middle and enemy base.
  4. Reclaim the Aircraft Plant once the rush has paid off.
  5. Build Fusion Reactor to transition back into team support.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 74 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD AIR
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:07 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 ~1:15, middle half 1:06–1:29

    By 0:57 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 5 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:37 · typical 1:15
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air bombers

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    • Wind Turbine2Wind−2 vs standard
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. WhirlwindT1 air bombers after 3 mex, 13 wind, 2 con turret
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Construction Aircraft1 Con aircraft
    Army
    • Valiant4 Valiant −2 vs standard
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Finch1 Finch

    Some games also: converter (47%) · heavy transport for allies (46%) · light transport (41%) · shuriken (36%) · mex (36%)

    By 5:05 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 2 wind (standard 4) · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 2 steps
    1. FinchFinch
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 2:29
  3. 3

    T1 air bombers to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine14Wind−6 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter3Converter−3 vs standard
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret −2 vs standard
    Army
    • Valiant8 Valiant
    • Whirlwind5 Whirlwind +5 vs standard

    Some games also: light transport for allies (36%) · Aircraft Plant (36%) · finch (36%) · con turret (32%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 28 wind (standard 20) · 24 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 115 steps
    1. Wind ×3
    2. FinchFinch ×2
    3. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    4. FinchFinch
    5. Mex
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    7. ValiantValiant ×2
    8. Wind
    9. ValiantValiant ×3
    10. Wind ×2
    11. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    12. Wind
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    14. Con turret ×2
    15. Wind
    16. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    17. Con turret
    18. Wind
    19. ValiantValiant
    20. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:15 · typical 6:54
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. HerculesLight transport
    24. Wind ×2
    25. FinchFinch
    26. Wind
    27. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    28. Wind
    29. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    30. Wind
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    32. NettleNettle
    33. FerretFerret
    34. NettleNettle
    35. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:18
    36. ValiantValiant ×7for Geo
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind ×7
    40. FinchFinchfor Geo
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    43. Wind ×2
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    46. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    47. Con turret ×2
    48. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    49. Wind
    50. Con turret
    51. Wind
    52. Con turret
    53. Converter
    54. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiantfor Geo
    57. Wind
    58. Converter
    59. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:06 · typical 11:18
    60. Wind ×5
    61. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    62. Wind
    63. Converter
    64. Wind
    65. Converter ×2
    66. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:16
    67. Converter
    68. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    69. Converter ×8
    70. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 11:06
    71. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    72. Converter
    73. StilettoStilettodone 11:31
    74. Converter
    75. Wind
    76. Metal storage
    77. OracleOraclefor Geo
    78. Wind ×2
    79. Converter
    80. OracleOracle
    81. Wind ×2
    82. Converter
    83. HighwindHighwind
    84. Wind
    85. HighwindHighwind
    86. Converter ×2
    87. Wind
    88. HighwindHighwind
    89. Wind
    90. HighwindHighwind
    91. Wind
    92. Converter
    93. Wind
    94. HighwindHighwind
    95. Wind ×3
    96. HighwindHighwind
    97. Wind
    98. HighwindHighwind
    99. Converter
    100. Fusion ReactorFusion
    101. HighwindHighwind
    102. Converter ×2
    103. HighwindHighwind
    104. Converter
    105. HighwindHighwind
    106. Advanced Aircraft PlantEat Advanced Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    107. Fusion ReactorFusion
    108. Converter ×6
    109. Con turret
    110. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    111. Con turret ×2
    112. Con turret ×2
    113. Con turret
    114. Con turret
    115. Con turret

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is enderOS1's (33 OS, 27/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:45 · in 91% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:12 · in 97% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Techfirst at 2:17 · in 54% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine2 Wind from Beach sea or Tech or Geo seafirst at 1:34 · in 41% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:41 · in 64% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:17 · in 89% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:00 · in 93% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build against the role’s standard build, running totals by minute

  • This build
  • Standard air

Metal produced

010k20k30k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

74 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard airEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard airOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard air
1:003893920000
2:009199230000
3:00144714560000
4:0020412052005151
5:00275927630517473
6:0037283711124102183124
7:0051105089190146257167
8:0068736903247190398219
9:0089699285317230562270
10:001148411761511292747379
11:0013919143709103691294533
12:00162311706912945122007781
13:001891819859171578123681101
14:0022336227042014126330051689
15:0025611257363093180835012409
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build despite destroying less enemy metal early and losing more by 10:00.

  • + Destroys more enemy metal than standard by 15:00 (2779 vs 2089).
  • + Won more often than the Air role's standard build.
  • − Destroys nothing by 5:00, well behind standard's 73.
  • − Own losses by 10:00 nearly double the standard build's.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

enderOS1

32.6 OS · 27/09/2026

Open source match ↗

2 received units · includes a constructor
274 metal received · 113271 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:15Middle 50%: 1:06–1:29 · n=74
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:42 · n=69
Fusion Reactor11:18Middle 50%: 10:14–12:33 · n=44

Played most by

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