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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 (64%)

#air #rush #raid · 76 distinct matches · 34 players · 3% of Cortex Air games · team won 57% of 76 · 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 42%3% of all Air games by then

Where those units first fight, in 74 games with kill data: in the enemy base 50%, in the middle 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 76 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 ~1:14, middle half 1:06–1:29

    By 0:56 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:08 · typical 1:14
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air bombers

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    • Wind Turbine2Wind−2 vs standard
    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: energy storage (50%) · converter (46%) · heavy transport for allies (45%) · light transport (39%) · shuriken (37%)

    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 · 44 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind ×3
    4. FinchFinch
    5. Wind ×2
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. FinchFinch
    8. ValiantValiant ×9
    9. Mex
    10. ValiantValiant ×2
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    12. ValiantValiant ×4
    13. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Con turret
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind
    20. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:18 · typical 6:54
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind ×3
    29. Wind
    30. ValiantValiant
    31. Wind ×3
    32. ValiantValiant
    33. ShurikenShuriken
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. ShurikenShuriken
    37. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    38. Con turret
    39. Wind
    40. ShurikenShurikenfor Geo sea
    41. Wind
    42. ShurikenShuriken ×3for Geo sea
    43. Wind ×2
    44. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 7:31
  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 (37%) · Aircraft Plant (37%) · 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 · 58 steps
    1. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    3. Wind
    4. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    5. Wind
    6. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    7. Wind ×4
    8. ValiantValiant
    9. Wind
    10. Converter
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Converter
    13. ValiantValiant
    14. Converter
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Converter
    17. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    18. Converter
    19. Wind
    20. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    21. Wind ×2
    22. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    23. Wind ×2
    24. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    25. Wind
    26. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:55 · typical 11:18
    27. Wind
    28. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    29. ValiantValiant
    30. Con turret
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Con turret
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Con turret
    35. ValiantValiant
    36. Con turret
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    39. Wind
    40. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    41. Wind
    42. Con turret
    43. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    44. Fusion ReactorFusion
    45. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    46. Con turret ×2
    47. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    48. ValiantValiant
    49. ShurikenShuriken
    50. Con turret
    51. ShurikenShuriken ×8
    52. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    53. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 14:06
    54. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    55. Con turret ×7
    56. AnglerTorpedo bomber ×3done 14:39
    57. T2 converter
    58. AnglerTorpedo bomber ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Tism_Contingency's (31 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 1:45 · in 88% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:14 · in 97% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Techfirst at 2:17 · in 53% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine2 Wind from Beach sea or Tech or Geo seafirst at 1:34 · in 39% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:41 · in 63% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:17 · in 88% 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

76 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
5:00275927630518873
6:0037033711131102191124
7:0050905090200146264167
8:0067776902266190406219
9:0088669284355232533270
10:001144811758533292738379
11:0013863143828563661278532
12:00160341707812545111968777
13:001879319880169077023531093
14:0022061227221965125627271689
15:0025268257683093181336212440
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

Tism_Contingency

30.9 OS · 14/10/2026

Open source match ↗

6 received units · includes a constructor
2809 metal received · 64648 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:14Middle 50%: 1:06–1:29 · n=76
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:26–7:45 · n=71
Fusion Reactor11:18Middle 50%: 10:18–12:32 · n=46

Played most by

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