BAR / BUILD ATLAS
← All builds
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 (67%)

#air #rush #raid · 72 distinct matches · 31 players · 3% of Cortex Air games · team won 56% of 72 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • WhirlwindT1 air bombers from 5:13 · 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 70 games with kill data: in the middle 51%, in the enemy base 47%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,122 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into valiant (49% 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 72 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD AIR
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:14 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 1:05–1:29

    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 1:07 · typical 1:14
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air bombers

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine10Wind
    • Wind Turbine3Wind
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. WhirlwindT1 air bombers after 3 mex, 13 wind, 3 wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Construction Aircraft1 Con aircraft
    Army
    • Valiant4 Valiant −2 vs standard
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Finch1 Finch

    Some games also: converter (49%) · heavy transport for allies (46%) · light transport (42%) · shuriken (38%) · mex (38%)

    By 5:10 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 3 wind · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 1 step
    1. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 1:38
  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 · 166 steps
    1. Wind ×2
    2. Solar
    3. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    5. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind ×3
    9. HerculesLight transport
    10. Mex
    11. FinchFinch
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    13. Energy storage
    14. Con turret ×2
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. FinchFinch
    20. Wind ×2
    21. Con turret
    22. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    23. Wind ×2
    24. Converter
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. Wind
    28. ValiantValiant
    29. Converter
    30. Con turret
    31. Converter
    32. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    33. Wind
    34. Converter ×2
    35. Wind ×9
    36. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    37. Wind ×5
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:40 · typical 6:55
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. Wind
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Converter
    44. ValiantValiant
    45. Wind
    46. Converter
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. HerculesLight transport
    49. Wind
    50. Converter
    51. ValiantValiant
    52. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    56. Wind
    57. Con turret
    58. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    59. Wind ×4
    60. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:07 · typical 11:24
    61. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:12
    62. Wind
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Wind
    65. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    66. Wind
    67. ShurikenShuriken ×5
    68. Wind
    69. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    70. Wind
    71. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    72. Wind
    73. Con turret
    74. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    75. Wind
    76. Fusion ReactorFusion
    77. Wind
    78. Con turret
    79. ShurikenShuriken
    80. Wind
    81. ShurikenShuriken
    82. ValiantValiant ×2
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant ×2
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant ×2
    89. Wind
    90. Con turret
    91. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    92. Wind
    93. ValiantValiant
    94. Con turret
    95. ValiantValiant ×2
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant ×3
    98. Wind
    99. ValiantValiant ×3
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant ×3
    102. ShurikenShuriken
    103. Wind
    104. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    105. Con turret
    106. Wind
    107. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    108. Wind
    109. Converter
    110. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    111. Wind
    112. Converter
    113. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    114. Wind
    115. ShurikenShuriken
    116. Converter
    117. ShurikenShuriken
    118. Wind
    119. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    120. Converter
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant ×2
    123. Wind
    124. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    125. Converter
    126. ValiantValiant
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant ×3
    129. Wind
    130. Con turret
    131. ValiantValiant ×2
    132. Wind
    133. Con turret
    134. Converter
    135. ValiantValiant ×2
    136. Con turret
    137. ValiantValiant
    138. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    139. Con turret
    140. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    141. Converter ×2
    142. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    143. Converter ×2
    144. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    145. Converter ×4
    146. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    147. Converter ×3
    148. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    149. Converter ×4
    150. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    151. Converter
    152. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    153. Converter
    154. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    155. Converter
    156. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    157. Converter
    158. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×15
    159. ValiantValiant
    160. FinchFinch ×2
    161. ValiantValiant ×5
    162. Fusion ReactorFusion
    163. Wind
    164. ValiantValiant ×6
    165. Wind
    166. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Milkdragon's (32 OS, 21/09/2026); 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 90% 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 40% 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 2:15 · in 89% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:01 · 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

72 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
4:0020422052005151
5:00277227630517473
6:0037483706108102183124
7:0050905088190146254167
8:0067776900247190389219
9:0088669279317232533270
10:001144811757467292738384
11:0013863143519103731305540
12:00160341706112945152045781
13:001879319846174078123871109
14:0022061226992206126931021689
15:0025268257003164180836212409
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

Milkdragon

32.5 OS · 21/09/2026

Open source match ↗

8 received units · includes a constructor
75 metal received · 15403 energy received

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

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:14Middle 50%: 1:05–1:29 · n=72
Advanced Metal Extractor6:55Middle 50%: 6:29–7:45 · n=67
Fusion Reactor11:24Middle 50%: 10:18–12:35 · n=42

Played most by

Milkdragon15games of this buildpownage22711games of this buildhaaven8games of this buildkrtf4games of this buildHerbiderpi3games of this build