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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 · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×3
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · 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 · 8 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    3. Wind ×3
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    5. Wind
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Energy storage
    8. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 2:30
  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 · 57 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Wind
    3. ValiantValiant
    4. Con turret
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Con turret
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    8. Con turret
    9. HerculesLight transport
    10. Con turret
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind
    14. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    15. Wind ×2
    16. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    17. Wind ×5
    18. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 5:25
    19. Wind ×3
    20. ValiantValiant ×2
    21. Wind
    22. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    23. Converter ×2
    24. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    25. Converter
    26. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    27. Converter ×4
    28. Converter
    29. Converter
    30. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:03 · typical 6:54
    32. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    33. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×4
    34. Con turret
    35. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:56 · typical 11:18
    36. Con turret
    37. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:11
    38. Converter
    39. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    40. Con turret
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Con turret
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Con turret
    45. Converter
    46. Con turret
    47. ValiantValiant ×8
    48. ShurikenShuriken ×10
    49. ValiantValiant ×19
    50. Con turret
    51. Fusion ReactorFusion
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Con turret ×3
    54. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    55. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×15
    56. FinchFinch
    57. ValiantValiant ×45

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Etherift's (33 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 1:45 · 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
6:0037283707124102183124
7:0051105089190146257167
8:0068736902247190398219
9:0089699284317230562270
10:001148411758511292747380
11:0013919143569103691294536
12:00162311706912945122007781
13:001891819859171578123681102
14:0022336227042014126430051689
15:0025611257363093181335012420
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

Etherift

33.0 OS · 05/10/2026

Open source match ↗

5 received units · includes a constructor
186 metal received · 115283 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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