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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 (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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Energy storage
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:20 · 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. Solar
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 2:01
  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 · 109 steps
    1. Wind ×5
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinch ×2for Geo sea
    4. HerculesLight transport ×2for Geo sea
    5. HerculesLight transport
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Mex
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    9. Con turret
    10. HerculesLight transport
    11. Con turret ×2
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind
    15. Energy storage
    16. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Pond
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    19. Wind ×2
    20. Con turret
    21. Wind ×13
    22. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 5:43 · typical 6:54
    23. Wind
    24. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×2
    25. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:01 · typical 11:18
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    29. Wind ×2
    30. Converter ×2
    31. Wind
    32. Converter ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Converter ×2
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Converter ×4
    39. Con turret ×2
    40. Converter
    41. Con turret ×4
    42. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:48
    43. Con turret ×3
    44. FinchFinch ×5
    45. ShurikenShuriken ×4
    46. Wind
    47. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    48. Wind
    49. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    50. Wind
    51. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    52. Wind
    53. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    54. Wind
    55. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    56. Wind
    57. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    58. Wind
    59. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    60. Wind
    61. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    62. Wind
    63. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    64. ValiantValiant ×2
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant ×2
    67. Wind
    68. ValiantValiant ×2
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant ×2
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant ×2
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant ×2
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant ×2
    77. Wind
    78. ValiantValiant ×2
    79. Wind
    80. ValiantValiant ×3
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant ×2
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant ×3
    85. Wind
    86. ValiantValiant ×2
    87. Wind
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant ×2
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×2
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant ×2
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    98. Wind
    99. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    100. Wind
    101. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    102. Wind
    103. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×17
    104. ValiantValiant ×60
    105. Fusion ReactorFusion
    106. ValiantValiant ×2
    107. Converter ×3
    108. ValiantValiant
    109. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is SauceDispenser's (34 OS, 11/09/2026); 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
6:0037283707124102183124
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

SauceDispenser

33.7 OS · 11/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
886 metal received · 37772 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

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