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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 (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 · 6 steps
    1. Mex
    2. Wind
    3. Mex
    4. Wind
    5. Mex
    6. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:03 · 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 · 77 steps
    1. Wind
    2. FinchFinch
    3. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    4. Wind ×4
    5. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    6. Wind
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    8. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    9. Energy storage
    10. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    11. Wind ×2
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    14. Con turret
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Mex
    17. Wind ×6
    18. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    19. Wind
    20. Wind ×3
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    22. Wind
    23. Wind ×2
    24. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    25. Wind
    26. ValiantValiant
    27. Wind ×2
    28. Wind
    29. ValiantValiant ×2
    30. Wind
    31. Converter
    32. Wind ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Converter
    35. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    36. Wind ×2
    37. Con turret ×3
    38. Wind ×2
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. Converter ×4
    42. Wind
    43. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:53 · typical 6:55
    44. Wind
    45. Converter
    46. Wind ×2
    47. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    48. Wind
    49. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    50. Wind
    51. Con turret
    52. Energy storage
    53. Wind
    54. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    55. Wind ×2
    56. Con turret
    57. Wind ×2
    58. Con turret
    59. Wind ×2
    60. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 8:17
    61. Wind
    62. FinchFinch
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    68. Wind
    69. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. Con turret
    73. ValiantValiant ×2
    74. Wind
    75. ValiantValiant
    76. Converter
    77. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 9:02
  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 · 10 steps
    1. Wind
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    3. Converter
    4. Wind
    5. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×5
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind ×2
    8. FinchFinch ×2
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Converter

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is TheGeneraI's (33 OS, 02/09/2026); 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
4:0020422053005151
5:00277227630517473
6:0037483712108102183124
7:0050905087190146254167
8:0067776902247190389219
9:0088669285317231533273
10:001144811760467292738386
11:0013863143779103741305540
12:00160341707112945172045781
13:001879319851174078123871112
14:0022061226742206126931021690
15:0025268256933164182436212435
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

TheGeneraI

32.6 OS · 02/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
127 metal received · 25776 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

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