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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 (65%)

#air #rush #raid · 75 distinct matches · 33 players · 3% of Cortex Air games · team won 56% of 75 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • WhirlwindT1 air bombers from 5:04 · 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 73 games with kill data: in the middle 49%, in the enemy base 49%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,090 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 75 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD AIR
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:05 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 ×2
    2. Wind ×4
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:06 · typical 1:15
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air bombers

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    • Wind Turbine2Wind
    • 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 (45%) · light transport (40%) · shuriken (36%) · mex (36%)

    By 5:04 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 2 wind · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 13 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Air
    2. Mex
    3. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Air
    5. Wind ×3
    6. ValiantValiant
    7. Wind
    8. Energy storage
    9. FinchFinch
    10. Wind ×2
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind ×2
    13. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 2:50
  3. 3

    T1 air bombers to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine14Wind−7 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 · 133 steps
    1. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. Mex
    6. ShurikenShuriken ×8
    7. Con turret
    8. ValiantValiant ×5
    9. Wind
    10. Con turret
    11. Wind
    12. ValiantValiant
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Con turret
    15. ValiantValiant
    16. Wind ×3
    17. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    18. Wind ×2
    19. Converter
    20. Wind
    21. Converter
    22. Wind
    23. Converter
    24. Wind
    25. Converter
    26. Wind
    27. Converter
    28. Wind
    29. Converter
    30. Wind ×2
    31. Wind
    32. Wind ×2
    33. Wind
    34. Wind
    35. Converter
    36. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:47 · typical 6:54
    37. Wind
    38. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    39. Wind ×2
    40. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    41. Wind ×2
    42. Con turret
    43. Wind
    44. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    45. Con turret ×3
    46. Wind
    47. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 9:36
    48. Wind
    49. ValiantValiant
    50. Con turret
    51. Wind ×3
    52. ValiantValiant
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Wind
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant
    62. Wind
    63. Wind
    64. ValiantValiant
    65. Wind
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind
    69. Wind ×2
    70. Wind
    71. Wind
    72. Wind
    73. Wind
    74. Wind
    75. Wind
    76. Wind
    77. Wind
    78. Wind ×2
    79. FinchFinch
    80. Wind
    81. Wind
    82. Wind
    83. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:53 · typical 11:14
    84. Wind
    85. Wind
    86. Wind
    87. FinchFinch ×3
    88. Wind
    89. ValiantValiant ×2
    90. Wind
    91. ValiantValiant ×2
    92. Wind
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant
    99. Wind
    100. Wind
    101. ValiantValiant
    102. Wind
    103. ValiantValiant
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant ×2
    106. Wind
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Wind
    109. ValiantValiant
    110. Wind
    111. ValiantValiant ×3
    112. Wind
    113. ValiantValiant ×2
    114. Wind
    115. Wind
    116. ValiantValiant ×2
    117. Wind
    118. ValiantValiant ×2
    119. Wind
    120. ValiantValiant ×2
    121. Wind
    122. ValiantValiant ×2
    123. Wind
    124. ValiantValiant
    125. Wind
    126. ValiantValiant ×2
    127. Wind
    128. ValiantValiant ×15
    129. Fusion ReactorFusion
    130. ValiantValiant
    131. T2 converter
    132. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    133. ValiantValiant ×2

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is pownage227's (35 OS, 17/09/2026); 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 89% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:13 · 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 40% 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

75 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
6:0037093709125102183124
7:0050965089190146257167
8:0067806903254190398219
9:0089119285336231541271
10:001148311765554292746380
11:0013907143738663671284535
12:00160721707412675121972780
13:001887519864170877523631095
14:0022225227101994126229141682
15:0025456257393100181135802415
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

pownage227

34.9 OS · 17/09/2026

Open source match ↗

10 received units · includes a constructor
77 metal received · 70348 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=75
Advanced Metal Extractor6:54Middle 50%: 6:27–7:46 · n=70
Fusion Reactor11:14Middle 50%: 10:14–12:32 · n=45

Played most by

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