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. Solar ×2
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:10 · 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 · 19 steps
    1. Solar
    2. FinchFinch
    3. Wind
    4. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    5. Wind ×3
    6. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    7. Wind
    8. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    9. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    10. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    11. Wind ×2
    12. Mex
    13. Wind ×2
    14. Wind
    15. ValiantValiant ×3
    16. Wind
    17. ValiantValiant
    18. Wind
    19. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 3:50
  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 · 134 steps
    1. Wind
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    3. FinchFinch
    4. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    5. Wind
    6. Wind
    7. Con turret
    8. Wind
    9. Wind
    10. Wind ×3
    11. Wind
    12. Wind ×2
    13. Con turret
    14. Wind ×3
    15. Wind
    16. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    17. Wind
    18. Converter ×3
    19. Wind
    20. Converter
    21. HerculesLight transportfor Pond
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Converter
    25. Energy storage
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Converter
    29. Wind ×3
    30. Wind
    31. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:54 · typical 6:55
    32. Converter
    33. ValiantValiant
    34. Wind ×3
    35. HerculesLight transport
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Wind
    39. Wind
    40. ValiantValiant
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. HephaestusHeavy transport
    44. Converter
    45. Wind
    46. ShurikenShuriken
    47. Wind
    48. ShurikenShuriken ×7
    49. Wind
    50. ValiantValiant ×3
    51. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    52. ValiantValiant ×3
    53. Wind
    54. ValiantValiant
    55. Wind
    56. ValiantValiant
    57. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    58. Wind
    59. Converter
    60. ValiantValiant
    61. Wind
    62. Wind
    63. ValiantValiant
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant
    68. Wind ×2
    69. Wind
    70. ValiantValiant
    71. Wind
    72. ValiantValiant
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Wind
    76. ValiantValiant
    77. Wind
    78. Converter
    79. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    80. Wind
    81. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    82. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    83. Wind
    84. Construction AircraftCon aircraft ×2
    85. Wind ×2
    86. Con turret
    87. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 13:03 · typical 11:24
    88. Energy storage
    89. Con turret
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant ×5
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant ×8
    95. Wind
    96. ValiantValiant ×7
    97. Wind
    98. ValiantValiant ×4
    99. Wind
    100. ValiantValiant ×2
    101. Con turret
    102. Fusion ReactorFusion
    103. Con turret
    104. Wind
    105. ValiantValiant
    106. Con turret
    107. ValiantValiant
    108. Con turret
    109. ValiantValiant
    110. Converter
    111. ValiantValiant
    112. Energy storagefor Beach sea
    113. Wind
    114. ValiantValiant ×2
    115. Converter
    116. ValiantValiant
    117. Con turret
    118. Wind
    119. Con turret
    120. ValiantValiant
    121. Con turret
    122. ValiantValiant
    123. Con turret
    124. ValiantValiant ×2
    125. T2 converter
    126. HerculesLight transportfor Beach sea
    127. ValiantValiant ×2
    128. Wind
    129. Converter
    130. ValiantValiant ×3
    131. Converter
    132. Con turret
    133. T2 converter
    134. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Hokusai'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
6:0037483705108102183124
7:0050905088190146254167
8:0067776898247190389219
9:0088669278317232533270
10:001144811753467292738384
11:0013863143519103731305538
12:00160341706112945132045781
13:001879319850174078123871102
14:0022061227002206126431021689
15:0025268257083164180436212405
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

Hokusai

31.5 OS · 21/09/2026

Open source match ↗

7 received units · includes a constructor
592 metal received · 46716 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