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

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is ebbabusch's (30 OS, 12/10/2026); 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
6:0037283711124102183124
7:0051105089190146257167
8:0068736903247190398219
9:0089699285317230562270
10:001148411761511292747379
11:0013919143709103691294533
12:00162311706912945122007781
13:001891819859171578123681101
14:0022336227042014126330051689
15:0025611257363093180835012409
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

ebbabusch

30.1 OS · 12/10/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
652 metal received · 94592 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