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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 · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Solar
    3. Wind
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 0:54 · 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 · 2 steps
    1. Solar
    2. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 1:43
  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 · 181 steps
    1. Wind ×3
    2. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    3. Wind ×3
    4. FinchFinch
    5. Mex
    6. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    7. Mex
    8. Energy storage
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Con turret
    11. ValiantValiant
    12. Wind
    13. Con turret
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Converter ×2
    16. ValiantValiant
    17. Wind ×2
    18. Wind
    19. FinchFinch
    20. Converter
    21. Wind
    22. Converter
    23. Wind
    24. Wind ×2
    25. Wind
    26. Converter
    27. Wind
    28. Wind
    29. Converter
    30. Wind
    31. Wind
    32. Wind
    33. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    34. Wind ×2
    35. Wind
    36. Con turret
    37. Converter
    38. ValiantValiant
    39. Wind
    40. Converter
    41. Wind
    42. Wind
    43. ValiantValiant
    44. Wind
    45. Converter
    46. FinchFinch
    47. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    48. Wind
    49. FinchFinch
    50. Con turret
    51. Converter
    52. Wind
    53. Wind
    54. Converter
    55. ValiantValiant ×2
    56. Converter
    57. Wind
    58. ValiantValiant
    59. Con turret
    60. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexnot finished by 15:00 · typical 6:55
    61. Converter
    62. ValiantValiant
    63. Con turret
    64. Wind
    65. Wind
    66. ValiantValiant ×2
    67. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    68. Wind
    69. ValiantValiant
    70. Wind
    71. ValiantValiant
    72. Wind
    73. Wind
    74. ValiantValiant
    75. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    76. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    77. Wind
    78. Wind
    79. Wind
    80. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    81. Wind
    82. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    83. Advanced Aircraft PlantEat Advanced Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    84. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 8:39 · typical 11:24
    85. Wind
    86. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    87. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantdone 9:41
    88. Wind ×2
    89. Converter
    90. Wind
    91. Converter ×2
    92. Wind
    93. Converter ×2
    94. Wind
    95. NighthawkNighthawk ×3
    96. Wind
    97. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    98. Wind
    99. NighthawkNighthawk
    100. Wind
    101. NighthawkNighthawk
    102. Con turret ×2
    103. NighthawkNighthawk
    104. Con turret
    105. Wind
    106. NighthawkNighthawk
    107. Wind
    108. NighthawkNighthawk
    109. Con turret
    110. NighthawkNighthawk ×3
    111. Wind
    112. NighthawkNighthawk
    113. Wind
    114. Con turret
    115. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    116. CondorRadar plane
    117. Wind
    118. NighthawkNighthawk
    119. Wind
    120. NighthawkNighthawk
    121. Wind
    122. NighthawkNighthawk
    123. Con turret
    124. NighthawkNighthawk ×3
    125. Wind
    126. NighthawkNighthawk
    127. Wind
    128. NighthawkNighthawk
    129. Wind
    130. NighthawkNighthawk ×3
    131. Wind
    132. NighthawkNighthawk
    133. Wind
    134. NighthawkNighthawk
    135. Wind
    136. NighthawkNighthawk
    137. Wind
    138. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 12:27
    139. NighthawkNighthawk ×2
    140. Wind
    141. ShurikenShuriken
    142. NighthawkNighthawk
    143. ShurikenShuriken
    144. CondorRadar plane
    145. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    146. CondorRadar plane
    147. FinchFinch
    148. Wind
    149. NighthawkNighthawk
    150. ValiantValiant
    151. NighthawkNighthawk
    152. ValiantValiant
    153. Wind
    154. NighthawkNighthawk
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Wind
    157. ValiantValiant
    158. NighthawkNighthawk
    159. ValiantValiant
    160. Wind
    161. NighthawkNighthawk
    162. Wind
    163. NighthawkNighthawk
    164. FinchFinch
    165. NighthawkNighthawk
    166. ValiantValiant
    167. Wind
    168. Fusion ReactorFusion
    169. NighthawkNighthawk
    170. Wind
    171. ValiantValiant
    172. Converter
    173. ValiantValiant
    174. Wind
    175. ValiantValiant
    176. NighthawkNighthawk
    177. ShurikenShuriken ×3
    178. T2 converter
    179. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    180. Wind
    181. ShurikenShuriken

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Milkdragon's (35 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 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
6:0037483706108102183124
7:0050905088190146254167
8:0067776900247190389219
9:0088669279317232533270
10:001144811757467292738384
11:0013863143519103731305540
12:00160341706112945152045781
13:001879319846174078123871109
14:0022061226992206126931021689
15:0025268257003164180836212409
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

Milkdragon

34.5 OS · 11/09/2026

Open source match ↗

22 received units · includes a constructor
154 metal received · 151431 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