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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 ×2
    3. Solar
    4. Wind
    5. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:17 · 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 · 1 step
    1. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 1:32
  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 · 161 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Beach sea
    2. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Beach sea
    3. Wind
    4. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    5. Wind ×2
    6. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    7. Energy storage
    8. Mex
    9. Con turret ×2
    10. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    11. Wind
    12. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    13. Wind
    14. Wind
    15. FinchFinch
    16. Wind
    17. FinchFinch
    18. Wind
    19. Wind
    20. Wind
    21. Con turret
    22. Converter ×3
    23. Wind ×2
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Converter
    26. Wind
    27. ValiantValiant
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. Converter
    31. ValiantValiant
    32. Wind
    33. Converter
    34. Wind
    35. Wind
    36. Converter
    37. Wind
    38. Wind
    39. Wind
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. ValiantValiant
    43. Wind
    44. Wind
    45. ValiantValiant
    46. Converter
    47. ValiantValiant
    48. Wind
    49. Converter
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind
    52. Wind
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. Wind
    56. HerculesLight transport
    57. Wind ×3
    58. HerculesLight transportfor unknown
    59. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 7:09 · typical 6:54
    60. Wind
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. Con turret
    63. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    64. Wind
    65. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    66. Wind
    67. Wind
    68. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:45
    69. Wind
    70. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    71. Wind ×2
    72. Wind ×2
    73. Wind
    74. Wind
    75. Wind
    76. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    77. Wind
    78. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×3
    79. Wind
    80. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    81. Wind
    82. ValiantValiant ×4
    83. Wind
    84. ValiantValiant ×3
    85. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    86. Wind
    87. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    88. ValiantValiant
    89. Wind
    90. ValiantValiant
    91. Wind
    92. ValiantValiant
    93. Wind
    94. ValiantValiant
    95. Wind
    96. Wind
    97. ValiantValiant
    98. Wind
    99. Wind
    100. Wind
    101. Wind
    102. Wind
    103. Wind
    104. Con turret
    105. Wind
    106. Con turret
    107. Converter
    108. Con turret
    109. Wind
    110. Converter
    111. Wind
    112. Wind
    113. Converter
    114. Wind
    115. Wind
    116. Converter
    117. Wind
    118. Wind
    119. Wind
    120. Converter
    121. Wind
    122. Wind
    123. Converter
    124. Wind
    125. Wind
    126. Converter
    127. Wind
    128. Wind
    129. Wind
    130. Converter
    131. Wind
    132. Wind
    133. Con turret
    134. ValiantValiant
    135. Wind
    136. Con turret
    137. Converter
    138. ValiantValiant
    139. Con turret
    140. ValiantValiant
    141. Con turret
    142. ValiantValiant
    143. Wind
    144. Converter
    145. Con turret
    146. ValiantValiant
    147. Con turret
    148. ValiantValiant
    149. Converter
    150. ValiantValiant
    151. Con turret
    152. Wind
    153. ValiantValiant
    154. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 11:45 · typical 11:18
    155. ValiantValiant
    156. Wind
    157. Converter
    158. ValiantValiant
    159. Converter
    160. Wind
    161. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Milkdragon's (32 OS, 28/09/2026); 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 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
6:0037283707124102183124
7:0051105089190146257167
8:0068736902247190398219
9:0089699284317230562270
10:001148411758511292747380
11:0013919143569103691294536
12:00162311706912945122007781
13:001891819859171578123681102
14:0022336227042014126430051689
15:0025611257363093181335012420
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

31.6 OS · 28/09/2026

Open source match ↗

116 received units · includes a constructor
1529 metal received · 53007 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