| This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the related unit in Age of Empires II, see Eagle Warrior. |
"Nobleman that flings javelins from an atlatl. Good against cavalry and Coyote Runners."—In-game description
The Eagle Runner Knight is a ranged light infantry in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Aztecs and can be trained at the Nobles' Hut.
Overview 
Edit
Eagle Runner Knights are a fast ranged light infantry unit equivalent to the European Dragoon. They are cheap and have a good attack and a decent range, but a poor siege attack. They are effective against hand cavalry and Coyote Runners. They are vulnerable to long-range infantry like Skirmishers, and heavy infantry in melee.
Note that like the Longbowman, these units attack at twice the speed of most other ranged units with a reload of 1.5s.
Strategy Edit
Eagle Runner Knights are fast units useful for assaults and rushes. It's useful to face cavalry and helps a lot to repel aggressive cavalry civilizations, like the Germans or the Sioux. The Eagle Runner cannot be used effectively for wholesale pillaging, due its very poor siege attack. This drawback makes the Eagle Runner only a support unit, while other siege units like Puma Spearmen or Arrow Knights take down enemy buildings. Also, the Eagle Runners are fairly cheap in comparison with ranged cavalry units, like the Dragoon. The best counter to Eagle Runners are heavy artillery units, such as Heavy Cannons, but that strategy not being very cost-effective, Skirmishers and other ranged infantry can be used against them. Rodeleros make an excellent counter unit as well, due to their speed being equal and having a large bonus vs Eagle Runners.
Eagle Runners can be used to counter Musketeers and other similar units at range very effectively. This is due to their high rate of fire, high damage and excellent range once the temple support card is sent. They actually have similar damage per second to Skirmishers, while possessing more hit points and speed.
Eagle Runner Knights are very population effective units once all the Home City combat cards have been sent. They are very similar to the Dutch Ruyter, but with more hit points, damage, range, and ranged resistance. These factors all combine to make the eagle knight one of the best anti-cavalry units in the game.
Differences from Eagle Warrior Edit
Note that the Aztec Eagle Warrior available at Trading Posts on Native American settlement sites (only on the original game, as The WarChiefs expansion replaces Aztec settlements with Zapotec ones) is weaker and is more effective against infantry than cavalry.
Upgrades Edit
| Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Champion Eagle Runner Knights
| 400 wood, 200 coin | Upgrades Eagle Runner Knights to Champion (+25% hit points and attack) |
 |  Legendary Eagle Runner Knights
| 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Eagle Runner Knights to Legendary (+50% hit points and attack); requires Champion Eagle Runner Knights |
Further statistics Edit
As Eagle Runner Knights are unique to the Aztecs, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Cavalry, Coyote Runners |
| Weak vs. | Heavy infantry, Skirmishers, archers, artillery |
| Improvements | |
| Hit points |  Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
|
| Attack |  Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0x multiplier vs. villagers) Seminole Bowyer (+25%) Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%) Yoga (+5%) Clenched Fist (+30% melee attack)
|
| Speed |  Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Creation speed |  Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%)
|
| Other |  Cinteotl Worship (ships 1 Eagle Runner Knight for every 2 minutes of the game time, up to 30 minutes) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
|
Home City Cards Edit
As Eagle Runner Knights are unique to the Aztecs, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Eagle Runner Knight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Aztecs
|
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 5 Eagle Runner Knights
| Ships 5 Eagle Runner Knights |  | 1 |
 9 Eagle Runner Knights
| Ships 9 Eagle Runner Knights | | 10 |
 6 Eagle Runner Knights
| Ships 6 Eagle Runner Knights | | 10 |
 Scorched Earth
| Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, and Jaguar Prowl Knights get +50% siege attack | | 10 |
 Knight Hitpoints
| Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points | | 10 |
 Knight Attack
| Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% attack | | 10 |
 Knight Combat
| Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points and attack | | 25 |
 Temple of Tlaloc Support
| Ships 8 Eagle Runner Knights and Eagle Runner Knights get +4 LOS and +4 range; costs 1,000 coin | | 10 |
French Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack
| Ranged infantry gets +15% attack | | 10 |
Germans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Attack
| Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry gets +15% attack |  | 10 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
| Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Scouts
| Cavalry and light infantry gets +10% hit points and +4 LOS |  | 1 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Inquisition
| All units get +10 LOS | | 10 |
History Edit
"Aztec warriors who had captured at least four enemy soldiers became eligible for the ranks of the eagle runner knight or the jaguar prowl knights. Presumably, this emphasis on capturing enemies was to collect a pool of captives for sacrifice, but the Aztec were also known for dealing death in battle, killing with single strokes of their obsidian swords, or hurling barbed spears with atlatls. Their own warriors who caused confusion or disorder in ranks were beaten on the spot and sometimes killed.
The dress of eagle runner knights incorporated feathers and a helmet resembling an eagle's head. The eagle was a symbol of the sun, the focus of Aztec worship and sacrifice. Eagle runner knights are usually depicted carrying shields and spears."
Gallery Edit
