| 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.
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. The combination of Eagle Runners and Coyote Runners is the most useful to attack enemy towns very fast and rush. Also, the Eagle Runners are fairly cheap in comparison with ranged cavalry units, like the Dragoon. The best counter to Eagle Runners are artillery units, but that strategy not being very cost-effective, Skirmishers and other ranged infantry can be used against them. The Eagle Runners are not reliable to engage individual combats due their fragility, so they must be accompanied by other units like the Macehualtin or the Puma Spearman to endure and prevail in a battle.
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 | Improvement | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 400 wood, 200 coin | Upgrades Eagle Runner Knights to Champion (+25% hit points and attack) |
 |  | 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 the Eagle Runner Knight can only be trained by the Aztecs, only improvements available to them (including native improvements) are listed here.
| 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 the Eagle Runner Knight is exclusive to the Aztecs, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Eagle Runner Knight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Aztecs
|
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ships 5 Eagle Runner Knights |  | 1 |
 | Ships 9 Eagle Runner Knights |  | 10 |
 | Ships 6 Eagle Runner Knights | | 10 |
 | Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, and Jaguar Prowl Knights get +50% siege attack | | 10 |
 | Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points | | 10 |
 | Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% attack | | 10 |
 | Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points and attack | | 25 |
 | 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 | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ranged infantry gets +15% attack | | 10 |
Germans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry gets +15% attack |  | 10 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Cavalry and light infantry gets +10% hit points and +4 LOS |  | 1 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | Home City level |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 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
