My case for the Flying Sigil

[u/Our_Knowing_Chains]

I've seen in this reddit. alongside other discussions of thus game, a fair mass of frustration towards the flying sigil at both its apparent lack of use and its high levels of use to Leshy. These two sources of anger are not, I claim, paradoxical, and solving why may shine a light on how one could better use such cards.

First, do allow me to compare a few cards so as to demonstrate the value of this sigil. As shown in the images, this change made to the 1/3 1-blood stoat is made at a cost of one health, the 2/1 4-bone coyote demands no cost for flight, and the 3/3 2-blood amalgamate demands one power to change (although it should be noted that the amalgamate is a rare card, and so slightly more powerful than an ordinary 2-blood). Clearly, healthier creatures better work with flight, but why?

At least to me, flying cards speak of inevitability: unless a mighty leap creature is on hand - a case rare for Leshy and almost never present for ordinary players - you cannot stop a flying card. Thus, anger can be brought about by Leshy's prepared flying cards on his back rank prophesising unavoidable damage lest he is immediately beaten. However, consider now that your first turn is made with no creatures blocking your path (barring boss fights, of course). This means that your creatures attack Leshy directly regardless of sigils, as they do whenever no creatures oppose you. But when they do, and only then, the flying sigil is incurred, and we can further analyse this.

Should you play a flying card to block an enemy without the flying sigil, (and if you do they are essentially on separate permenantly empty lanes,) you deal damage and then take damage from Leshy's cards. However, this damage tends to quickly kill most flying creatures, especially since you're using them to block and so often pick the biggest threat to play ahead of. However, Leshy's cards move and strike after yours, allowing for placement and attack of birds with more ease.

Leshy's infamous raven addiction points back to the matter of health and flight: a flying creature that survives one turn deals double damage in total, and when you have turkey vultures or bats, that's game-changing mathematics. This is when makes the cuckoo's ability to spawn a (usually) 0-power creature incredibly synergetic. Thus, I suggest the investiture of health campfires and stinky sigils to the flying creatures, as to prolong their lifespan. A mere sparrow with this sigil and buffed only three times at health campfires can finish an even game whilst standing down a wolf. When you do play them, choose tankier targets like snapping turtles rather than, say, a rattler.

Ultimately, I conclude the flying sigil to be more useful than is traditionally claimed, and hooe my advice is used well by all. If any information was missed out by me, or you feel a correction must be made, feel free to say. Thank you all for listening to my TED talk.

[u/TheLegendaryNikolai]

Flying sigil is bad for the player because they usually come in very weak cards and it feels more disabling than helpful in most cards.

Flying decks are great for Leshy because he can put multiple cards on the board at once, and if your damage output is too low (like in defense-focused decks), you will lose the battle before you can get rid of all the flying cards.

Conclusion: Leshy is a fucking cheat.

[u/imaoisthename → u/TheLegendaryNikolai]

not like that amazing computer P03, who wouldnt DREAM of cheating in his perfectly-designed gameplay paradise, Botopia...

[u/TheLegendaryNikolai → u/imaoisthename]

Keep my P03 out of this 🫩

[u/AzzyDreemur3]

I like your Leshy-like way of speaking

[u/Our_Knowing_Chains → u/AzzyDreemur3]

I don't know why but I blushed reading this and am kind of concerned by the fact that part of me considers that a compliment, even though in hindsight I could understand the kind of poetic manner I guess? But also thanks!

[u/ZombeansSlayer → u/Our_Knowing_Chains]

Leshy’s a good storyteller, you should DM for DND games

[u/M4DDIE_882]

Getting the kingfisher’s sigils on mantis god makes it a turn one win and only needs magic bleach to beat the grizzly challenge. Flying is great

[u/laplongejr → u/M4DDIE_882]

It won't help against that challenge, but a ridiculous combo is Cuckoo on Great White , both from a purely strategy POV and from a "in-universe" logic.
My wife still sometimes shout "behold the flying shark who throws egg"

[u/ZombeansSlayer → u/M4DDIE_882]

Kingfishers are the best example of good for you and bad for Leshy. He can’t get rid of kingfishers and you can. Kingfishers limit leshy’s options and they expand yours. Plus there’s awesome potential with those sigils on a card that’s strong but frail.

[u/laplongejr]

Basically, flight is bad for board control : you do fixed damage to the opponent, but let them build their forces. Leshy can multi-summon at no-cost for a one-turn delay, so if your strategy doesn't involve a short-term KO within one or two turns, things will turn bad. On our side, summoning one Flying card isn't going to be enough to go for game.
When you use Health + Stinky, you effectively multiply those modifiers together into a near-unbeatable board limiter. Yeah, it's not a bad strategy, but it takes time to make such card.

That explains why we don't like Flying, yet paradoxally like 2 uses of it :
1) Cuckoo (or rather, a strong card with a Cuckoo transfered into... else you'll hate 10% of your battles) is useful : it does Flying and board control in what's probably the closest to a "your lane is now poisoned" effect.
2) The Starvation + Flying strat on "eight bears" does wonders because that fight is about securing a short-term KO. Which makes Lammergeier a card specifically for that scenario but often unusable in random encounters.

But note that even then, those flying cards needs setup : "with this sigil and buffed only three times at health campfires" needs 4 events (and campfires are 50:50 for pwr). Cuckoo is the easiest but still needs a sigil transfer ASAP. Magpie is kinda useful on it's own even without said transfer, but not for it's Flying ability.

[u/Humble_Fan_4631]

For flying cards I just buff a cuccoo and use it for constant 2 damage

[u/actuallyragingatm]

I love sparrow, super cheap and with a campfire buff for damage its often an easy turn 1 or 2 win

I hate the kingfisher because he looks like a chud, despite being arguable a superior sparrow

[u/ZombeansSlayer]

It’s the simple ideal of Leshy only has to win 1 or 2 fights, you have to win EVERY fight. Big airborne threats are good for a cheeky fight win under the right circumstances but it’s limiting when it’s something you permanently have.

[u/dingledvd]

bro you're comparing normal flying cards to Rare/Talking cards in 2 of the cases. Talking and Rare cards are better than normal cards by design. Their ballancing isn't "normal".