Aztec · No. 022
Eagle of the Nopal Cactus
Real myth
It landed on the cactus with a serpent in its beak. A city was born there.
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Category
- Monster
- ATK
- 1800
- DEF
- 1500
- Level
- 5
- Type
- Bird
- Element
- Light
- Constellations
- Sun · Crown
The myth
According to Mexica tradition, Huitzilopochtli guided his people from Aztlán and promised they would found their city where they saw an eagle perched on a nopal cactus. In the version recorded by Friar Diego Durán, the cactus grew from the heart of Copil, the god’s hostile nephew, thrown among the lake reeds; there the eagle fed on the finest birds. Other images show the eagle with the war symbol atl-tlachinolli issuing from its beak; the serpent became fixed in later versions. The hard-fruited cactus, tenochtli, named Tenochtitlan, founded around 1325.
Why it has this power
A Level 5 Uncommon with 1800 ATK and 1500 DEF: a noble, sturdy bird, founder of a city. Light, Sun and Crown tie it to Huitzilopochtli, the sun who sent it, and to the royalty of Tenochtitlan. Fused with the Apprentice Eagle Warrior, it becomes the Eagle Knight of the Sun: the sign that turns into a warrior order.
Did you know
The eagle on the cactus has sat at the center of Mexico’s flag since the nineteenth century, a direct heir of this founding myth.
Connections
- Fuses into: + Apprentice Eagle Warrior → Eagle Knight of the Sun
- In Tepin, Veteran of the Flower War's deck
- In Itzel, Guardian of the Fifth Sun's deck
Where to get it
- Campaign drop: Citlali, Priestess of the Stars (Valley of the Fifth Sun) — grade C: 13%
- Campaign drop: Tepin, Veteran of the Flower War (Valley of the Fifth Sun) — grade D: 13%
- Daily Offering: 0.45% per pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
- Welcome Pack: 1.1% per pack (Uncommon 30% per card)
- Traveler's Pack: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
- Bronze Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
- Silver Reliquary: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
- Golden Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 35% per card)
- Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.98% of days · 400 gold
- Craft with card dust: 100 dust
- Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).
Sources
- Mitología y simbolismo del nopal (Arqueología Mexicana) — Enrique Vela
- 1325, año de la fundación de Tenochtitlan (Arqueología Mexicana) — Patrick Johansson K.
- Tenochtitlan — World History Encyclopedia — Mark Cartwright