Iriel

## Summary

***"She moves squads efficiently around the battlefield"***

## Ability: Falcon Strike

**On Attack:** Drag onto a friendly squad, then release to recall all squads within the falcon radius to Iriel.

**On Defense:** Set the falcon to any position. When an enemy moves into the falcon area, Iriel arrives in a whirlwind.

## Upgrades

**Level 7: Tracker Falcon**

The bird can be snapped to a friendly squad on defense. When that squad is engaged in combat, her ability triggers.

**Level 17: Piercing Eyes**

Bird can detect invisible units, triggering the ability when an invisible enemy enters the trigger zone.

**Level 23: Sand Storm**

When her power triggers, Iriel and her squad gain +10 armour and +10% damage for 4 seconds.

**Level 32: Armour Bonus**

Her squad gains an armour bonus until her bird is used.

**Level 57: Howling Wind**

Chance of alternate attack, a twister that moves and stuns enemies within a radius of the twister movement.

## Strategy

### **On Defense:**

Iriel's Falcon protects key points or provides support to less durable or isolated allies when approached by enemy squads.

Iriel on Defense is a more supportive unit, providing backup to whoever is in need of it wherever they may need. This is most commonly appreciated by ranged heroes such as Taigar, Pepper, or Freya. Ozzy can use this well too, as he can teleport into enemy troops then Iriel's own squad can accompany him. These plans can be countered though by a well informed or thoughtfully placed enemy Taigar's Stag to make the Falcon activate before you want it to. Grimm's zombies can activate the Falcon early as well if improperly planned for. A more difficult to counter Falcon placement is paired with an invisible hero, such as Baba or Sassan. Finally, Cladwall's Holy Shield can be extremely potent on Iriel, as when her Falcon is properly placed, the Holy Shield activates wherever the bulk of the fighting is taking place.

Once the "Piercing Eyes" upgrade is reached, the Falcon can be placed over a Crystal or unguarded path, preventing opposing Baba squads from sneaking in an easy victory.

**Strong:**

* Soldiers provide excellent defensive support for less durable allied squads while dealing out respectable damage, which is further increased by Iriel's "Sand Storm" ability when unlocked. Before the Falcon activates, the squad benefits from bonus armor thanks to "Armor Bonus" as well, making the squad even more durable than average.

**Good:**

* Serfs allow Iriel guard her allies' squads with a durable wall of bodies. While not terribly powerful, they can guard the heavy hitters while they dish out damage.
* Brutes sweeping in to assist an allied squad can be a menace and a half to deal with, especially against enemies who use a lot of stuns. However, their low numbers make it difficult to properly absorb damage for other squads, making it more of a prominent aggressive strategy.

* Knights can be utilized to some effect, as they do have strong flanking potential and higher than average armor thanks to Iriel's "Armor Bonus" ability. However this is negated by the opponent activating the Falcon, as well as any distance previously covered is lost as she's back at her Falcon's location once tripped. This strategy is best suited to guarding a single point instead of assisting another squad, making it a niche role that is useable but not prominent.

**Bad:**

* Archers spawn on top of enemies that the Falcon triggers, forcing them into melee combat. There are no benefits to pairing Iriel with Archers.
* Sentries spawn on top of enemies that the Falcon triggers, forcing them to be in the front lines against whatever they're facing. This can prove easily detrimental against enemies with Archers or large amounts of enemy troops nearby.

### **On Attack:**

Iriel's Falcon functions completely opposite on Attack; it brings any and all squads under the falcon's reach to Iriel. This can allow the attacker to charge from a completely unpredictable angle with their entire force, and can cause plans to completely fall apart.

Balthor appreciates being instantly brought to the front lines & being able to use his Thunderstrike immediately. If Mason has placed his Stone Ward, the Falcon can bring the whole Stone Ward with it. This also allows Cladwall to jump into immediate action and begin soaking up damage with his Blessings.

**Strong:**

* Knights allow Iriel to travel a great distance quickly and let her relocate the other squads in her group that much faster and from a more exploitable location.

**Good:**

* Soldiers protect Iriel from dying quickly, giving her more time to activate the Falcon.
* Archers can be properly utilized on Attack since your allied squads appear to protect Iriel, not the other way around.
* Sentries can be effective as well for the same reasons as Archers - you teleport a large number of front liners to your location and boost your damage output briefly, giving you a few seconds of incredible damage output.
* Brutes allow Iriel to rush in and clear any suspected traps, then summon her allied squads in to help once all suspected traps are cleared.

**Fair:**

* Serfs can protect Iriel while she readies her Falcon, though she lacks damage output among other helpful effects other troops provide.