Wingspan Bird Card Tier List Update (Version 2.1)

The cream continues to rise to the top in this smaller update of our Wingspan card tier list.

Great Egret
T2 to T1
I’ve been sleeping on this one for a while. It’s the Atlantic Puffin of the “Play Another Bird” birds. It falls under the large umbrella of Rodentologist, Platform Builder, Large Bird Specialist, and Diet Specialist. It also aligns nicely with Fishery Manager and Wetland Scientist by popping out two birds that meet the criteria. The Wetlands have access to a higher number of large point birds. Playing the Great Egret and following it up with an eight to nine-point bird can be a tremendous swing in points if you can pull together the food and eggs. The most notable combo with this bird would be Great Egret > Great Blue Heron > Atlantic Puffin.

Great Blue Heron
T2 to T1
A slightly smaller Great Egret but still a bigger “play another bird” bird than standard. It aligns nicely with Fishery Manager and Wetland Scientist by popping out two birds that meet the criteria. The Wetlands have access to a higher number of large point birds. Playing the Great Blue Heron and following it up with an eight to nine point bird can be a tremendous swing in points if you can pull together the food and eggs. The most notable combo with this bird would be Great Blue Heron > Great Egret > Atlantic Puffin.

Red Knot
T2 to T1
Similar in effect to Atlantic Puffin. Comparatively, you get a 50% reduction in the number of bonus cards you look at, but in exchange, you get to look at three bird cards and keep one. Qualifies for Food Web Expert for two more points.

North Island Brown Kiwi
T2 to T1
I recently had a discussion with Facebook community member Wouter Hendrycks about moving the Kiwi to T1 here: Official Wingspan Facebook Group. It’s likely similar in overall impact to Atlantic Puffin. It lets you fix your bonus cards in an unprecedented way. Get rid of that bummer card you started with and look at four new ones. Keep the two that work best. Its star nest and wingspan add flexibility to this bird. Its VP value of six is nothing to scoff at and is at the higher end of the distribution of bonus card birds. If you happen to have a decent amount of birds that qualify for the “two points per bird” bonus cards, the Kiwi should probably be an auto pick, as it could gain you a lot of points with the right draw. A good example would be if you had a lot of rodent-eating predators and you wanted to dig for Falconer and Rodentologist for a huge swing in points.

Northern Mockingbird
T1 to T0
At a food cost of two, this bird is cheap for what you get. Many of the highest-scoring games reported have a repeat bird on the board. Tri-habitat gives it versatility in its placement and allows it to repeat your best brown power. Any one food, egg, card, or point gaining brown power in your engine is doubled thanks to this bird. Its other general qualities are an afterthought.

Grey Catbird
T1 to T0
Expensive but worth the cost. Many of the highest-scoring games reported have a repeat bird on the board. Tri-habitat gives it versatility in its placement and allows it to repeat your best brown power. Any one food, egg, card, or point gaining brown power in your engine is doubled thanks to this bird. This great power is tacked onto a five-point, three egg nest bird which is icing on the cake.